A shopping stop in Bulawayo

We were delayed due to slow-moving coal lorries and the appalling state of the pot-holed roads, so we didn’t arrive into Bulawayo until about 5.45pm. It was already getting dark. Henry needed to do some grocery shopping, so we stopped for 30 minutes. It was weird being in a busy city after so many miles of nothingness! We only had time to pick up some essentials (like beer and crisps!) before we had to be back on the truck to drive to Burke’s Paradise, our camp for the next two nights.

When we got there, we had to help Henry carry all our gear to set up the camp kitchen as it was a distance from the truck. Then, as people started putting up their tents, we spoke to Vicky, our host, about upgrading to a private room. It was only US$20 a night for a double room. We would still have to share toilets and showers with those who were camping, but it seemed worth it, especially as the forecast was for a really cold night! We chose a room and went to get our stuff from the truck.

I was on food prep tonight, so soon found myself chopping carrots alongside Mona. We were the only members of our group to show up, so I sent out a search party (Mark and Liz!) to encourage the newbies to come and do their share! Because we were late getting here, we didn’t eat until 8pm. We spent the time while we were waiting using the internet. It’s the first decent wifi we’ve had in a long time. Nobody minds paying US$3 to use it for a couple of days!

We also listened to a talk by David from Black Rhino Tours about the optional excursion for tomorrow. It’s a full-day trip, with rhino tracking in the morning followed by lunch and then a visit to see some San rock painting in the afternoon. The cost is US$100 each. We have decided not to do it as we did rhino tracking in Eswatini, and we saw ancient rock paintings in Namibia. I’m sure it will be a great trip, but we couldn’t really justify the cost for something we’ve done before. We have decided to visit the railway museum in Bulawayo instead. David’s wife, Vivien, will take us there in the morning and bring us back later.

For dinner, Henry had prepared vegetable soup followed by pasta bolognaise with vegetables. We didn’t stay up for long after eating as it turned very cold.Read more