Zimbabwe
Bulawayo

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    • Day 104

      Train to Bulawayo

      December 28, 2019 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

      We're leaving Victoria Falls today, heading to the old colonial town of Bulawayo. To get there, we opt for the overnight train.

      At the train station, there's a bit of confusion, as we are quoted 90 dollars each. We were expecting it to be 10 dollars each, so we are shocked. Unfortunately, we're locked into this plan now, and we rush around to source some extra dollars. With a grimace, we reluctantly hand over 180 USD. The ticket officer peels off 20 bucks. It turns out the ticket price was in Zimbabwean Dollars (the so-called Bond Notes), and the rate is about 9:1. Since Vic Falls is a tourist town, we haven't had to use Zimbabwean Dollars yet.

      So we turn to our next task: finding Zim Dollars. These are difficult to come by. Since the catastrophic inflation under the Mugabe years, the Zimbabwean government has issued a new currency, which is very tightly controlled. In order to avoid inflation, the government simply doesn't print enough money. It is also impossible to draw money with a foreign bank card. I assume that this is because it is not an internationally recognised currency.

      We ask our regular taxi driver, Clifford, where we can get some, and it turns out that he knows someone who can change the money. We like Clifford, but given the scarcity of moeny, we're worried that we're going to get ripped off on the exchange rate, as we have been at all the border crossing so far. Our concerns weren't justified though, as his brother gives us an extremely generous 16:1 conversion. 50 USD gets us 800 Zim Dollars. a new problem: Zimbabwean money only comes in 2 and 5 Dollar notes. This means we end up with a huge stack of notes.

      After stocking up on water and snacks at the supermarket (where we see someone buy 100 packs of peanuts and nothing else), we head for the train. The carriages are decked out with Rhodesian Railway logos. This was the old colonial railway company, which existed until 1980. It seems that the rest of the train hasn't been updated in the last 40 years, either.

      We settle into our sleeping cabin, and prepare for the journey. It's scheduled to take 12 hours, bringing us into Bulawayo at 7am. As we depart Vic Falls, we see elephants grazing in the bush near the railway tracks. We crack open a bottle of wine and enjoy the sunset. Unfortunately, after the sun sets, we discover that there is no electricity on the train. This means no lights, and no fan. And it's very hot.

      After splittling a bottle of wine, we sleep well enough, and wake up the next morning before 7. 7 comes and goes, but we're stilling pressing on. The hours fly by, and we still don't arrive into Bulawayo. We tuck into our snacks at lunchtime and patiently wait for the train to arrive. Finally, at 6pm, we pull into Bulawayo station, 11 hours behind schedule. At least our Zambian train ride had prepared us for that.

      In the evening, we head to the Bulawayo Club for tea. It's an old colonial club that now, since the fall of the colonial regime, allows guests. It's a strange place- all mahogany wood panels, big fireplaces, hunting trophies and betting books that go back over a century. And it's completely empty. We have the place to ourselves and have quite a nice tea. Given that this is Zimbabwe, a fancy meal at this very fancy place cost us less than a tenner. It's surreal.
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    • Day 29

      Videoclip - Dagmar's Bild

      March 7 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

      Vor einem Jahr hatte sich Dagmar im Mzilikazi Künstlerzentrum in Bulawayo in ein Bild verliebt. Das wollte sie in diesem Jahr gerne kaufen.

    • Day 7

      Horse Back Safari

      August 15, 2017 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      We went on a two hour horse ride through their game reserve where we saw giraffes, warthogs and wildebeest up close. In the distance we saw lions and elephants. It was a great way to see wildlife although James was told near the start that his horse doesn't like wildlife! Thankfully the horse behaved himself once he knew who was boss. Our route took us through open grasslands, thorny bushes and a waterhole.Read more

    • Day 8

      Walking with Elephants

      August 16, 2017 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Five of us went to walk with the four elephants, for over 2 hours. It was an amazing opportunity to just follow them as they walked through the bush, eating the trees as they went. While they are peaceful animals they have incredible strength which we witnessed as they were either pushing trees over or ripping branches off. The thick thorns didn't bother them at all while they were eating them. We were able to touch them or just stand by watching them, although we chose to give a wide bearth to the least friendly female. It was fun watching them at a mud pool, although we did get splattered ourselves! They store upto 20 litres of water in their stomach and listening to them empty their full trucks sounds like a huge hose being emptied.Read more

    • Day 15

      Abschied von Kerstin und Reinhold

      July 10, 2019 in Zimbabwe ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

      Heute Abend haben wir uns von Kerstin und Reinhold Hemker verabschiedet. Die beiden fliegen weiter nach Namibia, wo die nächste Gruppe, ein Posaunenchor, auf sie wartet.
      Ohne die Sachkenntnis und das gute Netzwerk der beiden und Kerstins umsichtige Organisation wäre diese wunderbare Reise gar nicht möglich gewesen.
      Als kleines Dankeschön haben wir Kerstin in Masvingo diesen tollen Fascinator gekauft .
      Das touristische Programm der letzten 3 Tage schaffen wir dann hoffentlich alleine mit Hilfe unseres Fahrers Daniel, der immer alles im Griff hat.
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    • Day 14

      Bulawayo

      July 9, 2019 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      Heute steht die Stadt Bulawayo auf dem Programm. Wir beginnen unsere Tour im Head Quarter der ELCZ (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Simbabwe) wo wir vom Generalsekretär M. Dube empfangen werden.
      Die Stadt Bulawayo ist sehr viel grüner als Harare. In einigen Vierteln gibt es wunderschöne Alleen. In der Innenstadt gibt es noch viele koloniale Bauten.
      Außerdem fällt auf, dass die Ampeln funktionieren und der Verkehr zwar lebhaft , aber nicht chaotisch ist.
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    • Day 15

      Matopos National Park

      July 10, 2019 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      Heute war Safari-Tag. Morgens holte uns der Safari-Guide mit seinem Truck ab. Dick eingemummelt ging’s los. Auf so einem offenen Truck ist es ganz schön zugig. Unser Guide Andy hat uns ein Nashorn versprochen. Wir haben Hügel erklommen und Ausschau gehalten, kein Nashorn. Wir sind den Spuren gefolgt, haben frischen Nashorn-Dung gefunden, kein Nashorn. Nach der Lunchpause haben wir Ranger getroffen. Die wussten, wo ein Nashorn ist. Wir runter vom Truck, im Gänsemarsch mucksmäuschenstill hinter dem Ranger her; und da waren sie direkt vor uns, zwei Nashörner, Mutter mit Kind.
      Auf rumpeliger Fahrt ging’s weiter durch wunderschöne Landschaft um die berühmten Höhlen mit den uralten Höhlenmalereien zu sehen. Unterwegs haben wir gesehen: Paviane, Impalas, Springböcke und Zebras, die in der Buschlandschaft nur zu erkennen waren, wenn sie sich bewegt haben.
      Zum Sonnenuntergang waren wir am Malindidzimu („Sitz der Ahnen“ auf Ndebele), wo Cecil Rhodes begraben ist.
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    • Day 14

      Jairos Jiri

      July 9, 2019 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Jairos Jiri ist eine der wenigen Organisationen in Simbabwe, die sich um behinderte Menschen kümmert. 1958 in Bulawayo gegründet, ist Jairos Jiri inzwischen im ganzen Land vertreten. Durch Ausbildung nach Ihren Möglichkeiten wird den Menschen ermöglicht, ein eigenes Einkommen zu erzielen. Die Organisation wird seit Beginn von Brot für die Welt und von der Christoffel Blindenmission unterstützt. So hat die Christoffel Blindenmission kürzlich ein 60 m tiefes Bohrloch mit solarbetriebener Pumpe für sauberes Wasser finanziert.
      Wir haben ein Heim für Blinde Kindern besucht, die Lernwerkstätten angesehen und natürlich auch im Laden eingekauft.
      In den Heimen von Jairos Jiri arbeiten häufig junge Menschen als Volunteers.
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    • Day 58

      Bulawayo

      October 11, 2018 in Zimbabwe

      Bulawayo: deuxième plus grosse ville du Zimbabwe. Pourtant, on ne croirait pas. On s'y sent très bien. Les rues sont belles et ordonnées. Les bâtiments ont un air de colonialisme tout comme à Masvingo. L'ensemble est plutôt charmant. Et une fois de plus, les gens sont très sympas :)

      En plus de ça, on se dégote le Burke's Paradies, un petit havre de paix à quelques kilomètres du centre. L'endroit est magnifique et la famille propriétaire des lieux très accueillante!

      Pour plus d'infos et de photos, RDV sur notre deuxième blog: https://www.myatlas.com/ConfettiEnVoyage/l-inat…
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Bulawayo Province, Bulawayo

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