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12 travelers at this place:

  • True North TravelsAfrican Adventure
    Day112

    Masvingo to Harare

     January 5 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Today we left the Great Zimbabwe Hotel. Before leaving, we ask how much breakfast is, and were quoted USD26 per person. We politely declined, and picked up a steak pie from Baker’s Inn in Masvingo. Our vegetarian creds continue to decrease by the day.

    We managed to get some petrol at a normal petrol station which was a pleasant surprise. However, when we were filling up, a gigantic queue of cars started entering to the other pump. It seems that our USD allowed us to skip the big queue.

    The road from Masvingo to Harare is maybe the worst main road we have used. Giant potholes arrive out of nowhere, and always seem to crop up when a large bus is coming in the opposite lane, and we have no choice but to take the hit and pray for our tyres. At one point, the road ends, and a gravelly, dusty track takes over. However, this doesn’t stop people from using it as a two lane highway, which kicked up a huge dust cloud, and sent a rock directly at our windscreen, creating a little chip- we fear for our security deposit.

    We arrived at Small World Lodge around 2pm, and enquire about camping. We can camp next to the car park, the swimming pool, or next to the tables where people are sitting and chatting. We opt for the car park.

    Played some beer pong (with bottlecaps) with some overlanders who have done a similar route to us (from Nairobi), and we compare travel stories. We met the most charming Irishman, who had been travelling overland with the group since the start (and told us about this app!) and the most smiley British gent who had just joined the group that day.

    Above the bar is a Sam Smith’s mirror advertising OBB, but unfortunately, all they have is Golden Pilsener.    Read more

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  • True North TravelsAfrican Adventure
    Day113

    Harare

     January 6 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    First time using Find Penguins, despite being on the road for a few months.

    Today, we got up when the heat in the tent became in too hot (an ongoing theme of African camping). Breakfast options at the hostel were either an english breakfast without eggs, or yoghurt and raisins for $7... Instead we opted for Pariah State at the Avondale.

    Went to the Avondale flea market to pick up a football shirt- Harare Dynamos (“The Glamour Boys”)- and a strong contender for the worst shirt ever (bright blue with hamburgers).

    On the way back, we see the headlines from the local newspapers outside a petrol station. The H-Metro runs a story about someone drowning, mermaids suspected.

    Having to wing it in regards to the fuel situation yet again. The hostel staff will try to sort it out for $1.30 per litre, not sure where the source is.    Read more

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  • True North TravelsAfrican Adventure
    Day114

    Leaving Harare

     January 7 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Woke up early to sort the car out before returning it. We drove around the neighbourhood trying to find fuel at the petrol stations. They’re all empty, and at the last one we visit, the attendant informs us that there is no petrol in the whole of Harare. Another staff member at the hostel has a contact, who we could call, and offer to buy him a drink in exchange for petrol.

    Eventually the woman from the car hire company came to collect the car, and just takes the cost of fuel from our deposit, no dramas after all.

    When we headed back into town for breakfast, we see a giant queue of cars, snaking its way around the neighbourhood. They are queuing for Engen, which must just have received a shipment of fuel.

    In the evening, we boarded the overnight bus from Harare to Vic Falls. It is maybe one of the worst bus seats I have sat in so far- no seatbelt, broken armrest, it’s stuck in the reclined position and the window keeps opening until I tie it closed with a shoelace.    Read more

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  • An Spailpín FánachAfrican Safari
    Day41

    Harare Day 1 - Money and Food

     January 4 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We have most of the day free in Harare and decide to go out for a meal at 7pm at a local shopping village because 2 people are leaving and a new one is joining us.

    The restaurant is great with good service from a very handsome waiter with a London accent.

    Before we go, we change some money into a local currency recognised nowhere in the world. It's not even recognised as a currency. There are only 2 and 5 bond notes so I get a pile about 4cm thick. Insane. I felt rich beyond the dreams of avarice.

    It reminds me of the time I was in East Berlin before the walk fell. You had to change 25 Deutschmarks into Oostmarks. You couldn't buy anything with them and what you could buy was dirt cheap.

    Here's some info from Wikipedia, who else, that might give you an insight into the money situation here

    Zimbabwean bond notes are a form of banknote  in circulation in Zimbabwe. Released by the  Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe the notes are stated to not be a currency in itself but rather legal tender  near money pegged equally against the U.S. dollar. In 2014 prior to the release of bond notes a series of bond coins entered circulation.

    In November 2016, backed by a US$200 million African Export-Import Bank loan, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe began issuing $2 bond notes. Two months later, US$15 million worth of new five dollar bond notes were also released. Further plans for $10 and $20 bond notes were ruled out by the Reserve Bank's governor John Mangudya.

    The notes were not generally accepted by the Zimbabwean people, so the government tried expanding the electronic money supply and issuing Treasury bills instead.

    The bond notes were still in circulation in 2018, although former Finance Minister Tendai Biti said that they should be demonetised, as they were being subject to arbitrage. In the campaigning for the 2018 elections, the bond notes became a political issue, with the MDC Alliance calling for their replacement with 'real cash'.

    Despite the notes being notionally pegged to the US dollar, their value, like the former Zimbabwean dollar, is collapsing, with everyday transactions using a rate of $3 bond notes to 1 US dollar in January 2019 and $13 bond notes to 1 US dollar as of November 2019.

    I changed 50 US$ at 15 to the Bond . Today, the rate is 22 to the dollar. This is great if you're changing from dollars but not good if you want to buy anything using Bond as everything seems to be priced in dollars.

    Off to bed to read for a bit and then go spark out at around 11pm.    Read more

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  • LouisaJamesZimbabwe
    Day2

    Harare

     August 10, 2017 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We arrived in the capital of Zimbabwe yesterday, a vast contrast to the surrounding countryside we had been in. The avenues of bungalows made you feel like you were in parts of rural Britain, apart from the walls, electric fencing, barbed wire, security guards and bars on windows! We are having a couple of nights staying in a hostel so all enjoyed a meal out at a western restaurant where we welcomed three new travel companions and said farewell to one. The party then continued once we were back at the hostel with everyone getting along really well. Today, after massive bacon sandwiches that we cooked for ourselves, a group of us went for a walk into town. It was enjoyable just to wander around the streets, not being bothered by people to buy things but just happy to offer directions or just chat. Since 2005 their economy has been in serious trouble and physical currency is scarce. People are able to draw out only $80 a month. People pay by using their phones and doing a bank transfer at the till. We are using US dollars but have managed to get a $2 Mozambique bond which is equivalent to a $2!US. The bonds are produced so the currency can be devalued at any time. Inflation is such that in 2005 there was a 20 thousand dollar note, three years later a 150 trillion dollar note had been issued. It became so bad that notes produced in a morning had been made obsolete by the following day. Tonight we went to the Oasis house and had a local meal cooked for us. We had beef stew and sadza, a polenta like consistency made from ground maize, mixed with water and heated up. Each country we have been in has it but calls it something different.Read more

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  • Dagmar u. ManfredSüdliches Afrika
    Day37

    Harare

     February 5, 2018 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Heute Vormittag haben wir uns mit Dr. Uli Weyl zu einem Gespräch getroffen, einem langjährigen GIZ-Experten im südlichen Afrika. Thema waren vor allem die Potenziale des Tourismus für Zimbabwe. Uli Weyl hatte die Exkursion 1986 mit vorbereitet und begleitet.

    Da wir morgen für ein paar Tage nach Musangano in Ostzimbabwe fahren, haben wir uns am Nachmittag in einem Supermarkt (der keinerlei Wünsche offen lässt) mit Lebensmitteln eingedeckt. Die Auswahl ist mehr als bemerkenswert, wenn man bedenkt, dass 2007 und 2008 die Regale leer waren.Read more

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  • Beatrix ForsterWGT Simbabwe
    Day5

    Kuwadzana Lutherian Congregaton

     June 30, 2019 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Heute ist Sonntag. Für den Sonntagsgottesdienst haben wir uns in 4 Gruppen aufgeteilt und jede Gruppe hat eine andere Gemeinde besucht. Annerose, Josef und ich sind mit Simon nach Kuwadzana gefahren. Die Kirche war ein provisorischer Unterstand, aber voll von betenden und feiernden Christen.
    Reverend Veronica Mangena hat so mitreißend gepredigt, dass ich sie , obwohl sie Shona sprach, zumindest ungefähr verstanden habe. Auch gesungen und geklatscht wurde mit Begeisterung. Was ist wohl besser; eine schöne Kirche oder eine lebendige Gemeinde ?
    Nach dem Gottesdienst gab es, uns zu Ehren, ein Mittagessen für die ganze Gemeinde. Als Gastgeschenk haben wir alle drei praktische Hüte bekommen. Leider hatten wir, außer den WGT-Postkarten keine Geschenke dabei.    Read more

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  • Beatrix ForsterWGT Simbabwe
    Day5

    Bei Altbischof Scholz

     June 30, 2019 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Heute Nachmittag haben wir den ehemaligen katholischen Bischof Dieter Scholz besucht, einen Jesuiten, der 1973 von seinem Orden nach Harare geschickt wurde und seitdem im Land lebt. Er hat uns spannend und aufschlussreich erzählt, wie aus Rhodesien Simbabwe wurde, welche Einflüsse den Weg in die Unabhängigkeit begleitet haben und warum das Land in die wirtschaftlichen Probleme geraten ist, in denen es jetzt offenkundig steckt.
    Es war mucksmäuschenstill in seinem Wohnzimmer, während wir seinen Erzählungen gelauscht haben.
    Gerne nehmen wir Grüße nach Nürnberg ins CPH zu Pater Danscher mit.    Read more

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  • Beatrix ForsterWGT Simbabwe
    Day2

    Treffen und Dinner im Sunbird Guesthouse

     June 27, 2019 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Abends sind unsere Gastgeber zu uns ins Sunbird Guesthouse gekommen, wo wir in gemütlicher Runde um den Kamin (!) saßen und uns ein Bisschen kennengelernt haben. Tatsächlich war es so frisch, dass wir den Kamin gut brauchen konnten.
    Anschließend hatten wir ein wunderbares gemeinsames Dinner, das Christine und ihre Helfer für uns gekocht haben. Jetzt fallen wir müde ins Bett.Read more

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  • Beatrix ForsterWGT Simbabwe
    Day3

    Bischof der Lutherischen Kirche

     June 28, 2019 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Heute war der Himmel so strahlend blau, wie ich mir das vorgestellt hatte. Bischof Faindi von der lutherischen Kirche Simbabwes hat uns empfangen und uns von seinem Bistum, Simbabwe Ost, erzählt. Die Mitglieder seiner Gemeinde sind in dem großen Gebiet weit verstreut.
    Er hat uns erzählt, dass das Land mit großen wirtschaftlichen Schwierigkeiten zu kämpfen hat. Vertrauen auf Gott sei hier jeden Tag von neuem wichtig.Read more

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You might also know this place by the following names:

Harare Province, Harare

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