Cry the beloved country
17th August
Getting through the borders can be quite stressful, I don’t know what it is about officials at border posts but they don’t make things easy , but if you keep a smile on your face and are polite then you should be fine,and what is it about kids ….when you really need cooperation everything flies out the window with my kids for some reason they seemed to think this was a good time to negotiate there pocket money amounts,sweet allowance and TV time !! Was this a secret ploy to side track the officials ?????
Driving through to Harare to spend a night with Rupert’s aunt and uncle was easy enough we seemed to have managed on this entire trip with some really basic picnic stuff for lunches along the way (this is totally out of character for me as I dont do picnic lunches)- pro vita’s and cheese,salami and a few tomatoes-That fridge was really useful - good job Rupert doesnt drink beers really- it served us well as we stopped at picnic sites along the way for quick lunches Zimbabwe is well equipped with sites and the roads are really good.
Just in case you dont believe me….here Iam
It was so great to pull into a home for the night , and we felt very welcome.
There is absolutely nothing available in Zimbabwe at the moment. No diesel it hasn’t been available in some petrol stations for 9 months. No food in the shops except some odd bits and pieces like jam or tomato paste, you have to queue if and when bread is available…but somehow Chris and Gail laid on a really good spread for dinner,chicken that tasted better than anything we have at home,salad that had been grown in Gail’s garden truly organic and strawberries and ice cream…and a fry up for breakfast. Either they used up their entire supply of food or they have there own regular supplies from the black market.
There is lots of black market trading that goes on in zim as that is the only way to survive. Everyone is looking out for each other. Eggs are traded ,milk is sourced and diesel is plentiful. One source we spoke with had 9000 litres available to sell but you need to be in the network….it’s hard to get by, but a lot of people are and they are hanging in for things to change ??
However the most heartbreaking stuff is the how the Old age pensioners are not surviving ,the high inflation rates have made it impossible for them to be able to survive on their pensions. In fact I heard of a guy that has an income of 5c a month from his pension. These are people that have contributed their entire life to a pension fund that should have maintained their lifestyle in some sort of way. You can do something to help. There are associations and charities that are keeping these guys alive………R800 keeps a couple in food for a month, if you would like to help let me know and I will put you onto someone that is helping run a charity in Zim.
We leave feeling sad and depressed for the people of Zimbabwe…we have one final stop in Zim on our way through to Mozambique- Nyanga
