ROAD TRIPPING

MLK Day (and one extra day off) gave us a good window to hit the road and see some previously unseen parts of Zim.  First stop:  Great Zimbabwe.  We headed out fairly early and got to our lodge just as the rain started.  Perfect timing to hole up with a sundowner (i.e., happy hour cocktail) and watch the storm pass.

A lovely view from our lodge near Great Zimbabwe

The next morning was blue skies and puffy clouds, and we got an early start.  Great Zimbabwe is a UNESCO World Heritage site about five hours south of Harare.  It contains the ruins of a former city dating back to the 11^th century.  Stone walls built on and around a steep granite outcrop are still standing.  It’s believed the granite hill served as a royal palace, and the walled city below housed up to 18,000 people at its peak.  A local guide showed us around the site and gave us an overview of the area’s history and culture. 

Stone walls remain around the ruins of the old city

The stones help show the scale of these massive granite boulders

Following our guide into the ruins

The walls in some areas are over 15 feet tall

Andrew, for scale

Zimbabwe' translates to 'great stone houses' in Shona.  Easy to see how the site - and this country - got this name

The view from the top of the boulder hill provided amazing 360 degree views of the area.  This is the rainy season in Zim, so everything has greened up and come into bloom, providing a lush landscape to take in during our hike around the site.  

The rain has greened everything up!

Looking out toward the "Great Enclosure"

We spent about three hours walking through the ruins and checking out the small on-site museum (which we had to tour with flashlights because, of course, the electricity was off).  The rain clouds started rolling in just as we were rolling out.  We had another drive of several hours to get to our next stop: Matopos National Park in the southwest part of the country.  Massive granite boulders set the backdrop for the primary reason for our trip: rhinos.  The park is one of the few remaining areas in Zimbabwe with a wild rhino population, so we wanted to check it out.

Our hotel was just outside of the park and set into the rock landscape.  And I do mean set INTO the landscape.  The reception building and the bungalows were built among the huge boulders, and rocks provided the walls for some of the structures.  We arrived just in time for sundowners again, and made plans to head out the next morning with a guide to look for rhinos.

If you look closely, you can see some rooftops among the rocks.  That's the hotel.  We drove right past it at first since we didn't even see it.

Not your typical resort grounds

A lovely happy hour spot

We left the next morning and headed to the park, where we met up with a Zimbabwe Republic Police officer who went along with us.  The park is heavily patrolled and police are stationed throughout to discourage poachers.  Information about the number and location of rhinos in the park is not publicly disclosed.  The officers are armed with AK-47s.  Protecting these rhinos is serious business.

Definitely the first time I've ever hiked while accompanied by a police officer with an automatic rifle

We had to visit a few different locations within the park and hike for several miles but we found them!  A group of five rhinos all together.  Apparently they have terrible eyesight, so as long as we stayed downwind and moved slow, they were fairly oblivious to our presence.  We followed them for about half an hour or so as they lawn-mowered their way through a grassy area.  These guys are serious grass-eating machines.  A pretty incredible experience to be so up-close-and-personal with these delivery-truck sized animals.

They have to cut the horns every couple years to deter poachers

I do mean up-close-and-personal

We spent the rest of the weekend hiking on the lodge property, taking in the lovely scenery, and spotting all sorts of birds and other critters.  It was a bit gray and drizzly but it didn’t stop us from getting out.  Actually felt a bit like our Portland home… but about 20 degrees warmer. 

The rain clouds made for a spectacular sunset

Some of the resident critters... A klipspringer - cutest little antelope ever

A lizard in drag

The rock dassie, or rock hyrax, or rock rabbit.  Zimbabwe's answer to the marmot.  (But not a rodent.  Not a rabbit either.)

We just passed our 8-month mark in Zim, which means we’re just about 1/3 of the way through our time here.  And we’ve probably covered about 1/3 of the country now, so we’re right on track.  Road trips here take quite a bit of planning – since there’s a fuel shortage, we have to carry jerry cans with us, and since there’s no electricity, we have to make sure to have flashlights and batteries.  But we’ll hit the road again in April to check out another part of Zim.  Stay tuned for the next road report!