The Vibrant Migrants: MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

It has been three months since my last blog post, which came out a couple days before Zimbabwe went on a lockdown to try to stem the spread of COVID-19. For the first month, the government closed all but essential businesses and restricted people from driving around or being outside without a genuine need to do so. The restrictions gradually eased, but intercity travel was still prohibited. Finally, after months of waiting, that ban got lifted at the end of June, and we jumped at the chance for a change of scenery and a distraction from what has become an endless cycle of Groundhog Days.

First stop, a private game reserve less than an hour from Harare for a quick weekend getaway. We stayed in a self-catering (i.e., pack-in, pack-out) house and practically had the hundreds of acres to ourselves. We went for walks, Andrew did some mountain biking, we had some quality reading – and napping – time. The reserve had all manner of antelope, zebras, giraffe… and even some white rhinos that we got to see up close during their afternoon feeding. After months of seeing only the inside of our fenced yard and doing walks around our neighborhood, it was amazing to be outside – really outside – and feel like we were in Africa again.

As we were on our way to the afternoon rhino feeding, a group of sable was waiting for us. Clearly, they knew what time it was and were looking for some handouts.

The baby sable are too cute.

A lovely vista at the rhino feeding spot.

"Got any more?"

Having gotten their fill, they headed back of from whence they came.

Over the 4^th of July long weekend, we took off the training wheels and headed a bit farther afield to another larger private reserve a couple hours outside Harare. We went with a work colleague and spent a couple of nights at another self-catering place in the reserve. We spent almost the entirety of each day outside – on game drives, a morning walk with a couple resident elephants, an afternoon feeding with some black rhinos, sundowners (i.e., happy hours while watching the sunset) at a couple of scenic overlooks... and taking lots of photos of critters.

A mama white rhino and her 2 week old baby.

Awwwww...

Some serious horns on this big male kudu.

Never get into a staring competition with an eland. You will lose.

Horses in pajamas.

Everything about this photo says "Africa."

Giraffes are definitely one of my favorites. (Don't tell the other animals.)

One of these things is not like the others.

Nyalas look like their legs came from a different animal.

A fire was waiting for us in the fireplace each night when we got back (it is winter here now… and definitely feels like winter at night), and we played games (and drank wine) and generally had a few days to recharge after months of constantly being “on.” (I only go into the embassy for a couple days every other week. Almost all of us have been teleworking since March. My commute most days involves walking from our bedroom to our dining room… which is great for saving on gas, but not so great for saving my sanity. It is hard to fully switch off, especially since many of my colleagues are on “authorized departure” and have returned to the U.S. The 6-9-hour time difference means someone is always working.)

Feeding the black rhinos some tasty treats.

He's waiting for more.

This huge bull elephant demonstrates his pruning technique.

These are both adult elephants - but the bull was HUGE.

Andrew for scale.

These elephants have been at the reserve for years and are used to people. Do not get this close to wild elephants. (I even hesitated here. This guy was enormous.)

H. U. G. E.

He liked posing for pictures though.

Another quintessential Africa photo.

We are really going to get adventurous this coming weekend when we’ll head to Hwange National Park near the western border with Botswana. I’m taking next week off work, and we’re heading out with a few work colleagues. Looking forward to really getting out to see some uncharted territory and have a chance to spend more time in real, wild Africa. There’s still so much we haven’t seen! Victoria Falls, Lake Kariba, the national parks in the southeast (Gonarezhou, Kruger)… After spending almost four months of our two years here on lockdown, there is definitely the sense that we need to make up for lost time.