Hilux 4x4 Forum

Am I boring you?

Next morning we slept in a bit in, and left quite late for a change… Kariba being only 15km away… and after some late shopping in Kariba for a few things (mostly of the liquid variety), we arrived at the dock to the first sight of our abode for the next two days.
It was another dream of Hannes, although most us have also heard about these trips, not cheap, but if you are doing Africa camping, and you are in Kariba’s vicinity, and you can spare the $’s, then do it. It was another amazing, memorable experience and most certainly one of the highlights of the whole trip.

We manouvered 8 vehicle into space (there is absolutely no way we would have fitted the caravans in as well, just simply no way- so thanks again Jan from Nauz!) and unpacked.

It was luxury beyond some of us' dreams...
The "One with the Hat" on his way to go sort out whatever needed to be sorted out...
We left shortly after the Captain's briefing and everyone was settled...
Our Captain Alex...

The food- and eating arrangements on the cruise led to much discussion beforehand, and eventually it was decided, at some extra cost, to have our food and meals catered on the boat. This, together with the decision to take the shortcut out of Matusadona, was the best decisions of the trip (of which we were part). It was just so lekker not to have to worry about meal turns while basking in luxury on the cruise.

We don’t advertise in these trip reports, but as you might have seen, we do mention awesome people we meet on and around the trip. Dewald asked that we mention the lady who handled our catering: Janet Swart. She did everything from Harare as far as I know, and it was just perfect. She was also a huge help just with general knowledge and know-how about Zim. You can PM me for her details.

Those two nights and one-and-two-half days on the boat was just leisurely luxury… that thing you build into a trip for Swambo, but then realise that it was also for yourself… we were spoilt like few of us are used to…

The cruise boat comes with two smaller boats. one for viewing (and accommodation for the crew) and one for fishing. Those boats were utilised to full extent...
Sometime during the afternoon of the first day we moored somewhere on a shore on Lake Kariba. Some took off on the viewing boat and some on the fishing boat. I think it would suffice to say that we came back with hundreds of photographs, but there were no fish to eat on the trip... you can check the right hands for the size of fish (if any) caught..

But the photo's...

Hallo Hennie, Twee vragies.
Kon jy nie uitklim en saam met die skelm jou voertuig ondersoek of mag jy nie uitklim nie.
Wat het die bootrit per kop gekos. Moet mens dit vooruit bespreek of sommer as jy daar aankom.
Buiten die skelm polisiemanne daar, moet ek sê jou storie maak my opgewonde vir my trip volgende jaar.
Groete tot dan.

I think all of us on the boat thought this tree stump was a croc, so I took a picture... only to realise when we got back...
And the sunset... oh man... the sunset... take your pick... because I can't...

We got back from (non)-fishing and game viewing to an absolute stellar 5-star spread…
The food was just amazing...
I think when Kariba came onto the radar as something to do, there were few of us who did not contemplate the possibility of swimming in Lake Kariba… but crocs and hippo’s… so we asked Forgets at Tashinga in Matusadona, can we swim in Kariba? Her reply was: “ When you get to to the point where you turn 360 degrees and not see any land, then you can swim.” So we knew it was probably not going to happen…

On day 2 Capt Alex took us out, and sometime, in the middle of somewhere on Lake Kariba, the boat’s twin 8 cylinder diesel CAT’s suddenly, unexpectedly went quiet… and then the announcement came, you have 15 minutes to swim…

And that iconic picture of jumping into Lake Kariba…

Tersia has one of these little red Canon/Nikon cameras, and that thing is glued to her hand the entire trip... I think she even goes to the toilet with it... and she irritates the heeby-jeebies out of everyone with that thing... (at a petrol station in once Bots she thought that it was stolen... to the (undeclared) delight of many... but then she found it again...)

Most of the nature photo's in this report is Hannes' pic's, and he chose a special song during the trip... he's getting a bit on, and emotional, and and and... so go and watch please...

https://youtu.be/O3DMDQ6zd68" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tersia on the other hand, just pics anything and everything... most of the pic's of people are hers, and then sometimes with that little red camera she catches a gem...

Hennie (Alias Dowe Koos)

As ek iets geleer het, is dit juis om uit te klim saam met die rower. Sal nie weer in kar sit en vir hom wag nie- loop saam met hom...

Koste? Sal moet gaan check. Swaer Dewald het ons meeste laas jaar al laat betaal, so dan is die pyn minder...

stunning, an absolutely brilliant song as well !!!
Thanks for sharing Hennie what a task to compile all !!

Hennie dit is n fantastiese trip, en puik verslag !!

uhm ja ... daai klein kamera ... Met ons laaste trip het ek heeltyd daai klein P&S by my gehad, en so van die heup af fotos geneem van die familie. Meeste van die tyd het hulle nie eens geweet die kamera is aan nie - DIT was juis die idee ! Jy kan sien wanneer mense weet hulle word afgeneem.

Not boring at all Hennie ..... too many comments will spoil the 'flow' of this awesome TR, so know that we are all following it closely with appreciation .... and envy.

A lekker version of "Lord I need you" together with a great compilation of pics - well done Hannes Brand !!

Hennie,
Weereens uit die boonsre rakke.
Was in 2012 in Zim. Het die powerlines pad na Kariba geneem, wat ook bietjie korter is as Karoi.
Pad in na Matusadonna het ons net voor die park in geboskamp. Die selfde gedoen met die rit uit. Wag in spanne om te sien of jul Chitaki Spring gedoen het of nie. Dit was die toppunt van ons trip gewees. Daai leeu's laat die hare rys (oorals).
Jou verslae bly uitdie boonste rak. Dankie vir die deel...

Great trip report so far.PLEEZ keep it coming.

So here we go again...

The evening after the swim in Kariba Capt Alex moored on a little peninsula on an island, not far from Kariba Harbour, as we had to be back fairly early the next day - Jan and Dewald still had to re-weld Hannes’ Cruiser, there were some shopping and sight-seeing to do…
As the crew made their preparations, you just knew, that evening was again to be another one of those just simply magic ones… one of those that you will remember forever…
And it was... the braai was excellent, the kuier on a beach in the middle of Africa, the people of your soul (jou sielsmense) around you, clear African skies....

That kuier on Kariba was real food for the soul… Louize said that to be there with every single person that is important to her in her life… heaven (others missed some…) but you get the picture. Dewald said that what made this trip special, was the people, and the kuier…

So this was, again, what it was all about...

Sunrise the next morning....
brought some time for reflection...
And then it was back to shore. I think, as magic as Kariba was, there were quite a few of us who were very happy and excited to lay our eyes on our trusty steeds on shore...
We took our leave from cast from Capt Alex and his very capable crew- they really treated us like royalty, and if I'm ever back "in that neck of the woods", I'll do that Kariba houseboat thing again. (But just for a day or 2...)

We unpacked the boat, and packed everything back into our vehicles... feels like the story of my trips... (after the Botswana trip someone in my office asked me what do we do the whole day when we're not driving somewhere, my answer... : "Ek pak.... ek pak in, ek pak reg, ek pak uit, ek pak terug, ek pak weer reg, ek pak weer uit, ek pak weer in, ek pak..." (Dis nou as ek nie soek nie...)

Almost all went shopping- discovered the TM just outside Kariba rather late (after the boat trip), some went sight seeing from Kariba town and the lookout points, and Jan and Dewald went welding... I truly believe that Cruiser that Hannes drove will be scrapped long before that weld will go again...

We left Kariba for what was to be our and the Du Toit's final destination...
We did the necessary at the check-in to Mana before the drop into the plains, and let down the tyres a bit after we turned off the tar... Jan from Nauz told us that he heard about two weeks prior that the road to Mana was graded... wonderful news... but it turned out that the correct message was the "the road to Mana was TO BE graded..." We met the grader en route...

Some of the well known sights into Mana...

After the second boom gate the road did get better - when we left five days later, the grading of the section between the tar road and the second boom was almost done... lekker, man, lekker...
Mana Pools is, well, Mana Pools... there is not really any words to describe camping in Nyamepe on the shores of the Zambezi with the hippo's having a nocturnal rave thirty metres away, the elephant noiselessly tiptoeing to the water just twenty metres from camp, the lions in camp 1 (we were spread over 17 to 23 (I think)), the hyena's sniffling around the caravans and tents every night, the sunsets, the sun-downers, the people, the fellowship, friends, kuier, God's Creation, and, and, and...

I am told that I can write, but for some things there are simply no words...

Some more...
The monkeys took a liking to Louize's fizzers...
There was a spotting of a very rare "witkwas jakkals"...(side-striped jackal)
Some bee-eaters...
Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits...

We went canoeing on the Zambezi... again... me and Hannes... thankfully Jannie went with this time...
Those "manne" are suddenly a lot closer when you're in their territory...
Some went on an early morning walk with a warden/guide...
And late afternoon Hannes captured this...

We found this pool overgrown with water salad.
It is an invader plant, but perfect photo opportunity...

Yawn....
Say what?
"Life is great, na-ah na-ah na-na-na..."

The Du Toit gang again performed their very impressive Bush-Chips meal...
Sun-downers...
Awesome sunsets... again...
And suddenly, we were leaving the next morning...

!!!

wow !!

excellent photos, of a very impressive country.

Hennie.....this is legendary... what a great TR why stop now??

Hennie I actually talked about your trip report to friends today - the "tax" to be paid to be able to see this absolute pristene beauty, well worth the "tax". Another well traveled person pointed out the use of "taxes" throughout so many African countries - just part of traveling this continent.

best to make peace with it, and to get on with enjoying the trip.


the primary part of our conversation was the beauty of Zim, NOT the taxes part .... refuse to let a few corrupt individuals rule our thoughts and conversations.

Yes Chris, that was my point exactly...

And then suddenly… it’s over. We left the next morning at six. Us, and the Du Toit gang were to start the return trip to SA, while the rest were to carry on east. As everybody left, I noticed Jannie still standing at the Pajero, with Jannes scratching around. Turned out his trailer’s lights were playing up, no brake lights…
Everybody caught up at the tar road - the last part of the gravel road was freshly graded - where tyres were pumped, and Jannie’s trailer lights checked… no luck.

We stopped at a fuel station in Chinoyi, where goodbyes were said… and that is what I will say about that. We turned south, and camped at the Antelope just outside Gweru. Camped on green grass, had all of the ablutions to ourselves, a lekker supper, and a last kuier with the Du Toit’s in Zimbabwe. Jannie and I got to try out real trucks, bought earlier just outside Chinoyi...
We left early the next morning. The road is not lekker, very bumpy, lots of large trucks, buses, crazy drivers, but then we were also not in the best of moods driving back. The only real incident, apart from one of the Imagine’s jerry cans falling of on a very bad piece of road (it was empty…) was the episode with the robber cop.

Beit was a breeze on a Saturday afternoon, but then an overweight female official from the Dept of Agriculture looking for a bribe confiscated me and Tersia’s stampers which were tied to Jannie’s roof rack, because it had ground on it… and when Jannie asked here about the half ton of Zim dust on the vehicles, no reply…

We arrived home on Sunday at about 13h00. That empty feeling…

Dewald will cover the next part of the trip..

At Chinoyi we greeted the group with sadness, which were leaving for SA.

The road to Chinoyi.
What was remaining of the group was myself, Dewald and family, Jan and Alta, the Brands from Canada, the Ollies from Canada, Cousin Philip and wife, and Marnus and wife, 6 vehicles to continue the journey.
We left Chinoyi with almost 400km to go to Troutbeck. We had heard horrific stories about the police around Harare, and decided to take the ring road around Harare, on Harare drive. This proved to be the right decision. It was fairly quiet, and we passed through the “”upper” suburbs of Harare, with beautiful gardens and sleight roof houses.

Around Harare we saw old abandoned farms, but also a lot of pivot irrigation systems on beautiful farms. As we progressed to Nyanga –Troutbeck, the roads became narrower and twistier, while we steadily climbed to 2000 meters asl. The Eastern Highland of Zimbabwe is as beautiful as the eastern highlands of Mpumalanga.

I visited Troutbeck some 15 years ago and was wondering what happened with Troutbeck these many years after the economic meltdown. It was built in 1952, and was a trout and equestrian estate long before we had anything similar in SA, and we were pleasantly surprised. Troutbeck was fully operational and maintained, through all these years! We were excited to book into accommodation after almost 3 weeks of camping.

Arriving at Troutbeck
Welcoming fire at Troutbeck
Chill before dinner
The estate
That evening we sat in front of that huge stone fireplace, till they called us for our food. Our orders varied from trout, Kariba Briem, curry lamb and steak. The waiters were trained, dressed and educated and we could as well have been in the Michele Angelo hotel in Sandton (Not that I ever want to be there…)
The next morning we ate the full bouquet of English breakfast, and the waiter taught my sons some table manners, not using the correct plate for the specific dish. Well, when camping, they only have one plate to deal with…

After breakfast we left for Mutare/Vumba. The roads twisted through the highlands, and we saw beautiful scenery, and bought 5kg tomatoes for 1USD along the road.

The Highland roads
Arriving in Mutare there was some shopping to be done, but the rest went through to Inn on the Vumba, sipping on a crispy white wine while waiting for the shoppers.
After lunch in the Inn, we left for Tony’s coffee shop, also an old acquaintance of 15 years earlier. Again, it was surprising to see Tony still in operation, despite the odds. We were 19 people ordering coffee and cake, and every single order was skilfully presented. Probably the best Coffee shop in the world (my opinion…)
Arriving at Tonys
Tony’s cake
Tony’s Garden in the Vumba Mountains outside Mutare

After Tony’s we left for the Frog and Fern cottages in Chimanimani Mountains, referred to us by the owner of Inn on the Vumba. We arrived at dusk at the beautiful stone cottages, where Jane already lit the braaivleis fire. The road from Mutare to Chimanimai was one mountain pass after the other, beautiful in scenery.
Chimanimani Mountains
Jane arranged a young guide from the rural surroundings (a project of hers), that will take the young boys up the mountain, and the next morning they left early for the hike up the mountain. We believe they had a ball of a time and swam in many crispy streams, a tough hike though, but they are young, and a memorable day it was for them.

Around the fire at Frog and Fern – Chimanimani
The Boys hiking in the mountains
The remaining elderly then took a 3 hour hike to the Bridal and Veil falls in the nearby reserve.

What a pleasant surprise it was! There is a campsite beneath the falls, with cut lawn, firewood in the braais, fetched roofs, well maintained and looked after.
The falls itself is beautiful, and we took a skinny-dip in the icy water. In hind sight, we would have preferred to camp below the falls with the river running through the campsite. By now we missing our caravans after 2 nights not sleeping in our trusty own beds!
The falls

We slept another night at Frog and Fern, and left the next morning before dawn for Gonarezhou. Initially only the Canadians booked Gonarezhou and we would have returned from Chimanimani through Beit Bridge, since the SA schools already started.

That night was quite a special night…Hannes (the oldest) start sharing what the trip meant to him, and it naturally progressed to the youngest, Leon, my son. One cannot put in words what happened and what was said that evening around the fireplace in that stone cottage, all I can say, I would never forget it…

A last chance to delay our eminent return to reality realised when we studied the map, and realised we can join the Canadians to Gona, and then return via Mozambique / Pafuri in the same time frame. None of us could resist the temptation, and to the Canadians delight – Gona, here we come!
Jane explained to us the best route to Gona, through the Save Conservancy, rather than the potholed tar road, running parallel to the east. It is a beautiful road with lots of game and Private lodges (we only saw the turn offs to these)
En-route to Gonarezhou
Louise had time to teach the Children some songs
Due to the dust the convoy stretched out, and I lost radio coms with the rest of the group. (Editor- Hennie: Not the first time...)
At one stage we heard something broke off Hannes’s, and my mood sunk into my shoes, expecting his tow bar finally gave in. To our relieve it was a cover plate that came loose, and was sorted in due course.
Later on I heard communication from Hannes just saying “I could not stop” I thought that he missed a photo opportunity…

We were already entering Gona, when Louise said on the radio that “The Cruiser has just burnt out, and that their holiday is over”. We turned back to assist. We then learned that Hannes had a small incident, which damaged his radiotor. And now, 2-3 hours later, the Cruiser burnt out (according to Louise). In fact, it was just overheating, due to damage on the radiator. We let it cool down a bit, filled the radiator while the engine was running, and drove to the camp.
(Editor: Quite significant that the photo’s of both the “small incident” and the “burnt Cruiser” are shining in their absence…)

So decision time again.. do we take the radiator off in the camp, and try to repair? Remember, the plan was to leave the two Canadian families behind, and depart for SA the following morning before sunrise. They are two medical doctors, good with people, but not so good with machines.. I must say, I think Ferdi knows a fair bit more of machines than what he would acknowledge.

Gonarezhou
(Editor: And again, this is what it was all about...)

We then decided that Jan, Philip and Marnus would return, and I would stay behind one extra day to assist with the repair. Marnus told us that Cheredzi, a nearby town is quite big, and should sort us out. We found a Toyota dealership in Cheridzi, and the following night Hannes and the Cruiser is back, with a repaired radiator.
We had chance to explore Gona that afternoon, and what a hidden jewel it is. We only scratched the surface, and we all agreed that our visit to Gona gave birth to a small 10-day trip, maybe next winter.
The next morning at 5am I left with my family, to take the 700km on, via Mozambique and Pafuri, back to SA, all alone. The trip was stunning and uneventful, apart for getting stuck in a riverbed (had to deflate the tyres more) and a dead engine (after a wee break). It turned out to be a loose battery pole, and was sorted in a giffy. But I realised how vulnerable you are when travelling alone in Africa.
Like I said, it was an awesome road, with awesome scenery, and since it was only one vehicle in the convoy, we could move along at a steady pace. For a final good bye to Mother Nature we drove 50 odd kilometre through the Kruger, and left through Punda Maria gate to Louis Trichard. As the traffic intensity increases we become silent in our car, realising that this is the last stretch home, and our epic journey is over for now, only for now…
3 Days later the Canadians arrived via the same route, with basically the same story to tell. They had their last night in Thipise, doing the stretch over two days.
Back home everybody asked how was Zimbabwe, I can only say it was better than expected, a lot better, but I know they won’t understand.

(Editor: The final instalment will come from the Canadians...)

Awesome Hennie!! Thanks for the time and effort you have put into compiling this riveting TR - I think I speak for all of us when I say it's appreciated.

Dankie Hennie, dit was 'n puik reisjoernaal!

Dit was nou lekker man, baie lekker.. sal moet plan maak en gaan.

Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

Louize takes it to the end with Hannes' pic's...

And then there were two vehicles left… one with a battered Canadian flag flying and no running water but a working fridge and one with no fridge or way to keep anything cold but with running water. I think the “one with the hat” left us there that morning with trepidation. I have to confess that when Dewald left us to our own devices that morning there was an sense of loneliness in the air. It was a discussion around the various campfires how the “Kanadese” would cope on their own. With the one cruiser limping and the caravan not in much better shape Hannes and Ferdi had lots on their minds.

We decided to make the best of the day and went exploring.
Hannes and the boys decided to go and look for a waterfall (posted on a old rusty sign), apparently not far from camp, but couldn’t find it. On the way they almost bumped into 3 hippos, that was just as surprised to see them! Luckily they ( the hippos) made for a nearby pool.
On the way back the cool stream was tempting and with crocs in the back of their minds they decided to take a quick dip.

We then drove to the spectacular, red sandstone Chilojo Cliffs. With picnic and camping spots it is a definite must see … and stay.
Lots of different spoor in the dry riverbed - I can just imagine the animal life that you will see if you can just sit there and observe.
Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to drive to the top of the cliffs (just phantom the spectacular view you will have from up there !!! ) …..but surely, next time.
Back at the camp, in the meantime, the baboons decided to take advantage of our hospitality and helped themselves to the last of our supplies - they even manage to open the crate with the wine!! I am convinced if they knew where the corkscrew was they would have had a glass or two. They left a very stinky calling card… our fault completely - never leave anything around, even with lids on, they will help themselves. After the clean-up we made a unanimously decision to move to Swimuwini rest camp, in the south of the park, to shave time off the long drive the next day. Its a 3 hours drive on a fairly good road. Just outside the camp you have to take a detour as the bridge over the Runde River , the so-called “Broken Bridge “ is still very broken, due to previous fluids. We arrived in Swimuwini just as the sun was setting .

The rondawels are situated high above on the banks of the Mwnezi River.
Swimuwini means “Place of the Baobabs” and you could see why - every rondawel was built beside a majestic old baobab.
Once again the camp attendant went above and beyond what we expected and soon we had a fire burning, ready for our last barbecue under the old baobab tree. We all felt a tinge of sadness as we watched another glorious sun set on the other side of the river and a full moon rising behind us over the hills … and it dawned on us, this was our last evening in Zimbabwe.

Early the next morning we left for South-Africa, taking the same route as Dewald through Mozambique. We remembered his last words to us “ just trust your GPS”. Thankfully we did as there were times when we were not so sure if were going to Maputo or Pretoria.
The boys were most impressed when the GPS warned about a landmine hazard!
A great story to share with their friends. The kids had another chance to make memories when they helped a stricken bakkie stuck in the thick sand of the riverbed - luckily we took Dewalds’s advice to heart and deflated our tires. The locals in the riverbed looked at us with awe and amazement when the two vehicles and caravans crossed with no problems.
The rest of the drive was uneventful and we entered the “motherland” at the Pafuri border crossing. It was a shock to Ferdi ( Canadian passport holder ) when he realized he had to pay R 1400 for the privilege to drive through the Kruger National Park for about 15 min! Sometimes there is something to be said for the good old South-African passport. We arrived at Tshipise after dark but still had enough time to float in the warm water of the swimming pool and had a good supper at the restaurant. Fortunately both the hitch and the radiator of the Cruiser made it to Pretoria.

Two days later in a restaurant, the owner was amazed and dumbfounded that anybody would go to Zimbabwe and return to tell the story. We told him that we would go back in a heartbeat - but I could see in his eyes he did not understand. I remembered the words Jacques used the night of the “big share” in Chimanimani - “nobody is going to wipe this smile of my face” when he shared how he felt about his whole Zimbabwe experience. I just smiled as wide as I could and told the owner -“go and look for yourself”.

Hennie, such a positve and well-written review! Zim seems to be a must-do on everybody's bucket list. It's many years indeed since I was last there - during which time I even met a family living next door to the farm where we stayed with the same (uncommon) surname as mine. No relation.


-F_D

And that.... is that.

An (unexpectedly) very awesome experience.

Thanks to the "collaborators"... for pictures, stories, memories, fellowship, kuier, memories, repairs, help, memories, wine, food, helping to write this, memories, friendship, family, memories, laughter, fun... did I mention memories?

Dewald, Liza, Dewald Jnr, Leon, Jan, Alta, Hannes, Louize, Berin, Bennett, Jannie, Tersia, Liekie, Eduan, Ferdi, Annica, Jacques, Adrian, Theo, Jannes, Julene, Marnus, Lizette, Phillip, Salome, Ansie, Liné, Hennard.

It's been a privilege, and I can't wait...

It's been very difficult to find the right photo and words to conclude this trip report (as always), but I think the one place that grabbed every single one of us in some way, was here... Mucheni View...
The words: Louize's to the guy in the restaurant: "Go and look for yourself."

And then, this is what is was all about...
Zimbabwe, you WILL see us again...

Awesome! Thank you!

Mooi fotos Hennie!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed your trip report. Thanks.
What time of the year did you go? If I missed it in the report I apologise.
It looks like you avoided rain?

Thanks again for a very informative and well presented trip report which really kept me spell bound.Maybe one day when I,M BIG !!!!!!!!

Thanks to all for the kind comments...

Tertius, almost none of the photo's are mine (I just pen the trip), most are Hannes', but all of the photographers read this, so I believe they will appreciate the comment.

Ian, we were there from 26 June to 21 July... more or less. Definitely dry season...

Regards.