Our Week in Zimbabwe

Wow… it’s been a while since our last post, and as promised, if we’re not posting, it means we’re too busy having the time of our lives! In the last week we’ve learned and seen so much that it hardly feels like it can fit into only a few days!

First off, Risina and Angela have taken truly great care of us opening their home and life to us and showing us around Zim.
Ang and Ris took us to visit the Great Zimbabwe, a ruined city hundreds of years old that was the seat of the Shona empire (Risina’s ancestors). It was an incredible eye-opening experience in terms of Southern Africa’s history, both for us and for Risina and Angela, I’d say! (although we also seem to have been caught up by story of the king’s 200 wives and how he – or rather his sister, handled them all…) Great Zimbabwe is truly remarkable. We also got to meet many of the local baboons and monkeys as well.

Next up was a trip to the awe-inspiring Chinhoyi Caves, where there is a pool of water a shade of blue that we’ve never seen before. A man in front of us came out and simply said, “God is great!” That pretty much sums it up.

This past weekend, thanks to a wonderful expat Canadian named Rachel who works at the Canadian embassy here, and to Jenny’s Uncle Dave, we had the chance to visit Lake Kariba in the northern part of the country. We stayed at the Gache Gache Lodge, and the experience was absolutely phenomenal! It was our first opportunity to do some safari-ing, and I think we’ve been pretty spoiled! Between boat tours of the lake and game drives, we saw plenty of hippos, crocodiles, baboons, monkeys, impala, buffaloes, waterbuck, bushbuck, and… ELEPHANTS!!! Tons of them! The Gache Gache staff were amazing and our guide Peter even took us to meet (and play with) a 6-month old lion cub – HOW COOL IS THAT?!? Needless to say, we can’t thank Uncle Dave enough making this experience possible.

Throughout all of these adventures, we’ve had countless opportunities to meet the people of Zimbabwe – Ang and Ris’s friends, Risina’s coworkers, the people working at the places we visit – and they have welcomed us so warmly and shared their stories with us so openly. They have shown us that Zimbabwe is a country that has struggled, and is still struggling, but they know a better future is possible, and that is why they are here. We can so easily see that these people’s passion, warmth, and commitment to what they are doing will contribute greatly to Zimbabwe’s progress and though it is clear that the people of Zimbabwe are tried and tired, hope is in the air.

We feel that our time in Zimbabwe has been such a privilege – the history, the landscapes, the animals and moreover, the people. Zimbabwe is such an incredible country. Though the last decade or so have taken Zim seemingly ‘off the map’ – it is an incredible country that should never be overlooked.

So tomorrow we’re off to Zambia for our primary destination. We’re very excited and will be in touch with our first impressions of Lusaka soon. Thanks for being patient and keeping in touch!

¬ Much Love, Jenny and Jimi