Afrique 25 – ZIMBABWE 3 – MASVINGO TILL BULAWAYO

 Masvingo to Bulawayo

We get out of Masvingo a bit late, as we have to decide if we go to Mutare or to Victoria Falls. In the end because of the rain storms, which would change our plans because the mountain gravel roads in impraticable mud, because of the heat that Martine has difficulties to stand, and because of the dust from gravel and because of the steep climbs, which would be hard, so we decide to avoid the risks of not to be able to see the forest, and so we decide to go to Bulawayo. Well as we have storms each day then it was the good choice. The road is barely undulating through bush with a few small farms. The main difference is the bush, which is constitued by small trees, and very dense. I understanf that it is a new forest. Before the land were big farms with fields and crops, but now noone use it anymore, and the bush comes again. The little farms and villages and lanes of shops looks also more basic constructions, and I see farmers using animals to work the land, instead of machines. When we ask for water there is no more tap water, the water comes from a weel, bore water, and mostly the pump is manual. In the end the people are certainly poorer here. It would be the same till Balawayo. At the end of the day we take a trail to camp in the bush. During the night first we see lot of lithening, but it does’nt rain. Then I hear the laught of hyenas, so after I have some difficulties to fall asleep again, I spend a while looking for ways to react if the hyenas attack the tent. In the morning a young man comes and talk with us, and when we unpitch the tent he shows us a scorpion hidden under. Martine has long talk with him about religion, me I am always avoiding that subject, too conflict bringer.
Next day the countryside follows similar, basic small farms and mostly new bush. By midday we cross Shavane and we enter in the gold mines region. It becomes hilly and we have 4 long climbs after the town. We see some people along the road with a metal detector. All is fenced so we don’t see where to sleep. I prefer ask hospitality to people. After the river, we see a cyclist entering in a trail on left. We decide to follow him and we arrive near a building, and a tanker for water, where someone is collecting it. We stop, and the manager comes to us, explains it is a mine, and agrees we camp here. By the end of the afternoon people comes to collect water. By the night we have a storm.
There is the big gold mine company, Mimosa, little companies with a few employees, and people working alone or by two, wandering in the bush or in the river bed with a metal detector, and digging big holes when they detect some metal.
We move early, but we get stick by the mud in the trail. When it is a short part, so we hardly push the bikes, I give a hand to Martine, and then we have to clean the bicycles. Well the same countryside continues, and it becomes mostly flat again. By the end of the day some hills come and we don’t see any place to camp, dense small bush everywhere. We try a trail but it is going nowhere. We stop to speak with a minibus which is stop along the road. We take a foto of all, and then we turn in a trail. We arrive at some huts and we ask permission to camp. The man drives us back to the road and the minibus is still here. The man speaks with the driver, and the driver proposes us to sleep in a shop he has neighbour, which is unfinished yet. We have just to cross the river, the farmer comes with us, and the minibus arrives 5 mn later. The shop is perfect, and someone sweeps the floor in a small room for us. We prepar our night, and then we go to chat a little with local people and cook. It rains all night. We awake early, but I notice I have a flat in the front wheel. I find a big thorn in the tyre. Then I find an other one inside the tyre and a third one in the tube. I did find too a fourth hole in the tube. Patching all four takes me one hour and half. Then we can move.
The country side follows the same, a bit boring. Well at least there are few traffic and no trucks. After a while we arrive at the cross with the road Beitbridge to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls. We nearly miss the town, as it is just a few shops and houses, no city. The gasoline station is closed. There no more traffic along the main road, no change, but it becomes hilly again. We stop a little further in a big village and large place with shops and restaurants, which is not on the map, and we get lunch. When we decide to move, the sky is becoming very cloudy and black. After a long climb we see a primary school where we ask hospitality. It is just on time, and we have a long talk with the headmaster while the storm runs, with strong wind and very heavy rain. After one hour or so, the rain stops and the headmaster drives us to a small cottage, without furniture and unmaintened, where we have a good sleep. It rains during the night.
New day on the road, same country side and hills. There is a very long climbing, and we stop at the top for a while to eat. The sky is cloudy amd dark. Martine gets some rain during the climb. We are speaking, when suddenly a car stops, and the driver, a white man, asks us the usual questions. And by the way he invites us in his family home in Bulawayo. He tells us we have only 15 km to do, but in fact we have 40 km, which is not surprising us in fact. The storm is menacing, we get headwind and hills, but we don’t get rain. We arrive in Bulawayo for midday so we go first shopping and lunch a good pizza in the first mall we meet. It rains during the lunch. Then we go to the house, which is in a good district with big houses and large gardens. We are very welcome by his wife, Heda, and the 2 children and the 3 dogs. Justin, the boy, lets us his room. We get wifi and dinner and real coffe. Generaly since I am in Africa I just get chicoree with coffe, real coffe is too expensive for Africans. We stay in David home 2 nights, but we are very tired, so we don’t go anywhere, we just stay at home. There is again a big storm during the day, and rain by the night. The electricity get cut all day, but the family have a petrol generator, as light cuts are commun and long.
We decide to stay one night more in Bulawayo, but in a hotel. We go neighbour, and we get a very nice room for 30$ instead of 50 in a family lodge. By the morning we go shopping, we visit Bulawayo downtown. There are a few antic buildings from the white time, rather nice, and then all the shops and supermarkets, cars and trucks, it is very busy and noisy. After one hour I have enough and we move back to the mall where we made our first shopping, at the entrance of the town. I notice Bulawayo gets a large beautiful park, and lot of sport grounds and green, it may be a nice town to live. We use internet 2 hours, and then we go back to lunch at the lodge. As it is Martine birthday, we get wine and a cake. Then Martine sleeps all afternoon, and I read. It rains again during the afternoon and the night.