cheers to zimbabwe

cheers to the country that keeps you on your toes. the history might be a lot to digest, the politics ugly, and the logic non-existent, but this country is beautiful and full of amazing people. i have to come back here to go to at least one place: mana pools. again and again, all of our great guides that are from zimbabwe can't stop drooling over it. but i can see why it is so amazing, and i have promised myself to return.

it is a tough country though- it's basically ruled by the a zimbabwean mob. pay-offs, huge trade deals, lawlessness and backward politics for personal gains. but for the people that have stayed, they all have
their reasons. namely: it's home, and it's beautiful.







let's be honest... this is impressive bridge for an african country...and it was copied bolt for bolt from a bridge built in australia. we found it on our way to great zimbabwe, 'great stone wall', which is the earliest site of civilization of this scale in southern africa, and the namesake of the country. fun for archeology, but i just really like visiting this and reading lord of the rings.














back on safari for the first time in five months.... you forget what it's like being in the back of an open vehicle on the highway... and add small children without any seat-belts, and rest assured that this
would never happen in america. sarita, the montster, lorien, the old woman.







bouldering trip anyone?






notice the 'shadow paintings' that can only be seen once covered in shadow... clever guys, those bushmen.





needless to say, we got out of our vehicle at a designated point. welcome to zimbabwe's parks, with poaching as a huge problem. a new trend is spreading from south africa: poison the horns of your rhino
so that they aren't poached. bad news for the chinese that end up consuming the horns as medicine, but when the fight against poaching can seem like a loosing battle, what else can be done? another sad
option tried here was to cut the horns off the rhino, making them 'worthless' to poachers. i wonder how rhino's feel about that. and how is that suppose to make you feel when you are out on safari and all
the rhino's have lost their horns? ... at least we found the one that still had his.





but now back into south africa, the land of extremes. what a whole new world; cross a river, and watch the world spin. from seeing people on their hands and knees digging out water from a dry stream bed to water- parks with water slides, multiple pools, fountains, and hot tubs. the development is staggering from what i've seen the past six months... it's nice, but i'm sure a part of your soul dies every time you are forced to listen to musac when you are shopping for groceries.

hope all is well,

tbk