Tag : Zimbabwe

December 11, 2018 / 11 Comments

Charara…

The drive from Chizarira to Kariba took longer than I thought it would. I wasn’t in any hurry – when I saw a photo opportunity, I stopped; took my time. I’d tried to book with National Parks at Marongoro, but had received no reply by the time I left Chizarira.

Once again, a fellow Bulawegian came to my ‘rescue.’

A guy, whom I had only ‘spoken’ to on Facebook owns a house in Charara. I was welcome to stay there for as long as I needed, he said. Another “pull in” type of invite, so typical of Zimbabweans.

Right on the banks of Lake Kariba, his house is air-conditoned with a wonderful caretaker called Shamu to help paying guests.

P1330926

I had breakfast up there, under the thatch.

P1340011

Watching the sun rise over Lake Kariba.

P1330929

It’s very comfortable inside and the sunset – whew! There is a flood-plain a few hundred metres from the house, where I was able to sit and watch the sun go down. The whole sky lit up, as if on fire as the HUGE ball of red slowly sank below the horizon.

P1340006

 

November 28, 2018 / 8 Comments

Mucheni Gorge, Chizarira…

I spent a night at Mucheni Gorge, in Chizarira National Park.

P1330797

The drive up the escarpment is fairly painless and affords several “photo opportunities.”

P1330815

If I’d been a few weeks earlier, I’d have got some photos of Msasa!!!

P1330813

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Over millennia, the Mucheni river has cut into the sandstone, creating these amazing features. I loved the view of “Vast Africa” at Mucheni Gorge.

P1330781

Perched right on the edge of the gorge, Mucheni is totally without the intrusion of humans! I didn’t hear a dog, a cockerel, or an aeroplane! Most of all, I didn’t see or hear a human! Now THAT is an experience worth paying for!

I wrote this story shortly after we stayed at Chizarira a few years ago: Embarrassed Please click on the link to read it.

P1330736

There are no facilities at Mucheni Gorge camping site (in fact, I found the thatched shelter too developed for my taste.) Visitors must bring their own water, food, camping equipment etc, although there is a loo of sorts.

I woke up at three in the morning and tried to take some photos of the magnificent sky, but totally stuffed it up – and I wont post my feeble effort! It was worth the view though!

I left early in the morning on my way to Mana Pools but before I did, I took this photo:

P1330764

I realise its ‘gimmicky’ but hey, its Africa, and I was on holiday!

Please click here, to find Mucheni Gorge Campsite on google maps

November 26, 2018 / 2 Comments

Boat trip at Maabwe Bay…

Kariba, a large body of water, can have waves a metre high. Luckily, when I went on the water at Maabwe Bay, they didn’t get THAT big.

P1330587

As soon as we were out in the middle of the lake, the wind came up and the smooth water, became these choppy waves. The boat man had a plan to tack, so the motor didn’t keep coming out of the water, but had to avoid illegal fishing nets too!

P1330554

I took the above photo for the tree – of course – this is opposite Maabwe Camp on our way to the hot springs.

P1330537

I can see all sorts of faces in these rocks!

P1220249

I have psoriasis and  always search out hot springs for my skin. This one was jolly hot, but further down the valley (in the next photo) it has cooled down enough I could spread the sulphur mud onto my skin. (Probably mixed with a whole load of cow manure too!!!)

P1220261

And then we got back to Camp Maabwe, and what do you know? The wind died down!!!

P1330591

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 25, 2018 / 3 Comments

Kariba Kapenta

Although I find the kapenta rigs noisy, they make good subjects for foregrounds:

P1330416

This is sun-set at Maabwe Bay, on the Zambezi, the sun still out of the photo, although the lovely copper colour has already spread across the water

Kapenta, which look like little sardines, are attracted to light. So the Kapenta rigs go out at night and shine a strong light down into the water and then collect the tiny fish with a net. So ALL night, the generator’s diesel engines belt away, to run the lights.

P1330414

The net and the rig that pull the fish out of the water, is at the back, hanging over the water.

The fish are sun dried, salted and packed for sale far from Kariba. I find I have to soak them overnight and then drain off the salty water before I use them. Rather than bore you with details, I’ll add this link: Kapenta at Wikipedia 

P1330432

I think the rings on this boat are stuffed – it stuttered its way slooowwwly across the bay!

P1330433

The workshops and packing sheds are directly behind the jetty in this shot. Taken in the morning, I love the shine off the water and the busy people working.

P1330669

All these photos are taken at Maabwe Bay on the Zambezi. Click here to find Maabwe on Google Maps

 

 

November 23, 2018 / 1 Comment

Camp Maabwe, Sebungwe…

Not long ago, I posted photos of a hot-spring in the Binga area and immediately received a message from the owner of Camp Maabwe, on the Zambezi. She told me to “pull in” next time I was up that way.

For the benefit of non-Zimbabweans, “pull in” means, pitch up, come any old time, no need to make arrangements – you will be made welcome.

So when I decided to drive from Bulawayo to Mana Pools, via Chizarira and Kariba, I thought to do precisely that, and in true Zimboe style, I was welcomed with open arms and taken all around the Sebungwe mouth area.

If you want to see exactly where Camp Maabwe is, please click on this link here

I arrived in time for sunset photos

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I was told that it was safe to go near the water’s edge as crocs and hippo don’t like to crawl/walk over rocks… Since I’m here to tell the tale, it appears to be true. (I have a VERY healthy respect for hippos and crocs.)

P1330611

This ‘beach’ (above) is very close to the camping site at Maabwe.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The facilities at Maabwe are very discrete; blend in with nature. I felt like I really was ‘on the edge’ of Kariba, in the Zambezi valley of old.

P1330603

Don’tcha just love the shower? And it WORKS – like everything in Camp Maabwe!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

All the photos in the above slideshow are taken in the campsite.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I sat under this viewing platform watching the sun come up. There is a bird bath, (in the second pic) cleverly positioned. Birds visited it while I sat watching, perfectly still and had a full out bath.

P1330610

This is the sunrise  – taken at Camp Maabwe.

There is a second camp-site, more suitable for larger groups – over-landers and such.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The photo below is the campsite from the water:

P1330534

If you are looking for the Zambezi Valley of yesteryear, before green lawns and air-con, then Camp Maabwe is for you! I highly recommend a stop over here on any 4X4 adventure along the Zambezi.

Camp Maabwe are on FaceBook here 

November 17, 2018 / Leave a Comment

Dete Cross Roads…

About three hours from Bulawayo, heading towards the Victoria Falls, is the Dete Cross Roads – just a filling station really, and as can be seen in the photo, informal veggie sellers, people waiting for transport, mini-busses and scotch-carts. It’s a pretty dangerous section of road, with people wandering all about, cattle and on occasion, elephants! I always drive VERY carefully past the cross-roads.
We managed to get diesel there (it’s been in short supply here in Zimbabwe in recent times…) and headed north-west, off the main road towards Milibizi, where I’d been invited to stay in order to take photos.
P1330196
Its hot and dry here, now in Zimbabwe as we wait for the rains and I love the bright clothes and sense of community in this photograph, so classic of Zimbabwe. The three drums are an ugly reminder of a time we would all like to forget, when the police sat on our roads like vultures, using any method to extort money from innocent travellers.
Screen Shot 2018-11-17 at 7.14.12 AM
I’ve added a screenshot of Zimbabwe, to give some idea of where Milibizi is, in relation to Bulawayo

November 12, 2018 / 2 Comments

Strangler fig…

P1320684.jpg
A strangler fig of some kind, growing in the centre of a msasa tree, at Georges Place in the Vumba.
P1320683
Growing in the centre bowl of the tree, it sends it roots to the ground.
P1220633.jpg
One day, it may look like this one, at Milibizi Hotel!
Or this one that I could quite literally not fit into the camera frame:
P1310549.jpg
Taken at Froggy Farm, in Juliasdale
P1050934.jpg
I took the last photo near Hwange – a fig strangling a Mopane tree.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangler_fig
 

November 7, 2018 / 4 Comments

Tea Estates…

Zimbabwe’s famous, Tanganda Tea is grown in the Eastern Highlands where conditions are ideal – enough rain and early morning mists from the Mozambican coast.
Many ex-Zimboes go out of their way to buy Tanganda Tea when they visit here.
P1320368
I stopped under this tree – tea smells fresh! It’s the only word I can come up with. I always wondered why some varieties of roses were called “tea roses,” and now I know!
P1320371
I left Aberfoyle Lodge in the early morning, hoping to catch good light. The estate was already awake, with workers going about their daily schedules. Coming from a commercial farming background myself, this activity made me very nostalgic.
P1320373
Workers housing and packing sheds – above.
P1320269
Bucketing around the steep corners, I came across this gang, fixing the roads.
This photo (above) inspired local artist, Talent Kapadza to paint the scene:42157410_2192364314138610_1741592737263648768_n.jpg
He is selling this painting for $2800.00 – if you are interested, please get hold of him – he is on Facebook Talent Kapadza
 
 
 

November 6, 2018 / 4 Comments

Pungwe River…

The Pungwe river runs through the Honde Valley. I passed several of these rope bridges on my journey – and I even walked to the middle of this one!!!! I’m scared of heights, so gave myself a pat on the back for intrepidity. (That means bravery/stupidity, for those of you who don’t want to get out a dictionary!)
P1320443
They are rather wonky things – with the cable joined in several places.
P1320444
I’m not used to rivers that don’t dry up in the winter and found the emerald green mosses and ferns fascinating.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

A short walk from where I left the car and it felt as if I were the only person around:
P1320431
Pungwe River Bridge, in the Honde Valley, Zimbabwe.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

October 31, 2018 / 4 Comments

World's View, and Nyanga…

World’s View, in Inyanga offers superb views. Last time we visited the Eastern Highlands, I got some lovely shots – so I penciled in a visit and was disappointed! The view was hazy, the weather cold and the sunset boring! HOWEVER, the trip up there from Juliasdale, was spectacular.
P1310927
I started off at Froggy Farm in Juliasdale…
P1310939
And drove past the mountains that tower over Nyanga town.
P1310946
I’m guessing that before the town was built, Msasa trees covered all the hillsides here.
P1310949
P1310957
P1310950
I stopped the car near the cutout at the top of the hill in the above photo, and sat on a hill, just drinking in the spectacular view:
P1310953
P1310960
The sun was very strong, because I was giving myself enough time to get to World’s View by sunset. In these photos, I shielded the camera by hiding behind a branch on my left.
P1310964
The following are the only decent pics I got from World’s View – I guess you win some, you lose some when it comes to photography.
P1320017
The last time I went to World’s view, I took this photo:
P1200158
 
And now, I go back, two years later and the tree has grown???? How dare it?
P1320015
 
Below are the photos I took two years ago, when I had a decent sunset to work with.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Page 1 of 2612345»1020...Last »

Powered by HighThemes. All rights reserved.