Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.
So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. --- Mark Twain

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Zimbabwe, Bulawayo

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A view of the Zambezi River from Zimbabwe`s side. The riverfront is suspiciously empty, normally in a place like that visited by tourists there is always somebody offering a wide range of local production. But there is nobody here. I take a couple of pictures and return to the car and within a few minutes f the souvenir sellers have appeared like from nowhere. At first two, then some more.


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Crafts and Zimbabwe's invalid money are spread out, but as I have no intention to buy anything - I drive on. A couple of hundred yards away there is a very large and very old baobab, which is marked on many maps.

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The Big Tree. 1000-1500 years old.

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The big tree with the bus and the tourist police, the police is present here probably in the reason that the tourists can take pictures without interference , and it was written somewhere in a tourist guide book that this place was not very safe for walking around.

The next attraction - Victoria Falls Aquarium - which was supposed to be Africa's largest freshwater aquarium, however, has closed its doors probably because of the the lack of tourists

Next the road went to the city of Bulawayo, 440 km away. It is Zimbabwe's second largest city and the former capital of the country.

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The road towards Bulawayo is decent, we can say that even very, very decent and there is almost no traffic.

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Tolls, in US dollars. I look at this list and have $2 handy - but have to pay only 1 USD , that`s the small car rate. After a few hundred kilometers there is the next toll collection place. The next 1 USD - and can drive on. There is no problem to pay money for such a good road, at least you get what you have paid for.

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Clouds of Zimbabwe and the green of nature.

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And then it was necessary to brake suddenly and grasp for the camera. A snake on the road, fleeing. Good that it escaped , because it was completely on the road before and driving over any animal, and snakes in particular should be avoided as much as possible. Because if it is still run over and is alive then there is something under the car and then ...

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Another warning . The topic is Cholera .

Bulawayo. Not raining just now.

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In the center of the town there is a restaurant named Cape to Cairo.

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In Bulawayo there is even a Caravan Park, something like in Europe and the park was opened in 1964. Facility rooms with hot water and sheltered places under the trees, only that there were no visitors, I was told that I was their only guest and that I could the park whereever I liked.

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This can occur when driving at night in the dark to the lawn. In the morning with the help of a tractor the caravan got free, 4x4 Toyota was not enough, the ground was too soft because of the rain at night.

The Natural History Museum, one of the best in East Africa. Visiting worth for hours - good displays about the wildlife, the country's history. There were no more visitors than me.

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The exposition of the history of mining.

Continued ..

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