Although its two closest neighbors (SA & Botswana) have recovered from the 2008 world recession, Zimbabwe is still struggling economically…and politically. The country is in desperate need of foreign currency and the US dollar is king there now. The $30 visa fee levied when crossing the border must be paid in US tender…luckily my Aussie travel-mates were prepared!
The highly contagious “foot & mouth disease” is another problem facing the nation’s cattle industry. As a result, as part of being processed thru immigration, everyone had to walk thru a shallow pan filled with a potent anti-microbial solution. Not only that, we had to take all extra pairs of shoes out of our luggage and dip them, too! I wanted to get a photo of this, but the border guards there were a little touchy about certain things…kinda like our TSA personnel!
Our next lodging was located in the city of Bulawayo…a surprisingly attractive town with wide, tree-lined streets and many nice homes. Our accommodations were modest but there was a small swimming pool…if you were brave enough to take a chilly plunge!
After dinner we met- up with our local guide Norman…a 3rd generation resident of British heritage who, despite his bush- weathered appearance, spoke the “Queen’s English” and was a wealth of knowledge about everything under the Zimbabwean sun. Early the next morning, we piled into his open air vehicle and headed for Matobo N.P… about an hour’s drive away.
Matobo is known for 2 things: it’s white rhino population and the women rangers who are assigned to protect them. We met 2 of these gender-bending professionals as they accompanied us on our hike in search of a family of rhinos known to be in the environs. We were assured that the rhinos are generally tolerant of people…as long as we kept a respectable distance and didn’t make any sudden movements or loud noises. We all hoped this was true as you don’t want to upset any animal that weighs 2- 4 tons and can run a lot faster than you. The mere sight of their scat we passed on the trail was intimidating!
After a 20 minute walk, we came upon a rhino family of four, consisting of a large female adult and the three calves she was raising…a 1 yr. old, an orphaned 2 yr. old and a 3 yr. old who was almost as enormous as her mother. The 2 younger calves were taking turns feeding for quite a while until mom got tired of us photo-snapping voyeurs and slowly got up & lumbered away with her charges in tow. We all felt lucky to have been this close encounter (about 75 ft. away) with these wild rhinos!
Btw…the 2 main differences between a black and a white rhino is not their color, but their size and the shape of their mouths. White rhinos are somewhat larger than their cousins. The black rhino’s “prehensile lip” is suited for plucking leaves from bushes, while the white rhino’s wide-track mouth is adapted to grazing on grasses. They are both shades of gray, so to speak!
Dab's Travelogue 