The Daily Mail’s Peter Oborne stayed at Zimbabwe’s Hornung Park Lodge, and at Leopard Rock, a large colonial-style hotel with roaring fires – but found the police presence troubling.
Source: Zimbabwe’s regime is gruesome but this is a beautiful country – dailymail November 12, 2016
Zimbabwe has a terrible reputation, and for excellent reasons.
It is ruled by a brutal dictator who is surrounded by a corrupt clique of ministers who have impoverished their country and stashed billions overseas. The economy is in free fall, there is mass unemployment and every reason to fear for the future.
So it is understandable that few British people choose to go on holiday to this former British colony. But they are making a terrible mistake.
Whatever its political problems, Zimbabwe is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and its people the kindest and most welcoming.
My family and I first travelled here on holiday five years ago, when we went on an unforgettable safari and visited the breathtaking Victoria Falls.
Ever since, we have hankered to return. So this summer, my wife and four of our children flew via Johannesburg into Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, where we stayed in Hornung Park Lodge, run by Fredi and Rita Ruf, an Austrian couple.
The area is sacred to the local Ndebele people, and Cecil Rhodes, the controversial Englishman who founded Rhodesia (Zimbabwe’s name before independence), is buried on the top of one of these hills, with the most wonderful panorama around him. It’s called World’s View, and is simply magnificent.
After visiting Rhodes’ grave, we travelled to the nearby Camp Amalinda, which is built right into the rocks. There was even an ancient cave painting on one of our bedroom walls. We felt comfortable and, at the same time, close to nature.
Our guide, Kevin, took us to the National Park. His knowledge of local animals and birds was encyclopaedic.
As we drove slowly along, he pointed out a white-browed sparrow-weaver, a red-wing starling, the lilac-breasted roller (our favourite), two black eagles, the southern yellow-billed hornbill, the ‘go-away’ bird, the magpie shrike, the African grey-billed hornbill, the wattled lapwing and some lappet-faced vultures.
It was magical. We also spot a rock dassie (a sort of rodent), a klipspringer, (a kind of antelope) and some beautiful impala bouncing away through the bush as if they had springs on their heels.
One morning, Kevin took us with a tracker through the bush in search of white rhino. Eventually we found some and, approaching them carefully, we were able to get within 10ft and watched them eating, lying down, getting up.
We were quite scared when they all lined up facing us, looking as though they were about to charge. It was a huge privilege to be so close to them.
The following day, we scrambled miles through the bush to visit a cave with paintings on the rocks made by bushmen many thousands of years ago.
In the evening, we ate at a communal table and made friends with many of the guests. None of them was British, though many had come from South Africa.
One, Ros, turned out to be a professional hairdresser and beautician. Following pleas from all my family to tidy me up, she gave me a free haircut.
In the mornings, we swam in a beautiful, but very cold, infinity pool. Camp Amalinda was a wonderful place and we wished we could have stayed longer.
We then drove right across Zimbabwe, a huge 12-hour journey, to reach the Eastern Highlands on the Mozambique border. There we stayed at Leopard Rock, a large colonial-style hotel with roaring fires in every room, this superbly run establishment reminded me of the setting for many an Agatha Christie novel.
In the evening, we would walk out to a viewing point in the bush to watch zebra, impala and ostrich having their evening meal. We went on fabulous walks to the peak of Chinyakwaremba Rock, from where we had amazing views across to Mozambique.
Best if all, from my 25-year-old son William’s point of view, there was a superb golf course, wonderfully maintained and also with glorious views. We felt we could have stayed at Leopard Rock for ever, and felt sad to leave and travel to Harare, then home after an utterly remarkable holiday.
However, it would be idle to pretend there were no problems. There are many potholes on the roads, which means it is dangerous to drive fast. There are constant checkpoints and the police inspect your car and will fine you $20 for the most minor infraction.
In several cases, they claimed that we had faults which did not exist at all. This creates a dilemma. Do you stay and argue it out with the policeman, a process which can take several hours, or do you pay your fine and get on with your journey?
During one incident, I was all for giving in and paying the fine but my 29-year-old barrister daughter was determined for us to stand our ground.
After about 30 minutes of heated debate, during which we tried to persuade them the fine they were proposing wasn’t valid in law, they withdrew it.
Some people worry whether you are supporting the corrupt regime of Robert Mugabe by going on holiday to Zimbabwe. I don’t think so.
Looked at from a different prospective, you are helping the hard-pressed local people by bringing them your business. We hope to return again and again.
COMMENTS
You are welcome. Please come again and experience Zimbabwe.
Just like Rhodes, Smith and all those in between, Mugabe and his hangers on will come to pass but our mountains, our rivers, our land and our people will remain. Please come and keep our hopes alive, if not to make a difference now then just to assure us there is a better tomorrow.
It is very unlikely that the Bushman rock art was painted thousands of years ago. There is no preservative o them and the weathering process removes them. Furthermore there are records of San people (to give them their proper name) resident in the area as recently as 250 years ago. Other than that it is an endeavor to paper over the glaring corruption and illegalit that pervades the land.
Tourists should stay away until there is a change for the better. If the people are so wonderful who are the thousands of police harassing and bribing the people, who is serving in the army and air force that oppress the locals, who are the customs officials preventing trade and taking bribes etc etc etc??? The list goes on and on – are all these people zpf hangers on? I think not. These people, referred in the article to as kind and welcoming, are everyday zimbabweans and they are just the opposite, as anyone who has dealt with them will tell you.
In all honesty , Zimbabweans will help anyone and the hardships we are all going through is not of their doing or for that reason the tourists. They love the country and come for that reason. Given there are other places to visit in the world why Zimbabwe.
Let them come . See what’s going on and yes tell the whole world , who seem not to care about Zimbabwe, what is really happening here.
There is no point in being quiet . The country is a shambles and quite frankly a disgrace on the world stage.
I have been to Zimbabwe 4 times simce 2011 . I dream about going back , wonderful people who are doing it very tough inwhat could / should be a prosperous country JT from Australia
Been to Zim 4 times since 2011 . I dream about going back all the time . Wonderful people who are doing it bery tough in what could/ should be a prosperous country