WOAH, MANA!

Everybody’s heard a Zimbabwe travel horror story. Under the rule of Robert Mugabe, corruption thrived in all but the most remote reaches of the vast and diverse country. One would encounter dozens of roadblocks between Bulawayo and Harare, each ‘staffed’ by police or scammers seeking nothing more than to extort one for a couple of trillion Zim dollars. Journeys by road became arduous and expensive – and often dangerous, too.

Well, I’m happy to report that things have changed. Zimbabwe, it seems, is open for business. The fall of Uncle Bob has paved the way for optimism and recovery, and the newly incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa knows that tourism is one of his nation’s prime resources. It’s almost as if he has given a direct order to his police force: If you see a car with foreign plates, let them pass!

Best of all, the beautiful, kind, hospitable nature of the Zimbabwean people has begun to shine through. There is a good feeling in the air, but whether it lasts remains to be seen. All that you need to know is that Zimbabwe’s natural beauty is calling. It wants you.

Border business

Like many overlanding stories, this one starts with a rather unsavoury encounter at a border post. I know that there are regulations governing the movement of fresh produce between countries... but our veggies aren’t going to collapse your ecosystem, man!

Our first obstacle came in the form of the Stockpoort Border Control point in Limpopo. Everything went smoothly until we had our Rosa tomatoes – essential ingredients of