Day 6 - Independence day
Today is Zimbabwe’s independence day. A national holiday and so most of the people
have a day off. Unfortunately, that is not the case for the policemen who man
the checkpoints on the road. Today we have to drive 260 km to Huange National
Park, one of the largest and most important national parks in southern Africa. We
leave after breakfast at 7am. Soon after we leave the lodge, there is the
first checkpoint. 2 km further the second. 5 km further the third. If this is going
to continue, we are still a long way from Huange. The plan is to arrive shortly after noon.
We drive back through Bulawayo and then straight towards the north.
The landscape passes in front of us. Forests, grasslands, valleys, ... No town
or city in the vicinity.. Yet there are people walking. There are stalls (or at
least the equivalent of Zimbabwe stalls) along the road. Here fruits and
vegetables are sold. Women carry the merchandise on their heads. Where they
come from or where they go, who knows ...
Cows in all colors, brown, black, white, brown with white or black with white
are grazing along the side of the road.
Donkey carts filled with children are riding in all directions. We pass
overloaded buses, with the luggage loaded on the roof, and in some cases also
with passengers on the roof. Occasionally we see a lone cyclist bravely defying
heat and blazing sun. Autumn is settling
in Zimbabwe. It is
off course not the autumn we know, you
can only see it on the discoloration of
the leaves. Yellow, green, red alternate.
As you can imagine, here in the countryside there is not a good medical facility. There used to be mobile nursing stations but they have long been abolished due to the financial problems of the country. The emigration of whites also caused a problem. And moreover also the black doctors are going to the neighboring countries as they can earn more. The Zimbabwe mortality rate is therefore very high. There are three main causes. Firstly, the large problem of AIDS. This not only causes a high mortality rate, it also presses hard on the economy. After all, a major part of the active population is infected with the virus. In Zimbabwe, there is a ban on child labor under the age of 18, so these not infected children are prevented from work. Older people who are not infected, are too old to work and / or carry all the care of their grandchildren whose parents are already deceased. Remains the active class that so often can not work due to illness and early death. Cultural background causes prevention to be difficult. Condoms and drugs are at the people’s disposal, but the population does not want to know about it.
Secondly TB occurs and thirdly malaria. Both the normal variant and the cerebral.
A little after noon we arrive at the entrance of Hwange. Here we change into 4X4 SUVs because it is another 30 km to our place of accommodation. The roads in the park are obviously unsuitable for our minibus. Our ride will take approximately 2 hours and is actually a kind of game drive. Baboons are waiting at the entrance to welcome us.
As you can imagine, here in the countryside there is not a good medical facility. There used to be mobile nursing stations but they have long been abolished due to the financial problems of the country. The emigration of whites also caused a problem. And moreover also the black doctors are going to the neighboring countries as they can earn more. The Zimbabwe mortality rate is therefore very high. There are three main causes. Firstly, the large problem of AIDS. This not only causes a high mortality rate, it also presses hard on the economy. After all, a major part of the active population is infected with the virus. In Zimbabwe, there is a ban on child labor under the age of 18, so these not infected children are prevented from work. Older people who are not infected, are too old to work and / or carry all the care of their grandchildren whose parents are already deceased. Remains the active class that so often can not work due to illness and early death. Cultural background causes prevention to be difficult. Condoms and drugs are at the people’s disposal, but the population does not want to know about it.
Secondly TB occurs and thirdly malaria. Both the normal variant and the cerebral.
A little after noon we arrive at the entrance of Hwange. Here we change into 4X4 SUVs because it is another 30 km to our place of accommodation. The roads in the park are obviously unsuitable for our minibus. Our ride will take approximately 2 hours and is actually a kind of game drive. Baboons are waiting at the entrance to welcome us.
The giraffes come to take a look.
Further on, we see impalas, zebras and wildebeest.
The kudu remain skittish. It's getting dark early and we will reach our sleeping place only after dark. We stop for a drink and eat a snack at a pond where crocodiles lurk. In the background a giraffe watches us while taking his evening stroll.
The sun sets slowly. While the air wraps itself in shades of red, pink and orange and the jeep gently makes his way in the high grass between the trees, I know that this is going to be a journey I will never forget.
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