Africa Journal/August 14-15,1998
August 14,
1998
We got up early
and drove to Great Zimbabwe ruins. The ruins are large and sprawling.
This was a former kingdom, and the king lived at the highest point.
The walls and buildings were constructed of granite stone laid
upon granite stone with no mortar. Many of the structures are
round and beautifully crafted. The British and the Afrikaaners
had all kinds of explanations for the existence of this city,
but they refused to believe it could have been built by native
black Africans. Theories attributed it to Egyptians, Middle Easterners,
The Queen of Sheba and even the lost tribes of Israel.
I like the roundness of the architecture
here. Most of the indigenous dwellings are round and often painted
with mud. The color palette is very earthy and subtle, with occasional
flashes of brilliant color like the brilliant scarlet of the flowering
trees (called Kafra trees), we see along the road and the red
flowered aloes at Great Zimbabwe.
Our guide to the ruins—Moses, is excellent.
He has worked as a guide since 1965 and attributes his education
to an American pen pal who sent him books to read and inspired
him to learn. He said he would probably be digging ditches if
he had never had this friendship. His colleagues called him Mr.
Mandela because of his physical resemblance to the South African
President. He talked a lot about spirits and it was all very real
to him. He said that when you die, your spirit goes into someone
else for one year. Spirits of your ancestors are in you. They
give you special talents, and help you do things you might not
be able to do otherwise. Moses felt the spirits helped him escape
from a crocodile that attacked him five times. He showed us the
scars on his leg.
The ruins at Great Zimbabwe are at least
800 years old. The founders are believed to be the ancestors of
the Shona people who live in this part of Zimbabwe. Next to the
ruins is a beautifully reconstructed 19th century Shona village
with painted round huts. There were Shona dancers, musicians and
artisans here. The Shona culture is rich in art and music. I believe
there are many more people encouraged to make art and music in
this culture than in our own.
Leaving the ruins, we had a long drive to
Nyanga. We arrived at 1 a.m. and set up camp in the dark. Our
group is large—32 people. This is the largest group our guides
have ever had on a Drifter’s Tour. They usually have only
one vehicle with 16 people maximum. Everything, including rest
stops take much longer with this many people, so we continue to
run behind schedule.
August 15,
1998
We wake up
in the Far and Wild Camp in Nyanga. It’s very pretty here.
The landscape changed dramatically last night as we drove through
the darkness. It’s greener with forested mountains, club
mosses and pine trees. There are miles of rocky mountain trails.
Nyanga is said to be a place of spirits. The native people are
afraid to come here. They believe people may disappear here. It’s
a mystical place with lots of leopards. A pair every 5 kilometers.
We had a guide named Bernie who took us to the Honde overlook.
You can see Mozambique from here. The view sweeps over a great
plain full of smoke and haze. Bernie said that at this time of
year “Africa burns”. Later at night we could see many
fires from this point. He said that because of a severe drought
a few years ago, people from Mozambique have been moving into
this valley. They set fires to clear land for subsistence agriculture.
They have begun to burn and clear forest within the park. The
government run park doesn’t have the resources to protect
the park land. This is an area where people used to migrate as
nomadic tribes, following water and food. The nomadic way of life
was less stressful on the land. Permanent wells and water sources
for people as well as animals have altered the age-old patterns
and now put great stress on land.
We took a nature walk to a waterfall. We
were able to swim at the base of it. It felt like ice cubes hitting
my back. In the late afternoon, Andy, the Ornithology Professor
led us on a bird walk. As it got dark we heard a beautiful and
complex song. We think it was a Heuglein’s Robin. As the
birds are new to all of us, including Andy, the six of us who
are birders take great joy in figuring the birds out on our own.
After dinner, some of the guys brought out some African drums
to play by the campfire. They really got into it. They were good
drummers. It was lovely to see the fire, the stars, the potential
for leopards and the great drum music. They played into the night
as we retired to our tents.
We leave Nyanga mid-day for Harare, the
capitol of Zimbabwe. Harare is supposed to have a wonderful arts
and crafts district, but it has become too dangerous for tourists
to go there. Too much crime. We were taken instead to Westgate
Mall in the suburbs. We might as well have been home. It was disappointing.
Our drive from Harare to Marin Gambezi campground
was long, hot and dusty. The campsite is beautiful, surrounded
by enormous boulders, and the brightest stars yet. The boulders
against the midnight blue of the darkening sky made a great backdrop
for the cooking fire—very primeval. At night, three local
guides came to talk to us about the area. We discussed politics.
When asked what they hear about American politics, they just said
“Bill Clinton...”and started laughing. They told us
about their war for freedom and how when they won their land back
from the colonial British, their leader Robert Mugabe promised
a plot of land to each African family. This land would come from
the large working farms of the British colonials. Our guides said
that Mugabe, who is still the President is “not a good man”.
He is to slow to fulfill his promise. We discussed this situation
a lot. It’s difficult, because to follow through and divide
the land would destroy most of the working agriculture-based economy
of the country.