As planned, we’re up and going by 07:20 after a quick coffee and heading down the 10km to the ruins. At the gate we buy tickets ($15 each) and park the cars. It’s a very cold, crisp but sunny morning, no clouds in the sky. At the entrance there is a large map of the area which I snap a pic of for reference. Our first visit is to what they call the “Great Enclosure”, which we locate at the top of a hill.
I’m going to shamelessly plagiarise Encarta on this one, just because they’ve put it so succulently, and I couldn’t take any pictures in the museum we visited later (but it was REALLY interesting!):
In the 19th century the ruins of Great Zimbabwe were found and studied by European colonists, who generally refused to believe that black Africans could have built such impressive stone structures. European archaeologists proposed highly improbable theories that an ancient Mediterranean civilization, such as the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Hebrews, or Arabs, built Great Zimbabwe. These theories became widely accepted. Even after early and mid-20th-century archaeological research proved that Great Zimbabwe was indeed the work of Iron Age black Africans, the non-African origin of the ruins was taught in many schools in Rhodesia (as Zimbabwe was known in colonial times) until independence in 1980.
The stonework of Great Zimbabwe is remarkable for its precision. Most structures were built with granite blocks so carefully carved that no mortar was required to hold them together. The focal point of Great Zimbabwe is a high granite outcrop that rises steeply above the valley below. On the summit of this outcrop is a set of stone-walled enclosures known as the Hill Complex. Scholars believe one of the two large enclosures was a place of worship because it contains plastered altars and carved stone birds, which likely represent the spirits of former rulers. The other large enclosure was a residential area, probably either for the king or for the principal spirit medium, the leading official in the Shona religion.
The ruins of the city of Great Zimbabwe are on the hillside and in the valley beneath the Hill Complex. The city consisted of two parts: the residences of the general population and those of the elite. The general population lived in closely packed mud-and-thatch houses and little is known about the way they lived. A small number of elite people lived inside stone enclosures at the centre of the city. The sheltered residential areas were hidden by high stone walls. These living quarters testify to the high status and authority of the Great Zimbabwe ruling class.
The largest of the residential enclosures in the city is known as the Great Enclosure. The Great Enclosure has a complex set of architectural features, including outer walls as high as 10 m (32 ft) and as thick as 5 m (17 ft), and a tall, conical stone tower. Archaeologists have different interpretations of this part of the site. Some believe this was the residence of the king’s principal wife, while others argue that it was the king’s compound. In the Great Enclosure, archaeologists have discovered gold and copper ornaments, as well as fine soapstone bowls and carvings. In addition, they have found china, glass beads, and porcelain dating from 14th-century China, Persia, and Syria. The presence of such luxury items from so far away demonstrates Great Zimbabwe’s valuable connections with traders on the east coast of Africa.
The modern nation of Zimbabwe is named after Great Zimbabwe, and images of the soapstone birds found in the Hill Complex appear on the nation’s flag and currency. For today’s Zimbabweans, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe are a source not only of tourism income, but also of cultural pride.
Anecdote: as said above, the country got its name from the Great Zimbabwe ruins in 1980, changing from Rodesia to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is derived from the Shona phrase dzimba dza mabwe, which means “houses of stone”. There are many such dwellings (Zimbabwe’s) scattered all over the country, but this location at Masvingo is the largest and was the tribe’s capital city, hence the “Great” distinction.
Great Zimbabwe had between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants shortly before its abrupt decline at the end of 15th century. Historians disagree on the cause of Great Zimbabwe’s fall. Many scholars believe that the city’s population grew so large that it used up the region’s agricultural resources, forcing inhabitants to move away. Another theory is that Great Zimbabwe lost its commercial importance because northern gold-mining regions began transporting gold to the coast by way of the Zambezi River. By the 16th century the city of Great Zimbabwe was almost completely deserted.
Pretty cool, huh?
Back to the inn, pack up and checkout. Heading to Beitbridge today, and our last border crossing of the trip (yay!).On the way we stop at a large road side market where various artists again succeed in blowing us away with their skill. I decide, fuckit, I wanna buy some stuff, if nothing else to support these folks. Mattie picks up a few bowls and a candle holder. A 20 KG solid stone rhino catches my eye and I simply have to have it! No bartering with these folks, if they say it’s $40, it’s $40, done deal! I hold the beast aloft and cry “rhino!!” which evokes cries of rhino from the lady I bought it from. Funny thing happened then: they broke into a little victory dance and celebration amongst themselves, other traders coming over to congratulate her on making the sale! I think this was the definitive moment that the Zimbabwe people finally captured my heart.
Some rearranging required to fit Shida (She-da, named after that big black rhino who’s ears I scratched in Kenya) into the Bullet, but we manage it.
One or two pit stops on our way, Annelie wasn’t feeling too well again, phasing between nausea and hot flashes to shivers and cold sweats. Eish.
Driving quite hard we manage to reach the border post by 14:ish. We get the same old run around, a little self inflicted because we forgot to pay the toll fees and get some forms stamped. But we manage it with our usually flair, didn’t have to bribe anyone this time so that's always a plus. And so, by 15:10, it’s bye bye Zimbabwe!
Over to the South African border, across the Beitbridge over the Limpopo. Annelie feeling just a tad bit worse, so we make a naissance of ourselves in jump the line, play the “I’m dumb” card and get our passports stamps and customs cleared in no time flat.
Hello, sweet Sunny South Africa!
Stop off at the Caltex for a refuel and checkups. Our next destination is still quite far, Bela Bela, about 300 Km’s to go. We deal with the chaos of driving through busy traffic and towns the best we can. Both Mattie and I confess that we’re so not used to these driving conditions anymore, i.e. having to obey traffic laws! It’s much harder than you think, if you’ve driven in the lawless bubble of Africa for over 2 months. Mattie does get pulled over for speeding and manages to get away with a warning. Suave charmer :)
Break our rule again about driving in the dark but that’s ok, at least the roads are good, albeit unpainted in some areas. Lots of toll gates too. We reach Bela Bela just after 18:00 and drive around town a bit looking for a spot to lodge. Heh, I felt just like a farm yokel coming to the big city for the first time. All neon lights and restaurants and civilisation! The Forever resort looks the most promising and we check in. The whole town is built around a natural hot spring, by the way. So all these lodges and inn have some form of hydro or warm baths, Forever resorts have MASSIVE facilities, inside and outside pools, quad bikes, water sports, medical centres, you name it, it’s here.
Mattie goes ahead to the chalet while I drive Annelie to St Vincent’s Hospital a few km’s down the road. She has a chat to the nurse there about the possibility of having a test done for malaria. They reckon they can only do it if she’s running a fever, lest they get a false negative. So we agree to monitor the situation and come back should her condition worsen.
Back at the resort, we meet up with Mattie at the onsite Spur grill and restaurant (Spur is a freakin institution in South Africa! Been eating Spur burgers since I was 6 years old.) and I order the biggest damn Hunger Buster Double patty flame grilled monster I can buy! Delicious.
We have a quick look around before heading back to the chalet, which is very spacious and beautifully furnished. Annelie still feels rubbish but not running a fever yet. We’ll monitor her and hope for the best. Tomorrow we’d like to go take a prolonged dip in the hydro pools and maybe even get a massage.
Highlights: Nothing beats being back home
Scoffing down a Spur burger!
Someone to covet, safe from the rain
