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There
are travel tips below, which can make travelling in Zimbabwe even more pleasant.
- When
entering a National or wild park make sure that you have a full tank of fuel.
There are no filling stations within the parks and driving “of the road”
costs a lot of fuel (own experience)
- Go
camping in the game parks. The sounds at night are exciting. It is safe as
long as you stay behind the fences. In this case Mana Pools isn’t safe.
Hippos and elephants wandering (hopefully) around your tent.
- Close
your tent safely. Baboons take everything and we have heard that they can
even open a zipper. Baboons are monkeys and not human beings as a Dutchman
thought.
- Do
a walking safari in Hwange Park at sunrise.
- Don’t
change money illegally: it is illegal and they will swindle you. The first
paper money is real, the rest is paper of a newspaper
- Save
money for the departure tax at the airport
- At
a restaurant give a tip of at least 10%
- Take
the time, no hurry, it is your holiday. When you are relaxed you will see a
lot more of the wildlife.
- Take
warm clothes with you, it can be cold suddenly (<15 degrees Celsius at
daytime) and there is no heater.
- Take
1,5 times as many film rolls that you expect you will need. There is film
available in the big cities (even slides and APS) but check the expiry date
first.
- Let
the custom-house-officer check your handlugage by hand. Film rolls always in
your handlugage. The X-ray equipment at the airport is not film safe.
They will help you friendly.
- Go
to the natural museum in Bulawayo.
- When
driving at night look for animals on the road. Also at daytime…
- Read
the agreement carefully when you rent a car. Normally it is at your own risk
when you drive on a not surfaced road! Sometimes it is forbidden to come at
certain places with that car. E.g. when you rent a car by Avis you are not
allowed to come within a distance of 50 km of Robins camp in Hwange with
that vehicle. Mana Pools is also a forbidden area with a rented car (unless
you rent a 4WD of course).
- Respect
nature. The national parks are reserves for the animals and not attraction
parks like Disney land. Unfortunate some people think different.
- All
wild animals are wild and potentially dangerous.
- Take
a big wallet with you; you will get a lot of paper money.
- You
can make overseas calls at almost every phone box. The international code is
00 and not 110 as mentioned in a lot of books. At a phone shop
discuss a tariff by forehand. We must pay 12 US$ for a 2 minute call to
Europe!!
- Take
an email address by hotmail.com. It is free and you can send and receive
email all over the world. Sometimes it is easier than phoning (when you
can’t get an international line). Internet is very, very slow in Zimbabwe.
- The
coffee tastes like shit in Zimbabwe. If you want (or need) real coffee take
it with you.
- Never
look in the kitchen of a restaurant before you go there for a dinner.
- Tap
water is safe in Zimbabwe. Mineral
water is recommended.
- Take
you precautions for malaria. Thus pills, Deet oil, and a mosquito net above
your bed. Malaria can be fatal.
- Take
pills against diarrhoea.
- Take
a set of injection needles and infusion needles with you. Ask your GP for a
prescription and a statement. Otherwise the think you are addicted to heroin.
In the army up to 80% is HIV-positive. In the hospitals is lack of
everything. During our stay there was a strike of the hospital doctors
because they refused to work in hospitals where there were not sterile
needles.
- Refuse
a blood transfusion when it isn’t strictly necessary.
- Don’t
become scared because all the warnings about the unsafely in Harare and
Bulawayo. It is even safe or unsafe as every big city like London, Paris and
Amsterdam. So look at your stuff and don’t be stressed: it is your
vacation isn’t it?
If you
still got any questions you can e-mail
me. You will always get an answer.
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