I’ve just returned from a week in south-eastern Zimbabwe, where I went in search of baobab trees as inspiration for my paintings. I hope Portfolio members will forgive me writing about an establishment which isn’t part of the collection. But Zim isn’t covered in Portfolio, and its tourism industry is struggling to get back on its feet – when it does, it will add to the appeal of our entire region.
People are reluctant to visit our northern neighbour and imagine all sorts of mayhem. It’s quite the opposite. The people I encountered were genuinely warm hosts, happily going out of their way to help. The bushveld is beautiful, the small towns charmingly retro with old black-and-white street signage, and long stretches of tar baked white by the sun but in good nick.
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And the wildlife! I was in the extraordinary Malilangwe reserve, which borders Gonarezhou, in the south east of the country. In between the mighty baobabs we stumbled across trumpeting elephants chasing wild dogs, cheetah hunting, plentiful black rhinos, sable and Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest. A lion atop a cliff surveying prey below, like a scene from Lion King. A Verreaux''s Eagle-Owl swept past me and took a francolin metres away.
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And – this can’t be overstated – in quiet privacy, without other vehicles, hardly a soul around, just like the wilderness should be. We sat alone for hours watching a lion kill, not making a sound as the animals aren’t very used to vehicles. I gather Gonarezhou is even wilder, and if you’re an adventurous traveler, get there.
Malilangwe is notable for being so well managed, with researchers sponsored to work there and animal populations carefully monitored in this surprisingly ecologically diverse region. We raced across the reserve one day to watch a buffalo being captured for translocation, and caught a ride back on a chopper, sweeping up the rivers looking down on crocs and ellies.
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I was especially lucky to be staying at the magnificent Singita Pamushana lodge, where no detail is overlooked or trouble spared. It’s very intimate with only 7 suites, but its grand thatched structures clustered around the top of a koppie are generous in every way, with plunge pools overlooking views for miles.
That a lodge in a remote place can serve a top rate 5-course tasting menu dinner for just four guests is staggering. If you thought Zim might be behind the times, taste the fresh bufala mozzarella with toasted pine nuts, fresh baked croissants, pesto, quail, sorbets of apple and pear… and of course the finest beef and venison.
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It’s close to Joburg too. Our flight was just 90 minutes from OR Tambo, but it also wouldn’t be an unreasonable drive. I assure you, Zim’s tourist offering beyond Vic Falls deserves to get back on its feet.