From: mark.seltzer@rose.com (mark seltzer)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Zimbabwe
Date: 24 Jan 93 16:38:47 GMT
Article-I.D.: rose.1993Jan24.163849.5373
Organization: Rose Media Inc, Toronto, Ontario.
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Date Entered: 01-24-93 11:34
(This is in response to <rob@bnr.ca>'s query about Zimbabwe, e-mail 
bounced)

Hi. I was in Zimbabwe for a month, 26 months ago. I thought it was a great
place, and I strongly recommend it as a destination. Keep in mind that my
experience was over 2 years ago.

2) What are day to day prices like?  e.g. a meal, bus fare,
   accomodation?

If you changed your money legally, prices were quite inexpensive; e.g.
meals C$3-8; hotels (the type that budget travellers stay in) $15-25. If
you changed your money on the black market, it became very cheap (1/2 of
the above). If you are not comfortable using the black market, it's still
a cheap destination. Bus fares were C$1 per 100 km, for example.

3) One thing we're interested in doing is a canoe trip on the
   Zambezi.  All of the prices I've seen are pretty scary.
   Is there anything reasonable out there?

I did NOT go on one of these trips but I did investigate and found that
several of the tour operators would offer special prices on canoe trips
that were about to leave (within a few days), sort of like  a standby
price. If you are unsure, I would wait until you are in Harare and call
around. I did go on a 1 day white-water rafting trip at Vic Falls, the
price there is non-bargainable, but it was fun and worthwhile.

4) Are there any cultural norms that should be followed (e.g.
   I understand that in Malawi women must wear long skirts
   and men have short hair)?

Nothing like in Malawi, although like in many countries the standard of
dress generally is higher than in Canada, and an old t-shirt and shorts
that would be fine on the summer streets of Ottawa or Toronto will make
you stand out in Zimbabwe (as a tourist!)

5) We plan on going in September.  From the information we
   have, that seems like a good time of the year to go.  We
   are flexible on the date, though.  Any suggestions on a
   good time of year to visit?

I was there in late September/early October, and the weather was PERFECT.

6) Any other peice of advice that might be helpful.

Lonely Planet has a new guide to Zimbabwe out, which looks pretty good; I
used the English 'Rough Guide to Botswana & Zimbabwe' which was generally
very good. 

Our itinerary went Vic Falls (from Botswana) (full of tourists, and the 
least interesting stop on the trip) to Hwange (fantastic; but you
MUST rent a car from the nearby Avis office, as there is no other way to
get around in the park, and they have few cars; try to book this as far in
advance as possible. We just showed up, and were only able to get a car
for 1 of 3 days. If this happens, you have to beg others for lifts, which
is not that easy, as its for the entire day or nothing) to Bulawayo (a
pleasant town, though it might have been hard hit by the drought) to
Great Zimbabwe (fantastic) to Harare (OK for a few days though there is
not that much to see) to Mana Pools (unbelievable; a park where you can
walk around, canoe with hippos, the highlight. But you have to have a
vehicle or hitch-hike; we did the latter, and because you can walk around
its much more practical than in Hwange, you just need to get there). And
back to Harare. 

From Vic Falls to Harare was all by bus; from Harare to Mana Pools and 
back we hitch-hiked. Hitch-hiking was quite easy though for some reason 
the most of the many people who picked us up were 'Rhodesian's who spent 
the entire time talking about how the country had gone to ruin under 
Mugabe. Exactly the opposite of what we were thinking. This makes some 
hitch-hiking an educational experience, but in general the bus or train is 
the way to get around.

Hope this info helps. Have a great trip.

/mark


---
 * WinQwk 2.0b#108 * Mark Seltzer,28 Ravina Cres,Toronto,Ont M4J 3M1,Canada.
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