There is something very colonial about Zimbabwe, and you can feel it best when you take the train. In first class: old early twentieth century cabins with wood and brass interiors, generally well kept and a treat to be in.
So be it, then - I'm on the beaten track. Probably will be for the rest of this trip. There are piles of other tourists on the train with me. I think I can get some good experiences out of this journey yet, though.




However, I find it difficult to like any city that has its power plant as the central architectural feature. My first instinct is to say that it's nuclear, but someone local told me that it is coal. Oh well; it was very close to looking like Springfield from the Simpsons. The city is that very typical English colonial fare: gridded streets, street lamps out of the sixties, but a nice park in the middle. The suburbs have those ever so bland Victorian style houses which aren't much different than the ones you see on Vancouver Island, or in the middle of the U.K. There are two things in the city worth seeing:
The Museum Of Natural History. Stuffed version of every single species available in this general region of Africa, from the nine-foot tall elephant to the three types of shrews. And insects and sea life and bird life as well - some amazing birds, some really big ones. All dead, all stuffed. A bit pricey at U.S.$2 but worth it. I spent three hours here, which is surprising for an anthropological museum. And I could have spent more if I really paid attention to the insect exhibits.
Second, The National Gallery. Good contemporary exhibitions, and worth a stop. One room had an exhibit on African swing dancing in the sixties, which is an ingenious angle to examine recent historical Africa, instead of this obsession in the west that we have of only portraying Africans in loincloths starving to death.




Zimbabwe has a deep set colonial past; it was only in 1980 that they gained their independence. And it was only then that the name of their country was changed from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. Also, it's sort of an edgy time for the country; there is a fuel shortage, so you can see lineups of cars stretching on for bocks. Apparently an election is going to held soon as well. And on top of that, they are recovering from flood damage in some parts of the country.
There is also a large minority of native white Zimbabweans. I think some white families have lived here since the 19th century. How can you distinguish a white Zimbabwean from the other white peoples? Personally, I think they look like crazed botanists. Or at the very least, trapped in the seventies. Someone should tells those guys that so much facial hair is out. And the skin tone of these people makes me think that the power plant is in fact nuclear, and soon they will be breeding children with three eyes.
Tomorrow I'm off to do the dreaded organized tour; the easiest way to see Matopo park. As well, the afternoon will be spent doing a safari, and I would feel like a fool if I came to this part of the world and didn't do one bona fide safari. I may as well just do it, and complain about it later. Maybe I'll even like it.





Matopo Park
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