Beautiful Rainbow of Chaos – Zimbabwe

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must…

undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

Thomas Paine

Two Shona rondavels near the Great Zimbabwe ruins

hidden among large boulders 265 feet above

A World Heritage Site since 1986, built in pre-colonial times

I asked our driver Patrick; how old he was.  It fit the conversation at the time, family, kids, average life expectancy, health, etc.  He said, very matter-of-factly, that he didn’t know.  He could be 58, 59, or 60 depending whether he listened to his sister, his school, or his internal clock.  His deceased mother didn’t keep records.  To Kenyans and probably most Africans, this is not that important and many times when that question is asked of older generations, they just brush it off or give an answer they think you expect, not necessarily a true one.

What would we do here without a birth certificate?  A known birthdate?

Patrick then chats about his land, his dream of retirement and how, today, he owns only three cows.  With the rapidly growing population of Kenya, each person possesses smaller and smaller chunks of land, unable to support as many cows as in ‘the good old days’.  Many used to own 40-50 cows (amount necessary for decent dowry!) and they reminisce of those long-gone days with sadness.  In the end Patrick says, fortune lies in your garden, herd, water, and children.

From Malawi, we swiftly cut across Zambia to reach landlocked Zimbabwe.   In Lusaka, the modern capital, we have an opportunity to barely catch up on communications and stock up on supplies.  All locals are wearing headbands made of fur.  We asked our cashier at the grocery store what this is about, and she explains that it is part of a country celebration, but she is not forthcoming with more information.  I search the web in vain to find what they were celebrating – no success.  This will remain a mystery.

We are reaching cooler climate moving further away from the equator.  Even the usually tough kids are wearing long sleeve sweaters.  One of them is sitting under a tree making a kite with found strings and strips of plastic bags.  Near him a couple more are playing with make-belief stick guns, attacking one another from under parked trucks hiding behind tires or bumpers. 

Across the road a farmer is towing an unused plow with a cow.  It is resting sideways on a tire, so the chisel (or foreshare) doesn’t dig into the ground as it is being pulled, a clever way to get it to the field unharmed.  Near the river, dark silhouettes of women carrying pots, pans, and dishes on their head are disappearing below the horizon reaching the precious cleansing water. 

Throngs of people line up at the bank and we asked why so many are doing this?  Our guide explains that these folks are trying to see if money was deposited in their accounts.  They want to know if their employers paid them.  Imagine wasting so much time just to see if you have been paid because there is no trust, no rule that says it must be done within a certain amount of time, and no internet to check digitally.  Most are not even there to retrieve money!  We are so lucky back home. 

The fog from yesterday’s heavy rain is slowly lifting, allowing colors to shine through, one layer at a time and letting a bit of warmth trickle in.  The traffic stops to let five skinny chickens cross the road.  A sign on a nearby shack reads: ‘Uncle Wizz Investment’…  All in a day’s life in poor rural Zimbabwe. 

Another African country solidly dependent upon agriculture with 85% of its work force heading to the fields every day.  Yet, only 20% of the arable land is being used.  There is a lot of room for expansion.

Ifishimu (mopane) caterpillars (dried)

Crunchy as potato chips – they say!
Insects provide 10% of protein in dry season

Colorful mopane worm on mopane branch – notice leaf looks like butterfly wings

Much of the landscape is covered with mopane trees (also called butterfly trees from the shape of their leaves).  On these trees live the mopane caterpillars, a delicacy in this part of Africa.  Unfortunately (hum), we are too late in the season to enjoy them fresh.  You can only find the dried (often fried) version.  They are ready to eat around November, we are here in February.  The tree is also home to wild silk moths, their cocoons harvested to make cloth.  Mopane is one of the hardest and most termite resistant wood.  It has many uses from musical instruments, to fences, and home building.  Its deep red color is quite beautiful.  A Zimbabwean nutritionist, Marlon Chidemo, says the worms are high in healthy nutrients and contain three times the amount of protein as beef.

But, as I said earlier, we cut across Zambia briefly, so I didn’t get to know it well.  So, onto Zimbabwe which at the end of the trip turned out to be my favorite of the ten African countries we visited.  

Notice the scallop-like indentations in the thatch roof – artful

More majestic rolling hills surround us.  Africa has so much more green spaces than I ever knew.  I understand better now why Europeans wanted to occupy many parts of this continent.  The road is lined with light jade color epiphytes, piles of beige glitter stones (glittery quartzite for flooring), and tribal shields for sale.  Many of the thatch roofs are cut in a way that is very ornamental.  A church, for example, may have a roof with three hearts near a cross, all expertly cut in the thatching.  Some resorts have their names done that way as well.  Homes normally have only one or two rows of wavy designs embellishing theirs.

Restaurant-bar in Lomagundi – beautiful thatch roof over a foot thick!

I could speak of the recent sad history of Zimbabwe and how many of the white colonizers lost their lands and businesses and how in the end the natives’ lack of knowledge and organizational skills destroyed the productivity of the country leading to most locals searching for employment outside of Zimbabwe.  It is a depressing story made even gloomier by the sheer beauty and bounty of the country.  Green mountains, huge boulders of oranges, pinks, and ochres, cave paintings, homes with granaries, neatly tended gardens, and colorful people.  

Pluto, our ride, Patrick, our driver, setting up for rainy day

The three of us and a large family of curious mongooses shared the pool.

They had the grassy area, we had the water…

Need I say more?

Hippo tracks near the water

The rest of the group went on a boat cruise (aka booze cruise) but a couple of us stay behind with our driver, Patrick, to enjoy two quiet days at a campsite near Lake Kariba.  We catch up on laundry, cleaning, swimming in a clean pool, writing, and cooking just for three instead of the whole group.  During dinner on our first night, Patrick, barely moving, delicately points to a nearby corner of the campground without making a sound.  Our eyes follow his gaze to see a large male hippo carefully and slowly walking through camp as if we didn’t exist.  Each night, they leave the coolness of the lake to eat grass in the nearby fields, walking many miles to satisfy their hunger, returning to the refreshing water before the heat of the following day.  As heavy as he was, we never heard this hippo although it was only feet away from us.

Hippos are the most dangerous of the animals we meet in Africa.  A story from Patrick who has been around these animals all his life reports that even elephants treat hippos with respect, they back down when a hippo comes near them…

On the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe lies Lake Kariba, the largest man-made lake in the world (based on water storage capacity but today only 11-12% of capacity full). It was finished in 1958, displacing more than 57,000 Tonga people.  Its sheer size helps to support an incredible variety of birds and animal life. It is famous for houseboat vacations and for its population of tiger-fish.  The low water was very murky and not inviting when we said goodbyes to the people who went cruising.  I couldn’t see swimming in it, but many did.

Storm brewing – Antelope Park

Beyond the small bush in the middle is a river covered with floating greenery

River where we saw male elephant with his ‘harem’, throwing a tantrum

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), lion populations have declined from 400,000 in 1950 to fewer than 20,000 remaining today.  This hard to fathom statistic leads me to our next stop.

We arrive in Antelope Park near Gweru where they are trying to make a difference in the deplorable numbers listed above by breeding lions they eventually release back in the wild.  It doesn’t come without controversy.  Some people think the lions secretly end up in game parks to be killed by trophy hunters (while raising money for the center), others say that they are mostly for study, more say that either way, it is not natural, they should be allowed to live naturally. 

The program is called ALERT and early one wet morning, I go with Yvonne to watch lions for 90 minutes.  She has been following this pride of lions for many years and knows each name and personality well and clarifies the various lion encounters we see.  One lioness in particular is remarkably interesting.  She likes to tease the others to get reactions, the instigator.  She eventually goes off chasing birds sitting on the fence when she is not getting the rejoinders she wants from her buddies.  Yvonne speaks of another female that has a better sense of smell than any of the others.  She knows much sooner where a carcass can be found.  Before releasing the lions, the staff must assert that they are a cohesive healthy pride that will function well outside the fenced area.

Four lionesses relaxing in tall grasses on a warm morning

Young male and two females who slink down in deference when he is near

Slinking even further down… when the older of the two males comes by

Noticed the worn-out mane.  Typical of lions living where there are lots of spiny bushes.

Black tipped ears and tail are easy to track in tan and green grasses

Younger male will eventually take over the elder male’s territory

Pride had eleven lions (eight seen here)

Father and son, two females, resting but aware

Suddenly, and for no obvious reason, all lions roar deafeningly.  Yvonne clarifies that at times, it helps diffuse tension or it is letting other lions know they are getting too close. 

Yvonne explains that some lions are raised by humans and these are the ones that visitors pay to pet, walk/run/play with, and see up close.  Others will never be raised by humans and their offsprings will eventually go to repopulate pre-determined parks/reserves.  The only times these lions are man-handled is when they need to be sedated by the vets for measurements, medicine, contraceptives, etc.  The sad truth is that there are more lions raised in farms than in the wild.  Most end up being hunted by trophy hunters.

We are only here to observe and cannot make noise, sharp movements, or wear brightly colored clothes.  We blend in as well as we can and genuinely enjoy watching the interactions of each member of the pride.  Their best sense is smell, they use their eyes next, able to see eight times better than we do!  We seem successful, they appear to ignore us. 

Raising lions is not cheap.  Even though 70% of their diet comes from scavenging, feeding them dead farmed zebras or wildebeest comes at a price:  about $900/zebra and $750/wildebeest.  (US dollar is currency in Zimbabwe).  The females in the prides are on contraceptives until they are released in the wild to avoid rivalry between the two males.  Competition that would have disastrous consequences in an enclosed area with nowhere for the lower echelon male to go.  Visiting is not cheap either.  Guests pay upwards of $1,000/week to ‘volunteer’ at the park and be around these beautiful wild animals. 

Just before dinner we see large elephants fighting in the river just across from where we are camping.  A guide says females are in heat and the male is ensuring he keeps his whole ‘harem’.  In a fit of temper (or trying to impress the females?), he takes down towering trees, as if they were mere sticks, on his way out of the river.  We hear the crashes and splashes – it is entertaining while a bit scary at the same time.  Quite a display, especially with a background of dark gloomy clouds ominous with heavy rain. 

During the night, from our wet tents, we hear horses and donkeys eating grass all around the camp and monkeys carousing in the nearby trees.  During the day, the same beautiful horses are given the reign of the camp, eating around the outdoor dining room, picnic tables, tents, wood shed, cabins, etc.   

As usual, we find a guard to chat with and get interesting stories.  We meet Prince, who is about my age and says he has seen three faces of Zimbabwe and therefore lived three lives here.  First as an athlete and champion in 4x100m run in Southern Rhodesia (pre-Zimbabwe until 1980).  Second as a cop, now as a mere guard at a resort.  Each time, an increasingly corrupt government taking a bit more away from his life’s options.  His pastime now is simply to watch and feed birds, snakes, lizards, and scare away baboons and monkeys.  He is tall and still looks strong, his posture imposing and straight. 

All Zimbabweans are resilient, but it is tough to hear of their ever-diminishing choices in life.  An estimated 3.4 million (a little over 1/4 of the population) have fled harsh conditions brought on by this abusive government.  They mostly head to South Africa.  When traveling in South Africa a few months later, I discovered that 85% of Uber drivers are from Zimbabwe.  They joke that if Zimbabweans return home, there will be no Uber left…  Speaking with them, it is clear they all miss home and would love to return.

As with most countries in Africa, they must now deal with China invading and taking everything of value under the disguise of helping with infrastructure and transportation.  Africans are held hostages with loans they’ll never be able to repay.  If not abused by the whites, it is the Chinese.  Will it ever change? 

Prince’s words are rough and to the point.  He, among many of his peers, would skin the past leader (Mugabe) alive, would they be given the chance.  He ruined this country and people are reeling from it. 

Prince can absolutely not fathom why the USA voted for someone like Trump.  Shaking his head in disbelief saying: “For a country who has everything, how could you get there?”  He thinks having a leader for a maximum of 8 years is a great idea!

As he signs people in and out of the park, Prince speaks of the last election where the ballots were printed in such a way that once folded in half, as required, the special ink would bleed from one side of the ballot onto the other side, essentially changing who you voted for, the dishonest leader in a corrupt election (sound familiar?). 

We have been warned by our guide that it is dangerous to speak politics in Zimbabwe because you never know who is listening.  The government doesn’t take kindly to people who do not agree with them.  We are careful.  Prince is a good representation of how the people who stayed here live, and it is not easy.  

The Hill Complex of Great Zimbabwe Ruins

Dry rock walls merging with huge curved boulders

Few caves under boulders used for their voice amplification

But it is time to move on to what is thought to be the ‘birth place’ of Zimbabwe.  Visiting the amazing Great Zimbabwe Ruins was not offered on the tour so eight of us hired two taxis for the day and went to explore.  Only $15/each for long driving hours to and from.  A bargain!  The ruins have stunning granite walls that ripple fluidly over the landscape, blending into a terrain scattered with massive boulders as if having appeared naturally.  Legend has it that this was once a playground for giants, and when seeing it for the first time, it is easy to understand why.  Great Zimbabwe is a fusion of manmade and incomparable natural beauty spreading over 200 acres (80 hectares).  From a certain angle all you see are boulders, from another, you see the connecting walls delineating the various protective enclosures. 

The civilization of Great Zimbabwe was one of the most significant in the world during the Medieval period.  European travelers from Germany, Portugal, and Britain were astonished to learn of this powerful African society in the interior of southern Africa. 

The Great Zimbabwe Monument (before it became a World Heritage), an Iron-Age site, is the symbol of Zimbabwe’s identity as a nation.  This monument, together with about 300 other similar but smaller sites built of dry stone walls are a link to a smart and affluent ancestry.  The geographical spread of these sites in Zimbabwe (more than ½ the sites = 150), Botswana, Mozambique, and South Africa is evidence of the existence of a vast, complex and architecturally impressive pre-colonial civilization.  Unfortunately, most were ransacked in 1902 by the colonists so their history is difficult to piece together. 

Construction of the stone buildings started in the 11th century and continued for over 300 years.  It is believed that the city flourished from 1100 to 1450.  At its peak it housed 18,000-20,000 people.  They used a copper currency made in the shape of an X.  You can even find a sun dial.   The entire site is laced with centuries-old drainage system which still works, funneling water outside the houses and enclosures down into the valleys.  Miles of tunnels are thought to lead to various burial places or tombstones.  One of them has been purposefully closed off to keep grave diggers out. 

The present name of the country (previously Southern Rhodesia) was derived from Great Zimbabwe. Naming the country after these famous ruins was a move to form a stronger national identity from ‘an eternally inspiring masterpiece of human creative genius’.  It is therefore not surprising that when the restraints of Colonialism and White Republican rule were finally removed in 1980, the name chosen for the country was Zimbabwe “great or venerated houses of stone.”

The Great Zimbabwe ruins are the largest collection of ruins in Africa south of the Sahara and were first described by Vicente Pegado, captain of a Portuguese garrison in 1531.   They are testament to a culture of great prosperity and architectural skills.  The ruins were home to cattle-herders who also became adept at metal-working.  “The granite walls - embellished with turrets, towers, platforms and elegantly sculpted stairways - seem to have had no defensive function.” But, in the words of archeologist Peter Garlake, they display “an architecture that is unparalleled elsewhere in Africa or beyond.”

Artifacts from all over the medieval world have been found in Zimbabwe suggesting that this was home to a prosperous political and trading empire. The main trading items ranged from gold, ivory, copper and tin to cattle and cowrie shells. Imported items discovered in the ruins have included glassware from Syria, a minted coin from Kilwa (island off Tanzania), brass ornaments from Assam in India, and assorted Persian and Chinese ceramics.

More than 4,000 gold and 500 copper mines were found under and around the site.  It was suggested that for three centuries, 40% of the world’s total gold came from the area, compounding to an estimated 600 tons of gold. Thousands of necklaces made of gold lamé have been discovered among the ruins.

The rock on left said to have inspired bird sculptures also found on country’s flag

Bench on right was where king would speak to his counselors

At the top of The Hill Complex, sits a huge protruding boulder in the shape of a bird – an emblem now immortalized on Zimbabwe’s national flag. It is believed that from here kings presided over and addressed their counselors who sat in the amphitheater below. They were also in charge of important rituals such as the judgment of criminals, the appeasing of ancestors and sacrifices to rainmaker gods. 

Nearby, the King would use a low cave-like enclosure to shout from the top of the mountain the name of one of his 200 wives selected to spend the night with him. She would in turn deliver a response across the mountain range and travel by foot to the tip of the mountain to meet him.  It is easy to imagine elegant black women balancing supplies on their heads as they swiftly made their way up the hill to serve their masters – only removing their crowns of wares to duck through the natural and constructed stone gateways.  Our guide demonstrates how this rock overhang creates a natural loud-speaker that echoes for 10-15 seconds to the valley floor below.

Small soapstone birds on pedestals are one of Zimbabwe’s symbols. Eight of these birds were found in the ruins of Great Zimbabwe. These eight sculptures combine both human and bird elements and are thought to represent each succeeding king. For instance, the bird’s beak is substituted by lips while its claws are changed to feet. It is unsure what the birds symbolized. The most prevalent theory is that they were the emblems of the royalty and rulership.

Four towers – not sure of their use

Many archeologists from 1871 to 1905 thought Persians had built the ruins because, of course, Africans are not ‘smart’ enough to have built this (same story with Aztec and Mayans when visiting Mexico).  So wrong!  They built amazingly intricate walls without mortar following the curvature of boulders and hills still standing after 800 years! 

The government of Ian Smith, prime minister of Southern Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979, fostered the colonial falsification of the city’s origins in official guide books. Archaeologists of Southern Rhodesia faced harsh censorship. They had to tow the official line that Great Zimbabwe was constructed by the ‘yellow man’ – the idea that ‘blacks’ could have had the unity and power to create settlement such as Great Zimbabwe was abhorrent and undermined one of the founding beliefs of white superiority and supremacy throughout the ages.

Why here?  Good microclimate and water for farming.  Alluvial gold mining.  Terracing to use rain run-off.  Some believed that the start of crop rotation happened here. 

It includes three distinct areas: The Hill Complex, formerly called the Acropolis, a spiritual and religious center, the Valley Complex for citizens such as herders and artisans, and the Great Enclosure for the royalty, their advisers and treasures.  So much has yet to be discovered, only 2% of the ruins have been excavated.

Herringbone or chevron design at top of Great Enclosure

Unlike often repeated, our guide says the site was never a lost city, never completely abandoned.  It was left temporarily due to social, economic, and political management by the ruling elite but continued to be inhabited even if with only a few people.  Visiting this site, the words of Webber Ndoro, the director of African World Heritage Funds make sense:  'Your monument, our shrine'.  This place feels very mystical and unworldly.

The remarkable thing is that we were nearly on our own, visiting this amazing historical site.  We were allowed to walk anywhere and touch anything.  Due to the harsh political realities of Zimbabwe, sightseer numbers have plummeted.  There used to be about 50,000 visitors per year, now it is only 5,000!  A harsh reality for guides like Tish who try to eke out a living.  There is nothing to fear in Zimbabwe – it is a great country to discover and not having to fight crowds is a huge bonus in my book.

A friend on the bus had visited this country 18 months prior and said they kept being approached by various authorities for bribes through bogus traffic stops, etc.  This time around, our driver said we arrived 2-4 hours earlier than planned each day we were in Zimbabwe because there were no more stops (usually accounted for in time planning).  Rules have changed, and bribing is no longer common.  Trying to rejuvenate tourism…  Will it stay?  Will it work?  

Walls extend between rocky outcrops and massive rocks,

forming a maze of narrow passageways and enclosures.

Steep and narrow stairway between humongous stones

Rock walls to gigantic stones

Straight walls and corners are seen as evil

Therefore, curves are everywhere to protect people

Small huts (rondavels) near the ruins, bright clothing in drabber landscape

Shona (Bantu) village at the base of the ruins in the Valley

How they carried large stones to build the famous ruins – sled

Great Enclosure (www.cnn.com) with euphorbia and aloe plants in foreground
Quite green blanketed with constant tropical savanna mist they call guti

Our guide Tish – wall behind him is 6m thick, 11m high

Near tower in Great Enclosure (255m circumference or 800m diameter)

Estimate of over one million cut granite stones in its outer wall

Forest of tall aloe ‘trees’.  Ancient medicinal plants among the ruins.

Thick tall walls, narrow parallel passage

Check out the quality of the stonework

Design for privacy

Function of this 16m high solid tower filled with rocks, unknown

Theories from phallic symbol to look-out tower to sign of wealth or make-believe granary

Areal view of Great Enclosure and Valley

So, embrace the rainbow of chaos whether nature or man creates it.  Get down, dirty and funky with chaos. It lives here permanently – we’re just visiting.  Chaos can be beautiful and inspiring.  Chaos can be liberating.  There is a lot going on in Zimbabwe that scare people away but it shouldn't.  

Coming next, more of Zimbabwe’s awesome country…