Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani to my first blog post about my African adventures. Here, I am sitting in my cosy apartment in Germany counting the days until I will step into the airplane of South African Airlines to fly to Johannesburg for my stop-over and move on to the Airport of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. I will stay at the private game reserve, Cawston Wildlife Estate that is about 70km North of Bulawayo for a period of 3 months. I just can’t wait for the month of April to come, when my airplane will take-off for a magical adventure.
Flight from JNB, South Africa to BUQ, Zimbabwe with a short final drive to the Estate
Sooo I always wanted to live in Southern Africa, where I feel my heart belongs to and I particularly looked for possibilities that would involve horses, as I just love these beautiful animals. Lucky enough, I found a place (following # on Instagram can be quite a good choice) that sounds awesome to me and I am looking forward to start this new adventure in my life. As little as I know today, I will be staying on Cawston surrounded by horses and other African wildlife. The reserve itself is home to game, such as herd of sable, giraffe, wildebeests etc. Right now, I am unsure if and which wild big cats I will encounter on Cawston, but I am keen to find out soon.
So, how would you get ready for this kind of African adventure? First of all I decided to book my flight tickets – Check, so that is done! Then, I started reading and reading lots of travel guides, historical books and economical lecture about Zimbabwe, my new „home“ for April until end of June. Afterwards, I decided to draft a list with things that are necessary and handy for such kind of adventure:
- Sleeping bag and Mosquito net
- Headlamp and flashlight
- A small backpack for short hiking and riding excursions
- Hiking and riding boots
- My riding equipment such as helmet, riding trousers, chaps, etc.
- Sweater and jacket
- Chinos and shorts
- Binoculars
- Camera and gadgets
- Plug adapter
- The rest of the details I will figure out
Plugs for Zimbabwe
Of course, I invested in my riding skills and started to take riding lessons on a regular basis 3 months before my flight would take-off and got physically in good shape. I also checked my passport, would be very stupid to have to return home before even touching the African ground.
But what else? Well, it seems to be a good idea to look for medical advices, just in case and to be prepared. So, I got some vaccination shots (rabies together with meningitis vaccination really got me knocked out) at the tropical doctor, not knowing if these are much of a help and a prescription of Malarone, even if the reserve claims to be Malaria-free. Maybe I will have some time for traveling and then I don’t want to miss out anything because of Malaria endangered places. Finally, I checked with my health insurance what is covered and needed. It’s important that the insurance covers expenses for medically necessary transfers back to the home country in any severe cases. That’s it, I believe! Now, I hope to be prepared for the big unknown that awaits me in a country in need for some economic improvements and stabilization but also home to some of the most magnificent landscapes and wildlife that Southern Africa can offer!
My newest lessons I learned while preparing for these wonderful months ahead of:
- Africa is always good for any surprises – shortly after I booked my flights the violent demonstrations in Harare and Bulawayo took place due to the bad economic situation in Zim;
- Lots of people appreciate my adventurous time-out and admire my courage to step into the unknown – well, you can do it, too if you wish! Go ahead and make your dreams come true before they fade away and you have to put lots of effort into chasing instead of living them!
- Whatever you do, do it with passion and your goals are easily achievable – the effort was little to fulfill my dream: fun times in researching and taking unpaid leave from work, off I go!
Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you in a few weeks in Zimbabwe – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞