This is something i wrote when i was at the end of my trip x

I have been In this country now for 29 days and my trip is pretty much over- time to pack up and go back home. I have been so many beautiful places and met so many wonderful people. I have  had the best time of my life and because of this trip a whole other path has opened up for me I can definitely say 2019 is my year so many opportunities and paths have been opened up to me and I am grateful and i will not waste it.

I have encountered so many different and crazy experiences and gee I even had people asking to marry me 

And for being here so long I have realised is that all over the world peoples perception of “Africa” is wrong because before I came if we were learning /talking /thinking about Africa we would learning about malnutrition and droughts, talking about how people are suffering and thinking that Africa is a underdeveloped place. The media is hugely responsible for this because all we ever see are the charity adverts that show lack of water and starvation but that is happening in every country somewhere, Africa is a developing country and yes Zimbabwe  may be under the control of a corrupt government and seem to have no order but yet again it is all you see in the news, they always focus on the bad.
Zimbabwe is a beautiful place.

From being here I have came to the realisation that with the life I have I am extremely fortunate to have hot and running water, a constant electricity supply and free education. Because yes… Zimbabwe is a developing country but some people still depend on a well for water and wood for heat and to cook food.

On the 6th of February my uncle, nana and I flew to Victoria falls. originally our plan was to go by coach on an 8+ hr drive but there was no way I was doing that, it was far to hot to be on a coach that long so I negotiated with my step father that I would pay for my own flight. I am scared of flying and After flying lots lately I have decided I feel a lot safer on larger airplanes, we flew in the smallest plane I have been In, it was only 3 seats wide and omg I was crapping it, the turbulence was crazy and shook the plane so much.

When we arrived at Victoria falls Airport we were waiting outside for our ride to collect us and my uncle paid people in costumes to take a picture with me and I had to comply as they were already handing we a wooden stick and shield I was a  little confused. But it is something you don’t see every day so I smiled and enjoyed the experience. 

After finding a hotel and dropping of our bags we made our way to the Falls. I can say after we got of the plane I was feeling the heat 

When we were walking through to the Falls we saw my most favourite animal of all MONKEYS 

 and the closer I got they didn’t care I wanted to grab it and squeeze it…… So cute!!

And Finally…. The view we came for, yet again the camera cannot express the way looking over at this huge waterfall makes you feel, its beautiful!

Like an idiot I decided not to buy a raincoat after leaving mine at the hotel as I thought “it isn’t going to rain” well I was wrong in two ways 1-the mist from the falls is like being sprayed with water and 2-it did rain!!

After we had finished looking at the falls we went to buy souvenirs, my gosh what a task I’m lucky I had my uncle to negotiate prices because I had no idea what was a good deal but in the end I was happy with what I got and cannot wait to give them to people.

And one extra point, the hot shower in the hotel was amazing, I have missed them so much 

After waking up and getting ready to go home, we set off for a cooked breakfast, I couldn’t keep still I love a good breakfast.

We went to a place Highley recommended by my aunt called shearwater cafe and I can definitely say I enjoyed it, I would include a photo of what I had but I forgot to take a picture because I was too excited to eat 

The flight back to harare was probably the Worst flight I have been on so far. The turbulence was so crazy, I thought I was going to cry
(such a baby) as usual we got back safe and all was good.

One of the craziest experiences of my trip occurred when a hugely famous Zimbabwean musician died(tuku) and he lived with his wife in the same area where my aunt’s house is in Norton and because this was a hugely respected musician (e.g Michael Jackson, elvis presley) the president went to pay his respects.
The president drove escorted along this road past the house with 50+ cars and armed troops with massive guns (I got a little cautious) it was crazy and because I was probably the only white person in Norton I had the police escorts on bikes waving at me

The president is so hated he needs alot of protection and his security will shoot anyone who does pull over or get out of the way and my uncle said to me to put my phone away because you “cannot take pictures because they will shoot you”

While staying at the hotel we visited Nyangombe Falls, to be honest I wasn’t sure the car would make it they do say it is only suitable for 4×4 cars and we went in the Mercedes benz ..not a good idea!!!

After the car wrecking drive we reached the falls and we had to make our way down on a path which reached the bottom of the falls

And the journey was worth it, such an amazing view and the cold water felt great in the blazing heat. 

Of course it is another photo opportunity so I snapped a few photos of my little cousins who don’t look to excited.

This is another beautiful picture I took while we were driving in the car because why not? 

For our next destination we had to travel a little further because of this we stayed in a hotel called the montclair, plus they had WiFi so I was ecstatic. 

The view from the hotel was amazing, the camera could not show exactly how beautiful it actually was. While I was at the hotel I took it as an opportunity to take pictures and relax.

This was the exterior of the hotel, it was surrounded by the stunning trees.

Oh look the “plam tree photo” got to have one of them 

And here is me being forced into a photograph when I just wanted to sit in the shade because it was scorching hot 

One of the most beautiful places I had seen in Zimbabwe was chinhoyi caves.

They say the water is blue for the same reason the sky is blue “because it is endless” it was georgous to look at. You are not allowed to disturb the water at all, it is a very protected place. 

To get to the blue waters at the bottom of the cave you have to descend the many steps that have been carved into the cave… Phew. What a workout and that was only getting down,getting up was 10x worse.But I am strong so i got to the top and took the opportunity to snap a photo of my aunt and uncle struggling.:-)

It is such a beautiful place, we did not complete the whole route as you could go through a tighter path in the cave which leads you to a more aerial view of the water, but we are lazy and decided not to go any further as it was just too hot.

The first place we visited when we were all rested up from our long journey was to the village’s where my uncle’s parents lived.

In these villages they often had a separate wood fire kitchen that looks like the one  above 

In these villages they do not have access to a running water supply so they have to walk around 5 minutes to a well in which they fill bucket by bucket to use.
In these villages they also don’t have a flushing toilet what they have is a large hole in the ground in which you squat over 

 I held it for 2 days it was too intimidating for me. And The bugs at the village were huge,i have never seen ants so big in my entire life

In the village there was a church in which my uncle’s father was the pastor, here is where I joined a Sunday service which was beautiful and a little out of my comfort zone I don’t think I have ever had that much attention on myself (don’t think some of them have ever seen a white person) but throughout the service they were thankfull that God brought me safely to Zimbabwe and they hope he looks after me during my stay. Even though it was out of my comfort zone the spirit was so high and beautiful especially during the songs which I joined in and enjoyed a lot.

Zimbabwe is everything you expect when you think “Africa” but it is so much more. During my visit I saw poverty and a population hugely affected by a corrupt government, but I also saw the natural beauties of Zimbabwe and they were breathtaking , the kindness of the people was truly beautiful, it is something that the people of Zimbabwe should hold onto.

From what I noticed you could be in one of the poorest areas of Zimbabwe and all it would take is a walk around the corner and you would find a huge estate (home) in the middle of such poverty, I saw this a lot in my trip. The economic divide is big and from what I see you either have money  or you don’t . To see a population so greatly economically divided is shocking because for an education in this country you have to pay and the fees are continuously increasing(just because they can) , this can help understand that so many children will not be getting an education and it shows Zimbabwe will be stuck with this great economic divide of the population for many years to come.

From conversations I have had with the people who have grown up in Zimbabwe the most common thing I have heard was “it is a messed-up country” and they often say the government(president) is pocketing a lot of the money.
One example :On my journey to this country the government had decided to triple fuel cost (just because they can) and this led to many riots and in retaliation the government switched off  the Internet to stop communication, they can do that here because water /electricity are all controlled by the government not by separate companies. Due to the riots people were so scared that no one went to work, schools and shops were shut and food was running out . “it’s a messed up country”
And the worst thing that resulted because of these riots is that 12 civilians died and thousands injured because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the injured could not get medical help they needed because good medical help is expensive there.