Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The Last Resort: Drifters Backpackers Lodge

Drifters photo 11Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zps4be18a78.jpg
En route back to Harare from a lovely visit to Zimbabwe's Chimanimani Mountains, we stopped at Drifters.
(This is the view from the Rogers' home.)

Drifters photo 12Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zpsc689f674.jpg
Drifters is a backpackers' lodge, the focal point of the Douglas Rogers memoir The Last Resort.

Drifters photo 13Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zps40cc8d3d.jpg
Rogers writes of his parents' experiences running Drifters as white Zimbabweans during the more tumultuous years of Zimbabwe history and how they adapt and fight to survive in the land they love.

Drifters photo 14Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zpscf313b96.jpg
Isn't it a lovely spot, tucked away near to Mutare?

Drifters photo 15Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zps946289d1.jpg
The Last Resort is one of the better memoirs I've read on Zimbabwe.  It takes a heavy topic, the violence of the 2008 elections, the land grabs and harassment of white Zimbabweans, and the daily struggle for all Zimbabweans to survive during its astronomically failed economy, and touches it both with humor and insight.

 photo 16Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zps10fa6280.jpg

Drifters photo 17Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zps9379ddc2.jpg
The bar which plays a prominent role in the memoir.

Drifters photo 18Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zps11f89abf.jpg
Would certainly recommend the memoir and it was so interesting to see Drifters after having read it.

Drifters photo 19Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zps4dbd17a2.jpg
These buildings had been erected by construction crews working on the roads nearby.  They were already months over their stay and the Rogers suspected no payment was in sight.

Drifters photo 191Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zps51c0aff9.jpg
It was interesting to meet Lyn and Ros Rogers and to see how humorously their son had captured them in the book.

Romeo's Meat Market photo 192Drifters-tiaphotoblog_zps413f3343.jpg
Romeo---read the book to learn who he is!---opened this nearby butchery, Romeo's Meat Market.


2 comments:

  1. I hope I can drop by this place one day, very refreshing and nice place to spend some holiday weekend.

    more info

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just finished the book this evening, and I'm definitely thinking about paying Drifters a visit!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Pin It button on image hover