Snapshots from the Road: the Combi Edition

"Cash Money"

Africa's full of such incredibly creatively decorated public transportation.
Welcome to the Zimbabwe edition--a tiny peek!

This one made me laugh right aloud in Harare. Why?  It didn't stop with naming itself "Consuming Fire"....

...it also made sure you knew the devil is a liar!

While on a road trip somewhere on the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road, I ran into the Delta Force.
I imagine it's not the Delta Force....and I imagine lots of creative reasons why this would be the name of choice in Zimbabwe!

While the name "Amazing Grace" was quite normal, I was always amazed (and usually laughing) at the creative ways the combis get packed!

A major difference from some other African countries? Zimbabwe's combis were rarely decorated other than an image and the name.
Soooo different from places like Senegal where the car rapides were works of art!

Okay so maybe not a combi, but I couldn't resist adding some snapshots of life around Harare.  I love the man just casually leaning to the side.

Typical bar and restaurants scattered every few kilometers in Zimbabwe, often in the middle of nowhere (or so it seemed).

Harare recycles!  Who knew?!

Passing through one of Zimbabwe's small towns (I unfortunately can't remember which one this was--possibly Kwekwe?)  

Tweet

The Zimbabwe Traffic Smorgasbord

Traffic starting to build up in Harare behind a tractor.

Harare is a wonderful mix of rural and urban, changing from block to block. 

Bet you didn't think this was in the city proper!

Living in Africa can mean some interesting traffic experiences for ex-pats.
Sometimes trying to get anywhere can be very....well, frustrating! It is always an adventure.

Vehicles going in multiple directions, people hanging out of vehicles, and naturally a truck barreling toward you.

(Patience and a good sense of humor gets me through it!  It's definitely the biggest culture shock in Africa for me.)

And an aspect of Zimbabwe I hadn't guessed? 

The amount of people who film the procession for a wedding celebration---outside the window!

I've seen some crazy things in traffic all over Africa but possibly the most endearing and scariest of all? 

The amount of people who ride in the back of vehicles. For an expat, we immediately think seat belts! car seats! etc!

While it seems a little dangerous (and scary!) to me, it is also such an endearing aspect of many African cultures: the community aspect of helping one's neighbor get somewhere so of course he'll be offered a lift.

One of my favorite things of Africa?
Its street vendors, especially when they get creative. Every day these guys sell their flags, their sports balls, and swimming pool toys.

Makes me think of this guy, my favorite type of Senegalese street vendor.

And what do you do when you see 20+ minutes of waiting at each repaving construction site in Mutare?

Wisely sell the hot, disgruntled people stuck in traffic cold soda! Brilliant.

Why yes, let's just haul a trunk full of skulls of assorted animals.

Thank you, Gaborone, Botswana, for this gem!

There is something always burning in Harare.
It took me awhile to get used to the raging fires at night that people set, often to burn trash, that then just go left unattended.

Tweet

Wild is Life!

Why, hello, Sweetpea the Kudu!

While visiting Wild is Life in Harare, Zimbabwe, we had afternoon tea with this lovely animal (she's partial to strawberries....)

How's this for a sign?? Probably best to keep your fingers away from lions...

Wild is Life rescues animals who have been orphaned (due to poaching), are ill, or who would otherwise have been killed.

This beauty promptly walked past..see? The sign has some good advice!

Wild is Life has several lions including one that is blind and one that is missing some teeth (making him unable to survive in the wild).

I instantly fell in love with the premises, so easy to get lost among its beauty.

So easy to forget you're in Harare.

I couldn't resist a second shot, I mean, just look at those flowers!

Mirabelle the Giraffe waiting for afternoon tea.

A boat as a swinging seat? Emphatic yes please!

Sweetpea the Kudu--aren't her stripes just lovely?

Wild is Life has also rescued Levi and Diesel, the cheetahs, from poachers who killed their parents.

For more information on the work that Wild is Life is doing, please visit them here.

Tweet