#trip:zimbabwe01

[triblondon]

Days 15-47

The following weeks are spent at the office doing the bulk of the work in the stock control system. I don't feel this stuff is interesting enough to document, so I take a break from journal writing.

location:Harare / Reapers office

summary:Working

trip:zimbabwe01

[triblondon]

Day 13

Simon runs a small shop for the community surrounding Basil's Harare office. Today Simon, David and I go to the local supermarket (significantly less local than you might expect), to get some stock for it, and fill up three big trolleys with consumables. The prices are generally about three or four times lower than the UK, but in some cases the difference is staggering. Cigarettes are over fifty times cheaper - no doubt due to far lower taxes, and natively grown tobacco. Good job I don't smoke.

We drive on to the shop itself to deliver the stock, and then retuen home around 5. Wonder if there are any good movies on tonight. I've had enough of horrors for now though.

summary:Restocking Simon's shop

location:Harare

trip:zimbabwe01

day:13

[triblondon]

Days 8-9

Both Tuesday and Wednesday are fairly uneventful - I spend both days at the Reapers office in Harare talking to various people and creating my plan for the new stock control system. I also contact MWeb to find out about upgrading the internet service to a permenant connection. On Wednesday evening Basil and I have dinner with Basil's cousin, Mike, at an enormous colonial-style house that probably would have cost several million in the UK but was only about £100,000 for Mike to purchase three months ago.

summary:Working in the office

location:Harare

trip:zimbabwe01

[triblondon]

One day prior to departure

Today started rather well. On friday I went to an interview at the National Air Traffic Service for an information systems job, and this morning the personnel lady called to tell me I'd got it. Obviously my new suit had the desired effect. That means I can leve knowing I have a job lined up when I return. After receiving this news I went to buy some presents for Basil, his wife, and his personal assistant Pam. I've got a pocket-watch style desk clock for Basil, and some fragranced soaps for the women. Hope they like them.

Mum's just got off the phone to Basil, and decided that she isn't quite as worried about me as she was before, which is lucky.

Packing is almost finished, which is to say I've packed everything that I don't need today or tomorrow morning, and well in advance too. Now I just have to waste 30 hours. And the internet connection's just gone down again. I won't be suprised if Basil has a more reliable internet connection than me.

summary:Planning

location:London

trip:zimbabwe01

[triblondon]

Seven days prior to departure

Finally the mystery surrounding my trip to Zimbabwe has been cleared, at least partially, with the arrival of a travel itinerary and a brief email from Basil about what I'm to be expected to do. The story begins about three months ago (March 2001), when a business contact in Zimbabwe asked me if I would like to spend some time with his company. I had never met him, and our only connection was through my mother, so I thought it remarkably trusting of him to assume I would be of any use to his business.

So having agreed to travel to the other side of the world for two months at someone else's expense and do something which, to put it mildly, I may find challenging, I now need only to call Air Zimbabwe and have them send me the tickets.

This years trip, so organised, couldn't be more of a contrast to my Australia trip last summer, which was so meticulously planned so far in advance that virtually nothing was left to chance (although not everything went according to plan). I now have no idea what lies ahead in the next two months. Still, at least I'll miss most of Big Brother 2.

location:London

summary:Planning

trip:zimbabwe01

[triblondon]

Zimbabwe 2001

DayLocationSummary1LondonPlanning2HarareArrival, welcome, dogs3HarareFarmers' meeting, factory tour, political debate4Harare / Reapers OfficeDealmaking, tour of office complex, requirements gathering5HarareLion park6Nyabadza VillageChurch service, meet the family7Rusape / HarareShelling begins, lunch at Basil's farmhouse, withdraw cash from bank African-style10HarareWorking in the office11HarareWorking from home12HarareShopping, Cinema13HarareRestocking Simon's shop14Harare / Reapers officeWorking at the office48Harare / Reapers officeWorking49Victoria FallsRiverboat tour, traditional dance show50Victoria FallsElephant safari, black-market trading51Victoria FallsWhite water rafting52Victoria FallsSwimming, trying to recover from sunburn53Victoria FallsHelicopter tour, flight back to Harare54HarareBack at work