Never having been to Harare and not a great lover of cities, we didn’t know what to expect.   Luckily for us, we would not be alone in the city trying to find our feet as we were staying with Bart, the next door neighbour to Craig and his family (who we had met in Mozambique).

Harare was a big surprise, very unlike the usual African Cities we had come across.  It reminded us of Johannesburg in the 90’s.  Friendly, easy to get around, clean, relaxed, well stocked.  They even had an O’Hagans, Scottish Salmon, Biltong and Hagen Daas ice cream (albeit at a price).   What more could you ask for.

Whilst Steed was getting his 72,000 kms service, we strolled the shops in Levy Village, had lunch at O’Hagans and generally enjoyed the atmosphere.   As with everywhere in Zim, the people of Harare (white and black) are very optimistic for the future.  Everyone believes that events in 2008 were the low point for the people and the country and they seem determined never to have this happen again.

Bart and the Gurney family had made us very welcome and we were sad to be leaving so soon but we were off to Mana Pools. We really did enjoyed our time in Harare and if we had to live in a city again, Harare would not be a bad choice.

Just to show you who we are talking about, Andrew with Bart; Pauline with Joss (Craig and Sam’s son) and below, the rest of the Gurney Family – Craig, Sam and their daughter Savy