On a recent private Zimbabwe Botswana Game Tracker tour Sfiso and Annitta where lucky to have a group that was interested not only in the animals or tracking the game as the tour is aptly named but in an all rounded cultural and culinary experience.

After visiting the Zimbabwean cultural capital of the great Zimbabwe ruins we headed further into Zimbabwe in the direction of Zimbabwe’s largest national park which is Hwange national park and the successful rhino sanctuary with breath taking landscapes of the Matobos. Due to the arrival of the much awaited rains in southern Africa most of the roads and bridges had been swept away which meant lots of improvising ,detours and going off the beaten track, this was exciting for both S’fiso and me and our clients who had already switched on to adventure seeking holiday mode. We set of quit early preparing ourselves for the worst case scenario but we were pleasantly surprised as most of the detours we took led us into seeing deep rural Zimbabwe, and the road less travelled proved to be very eye opening.

On one particular day we had an early start and arrived in Hwange quiet early, we then decided to visit the local primary school, the welcome we received is indescribable ,the smiles from the children and the sparkle in their eyes as they watched their headmaster show us their latest academic and field sports achievements. We had made a shopping stop in Bulawayo where we bought books ,toys ,pens and pencils for the children who were more happy to receive a group of visitors from foreign lands ,the fascinated little children followed us around their school with the bravest gathering the courage to touch and feel if the visitors are real. 

The school visit ended with a song and dance from the children and we proceeded to the bush camp very happy and content that we had managed to bring joy to so many innocent hearts. Our experience didn’t end there, for the culinary experience our starter for dinner was Kapenta fish which is a regional favourite. 

Kapenta is a small fish about 3cm long which one eats whole and many cannot fathom the idea until they see the lovely fish on a bed of lettuce, My colleague and I were wonderfully surprised as we saw the starter disappear of the plates and we learnt something new, You can have them with mayonnaise, on that night we knew that this was certainly the right group for us because we could safely cook local cuisine and everyone would enjoy it.