Hi everyone,

I am planning to ship our bikes to Cape Town and tour around Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe before turning back.

It seems Zimbabwe is slowly opening up again to tourism. Anyone been there recently and what is really the situation in term of safety?

We will get down to SA around late June July and plan to spend about 3 to 4 months to tour.

Thanks.

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

I'd definitely recommend visiting Zimbabwe.
I spent about a month there during a 14-month London-Cape Town trip on a 250 Yamaha in 2009/10.

I wrote up the Great Zimbabwe on the HUB here:
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/ts...of-photographs

Eastern Zim here:
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/ts...-town/zimbabwe

Bulawayo and around:
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/ts...-town/bulawayo

West Zim:
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/ts...o-the-atlantic

I had visited briefly in 2001 for the total solar eclipse, under canvas on the Zambezi at Mana Pools, plus 1 day in Harare.
That eclipse really kick-started tourism in Zimbabwe, it's been opening up to tourism for quite a while now and I'm so glad I spent time there on my Africa trip with the Yamaha.

Wherever you go, have a great time!

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TTR250 - London to Cape Town

Thanks. I was there back in 1999, before all the troubles started.

And in 2018, when we toured around, we went across Malawi and down through Mozambique to avoid Zimbabwe. At the time they had presidential elections and we thought it was better not to go through.
This time it would be nice. It was a very beautiful country, back in the days.

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

You should find up-to-date information on the South African bikers' forum https://wilddog.net.za/

__________________
Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)

I'm sure you don't need reminding about regional Facebook groups or ones specifically aimed at travel like "Every Passport Stamp" that have a 1000 times more pairs of up to date eyeballs than here. The search function on individual groups there is actually quite good now.

__________________

TBS.com

I was member ther, but I am locked and cannot reset my password as I never get the email for that, can’t contact anyone there or ask…. so not sure what to do other that create a new account. pITA.

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Wherever you go, have a great time!
[/QUOTE]

They banned unleaded gas , very hard to find since they now sell the "Blend",
my KTM didn't run very good on this ethanol mix,

smiles
Jeff

Thanks!


Interesting. We have two old 250s. A CRF and an XT250 Serow. They should run on anything considering how simple the engines are. They have been fine so far all around Central Asia and Southern Africa in the past.

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Hi, in November 2022 we entered Zimbabwe from Mozambique. We had planned to just go as far north as possible in Moz, and return south. Riding in Moz was just hard work, (poor roads and frequent speed checks), we decided to exit through Zim, en route to Kasane, Botswana. The border was a quiet one for tourists and paying for the $50 was complicated for them as the had little dollars to give us change. We were also interviewed informally by a guy we thought was a fixer but we concluded was a member of the security services. Lastly, as we were leaving the border, we were stopped by police who wanted a bribe, but we waited it out, and they gave up.

We initially went to Great Zimbabwe, this ancient fort is well worth a visit. We had no issues on the road. Having dollars is very important as it is the main currency. There is a local currency but mainly used by locals. We didn't feel insecure on the road and I don't remember many road checks. I was riding an XT250, and the petrol worked OK.

After Great Zimbabwe, we rode to Bulawayo and stated overnight in the Bulawayo Club, which I recommend. From memory we negotiated down to $60 for a twin room, with secure parking in the grounds. Bulawayo is a lively spot with lots of local markets around the Club.

Next day we rode to Kasane, passing Vic Falls as we had both visited it a few times in recent years. The ride is memorable for the heat and humidity. It must have been around 40C for hours. We found that stripping off and soaking our inner shirts gave us relief got 30 mins or so. The last hour or so to the Botswana border is through a national park and we were held up by a large elephant family crossing our path. There were also warthogs scampering along the side of the road. A memorable end to a long riding day. You may gather I recommend visiting Zimbabwe.

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As you are going to Namibia you might find some of this thread useful. The beginning is a bit mixed up, but remember it was in the Covid time and lottle foreign travel to write about.

From June 8, 2022, the thread covers the prep from UK, of an XT250 sitting in Namibia and then the Namibia and Botswana trip that followed.

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/top...ink_source=app

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Here's another ride report covering a 7 country ride, which included Zimbabwe and passes through Namibia and Botswana. I'd start on October 30th, 2022, when I'm on the plane to join my XT250 in Namibia. In travelling with Simon this time, and you may have already worked out, I'm Drumacoon Lad on this GSer forum. I hope this info is helpful.

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/top...ink_source=app

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