Zimbabwe Travel Forum

We will be visiting Harare in early Aug. What clothing is appropriate. I've been told the women should wear skirts and dresses. No pants... is that accurate? Will it be cool in the evenings??

kim, just curious. why would you go there. unemployment is 70%, economy is imploding, 100 % inflation. lots of desperate lawless people. have you done your homework?

Pants are fine. It can get quite cool in the evening.
To the above poster: Have you actually been there? Yes the country is a mess, actually inflation is over 1000% at the moment but desperate lawless people? No! Zim is a beautiful country with great potential and unfortunately the people are caught up in a terrible situation of being run by a useless, undemocratic and corrupt government. Travel there now probably presents a few challenges of mostly a logistical/practical nature like fuel shortages (although apparently better at the moment) and availability of grocery/food items amongst others. I can't recall ever feeling unsafe in zimbabwe you just take normal precautions like you would in any city or country in the world. Some people feel that travel there is supporting the Mugabe regime but if you sit and talk to the average person they NEED the support both moral and financial of tourists at the moment. Yes visa money for example goes to the government but spending any forex you have with local people might just help them keep their job for another week or put a little food on the table for their family.
Please speak from personal first hand experience - if you have been in Zim and had problems with lots of desperate lawless people then enlighten me further!

stupid me. i have not been to Zim. i have gotten my info from the NY Times. when were you last there? having traveled a lot , my experience is that when people are hungry, they can become desperate even if they are normally great people. as i mentioned the economy has imploded and there is the AIDS problem. i hope you are correct but i would go elsewhere

Thank you Jack for your concern.... I can understand the aprehension. We are going with a group of 10 on a church missions trip. First of many I hope. However the people I am traveling with have gone several times and have very close connections with the area we will be staying. No worries... God is on our side and what ever happens It's All Good! Blessings Kim

TRYHARD....BLESS YOU!!! Thank you for your response... We are very excited to experience Harare and the african culture with the hopes of bringing a little love with us.

I was last in Zim in November 2003 and have since helped support a local family who live and work in Hwange National Park and of course have kept in contact with them throughout this time. I wouldn't hesitate to go back to Zim at this time but of course things are almost certainly going to deteriorate further and I do fear there is a lot more suffering to come. As for the AIDS tragedy I don't feel this has any bearing on traveling to the country whatsoever.
I hope the original poster helps the Zim people in some way. Good Luck to you.

good luck Kim. i think the world needs more people like you and your group

In august will be summer here and vic falls is hot and at times humid. Skirts for women will be ideal for day and afternoon but at night pants will definately be needed as it becomes chill.

Hi - I'm actually 'on the ground' in Zimbabwe (Mutare, capital city of Manicaland) as we speak :). I do not feel at all unsafe here and am having a good time. Yes, there are a few logistical problems - mainly around transportation. For example I am longing to go to the scenic areas of Manicaland (the Vumba, Nyanga park) but there is very little public transportation, fuel prices are astronomical and supplies limited and everything is self-catering.

Obviously the latter is a real problem when you have to find your own transportation - you've got to take a box of food with you somehow??

There is lots of food available in the grocery stores especially if you are willing to pay (for example there is a limited supply of regular white bread at 85,000 Zim dollars and people will line up for it and take it scorching hot from the oven - but there is plenty of other bread available for 150,000 - about 50 cents US).

I walk around in jeans and t-shirts but I suspect that the Zimbabweans think I am a slob because a) I have very few clothes with me and don't want to buy more so I wear the same thing all the time and b) my things aren't ironed, they are fanatical about ironing everything. Certainly pants are fine and I'm sure given your background you'll have enough sense to dress conservatively and in a non-provocative way (just good manners and good sense in my opinion).

Have a good time on your trip and don't hesitate to drop me a line if you have any specific questions.

Susan

PS Bring lots of money! I burned through my cash in no time (buying things for the household of the folks I am staying with - so probably not an expense you will encounter) and am lucky I have a 'connection' to bring me more US currency. As far as I can figure out there is no other way to get any quantities of money other than having someone bring it in for you - bank machines will give you $2 M Zim at one transaction with a limit of $10 M Zim per day which is pitifully little money and of course you'll only get the official rate which is a rip off

I was under the impression that the reason that they iron everything, even underwear, is to kill the eggs of some fly type thing that lays it's eggs in wet washing ready to burrow into it's new host causing illnes.

You are right - they do iron to get rid of bugs but I (the toomba fly I think it's called) think the truth is that they are also very concerned with appearance and being well-dressed and even if there were no toomba flies they would still iron (and we westerners still wouldn't).

Thanks for your comment.

Susan