Imiri

We just enjoyed a fabulous long weekend. It was well needed – the break did us all good. We are now on full bore until Easter!

Imiri was beautiful and just what the doctor ordered! It’s a small game lodge about 1 ½ hours outside Harare. They set us up with the kids in their own little cabin (3 boys and 2 girls – the girls had their own room with a bathroom) and then the 3 big girls (moms) had our own cabin as well. That was great for all of us! We had a nice swimming pool, great trees to climb and dinner, breakfast and lunch, along with multiple teas, were included. Also, there were 2 game drives and sundowners one evening. All for $100 per adult and $60 per child! People here think it’s crazy, but that’s because everything used to be so cheap. We really relaxed there! The kids played – we read, visited, ate pomegranates we picked form trees, watched the kids . . . Did I mention that the lodges were surrounded by game, so we saw elephants, Cape buffalo, etc. from our porch?

They have had serious poaching problems there, so they corral the rhinos and elephants at night. We were able to pet them because they were behind a fence. We also were able to feed them from our jeep the next day. The rhinos have the funniest mouths! I’ll try to get pictures of them on the blog. They never go anywhere without their 24/7 guard, who carries a machine gun. A little less than 2 years ago, poachers killed 5 rhinos, including babies. So sad.

There is also an elephant there that was imported at age 6 months 35 years ago, along with one more little elephant. The second ellie died, so they gave the surviving one to Cape buffalo to raise. She is still with them and thinks she’s a buffalo! She is their leader, and has killed 17 male buffalos over the years when they challenged her matriarchy. I have some great pictures of them, too!

We also saw some wonderful kudu, eland, sable, gemsbok and impala, along with giraffe, zebra and warthog. There were also lions and hyenas, but they were penned. The park is not large enough to support predators. It was beautiful. I came away feeling very relaxed . . . and wishing we’d chosen to stay another night!

We’ve had a lousy week for power. We were out last Monday for 16 hours, only out for 1 ½ on Tuesday, no power for 18 hours on Wednesday, and 16 on Thursday. We left Friday, came back to power on Saturday, but then it was out for about 8 hours on Sunday and from 5 am until midnight yesterday! It’s getting a bit old . . . Happily, there was power when we left this morning. The school is spending a fortune on petrol for the generator here!

The kids are well, I am well – I hope you are all well, too.