Thread: All's well

Hello again from Harare.

Another great day on the highveld.

Was tracking down town with my native companion (who incidentally has a PhD in agriculture and owns a Defender) to seek out some bubblewrap or tubing for the other day's parts repatriation and casually mentioned a long and fruitless global search for a particular part now reputed to be unavailable.

Shortly thereafter, following an Indiana Jones style traverse of the wilds of southern Harare, we pulled up outside the veritable elephant graveyard of Land Roverdom. On entry, the patron inquired of what we we were seeking to which I gasped "part 306460 should such be available" - the surprising reply "how many do you want Boss"? Shoving the equivalent of $10US in crumpled notes across the counter for a brace of genuine Series inner door handles successfully concluded the search.

My dusky companion mentioned on the way home that as a gubba I was probably charged double the going native price . However, these things irregularly go on UK eBay for between 35-60 quid , so I wasn't planning to spend too much time haggling........

So, another pleasant day ended on the stoep with a pocketful of parts and a Zambezi or three for sundowners reflecting that I should have asked if he had a Fairey overdrive in there too.

Still purfik.

P.S. Labour Day here tomorrow, so its fireworks tonight and the Mad Bob is probably revving up a crowd somewhere about the town - so, probably a good time to stay near the bar.

Originally Posted by S3ute

Hello again from Harare.

Another great day on the highveld.

Was tracking down town with my native companion (who incidentally has a PhD in agriculture and owns a Defender) to seek out some bubblewrap or tubing for the other day's parts repatriation and casually mentioned a long and fruitless global search for a particular part now reputed to be unavailable.

Shortly thereafter, following an Indiana Jones style traverse of the wilds of southern Harare, we pulled up outside the veritable elephant graveyard of Land Roverdom. On entry, the patron inquired of what we we were seeking to which I gasped "part 306460 should such be available" - the surprising reply "how many do you want Boss"? Shoving the equivalent of $10US in crumpled notes across the counter for a brace of genuine Series inner door handles successfully concluded the search.

My dusky companion mentioned on the way home that as a gubba I was probably charged double the going native price . However, these things irregularly go on UK eBay for between 35-60 quid , so I wasn't planning to spend too much time haggling........

So, another pleasant day ended on the stoep with a pocketful of parts and a Zambezi or three for sundowners reflecting that I should have asked if he had a Fairey overdrive in there too.

Still purfik.

P.S. Labour Day here tomorrow, so its fireworks tonight and the Mad Bob is probably revving up a crowd somewhere about the town - so, probably a good time to stay near the bar.

G'day Bob,

Good to read that your in-country experience paid off.

Maybe next time you will get your friend to act as your authorised agent before the transaction while you wait discreetly in the Defender .

How is their season shaping up agriculture wise going? What are the main forms of agriculture in the parts where you are visiting - animal production or cereal cropping?

I am currently reading a book written by Malla Nunn called A Beautiful Place to Be which is set in 1950's South Africa. The story is set deep in the heartlands. Okay there are only 1, 116 kilometres between Harare and Johannesburg. I suppose that distance equates for going for a drive in between Brisbane and Bowen. I suppose with the state of the Bruce highway once you pass Gympie the roads can't be that much worse between the two countries in Africa?

Have a fun time at the fireworks - have a safe and pleasant journey home.

Kind Regards
Lionel

Lionel,

Hello from Johannesburg - sitting in the airport lounge counting down to the long flight home (second in three weeks) pulling on a Windhoek and catching up on Aulro news.

Yes, next time I am buying parts I will have to send the native companion in first or have a go at an Al Jolson imitation. However, for a saving of 5 bucks this last time it would probably be a waste of polish.

The roads in Zimbabwe range from OK (Bulawayo to Victoria Falls, Harare to Bulawayo) to extremely ordinary (most of everything else). Many of the single strip roads were laid down during the bush war to make it easier to see if they had been mined - and most have seen no maintenance since. Well meaning folks around the world have donated money to rebuild quite a few, but oddly enough the money seems to often have disappeared before the road mending got underway.

Farming is largely dominated by subsistence crops of maize and cattle herding, Nguni most often, and goats. The spectacular collapse of commercial farming and the agribusiness complex that supported it if fairly well known. The odd large farm remains, often with an uninvited new "partner", but a cloud of uncertainty hovers over all of them and dispossession can come at very short notice.

Otherwise, the depradations of the Mad Bob and his cronies aside, it is a remarkably appealing place. I spent a great Easter weekend in Hwange National Park (Wankie to the old hands) in a well used Defender with the elephants etc and will probably get around to posting a few photos some day.

Cheers,

Back in South Africa again and readying for another foray into Zimbabwe tomorrow for a couple of weeks.

Beyond the usual sights and sounds of this genuinely interesting country I had some more luck on the parts front in Johannesburg last week. Tracking by Leimers Landys in Kya Sands picked up a set of new shockers, swivel seals, bearings and what have you for around a third of the local price - so the $A:Rand exchange rate is still going our way even if the USD and GBP are not...

Two dilemmas now - go for the $13 rump and $1.10 Hansa or stick to the diet, and working out how to sweet talk the South African Airlines lady to look the other way when I check on my "hand luggage" for the flight to Harare tomorrow.

Cheers,

Originally Posted by S3ute

Two dilemmas now - go for the $13 rump and $1.10 Hansa or stick to the diet, and working out how to sweet talk the South African Airlines lady to look the other way when I check on my "hand luggage" for the flight to Harare tomorrow.

Cheers,

Sweet talk the South African Airlines lady with a $13 rump and a $1.10 Hansa!

I see no dilemma

Well the best laid plans and all.

Arrived in Harare yesterday to discover that, despite a valid entry visa, the Welcome mat had been withdrawn and an officious dark finger pointing back to the departure lounge......

No official reason given, but the national elections are due to be held next week amongst general local and international condemnation - so there might lie the clue.

Anyway, to while the time away pre-flight I bought my dusky minder a beer and offered up some advice on how to fix his small farm up as a sign that one can rise above the tedium of tinpot politics. The couple of free Hansas on the SAA flight back to Johannesburg were also consolation for the inconvenience.

Plenty of parts to get fitted from previous forays and the game viewing here in SA last week was pretty darn good.

Hope our own election is a bit tidier than the Mad Bob's, but I have to think that the signs so far are not necessarily good.

Cheers,

Hello again from Harare.

Sitting here in my usual Zim digs at 3:00am with a warm Hansa pils pondering the nuances of jetlag and lack of refrigeration in one of this (once) singularly attractive city's finest. Jacarandas and Silky Oaks are blooming etc etc.

Unpredictably short trip this time - despite a valid visa and a pocketful of testimonials from the Embassy and a horde of others in the foreign aid community of generally good character and intent, the Immigration folk determined that I was still on some secret black list and would regrettably have to pee off home on the next flight. Intervention from the Ambassador (yes they do work on Sundays and appreciatively to good effect) got me a one day entry and an invitation to visit the local Foreign Affairs office in the morning to sort out our small misunderstanding. Having failed to get entry in July and now once again suggests that we have a problem somewhere.......

Anyway, to Land Rovers. Having waved a cheery goodbye for now to my Immigration minder, my dusky companion asked of how we might usefully use the 24 hours of grace beyond cooling our heels with the diplomats. Crack of dawn and back to the Land Rover graveyard to flush out an elusive and not-oft sighted part ETC5347 (spin off filter adaptor from a 12J or 17H 2.5 litre motor) was the response. The natives are brimming with confidence of success, so even if one departs this troubled country earlier than proposed there may yet be a silver lining.....

Cheers,

[QUOTE=S3ute;2003312]Hello again from Harare.

Unpredictably short trip this time - despite a valid visa and a pocketful of testimonials from the Embassy and a horde of others in the foreign aid community of generally good character and intent, the Immigration folk determined that I was still on some secret black list and would regrettably have to pee off home on the next flight.

Hello S3Ute,

How did you go with your friends at Harare, did you manage to stay and do what you had planned or were you sent packing? More importantly did that packing include your spin part?

Kind Regards
Lionel