I have just returned from my latest visit to Zimbabwe where I had an excellent time catching up with family and friends.

Every-time I go back I am stunned by just how beautiful the country, the people, it’s scenery and the wildlife is. Below are a few of the many, many photos I took either in my parents garden in Harare, at Mazvikadei Dam just outside Banket or on Lake Kariba.

Whilst in Kariba I went to see the dam wall because I knew that they had opened a few gates, I had not however expected to find three gates open! The power of the water coming through is incredible and you could even see the spray rising over the town of Kariba from Antelope Island in the early morning!

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher

I hope you enjoy the photos, if you would like to use any please feel free to contact me. I have also recently had a few people ask me about what equipment I use:

Binoculars
As well as a camera, I always have a good pair of binoculars with me and I would go as far as to say that they are as important, even more important than the camera. I mostly use a Steiner 10×26 compact when I travel or walk in the bush as they work well and fold up small enough to easily put in your pocket:

Best Birdwatching Binoculars

Camera
Believe it or not, I don’t use an SLR camera – rather a Digital Compact SuperZoom or Bridge camera and in particular the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ series of cameras. The main reasons for this are cost and size. They cost a fraction of a good quality digital SLR and that is not including the telephoto lens that you would have to buy for the SLR as well and they are also far smaller an lighter – therefore much easier to take on holiday with you. I also like the Panasonic’s because you can also get Telephoto Conversion Lenses for them to increase your zoom even more.

For more information, take a look at some article I have written on the Safari Guide website:
Best Digital Camera for Safari and Travel

Below are a few great Coffee Table type books on Zimbabwe:

Zimbabwe followed up their excellent Twenty20 win on Sunday by beating West Indies by two runs in a tense first one-day international in Guyana.

It was Shingirai Masakadza in his first game for Zimbabwe that took two wickets in the final over to help Zimbabwe to the win. The West Indies, chasing 255 for victory, needed 15 off the final over with three wickets in hand but Masakadza bowled Dwayne Smith (4) and Sulieman Benn was caught at midwicket next ball.

With the hosts requiring four off the final ball, Masakadza bowled a yorker to Kemar Roach who could only pick up a single to give Zimbabwe a 1-0 lead in the five-match series,

The West Indies run chase got off to a good but slow start with Ray Price bowling well, but captain Chris Gayle (57) and Adrian Barath (50) had a 99-run opening partnership before four wickets fell for 66 runs.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul steadied the West Indies and put them within sight of victory with a quick-fire 70 before being caught off the bowling of Masakadza, younger brother of Zimbabwe opener Hamilton.

Zimbabwe’s Vusi Sibanda fell five runs short of his century in 162-ball innings that included five fours and a six as the visitors reached 254 for five in their 50 overs. Hamilton Masakadza chipped in with 41 before wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu smashed 56 off only 54 balls.

The second ODI is in Guyana on Saturday 6th March 2010.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

USA: Amazon.com
Zimbabwe Cricket Books on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk

Zimbabwe 2-1 Malawi

Zimbabwe’s Warriors came from behind to defeat second string Malawi’s Flames 2-1 in a strength testing match played at Rufaro Stadium in Harare on Wednesday afternoon.

The Flames, who only had one player, Dave Banda who was part of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations squad, grabbed the lead through Noel Mkandawire in the first half.

But it was this goal that forced Zimbabwe to come out of their shell and they scored an equaliser through Banda’s own goal from a deflection before Zimbabwe’s Tafadzwa Rusike scored the winner in the second half: Rusike took a high ball down with his chest and despite the presence of a Flames defender, he fired a low shot on the turn that goalkeeper Nthala never saw.

Teams:

Zimbabwe: E. Sibanda, G. Mapemba, G. Karimupfumbi, M. Mwanjali, D. Veremu, A. Rambanapasi (E. Meleka, 85th minute), T. Kamusoko (R. Zhuwawo, 48th minute), F. Vimisayi (R. Mteki, 50th minute), N. Mushekwi (C. Malajila), K. Musona, T. Rusike.

Malawi: Simplex Nthala, Harry Nyirenda, Grey Nyirenda, Maupo Msowoya, Chikumbutso Kanyenda, Davi Banda, Peter Mgandira (Limbikani Mzava, 61st min), Gastin Simukonda (Luka Milanzi, 70th min), Green Harawa (Pilira Mwehiwa, 44th minute), Noel Mkandawire (Blessing Tembo, 76th min), Chikaiko Bridge (Joel Chipofya, 52nd min).

I try to go back home every year, so every year I am on the look out for cheap flights to Zimbabwe. I have been doing this for over 10 years now and so I would say that I have looked at pretty much every option and travelled on most of the airlines that fly to that part of the world.

So I thought with all this experience, I would pass on a few tips that I have picked up over the years and hopefully make your trip to Zimbabwe not only as cheap as possible, but also hassle free and enjoyable.

Cheap vs Convenience
When you travel anywhere in the world there is always a trade-off between the price of flights and the time it takes to get there. Cheaper flights tend to take you all over the world with many stops and the more expensive ones have less stops or are direct.

Direct Flights to Zimbabwe

With British Airways stopping their direct flights to Zimbabwe from London Heathrow a few years ago, as far as I know the only other way to fly direct to Harare is on Air Zimbabwe who fly from Gatwick airport. What is unusual is that this is often also the cheapest way to get there. Sounds perfect! The problem is things are not as rosy as they seem. Sure many, many people fly every week on Air Zim with no problems, but I have also heard of many instances where the airline has either had to cancel flights or redirect the flight to take certain dignitaries somewhere else without warning, leaving paying customers stranded. How often this happens I am not sure, but I personally know of a few instances and it has also been reported in the press more than a few times: Air Zimbabwe leaves passengers stranded at Gatwick

One Stop

The most common one-stop route to fly to Zimbabwe from the UK is to first go to Johannesburg in South Africa and then catch a connecting flight on to Harare international airport. Other than the direct Air Zim flights these are the least hassle, but are often more expensive than stopping more than once. You can take this route with South African Airways, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic (Swapping with SAA in Joburg). I have also sometimes seen that you can fly from London Heathrow, stopping in Addis Ababa and then onto Harare with Ethiopian Airlines that tends to fairly cheap.

Two or more stops

Two or more stops can be a real pain, but it can save you loads of money. One way to make the pain more bearable is to actually stay in one of the countries on route as part of your holiday. I have done this before with Kenyan Airlines, stopping and spending a week in Kenya, which I highly recommend. Options here include London – Nairobi – Johannesburg – Harare with Kenyan Airlines, London – Amsterdam – Johannesburg – Harare with KLM Airlines, London – Paris (CDG) – Johannesburg – Harare with Air France and London – Frankfurt – Johannesburg – Harare with Lufthansa.

Where to Book Cheap Flight Tickets to Zimbabwe

I have always found that the easiest and quickest way to compare prices is with on-line travel sites like Lastminute.com and Expedia. There are many other sites publish really cheap ticket prices, but never show you the dates and you have to phone them only to find out that the price they are advertising is no longer available or you have to fly between certain dates and often involve at least two stops.

The first game of the five match one day series between the West Indies and Zimbabwe will be played at the Provedence ground in Guyana on Thursday March 4th and is to be shown live on Sky Sports 4 from 13:25 here in the UK. The two sides recently played out a low-scoring but very thrilling T20I, where Zimbabwe beat a Denesh Ramdin-led West Indies side.

West Indies still favourites
Despite that loss, it is the lack of Zimbabwean firepower and the previous record that will allow West Indies to go into the game as favourites according to the bookies and it is Chris Gayle’s return to the West Indian side obviously means that he will be favoured to get to a big one. He hdid not have a very good tour of Australia and hence will look to use this opportunity to overcome the form issues before the start of the IPL. West Indies will also be strengthened by the return to international cricket of Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, while Adrian Barath will be tested in his opener’s role.

Kieron Pollard’s recent elevation to an ODI player, as compared to his earlier T20I specialist tag saw him take off well in Australia. He could be the man to watch out for in the series, and how he goes about his business in the first game will make for an interesting viewing.

Zimbabwe’s batsmen have not been as consistent as they would have liked, but that has probably to do with their lack of exposure at the highest level. Most of their recent games against teams like Bangladesh have also been lost and that has mainly to do with the fact that the likes of Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor and Charles Coventry have not been able to perform well as regularly as they would have liked.

The one batsman who missed out in the Twenty20, but cannot be counted out is Tatenda Taibu who had begun the tour with a century and who will look to make this innings count as well.

Team news
Though Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan have not been included in the squad for the opening one-day game, West Indies will be boosted by Gayle’s return, and will also depend heavily on Chanderpaul’s extensive experience and calm batting.

West Indies (probable) – 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Adrian Barath, 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Dwayne Smith, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Nikita Miller

Chris Mpofu and Kyle Jarvis both proved expensive in Zimbabwe’s warm-up game against the UWI Vice Chancellor’s XI, and with another spin-friendly surface expected in Guyana, Zimbabwe could well go for a three-pronged slow bowling attack once again.

Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Brendan Taylor 4 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 5 Charles Coventry, 6 Greg Lamb, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Prosper Utseya (capt), 9 Ray Price, 10 Graeme Cremer, 11 Shingirai Masakadza

Fancy a Flutter?
Make the game even more interesting and put some money on it:
Favourites: West Indies (1/4 at Boylesports)
Top West Indian batsman: Chris Gayle (13/5 at Totesport)
Top Zimbabwean batsman: Tatenda Taibu (9/2 at Boylesports)

Free £60 bet when you bet with totesport! – Totesport are currently offering you a £60 in free bets when you open an account with them.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

USA: Amazon.com
Zimbabwe Cricket Books on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk

I was really pleasantly surprised to see that the Twenty20 international cricket match in Trinidad between Zimbabwe and the West Indies was to be shown on Sky and just managed to convince my wife that she really didn’t need to watch Lark Rise to Candleford as is her usual Sunday evening ritual. Before the game there was plenty to be optimistic about as the West Indies have only recently returned from Australia where they were truly thumped and Zim currently have a feel good factor with many past players like Grant Flower and Heath Streak returning in coaching roles as well as guys like Ray Price and Tatenda Taibu retuning as players.

After only a few overs I started to wonder if this was really a good idea because in just 16 deliveries, Zimbabwe had already lost three wickets to the left-arm spin of Benn with no score on board! This was going to be embarrassing!! Luckily Hamilton Masakadza managed to guts it out for his 44 and there was a late onslaught from Elton Chigumbura with his 19-ball 34 and Zimbabwe managed to go from 76 for 6 in 18 overs to 105 all out. Not a great score, but at least this wasn’t going to be too embarrassing.

Before the start of the game Zimbabwe’s captain Prosper Utseya said that the spinners were one of the side’s big strengths, and this turned out to be the case with the ball turning significantly, Zimbabwe used the slow bowlers for 18 of the 20 overs! Initially things did not look great as whilst Zim’s spinners were difficult to score off, the West Indian batsmen of Adrian Barath and Shivnarine Chanderpaul negotiated the first five overs, steering West Indies to 20 for 0.

What the slow scoring did do was build some pressure on the West Indians and in a flurry of attempted big hits from their batsmen, the home side imploded. Barath was bowled in the sixth over after being beaten by the turn when looking to clear the legside boundary, Andre Fletcher picked out the deep square leg fielder with a powerful sweep in the next over, Pollard was foxed by the flight and dip of Graeme Cremer in his first attempt at a signature lofted on-drive, and Darren Bravo picked up a golden duck after the ball kept low when he was trying a Hollywood pull shot. West Indies had stumbled to 32 for 4 and then when Offspinner Greg Lamb trapped the dangerous Shivnarine Chanderpaul lbw in the 12th over with a delivery that spun a lot less than the batsman expected, it was game on!

Zimbabwe had gone from disaster and possible real embarrassment, to posting a slightly respectable target and now they had a chance to win the game! The true character of all Zimbabweans fighting spirit was shining through, but I also remembered that we also have the habit of snatching defeat out of the hands of victory. Not this time – as from this stage, it was almost all Zimbabwe. Dwayne Smith threatened briefly and stand-in captain Denesh Ramdin battled till the end, but West Indies never really mounted a serious challenge. Zimbabwe had won!

Often sport is more than just a game and I just hope that with the return of the many cricketers to Zimbabwe it also means that many more of us will return to rebuild our great country, where we can all be winners.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

USA: Amazon.com
Zimbabwe Cricket Books on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk