The last few days in Bulawayo were awesome, so jam packed that I am only getting a chance to write my blog now that I'm in Johannesburg. Firstly, we drove to Matopos National Park for sunset one evening- a place like no other and a landscape that led you to expect dinosaurs to roam freely. The giant boulders were glistening in the sunset and changing colour with the scenery as the sun gradually disappeared before us. It was magical- a place I would surely return to in the future. 

I continued to be warm welcomed by Leisel and her lovely mum who successfully fattened me up with all the lovely homemade food she rustled up. We watched local soaps and movies in the evenings and chatted about life in the old days, an experience not many travellers have the pleasure of. I was so lucky and I truly appreciated every last minute here. It was so homely. 

I was to a local Nganga- herbalist/witch doctor/psychic lady if you will, to have a traditional experience. We all sat in her small home in one of the townships nearby, right at her feet, as she began to read our fortunes from inside an old torch- not the traditional experience after all but it was fun! At the weekend I was taken out on a pub crawl around Bulawayo with Leisel, her sister in law Nardia and some other friendly girls. We went to the majestic Nesbitt Castle, Busters pub and ended at The Tin Cup where the tubes were pumping. The night was great, and I came away knowing a few more local Zimbabweans.

The day we were due to drive to Joburg, I was dreading the outcome of the day. All week I was trying to get information on entering SA with a full passport and got mixed advice. So I decided to take the risk and drive 3 hours to the border with Leisel and face the consequences. Having arrived at the border, it turned it out that it was as easy as pie to get in and I needn't have worried at all. Although I was pretty sure that the immigration officer ( a lady, which I was unlucky enough to get), didn't know true rules herself and just stamped where she saw space. Either way, I was free, out of limbo and finally in my 48th country! First stop would be Polokwane where we would stay before carrying on the journey the next morning. 

Having arrived in Bulawayo after a good chat with my new Zimbabwean friend Cyril on the bus, I was greeted by my friend Liesels brother Dale and his kids. I was invited to stay at Leisels moms house during my stay in Bulawayo and would meet Leisel herself when she arrived from Johannesburg the next day..Our plan was to spend some time in Zimbabwe exploring and sightseeing before heading to Joburg together where she lives. She had so many amazing plans for me that encouraged me to extend my flight by 2 weeks which meant I could finally have some time in South Africa too. I had met Leisel in Rishikesh, India and here we were in Zim together, such a small world!

Her mother was so welcoming and I had my own cosy bedroom in her lovely house which was such a luxury for me who had been on the road for so long. Her cooking was also amazing! When Leisel arrived we had such a good catch up and she introduced me to all her friends and family which helped me understand the Zimbabwean way of life better than I would have as just a traveller. We celebrated Mother's Day over a big feast cooked by her sister in law the next day and we all sat in the sun enjoying each other's company for the whole afternoon.

Leisel took me around town and introduced me to lots of people, took me to museums, national gallery's and we went on a 'tour' of her old house which amazed me. It was like something from MTV Cribs! I was spoiled rotten by all of her mothers amazing meals and hospitality and even learned a lot about the history of Zimbabwe and the huge economic crash through her experiences. Leisel planned to take me to so many more places and now that I had time, I could look forward to enjoying every minute. We went to the townships nearby and took some dresses to be altered which gave me a different perspective on the city compared to dining at some really lovely garden cafes in town. I began eating meat again here in Bulawayo and I was glad to have the chance to taste home cooking once again and especially here in Southern Africa.

I couldn't have had a better experience so far in Bulawayo and to be integrated into the lifestyle like I am. Tonight I look forward to sunset over the beautiful Matopos National Park and tomorrow I look forward to picking up my new dresses and enjoying a night out here in the city with a big group of new friends! Bulawayo - to be continued :) :)

A lovely local taxi driver called Kenias took me to 'it's a small world' backpackers lodge like I asked, which was seemingly the only backpacker style accommodation in the city, or so the 'lonely planet' said. I booked into the 12 bed dorm for 2 nights which was huge and had really comfy beds. It was expensive here compared to the other African countries at a cost of $12 a night but the place was really nice. Straight away I met a few people and chatted for a bit before showering and heading to bed for a decent nights sleep- Pity about the loud packers at 5am the next morning though!

The next day I made a plan for myself as I so in most cities as to not overwhelm myself or feel guilty about doing nothing. I started out at 9am and walked miles and miles (an hour) to the city. I intended to go to the museum of human sciences which upon entry I realised cost $10 which I could not afford. (Did I mention I only had €84 left in my bank account). I opted to go to my other cheap options including The National Gallery of Zimbabwe ($1), which had amazingly interesting displays of art depicting Zimbabwe's incredible history, I then went to Harare Gardens (-free) where I basked in the sun with the other locals and ate some of my cheap lunch from Spar (thank god for Spar), after this I looked at my phones map and decided to squeeze in The National Archives ($2) to finish off the day. It turned out that my map wasn't quite accurate and I ended up walking for 1.5hrs out of town- at least, to get to this place. It was still worth the walk though and I spent an hour or so discovering the history of Zimbabwe and their struggle for independence. It was clear that they hadn't had a visitor in a while judging by the shocked faces, the last review in the guest book and the fact the man had to open up everything for me in the middle of the day. His fave was priceless when I told him how much I actually enjoyed it- 'Really?' He said...! But I did! My legs couldn't handle another walk back to the city so I flagged down a matola/daladala/minivan and hopped in. When we reached the city, some unknown argument broke out in the van and I quickly hopped out and walked the rest of the way! I bought some cheap wholewheat pasta, Mexican sauce and cheddar cheese to make a nice dinner for two nights and with the intention of catching another daladala back to my hostel, I ended up walking the whole way. I stopped off in spar and got some delicious cheap muffins from the bakery for breakfast before dragging myself those extra ten minutes further before I could collapse on my bed. The bag of jellies I bought myself as motivation did help! That evening I made dinner and headed to bed to relax and use the wifi I had paid for - yes, paid for! I called my mam, chatted to friends, made plans and updated my website etc before dozing off.

The next day I planned to take the overnight train to Bulawayo to meet my friend Leisel but ended up with a plan to take the coach at 2pm. Just before I hopped in the taxi, I met a lady from Vancouver who insisted we meet up when I get there in July. She worked for Global Television and seemed really cool especially when she insisted further that we take a quick selfie before we both dashed off! Look forward to seeing you Colleen!

I arrived in Harare from Lusaka on a bus which took just over 8hrs and cost $20. The downside was that I had pre booked my ticket the night before and didn't realise I could have had a top class luxury bus for the same price until I sat in my dodgy bus looking out to the others parked beside us. I stopped myself from overthinking things and just sat back and relaxed. Ironically, even with the banjaxed seats and the rusty windows taped together, the journey was still one of the smoothest ever and I almost felt bad about lying to the friendly staff and trying to change my ticket. The border crossing was a bit of a hassle considering I had changed my Zambian kwacha into two $100 notes and they wouldn't give change at the visa counter. After ages going from counter to counter and then to the bank cashier, I got change and for my visa- on the last page of my passport. I still had a spare page for one more countries stamp tho luckily.

I had a minor panic attack when I got outside after everyone else to realise the bus was gone and my bag had been taken out. Sweating with anxiety and the damn Zimbabwean heat, I rushed to find an answer and was told that it was just being searched and was to return. They said everything would be removed and I should have taken it all out with me (they should tell you this right?). All I could think about was my poor uneaten egg, tomato, onion bread roll and fruit which id purposely saved for the second leg of the trip. Luckily they hadn't gone near my food and it was still where I left it, a bit warm but ready to enjoy. I was on the bus for another few hours before we arrived to the big city- Harare. Instantly I could see a difference from all the other cities and it seemed that the further id come down from Tanzania the more rich and civilised everything became. My eyes lit up at the sight of high rise buildings, street lights, big hotels and casinos and I was so looking forward to exploring. I may only only have one day but it seemed doable. Country 47 looked promising- very promising.