We decided we'd exhausted the possibilities of South Luangwa National Park, so we lazed around the lodge on a birding free morning, desultorily viewing the local geckos.
We drove to the airport about 10 a.m., and then flew to Harare, changed planes and continued via Emirates to Harare. Zimbabwean immigration, despite looking like a Chinese fire drill, moved us through in only a little over an hour, and we boarded a bus to take us to York Lodge, a walled enclave in an affluent suburban neighborhood in Harare.
The bus driver was scathing about Zimbabwe's political leadership, and pointed out that all the roads between the airport and various hotels had been redone in preparation for the summit of the Southern African Development Council, in a week's time; but the rest of the roads are potholed crap. His biggest beef, though, was that the government had sold all sorts of mining and development rights to China, in return for a spanking new parliament building, which does nothing for the average Zimbabwean. And the average Zimbabwean is pretty darn poor. All the power was out, and that includes traffic lights. Apparently Zimbabwe has two power sources: Kariba dam, which is at low capacity because of the drought, and an ancient decrepit coal-burning power station. Too bad they didn't ask the Chinese for a power station rather than a parliament building.
The lodge itself was quite delightful, and is self-sufficient via solar power. The gardens...
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