New Day, New Country

 

Day 8

Dusty Roads

Maria and Adam started the day early (5:30) with another safari drive, while Elise, Connor and I slept a little later and partook of another great breakfast. Departure was at 8:00 for the long 2.5-hour drive to the Mpumalanga International Airport. After getting out of the game areas, we were into towns that sprawled over rolling hills while the mountains towered majestically in the background. There were miles and miles and miles of plantations with neat rows of crops and trees. The area predominantly grows bananas, macadamia nuts and eucalyptus trees (yes, you read it right). The trees grow fast, tall, and straight with the leaves harvested for their scent and the wood used as pulp for paper production. Other crops in the area that are quite common are oranges and avocados. These are so plentiful that they cost about 10 cents each.

The International Airport may not be what you would expect based on its name. It is based near the famous Kruger National Park (7523 square miles - a vast expanse of wildlife preserve almost the size of Massachusetts – for those with familiarity with US geography) and has one gate serving two airlines. Our flight was to Victoria Falls International Airport in Zimbabwe. Our flight was 1.5 hours, and the highlight was seeing Victoria Falls in the distance as a foaming white cloud. We get to see the real thing tomorrow.

We are staying at an old colonial lodge called Batonka Guest Lodge. The Lodge is a small collection of guest houses with 4-6 rooms. I am in Room 23, the last room. The Lodge is a quiet, private enclave behind walls and lush vegetation and one would never know the hustle and bustle of the streets surrounding it. Victoria Falls Town has grown from 18,000 in 2013 to 55,000 today. That’s a tripling in ten years!!!! Tourism has made this a hopping place. We were met by Tracey, the Lodge manager who sat us down in the outdoor lobby/patio (a very nice setting) while the staff fetched us fresh squeezed orange juice. [If anyone is following this blog, you may realized that our bush guide in Thronybush who became good friends with Connor was also named Tracey – with the same ‘ey’. That made Connor happy.] Tracey explained how they would take care of us from start to finish – book reservations for dinners, tours … arrange transportation … whatever else we might ask of them. And they did just that. We rearranged some of our plans based on her local knowledge. She suggested a restaurant – Dusty Roads – for dinner, which was one of interest that Adam had identified prior to our trip. So, it was Dusty Roads for 7:00pm dinner (19:00 for the international folks).

After getting settled and using the swimming pool (Elise and Connor and a surprise big jump by Grandpa into the chilling water – I mean chilling!), we cleaned up and headed to Dusty Roads. Our cab driver was quite friendly – actually joyful – and we talked about his trip to Cape Town and visit to Simon’s Town to see the penguins. He had never seen the ocean or sandy beaches or penguins. He was soooo elated to tell us how much he enjoyed it and we shared our experiences as well. It turns out we ate at the same restaurant – the Harborview – if you are tracking with this blog. What a coincidence! He dropped us off, gave us his card, and said to call him when we are done. No payment necessary now. “Go enjoy your dinner, and we will worry about that later. I trust you.”

What?!?!

Now, Dusty Roads is a fenced lot in a neighborhood (who ever heard of zoning laws here?) that is an old house (of unknown age) converted into a restaurant (1930) with dirt paths and ‘floors’ around it. There are a few brick walkways and a wood floor inside the house, which is small. The grounds are strewn with old stuff (a car, an eclectic collection of chairs, tables, signs, planters made from barrels, etc.). A real mish-mash as we might say. They recycle wine bottles into hanging light fixtures, plastic bread bags into a ceiling on the porch, and all sorts of other creative stuff. See the pictures below to get some idea because I cannot explain it all – it defies description!

The entrance to Dusty Roads. Unique!!

Another view as we walked around the corner of the house to the "restaurant."

Another lovely (there's that word again) view of the outdoor seating and humble accoutrements.

The staff first take you on a little tour of the operation before you are seated. First is the seasoning table where the unique herbs, fruits, nuts etc. that are used in tonight’s meal are described. The only one I have ever heard of was corn – well, actually they called it maize. Same thing. Here is the ingredients for the evening. Yes, you read it ... worms! But we were assured that they were Mopane worms ... so that's OK.

Ingredients for the night's menu.

Then onto the bar which was a bit of a ramshackle stick shed with wines, beers, and soft drinks. Next was the gift shop. Then the ‘kitchen,” which was an outdoor sets of grills with burning wood and also a gas stove, but most stuff was cooked over an open wood fire by the chef.

The kitchen - an outdoor assembly of wood-fired grills within a shack-like setting.

Then we saw the buffet line with lots of tasty stuff simmering over a small wood/charcoal fire. Then to the indoor where there are restrooms, a small office and a ‘lounge.’ We met the lady who owns the place, and she is an older British lady (guessing by the accent). She explained this mission of being responsible financially, socially (helping the community) and environmentally – being authentic – being simple. All very cool, sincere, engaging. She also explained how she is helping local children who may be disadvantaged, and that a group would be performing tonight by doing some traditional Zimbabwean music.

Now to our table and dinner. We learned that dinner is pretty much prepared for a single seating of guests, which are all seated outdoors on the wood platform porch or on the dirt ground. Again, tables and chairs are all unique. Appetizers arrive on a wood charcuterie-like board and features corn bread with toppings consisting of the spices and nuts we saw earlier. Dinner is a buffet where you proceed to the ‘kitchen’ and work your way down the grill selecting meats (fried fish, beef and dark gravy, chicken in peanut sauce) and vegetables (their version of cooked kale, polenta, mashed potatoes with butternut squash, sugar beans, etc.). You serve yourself - as much as you want. Very cool and absolutely delicious. 

Adam checking out the buffet with the chef explaining the various dishes he prepared moments earlier.

The seasonings and flavors were superb and we felt totally Zimbabwe-authentic. Desserts were brought out as a sampler platter. I cannot tell you what they were, but it involved something like pudding or custard and chocolate-like balls. Just simple servings – one for each of us. Adam imbibed in the local coffee that they made there from some bean they showed us when we first arrived. AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE!

Some happy diners!

They showed us their award trophy they just received for being the best restaurant in Zimbabwe for 2023! Quite impressive.

We went to the gift shop, which contained handcrafted items from local artisans. Steve could not resist buying a carrying bag, especially since he needed something to carry all of his souvenirs home. Why not support their cause as well?!

Then, with a phone call, sure enough our driver shows up again to pick us up and go back to the Batonka Lodge. We paid him for his service to and from the Lodge. What a great guy! Happy and joyful. At the Lodge we went to our rooms for a good night’s sleep.

[PS: You know you are in Africa when your room has mosquito nets surrounding the bed! We do not feel the least bit threatened, but I guess they are there for a reason … perhaps in the summer when mosquitos are more prevalent.]