November 26, 2024
Refresh at Mbizi in the rain
It has been established for years and carries an air of old fashioned safari solidity — slate floors and heavy furniture, big wooden bowls on the coffee tables and drums in the corners. The main lodge is furnished with almost immovable tables made of ‘upcycled’ railway sleepers. Animal heads (stuffed), tapestries and paintings adorn the walls — zebra, buffalo, antelope, lion.
Sitting at dinner one evening, a colleague commented on the quality of the water. “I could drink the whole jug,” she said “its so good to taste clean water.” Others at the table were talking of friends and relatives visiting Harare from Bulawayo or Mutare, carrying their own 5 litre containers of water. Noone wants to drink this city’s water anymore.
At Mbizi the drinking water is good — pumped from a deep, pure borehole. In the dry season the gardens are watered from the Ruwa river — sometimes a problem because of the frequent power cuts. But in this season water is plentiful now the rains have started. The gardens are green and growing and full of flowers — blue agapanthus and dahlias coming up. And amazing ancient cycads which must have been there for years. We were welcomed by an enormous thunderstorm with dramatic thunder and lightning virtually striking our thatched open-sided meeting place — and a downpour of 23mm in a very short space of time. Mbizi is proud of belonging to a growing movement towards organic. ‘Farming God’s way’ uses no chemical fertiliser and relies on rich compost and manure. The large vegetable garden is testimony to how well this works. It is full of produce — greens and beans, comfrey and herbs.
Our group stayed in the self catering ‘bush cottages’ set in thick msasa woodland but ate lunch and dinner in the dining room in the main lodge complex.
Food was a substantial three courses — soup, a choice of ma-in and pu-dding. Servings were generous and seconds available to the hungrier members of the group. There was also the option of ‘half/half’ for those who couldn’t decide whether they wanted chicken or fish! The main course was either a very tasty fish pie in a flavoursome cheese sauce, or crumbed chicken pieces in a well seasoned ‘southern style’ batter. Both were served with rice or potatoes (or ‘half/half) and vegetables — beans and courgettes straight from the garden cooked simply and not for too long. Dessert was apple crumble and ice cream — which had gone a bit soft because of the ZESA challenges. The food was good conference food — satisfying and safe and pleased everyone in our group. It felt a little pricy at US$20 for the dinner, but I guess mostly it is someone else paying so doesn’t attract complaint! The waiting staff were friendly and obliging.
Lunch was taken in the tea garden from a small menu — hamburgers, sandwiches, curry and rice but on the day we were there took an hour to arrive! (Prices from US$6 for the burger to US$10 for the curry and rice) Sandwiches for a tea break were a hefty US$4 each.
There are lots of activities on offer, game drives, canoeing, horse riding — all for a fee — but no-one in our group took advantage of those activities. We did however enjoy pretty walks through the woodland and along the Ruwa River, and it was a nice surprise to meet a giraffe on the drive out.
