Byo Club in 21st Century

We decided on a self-drive road trip and after equipping our car with a warning triangle, fluorescent safety jacket and an SAZ emblazoned fire extinguisher, we set off at first light for the Bulawayo Road. along the newly re-surfaced highway and to find that hundreds of dangerous potholes had been expertly mended by a South African company, Group Five, that has partnered with Zinara to rehabilitate the Plumtree-Mutare highway.
Numerous police checks, road blocks and toll gates dictated that our journey would be steady and slow, and arriving at our destination at lunch time, we drove straight to Ester’s Café at the National Gallery in the magnificently restored Douslin House, right in the middle of Bulawayo. (Visitors to the gallery and café can park securely behind Douslin House.) After a tasty meal of spinach and ricotta ravioli with both tomato and béchamel sauces and a crisp green salad, we climbed the staircase to the art gallery, where ‘Aesthetic Codes, Science Meets Art’, the latest exhibition of resident artist Tafadzwa Gwetai, was still showing. Gwetai explains how Africans who were once identified by tribal markings and traditional regalia, are now recognised by finger prints, DNA samples and identity numbers. Assistant curator Clifford Zulu thought the exhibition might appeal particularly to anyone over the age of 60, who was suffering an identity crisis caused by modern technology.
On, then, to the Natural History Museum in Centenary Park, repository of our national heritage and dependent for its upkeep on  the Ministry of Home Affairs. Ornithologists and entomologists revel in the museum’s impressive collections of bird and insect specimens and the ancient coelacanth on display near the entrance hall attracts many admiring visitors. An original Zeederberg coach, the most popular mode of transport in the late 19th century, is parked close to a detailed section on the life of Cecil John Rhodes, politician, colonialist and diamond prospector. He also established the world’s most prestigious post-graduate scholarship, the Rhodes scholarship.
There was no time to explore all four stories and the wealth of this extraordinary museum, as we were eager to check into the Bulawayo Club for the night, and steep ourselves further in the history of this beautiful city. Once a “gentlemen only” club, founded in 1895 as a social hub for officers of the armed forces and other gentlemen, the present three storey building of the Bulawayo Club with its pillars and grand white portico, was built in 1935. Ladies were allowed in occasionally, but had to enter from a side door. Now everyone is welcome to this boutique hotel, whether for accommodation, to dine, for meetings or for special events.
Of the 16 bedrooms to choose from, two are suites. Some rooms overlook an atrium; others look out onto Fort Street, vibrant at this time of year with scarlet Flamboyant trees in full bloom. Although the bedrooms are not luxurious, they are tastefully decorated and comfortable, with top quality mattresses, and spotless white bed linen and towels. Wall mounted TVs offer only two channels. Décor, fabrics and furniture throughout the hotel are tasteful and elegant, particularly in the Lobengula cocktail lounge, adjacent to the Governor’s Restaurant, the gracious dining room. On the ground floor are a billiard room and the notorious Long Bar, which was closed until recently to the fairer sex.
A comfortable residents’ lounge with a balcony overlooking the city has a TV and a tea and coffee station. Relax here and dip into glossy coffee table books of Africa, under the gaze of bygone movers and shakers of the region, such as Lord Soames, Sir Humphrey Gibbs and Sir Henry Birchenough, whose portraits and photographs hang from the walls.
The cuisine at the Governor’s Restaurant did not quite match the elegant surroundings and superb waiter service on the evening when we sat down to dinner. A tomato and mozzarella tower consisted of a few slices of tomato and cheese warmed in the oven, with no particular flavour or composition. My partner’s oriental stir-fry was disappointingly bland and dessert éclairs were over-filled and soggy. After dinner coffee however was aromatic and perfectly brewed. Full English breakfast next morning in the atrium was quite delicious.
Staff are friendly and helpful, and will organise historical visits of the city, and trips to Khami Ruins and to the royal capital of the Matabele State in the late 1800s, for adventurous guests. Should you want to communicate directly with the past, the deputy manager will tell you which bedroom is said to be haunted. Bulawayo Club forms part of the Amalinda collection, which was established in 1990 and includes the granite wilderness of Camp Amalinda and luxurious Ivory Safari Lodge, deep in the teak forests of Hwange.
Visitors to any of these exceptional resorts will enjoy a unique Zimbabwean experience, which everyone will want to share.