B U C K ET
LI ST
breakfast
tanding in front of the open back
door of our rented Land Cruiser at
Harare airport, Daniel and I looked
at each other, then at Axel, who
just shrugged. Piled up next to us were
three bike bags as well as huge travel bags,
backpacks and camera gear. We had no
choice but to make it all fi t. We pushed
them in, pulled them out again, tried it in
reverse, then pulled it all out again. Our
Tetris skills were put to good use until fi nally
our last bag was squeezed in. We had a long
130 | MTB | bucket list busting
journey ahead of us, as we planned to reach
Chimanimani in the eastern highlands of
Zimbabwe by dusk.
Although Zimbabwe is in the midst of an
extraordinary socio-economic recession, it
is a paradise for lovers of the wild African
outdoors. The variety of landscapes and
ecosystems has allowed a huge diversity
of species to develop. The Chimanimani
mountains are home to 186 diff erent
bird species. Lying in the far east of the
country on the border with Mozambique,
our destination was tucked away from
the crowds and the souvenir shops. The
mountainous landscapes of the eastern
highlands form a series of parallel ridges
and feature rugged peaks and canyons
with enchanting waterfalls. Extensive
lush forests in the misty, cool altitude are
a stark contrast to the hot and barren
lowlands. Chimanimani National Park is the
southernmost part of this remote mountain
range and off ers nothing but natural, wild
beauty away from the digital world – no