Reviews of Escape To Adventure Safaris

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Reviews of Escape To Adventure Safaris — SafariFind | SafariFind

Responded fast and constructively to all stages in the booking procedure.

Four days without a hitch, visiting two iconic sites: Great Zimbabwe and the Matobo Hills. Driver/guide Stuart was there to meet me upon arrival at Bulawayo Airport and it was a comfortable drive of four hours in mostly very light traffic to the Lodge at the Ancient City, accommodation built in the Zimbabwe style amongst woods and the giant boulders perched on hillsides. A lovely setting and the staff were most friendly and helpful. The morning of Day 2 was spent at Great Zimbabwe. There was a lot to see and, in hindsight, a two-night stay would have been ideal. Much of my time was spent climbing up and exploring the Hill Complex with on-site guide Constance explaining the history and social background of a site built and occupied from 1100 AD to the 1500s AD. The Hill itself was largely the preserve of the Shona ruler and his closest councillors. Its strategic importance was evident as from the summit there were unimpeded views of the countryside in all directions. I was pleased up there to encounter a large group of school-children getting first-hand experience of the history of their people. We next explored one of the other structures clearly visible from above, the Great Enclosure. Clearly it wasn't a defensive structure such as a fort but instead a means to separate a select group of the elite - perhaps senior wives - from the rest of the population. The Enclosure walls were composed of hundreds of thousands of shaped stones made from the local granite, clearly a huge undertaking. Mid-afternoon, driver/guide Stuart took me back to the Bulawayo area where I was staying at the Parrot Lodge for the next two nights. The staff were friendly and helpful; the meals were delicious. Day 3 in its entirety was spent among the Matobo Hills, a World Heritage Site - as is Great Zimbabwe. Local driver/guide Alan drove us to a selection of the most memorable places. First there was a trek through the trees and high grasses to view from a few metres distance but not disturb a family group of white rhinos. Then we headed to a rock shelter beneath an overhang, to admire San art on a section of the walls. Alan is a long-time tracker and pointed out spoor and explained which animals were responsible. In soft sand at the shelter base there were clear depressions in the fine sand: a place where rhinos rested at night. We next drove up to an area under trees where there were tables for visitors and had an excellent lunch provided by Alan's company. Afterwards a steady but easily manageable climb up the lichen-encrusted granite dome to summit of the hill Malindidzimu and the grave where Cecil Rhodes' body is interred, surrounded by a natural ring of giant boulders. There are splendid vistas in all directions: it was understandable why this was a sacred place for the local peoples. After time for reflection we descended and their was time to view another of the sites with San paintings, principally of animals and birds. The whole day, and indeed the whole four days, was a memorable experience. Moreover, excellent value for money.

Eric

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