August 2011
Visa
USD 55/70 single/double entry visa for UK citizens
ENTRY
Entry point: Kariba at GPS: S 16.526034, E 28.761405
Time taken: 40minutes
Costs
Carbon tax:
Cars <= 1500cc USD 6, 1501cc – 2000cc USD 11, 2001cc-3000cc USD 15, >3000cc USD 30
Road access fee: USD 10 valid for 1 month
Money change
None needed – country is on USD
Process
After immigration, proceed to customs, who directs you to “Interpol”, plain clothes police who check vehicle chassis and engine numbers against the carnet. Return to customs to have carnet stamped and duties paid. At each stage, a section of the gate pass ( a slip of paper) is stamped, and hand in the completed slip to the policamn at the boon to exit.
EXIT
Exit point (to Botswana): Kazungula at GPS: S 17.81446, E 25.264555
Process straightforward – less than 10 minutes.
Costs
None
Money
The country is on USD. Barclays ATMs accept international visa cards
Fuel
Makuti: Petrol USD 1.52/litre, Diesel USD 1.40/ litre
Harare: Petrol USD 1.43/litre, Diesel USD 1.30/ litre
Bulawayo: Petrol USD 1.45/litre, Diesel USD 1.32/ litre
Camping
Car workshops
Toyota Bulawayo (at GPS: S 20.158467, E 28.581283) – very helpful. Standard charges are high.
PanelCraft at 24 Chatham Rd, Belmont, Bulawayo,
GPS: S 20.174468, E 28.577656 is a good body shop
Communications
Econet is widely used. Mobile internet using prepaid data bundles costs are around 10MB per USD.
Internet access needs to be activated at an econet shop/customer care. Internet settings are:
APN: econet.net
username: <leave blank>
password: <leave blank>
Useful GPS
The Bulawayo Club, Bulawayo at GPS: S 20.154574, E 28.581326 has accommodation/restaurant and bar set in a nice colonial building.
26 on Park restaurant, Bulawayo at GPS: S 20.154575, E 28.597842 has excellent food set in an impressive colonial building and garden.
Garden Restaurant, Bulawayo at GPS S 20.163762, E 28.595266 has good food and open 7 days a week.
Natural History Museum, Bulawayo at GPS: S 20.155855, E 28.596447 has a comprehensive collection of wildlife that have seen the hands of the taxidermist
Barclays Bank, Masvingo GPS: S 20.073887, E 30.833373
Fuel station (Petraf) Makuti at GPS: S 16.311003, E 29.245323 is the first reliable fuel stop after crossing the border from Zambia at Kariba Dam
Small World Backpackers & Camping 25 Ridge Rd, Harare is at GPS: S 17.803060, E 31.029513 is incorrectly marked on both Google Maps and T4A v11.05
Roads