Views from the Deck. At Pamuzinda

Following my last blog posting, a regular reader contacted me and said how home-sick she felt after seeing the view from our Deck featured a week ago. She is now living in England, and said my last post brought back memories of wide open spaces, wild animals, and Africa. She and her husband have special memories of the Deck at Pamuzinda - she spent her honeymoon here several years ago.

Sooooo - here is a collection of photos taken from our deck at different times of the day.

Just to help those of you no longer living here remember the times that were . . . . .

Starting with an elephant swimming in the river just below the dining room at Pamuzinda, as seen from the Deck:

This is another photo of the river taken from the Deck - featuring a couple of canoes heading out for a leisurely paddle. We didn't tell them that there was a rather large elephant swimming just around the corner, and much to our surprise, 5 previously uncoordinated crews discovered they had the ability to paddle backwards in perfect unison!

I have somewhere another photo taken from the Deck of an old buffalo on the island, but I cannot, for the life of me, find it. Sorry for that.

Here follows a selection of photos taken from the Deck at Pamuzinda at various times of day. . . . .

This is again from the Deck . . . . .

The following picture is one of several I have taken of sunset from the Deck at Pamuzinda. My little point-and-click does its best, but I never seem to capture the true colours perfectly. Still - this is just another view from the deck!

And now a photo that has featured before - in another posting, but as it shows the Deck laid up for a breakfast, and as this blog is about the Deck, I figured I might as well add it in. On the floor, you can see Shungu in his new role . . .

Just kidding! Shungu is alive and well, and that rug has been in the bar at the hotel for a long time.

(For those who don't know who Shungu is - please scroll back to the top of the page and click on past blogs to catch up. He will feature again. There are almost 200 previous blogs - just look for the ones with "Shungu" in the title).

And now a photo not taken from the deck.

As most of my friends will know, I have a pathological dislike of driving motor vehicles, and far prefer my motorbike as a means of getting around. In fact I don't drive, and only ride.

The following picture was taken early one morning as I was starting a ride to Harare to take a couple of days off. I normally try to leave Pamuzinda late afternoon, and thus have an extra night at home, but sometimes I have to work the night before, and so I then leave as soon as it is starting to get light. I see some pretty stunning sunrises, for sure!

This, to me, is the quintessential African picture, and I stopped my bike just on the tar road off the dirt track to Pamuzinda at about 05.30 one morning just to take this photo. The colours are glorious, and the silhouettes of African huts framed against the sky should bring back memories for those of you now living in more cloudy climes than you were brought up in!

Remember - this is sunrise, not sunset. . . .

Just not the view you get from the Tube, Metro or Subway, I think? And snapped with my itsy-bitsy little camera. Not bad!

I hope that Tom and Betsy have enjoyed seeing Pamuzinda as it is today, and that some of the photos have brought back memories of their honeymoon all those years ago. And I hope the rest of you have enjoyed seeing a little of my world. Next blog will be on weddings. Or snakes. Or cakes. Or something.

Have a great day!

Wedding snapshots. From Zimbabwe.

Time for another posting from Zimbabwe - and apologies for the silence, but work has been quite hectic and things have been happening. I am now on 14 days' break, for which I am extremely grateful, so hopefully another posting before I head back.

So today will not be on individual weddings, but is a collection of photos from weddings we have done, with a little twist at the end.

The first photo is of a Bride arriving for her ceremony - in a downpour! This was a group of Australians and Zimbabweans who had one of the most 'lively' weddings we have had the honor of hosting.

Of course while it may not be so great for the bride, the rain is good for the plants, and after a gentle shower the flowerbeds are looking spic and span ready for the next wedding group to arrive . . . .

This is the cake for a wedding held at Pamuzinda. The amazing thing is that at every wedding we have hosted, the cakes are different. As those of you who have bought my book (for those that haven't go to http://www.amazon.com/Simon-Herring/e/B009FD0MIS/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1 and page down) can attest, cakes at Zimbabwean weddings take center-stage. You might think that some cakes would be similar to others, but I have never seen a cake looking suspiciously like one from another wedding.

This was the table for a small wedding we hosted for 34 people. The ceremony and reception were both held at Pamuzinda, as opposed to Chengeta, where we normally host our weddings. The balcony overlooks the river, and we managed to fit all the guests at one table.

Finally - our welcoming party generally comprises of one constant -  Leo, the hotel cat. He blends into the background, but is almost always present when the Bridal Party check-in at the hotel

And what a fine cat he is!

So that is a brief zip-though of weddings at Pamuzinda, as opposed to Chengeta. The next posting will be of weddings at Chengeta, and we generally use that as a venue because we have a custom-built marquee which can accommodate fairly large numbers quite comfortably.

The question, though, is this . . . .

Did you see the animals hiding in every photo? And I don't mean just the cat, either!

If you missed them all - go back and have a look. (And I admit that in one photo the rhino and elephant are not real!)

Have a great day!