Two South Africans arrived for the night. Afrikaans South Africans. I like Afrikaners: they are the most totally self-sufficient people on the planet. Invariably, as they did this time, they arrive in a bakkie (truck) full to the brim with camping equipment, food and more food. These are the kind of people who will go away on a two week holiday and never need to go to the shops; they can survive in the bush for weeks on end because they have enough meals for the next month. If you are ever stranded in the wild, look for an Afrikaner. They have enough padkos (packed food for the journey) to share with you and twenty others if the need occurs.
This couple is off to Mana Pools. The man says he wants to go where there is no internet and no one can reach him on his phone. This is unusual. I read somewhere that guests log into the hotel wi-fi within three minutes of checking in. Most people want to be connected to wi-fi even in the most remote places. Some of the worst behaviour I have ever seen is the result of no internet connection being available. A couple of weeks ago, we had an American couple stay who were doing a four month trip through Southern Africa. They claimed to have chosen to book with us primarily because we offer wi-fi. As it was, the wi-fi booster to the cottage was not working, but we said that they were welcome to come up to the house and use the wi-fi. Although we understood that sitting on someone's veranda every time you want to check your email is not ideal, we were totally unprepared for the vitriolic response of the woman, who appeared one night at nine o'clock to complain about the fact that she could not contact her daughter over skype. Although it was apparently vitally urgent that they contact her, she still refused the offer to use the wi-fi at the house. By the end of their stay, both of them had turned quite obnoxious. They were a typical example of the First World who expect everything to go their way. They said they didn't want 'maid service', but then complained that we hadn't done anything about the fridge not working, something we did not know about and which the maid would have picked up on. They claimed to have had to have thrown away all their food which had 'rotted', although we are not sure where they put it as the bin was empty of everything except beer and whisky bottles.
If it's one thing we have learned, it's that you cannot please everyone. The question is how far do you let people push you? We got the feeling that this couple was the type who complained everywhere they went in the hope of getting a discount.
Back to the South Africans. The man asks where he can get hold of bond (the current Zimbabwe currency). He struggled to pay the tolls on the way up from Plumtree because they won't accept US$ and he has five more tolls to go through tomorrow on the way to Harare. I think Zimbabwe must be one of the most difficult countries for foreigners to navigate. We have a currency that you cannot get hold of unless you are in Zimbabwe and, if you try and change hard currency into bond here, chances are the bank will not have cash. They can only transfer it into a bank account that you will not have. It's not an easy place.
On the plus side, this couple like dogs. I like people who like dogs.
This couple is off to Mana Pools. The man says he wants to go where there is no internet and no one can reach him on his phone. This is unusual. I read somewhere that guests log into the hotel wi-fi within three minutes of checking in. Most people want to be connected to wi-fi even in the most remote places. Some of the worst behaviour I have ever seen is the result of no internet connection being available. A couple of weeks ago, we had an American couple stay who were doing a four month trip through Southern Africa. They claimed to have chosen to book with us primarily because we offer wi-fi. As it was, the wi-fi booster to the cottage was not working, but we said that they were welcome to come up to the house and use the wi-fi. Although we understood that sitting on someone's veranda every time you want to check your email is not ideal, we were totally unprepared for the vitriolic response of the woman, who appeared one night at nine o'clock to complain about the fact that she could not contact her daughter over skype. Although it was apparently vitally urgent that they contact her, she still refused the offer to use the wi-fi at the house. By the end of their stay, both of them had turned quite obnoxious. They were a typical example of the First World who expect everything to go their way. They said they didn't want 'maid service', but then complained that we hadn't done anything about the fridge not working, something we did not know about and which the maid would have picked up on. They claimed to have had to have thrown away all their food which had 'rotted', although we are not sure where they put it as the bin was empty of everything except beer and whisky bottles.
If it's one thing we have learned, it's that you cannot please everyone. The question is how far do you let people push you? We got the feeling that this couple was the type who complained everywhere they went in the hope of getting a discount.
Back to the South Africans. The man asks where he can get hold of bond (the current Zimbabwe currency). He struggled to pay the tolls on the way up from Plumtree because they won't accept US$ and he has five more tolls to go through tomorrow on the way to Harare. I think Zimbabwe must be one of the most difficult countries for foreigners to navigate. We have a currency that you cannot get hold of unless you are in Zimbabwe and, if you try and change hard currency into bond here, chances are the bank will not have cash. They can only transfer it into a bank account that you will not have. It's not an easy place.
On the plus side, this couple like dogs. I like people who like dogs.
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