240 hours in Zimbabwe || Christmas in Africa - [Part 3]

On my last Saturday, my family and I went to the Lion and Cheetah Park close to the capital city, Harare. I was so excited to go and see the lions and the wildlife. Contrary to popular belief, in Africa, you don't walk outside and see wild animals (well.... not normally). You actually have to go to a game-park or safari to see animals such as lions, cheetahs and giraffes.

We left the house quite late that day as the park isn't so far from where we live. We arrived at around 3pm.

Well we only got out for a little bit ;)

To be honest we only got out of our car because we were given permission by the park guard keeper. He was standing right there just in case anything wrong happened. Also the lions were behind the fence. We were pretty safe.

The park also had a wildlife area with different animals like zebras, ostriches and warthogs.

This turtle is called Tommy. He is a South American turtle who is over 250 years old! How amazing is that?! At the end of the day we watched him walk himself from the water pond, which he likes to hangout in, to his little hut-like home.

Just before leaving, my brother, sister and I found an abandoned truck. We all know that when you find an abandoned truck in the wild, YOU MUST PLAY WITH IT!
And we did.
Trust me, we took so many pictures on that truck.

My last Sunday in Zimbabwe was on the 29th of December. My brother, sister and I went to the Avondale Flea Market in Harare. At this market you can buy mostly new things ranging from clothes, toys, artwork and jewelry. We walked around for a bit and bought some things. 

My last day in Zimbabwe was the 30th of December. I had a long flight ahead, with torturous layovers. My first stop was from Harare to Johannesburg, where I had a 7 hour layover. Then I went from Johannesburg to Cairo and had a 5 hour layover. Then finally I arrived in Amsterdam on the 31st of December at 2pm (Phew!).

My 10 days in Zimbabwe were absolutely amazing. I loved spending time with my family, seeing all my cousins and aunts; as well as going to the Lion and Cheetah Park. It was such a good time.

I hope you enjoyed viewing my trip to Zimbabwe.

You can see PART 1 were I visit the villages in Masvingo and PART 2 were I visit the villages in Nyanga.

Leave me a comment or share this post if you liked it.

Xx

Rati :)

240 hours in Zimbabwe || Christmas in Africa - [Part 2]

On Part 1 of my 240 Hours in Zimbawe trip I shared pictures of my family's Christmas trip to the villages to see my Grandma from my Mum's side. We got back to the city, in Harare, on the afternoon of Boxing Day (Dec 26th). All of us were tired and had an early night. This is because early the next morning, on the 27th, we had another road trip planned to go to the Nyanga Villages to visit my Mbuya ('Grandma') and Sekuru ('Grandpa') from my Dad's side. I dragged myself out of bed, showered, and packed my road-trip essentials into the car. I didn't need to pack much with me because we were just visiting for a day.

 

About three and a half hours on the main road, we took a turn and headed on to the dust road that leads to my Mbuya and Sekuru's home. The landscape in Nyanga is so lush and gorgeous! I love how beautiful it is!

My family and I obviously took a picture break. Who wouldn't? :) We took way too many pictures.... It was awesome!



Look how gorgeous my Mama is!! I love her.

After taking a 'million' pictures, we got back into the car and continued on our way to my grand parent's place. Thirty minutes later we arrived!!

The hut above is the kitchen area. It is where my Mbuya and Sekuru cook their meals. Close-by, they have a house which they sleep in.

Look at that view! My grandparents get to wake up to this EVERYDAY! Also they are rockstars at farming. Look at all that corn!

Me and my Daddy! You should know, I really am a Daddy's girl.

At every village, within about 5-10km of each cluster of homes, there is a community borehole. This is where people come to get their drinking and bathing water. It's very sanitary. The locals usually collect the water with buckets. We took a pit-stop at one of the boreholes to refill our water bottles.

We left my Ambuya and Sekuru's place at around 4pm to head back to Harare. It was so good to see them both after so long! We got home, in Harare, at around 8pm.

By this time I only had 3 days left in Zimbabwe. Of course my family and I planned for more awesome stuff to do. My last adventure in Zimbabwe was visiting the Lion and Cheetah Park! We got to see lots of lions, zebras and other wild life! You can check out details on that visit here on Part 3 of my 10 Days in Zimbabwe!

Xx

Rati :)

240 hours in Zimbabwe || Christmas in Africa - [Part 1]

On  the afternoon of the 19th of December 2013 I flew from Amsterdam to Zimbabwe for an amazing 10 days visiting my family, friends and country. There was so much I wanted to do and had to do in only 240 hours. It was intense. It was amazing and I absolutely loved it!

I arrived on Friday the 20th at around 2pm. The flight was long because I had two lay-overs in Cairo, Egypt and in Johannesburg, South Africa.When I arrived, it was so wonderfully warm! I felt so lucky to have some extra days of summer in DECEMBER! That weekend I spent it mostly with my family and catching up with friends from highschool and friends from church.

During the Christmas week, my family and I were going to be travelling a lot to see new places and visit our  extended family all over Zimbabwe. So on Christmas Eve's eve we did the present opening. Santa came early ;) !

Our first trip was to the villages in Masvingo. We were going to have a huge family reunion with the relatives from my mum's side and see  my amazing Mbuya (Thats 'Grandma' in Shona. Shona is one of the three official languages spoken in Zimbabwe.)

That morning we woke up early. Packed our things and we were off!

My sister was ready to go!

On our way to Masvingo we drove through smaller towns and cities.

After 6 hours of driving and a couple of stops along the way, we finally arrived at my Grandma's place in the villages! The rest of the family was already there. There was so much hugging, laughing and joy!We all stayed up so late into the night talking, laughing and eating. It was great.

We all went to sleep late, but the next morning was Christmas so everyone still got up early.

 To finish off Christmas day, we decided to got to the river with my sister and cousins. On our way there, we stopped by my grandma's shop. Her shop is the local village grocery store.

There was this gorgeous model just hanging out in the store ;) . (haha the "model" is my sister).

Right opposite the store there is the local pub. About 200 meters away was a church. In most villages or small towns there is always a grocery store, a pub and a church. It's funny to see that.

After our short visit to the store, we continued on our way to the riverside.

We stayed until sunset and took loads of pictures with my cousins and sister. It was so fun! As you can see a lot of my pictures ended in mid laughter or accidental snaps. haha!

That evening we had a huge Christmas dinner and early the next morning we were said our goodbyes and traveled back to Harare (the capital city of Zimbabwe).

We arrived late afternoon and all we wanted to do was rest. Mostly because we knew that the very next day we were travelling again. This time we would be going to the villages in Nyanga to visit my other Mbuya from my Dad's side of the family.

This not even halfway through the week so there's still more to come. See the rest of my 10 days in Zimbabwe here. I visit the beautiful Nyanga villages for the day (Part 2). Then over the weekend we go to the Lion and Cheetah park (Part 3)!

Thanks for reading!

Xx

Rati :)

How to go to the Gym? [+ Update]

In June I was crazy busy with exams. Then I went away for the summer. I came back from my summer vacation in New York City at the end of August. I was there for about two months and it was beyond AMAZING. Then I moved to Amsterdam and started my internship. Then it was my birthday. Then it was this and that. So it feels like for the past five months I have been in a whirlwind of moving around and settling in. Now here I am, back to blogging again.

To be honest I've missed blogging, making recipes and just sharing with you all. Now I'll be back to regularly posting.

During my time in New York, I did not have a gym available that I could use. So my workouts consisted 3 simple things: running, jump rope and kettlebell (I ordered a 15lb kettlebell on ebay). On coming back to Netherlands, I joined a gym and I was so excited about it. I actually missed being in that stuffy enclosed space and sweating it off with strangers.

I got all my gym gear on. I walked into the gym ready to get back to it. But as soon as I entered, I felt slightly awkward. It felt as though I was at the gym for the first time. I went on the treadmill to start off with cardio. That part was fine and easy to get into. After cardio, it was time for weights.

The weight room is ALWAYS mostly full of guys. I never was one to be intimidated to walk into the weight room. But after a while from being in the gym, I felt out of place and unsure. I eventually  awkwardly finished my sort-of weight training.

I've been going to that gym now for about a month. So, yes, by now I have gotten over my gym awkwardness. I decided to write a few gym tips for those of you who have never used a gym or are just getting back to the gym after so long.

• Dark Pants (Seriously don't ever wear any light color gym pants like grey. They show sweat marks and it looks horrible.)
• Comfy top 
• Comfy shoes
• TOWEL!!!! (For you to wipe of your sweat and also wipe down the machines when you're done.)
• Water Bottle (You will get thirsty.)

• Most of the machines have pictures showing how to use them. if you're unsure ASK FOR HELP from the gym trainers. Most of the time they are happy to help. Don't shy away from the weight room just because you don't know how to use them.
• And again. Wipe your machine after using it.

• Music. (I prefer listening to my own playlist in the gym. It helps keep me motivated throughout my workout.)
• Hand sanitizer. (After your workout its nice to wash your hands or sanitize them from all the machinery you've been touching.)

• Plan your workout before going in. You'll be more effective.(e.g. 30 minutes run, 15 minutes bike, bicep curls, push-ups, squats, back, etc.)
• If you can avoid it, don't answer calls during your Gym session. (Give yourself just one hour to focus on your workout. They can always call you later.)
• The gym is not a competition. Don't allow yourself to feel insecure. You're there. So be there completely and use your time there wisely.

I hope this helps you out when you are getting back in the gym or starting out at the gym for the first time.

If you have any extra gym tips or suggestions for people starting out at the gym leave them in he comments below.

Speak to you soon :)

Xx

Rati