Drifters: The Last Resort

 

 The sign at the entrance to Drifters, 

on the Harare to Mutare road.

We said goodbye to Harare and drove to Rusape to meet up with Terry, Sue, Daniel, Margy and Bernard on our way to Mutare and Leopard Rock. Terry planned that we should stop off at Drifters on the way. For the uninitiated, Drifters is featured in the book, "The Last Resort: A Zimbabwe Memoir", by Douglas Rogers. It is an account of ordinary life for blacks and whites under Mugabe's dictatorship. Sometimes funny, and sometimes poignant, it documents the struggles of his parents to hold on to some of their land in the face of the, often violent, so-called 'land reform' programme in Zimbabwe.

Sue and Bernard arriving at the Poacher's Pub on Drifters.

 The rickety ramp, leading up to the Poacher's Pub

All our family has read the book, mainly because David's sister Sheelagh, brother Terry, and brother-in-law Brian James are mentioned in the book. So we were very excited to be visiting the place we had read about. Unfortunately, I was suffering from an extreme bout of travel sickness as a result of travelling along the bumpy, windy roads in the back of the Merc; but I still managed to get some photos.

The happy barman standing under the sign that says,

"Welcome to the Poacher's Pub"

 Enjoying a drink at Drifters

 We were amused by the lampshades made out of straw hats.

Leaving Drifters, we headed in convoy for Leopard Rock Hotel, where Brian and Lynne's wedding takes place on Saturday December 18th. I was only half surprised when we were cheerfully waived through all the road blocks and never made to stop once - even when entering Mutare, where the ZANUPF conference was being held! Obviously, white people are seen as no threat these days!