Mutare to Masvingo

We took a minibus/taxi/commuter from Mutare to Masvingo, which wasn’t an incredibly long distance (approx. 250 kilometers), but took us a very long time.  The minibus is a popular mode of transport in southern Africa, which enables budget travellers and locals to share transport costs by cramming 15-30 people into a mini-bus.  Yes, 15-30 – it’s a pretty big difference.  The smaller minibuses (think something along the lines of an average church van in the US) are only registered to carry 15 people, but typically fit something closer to 20 and the larger minibuses can cram up to 30 people (this particular trip, for example). 

Just a note about petrol/gas prices – Americans always complain about the cost of gas/petrol going up and up, but you don’t realize that gas/petrol in the US is probably the cheapest in the world (with the exception perhaps of Gulf states).  In southern Africa petrol is distributed by the liter (it takes about 4 liters to equal a gallon) and in SA and Zim the cost is around $1.40 per liter – making the cost about $5.60 per gallon.  Think about that the next time your complaining about the cost of fuel prices in the US.