What a trip. Before I get into the details, I would like to say thank you to all our donors and to all the people that support us on these trips. Without the helping hand of all of you guys these trips would not be possible to do.
We started our last trip for the year a bit early as there would be two trucks going up to Zimbabwe. Johan and I left 4 days earlier in the old truck and a bakkie, Neels Koekemoer and Neville Parkin would follow in the other truck. Johan and I had to help pack the special Christmas gifts for this year and make sure the load was ready to go by the time the second truck arrived.
Wednesday 19 November 2025:
We left Malelane around 9AM with the bakkie and the truck, the road was very quiet and smooth. We got to Musina around 4PM and the usual place, Baobab Cottages, where we would sleep was fully booked. We had to make a plan to find an alternative place to sleep. Luckily the manager of the Baobab Guest Cottages had a plan and contacted Siesta Guest House just up the road and they had a spot for us to stay. So, the guys at Baobab let us leave the truck there for the evening, we took the bakkie to Siesta and spent the night there. A very comfortable Grass thatched facility with TV, aircon and secure parking. We had dinner and a good night’s rest.
Thursday 20 November 2025:
We woke up bright and early, picked the truck up from the Baobab Cottages and were ready and to hit the border. When we got to the border, it was very quiet on the small vehicles side. The Commercial side was the normal chaos. I went through without any problems. Waiting at the Baobab on the other side of the border. I waited for about an hour for the truck to come through. The truck passed through a lot quicker than expected, with a little luck and Robert’s planning. We met up just outside the border and hit the daunting road to Bulawayo. The road was very quiet, and the trip went smooth with the usual road conditions, some dirt road near Mazunga, terrible bumpy road passing through Gwanda and the horrid final stretch from Esigodini to Bulawayo. We got to Bulawayo just after 4PM and parked the truck. We then offloaded and left for Caroline and Willems house. We had a warm welcome and settled in, the next few days we had a lot of prep and double checking to do before the trucks get loaded for the deliveries.
Friday 21 November 2025:
After a good night’s rest, we got to work the next morning. We had to help repack the gifts with the crackers and seal, count and pack. The bulk of the work was already done under the supervision of Caroline and Angela. The Bullies squad had been very busy, and the load was mostly ready. Once we were done, we counted and made sure that we had everything that we needed and that we were ready to start packing the truck. We then headed back to Caroline and Willems house where we rested and got ready for the arrival of the second truck.
Saturday and Sunday 22 & 23 November 2025:
We had a relaxing time where we played some bowls at the Hillside Bowling Club in Bulawayo while waiting for Neels and Neville in the second truck. They arrived just after 4PM on Sunday afternoon, and we helped them offload their luggage and we locked up for the rest of the day as we would start packing the trucks for the trip the next morning.
Monday 24 November 2025:
We had a bright and early start to load the two trucks for the trip around the country. We would be doing a 3-day trip as we would be spending our first night in Gweru at Boggies Trust. We had split the load in two as the load was too heavy for one truck. Neels and Neville was doing the longer trip, and we were just going to Chinhoyi and back. The loading went very quick and both trucks were on the road by 09:00. The road was very quiet towards Gweru. Once we arrived Bruce Chillcot was waiting for us at the gate. We then started to offload the truck, dressed up with Christmas hats and trying to cheer up the occasion. We chatted and joked with the residents while we packed all the gifts on top of their boxes and started handing them out to all our special pensioners. The oldies were raving about the prezzies and extras in the boxes. Rickie Lawrie from Huis Vergesig came to pick up the Outsider and Huis boxes. Thanks so much for all you do for us. We then went to our cottage where we would be spending the night. Johan and Bruce went out to go get some buns for dinner. While I was sitting outside, one of the residents, Graham Ashby came to visit and we spoke for around about half an hour, he was telling me stories of how they used to go fishing and camping and about his family that wanted him to go and visit them for a month. It was lovely to hear the stories of some of the people and how they used to be before everything. Johan and Bruce got back and then chatted away for a bit. BJ Lawrie came by and we had a cup of coffee and a good chat. We made some hotdogs for dinner and enjoyed a relaxing evening.
Tuesday 25 November 2025:
We got up bright and early to leave for Redcliff. The trip was very quiet and safe all the way to Redcliff. Once we got there, we were a bit early and only a few people were waiting for us. We then started to offload the truck under the watchful eye of Carol Ferreira as more people came to collect their boxes. We got a very nice group photo with them, and we packed all the gifts in their boxes, we then had a good chat with some of the pensioners and once they got their gifts there were smiles everywhere. After a heartfelt visit, we had to greet and be on our way to Kwekwe. The road was quiet, and the trip was going well. Once we arrived in Kwekwe we were welcomed by Dee Adlam, her daughter and Margot Gilby, so we proceeded to start offloading the truck and placed the gifts in their boxes. We had a small chat with Dee and Margot while having a Mazoe under the tree. Once we were done, we had to hit the road again as we had to get to Chegutu. The road was very quiet. Once we got there, we saw that they had a lot of rain, luckily, we missed the downpour and just saw the result. We were welcomed by Cheryl Albasini. We had a little chat with the pensioners that came out to greet us and spoke mostly about rugby. Once we were done, we left and headed for Chinhoyi. The road was very quiet, but wet in patches. We hoped not to get rain as the old truck has a few leaks and getting the boxes wet would be a catastrophe. We got to Chinhoyi around 4PM where we offloaded the boxes and put all the gifts on top of the boxes and the pensioners picked up their boxes and we had a few chats and laughs. Johan Haasbroek and Heather Nel directing the boxes as this is the largest drop off for us on this run. With so many people raving and thanking us for the needed supplies and Christmas cheer. Once we were done, we went to Johan Haasbroek’s house to settle in. We had a braai for dinner and some salads, thanks to all the “Tannies”(Ladies) for the sides, we are always spoilt when staying over. We chatted away and I went to bed later than planned… We had a long road ahead of us the next day.
Wednesday 26 November 2025:
We got up very early as we were heading back for Bulawayo. I drove the truck for the first bit of the trip. We got rain most of the way back. We then changed drivers once we got past Chegutu. The road was very quiet but very wet until just before Gweru. We got back to Bulawayo around 2PM where we couldn’t get into the warehouse with the truck as they were repairing the pipes at the doorway of the warehouse. A great thanks to the guys at Colbro for letting us stop the truck there as we couldn’t stop the truck at the warehouse. Once we were done, we then headed back to Caroline and Willems house where we relaxed and chatted for a bit. We were laying over for a few days until Neels and Neville were back before heading home.
Thursday 27 November 2025:
We got up early and took the truck to the warehouse so we could offload the empties. Once we were offloaded, we started to sort the boxes in their respected homes, repaired all the damaged boxes and packed them away so they would be ready for the next trip.
Friday 28 November 2025:
Neels and Neville arrived back in Bullies; we offloaded their boxes and spent the afternoon and next day in Bullies at Caroline and Willems place recuperating after the long drives. We had some time to reflect on the past year, and Neville had a lot of stories as this was his first trip with us. Neville also had a hidden secret talent, as he knew a person in every town the truck stopped, se he had a lot to say about his experience. We shared stories and one thing that stood out was the gratefulness of the recipients of the boxes and the cheer we shared was received with open arms. It makes one feel warm and fuzzy all over.
Sunday 29 November 2025:
We woke up very early to get on the road to head back home. Willems daughter, Candice accompanied us back to South Africa to spend the holidays in SA. We did a one-day trip back to Malelane. Johan and Neels did a 2-day trip with the 2 trucks back home. The road was very quiet except for the traffic on the N1 but we made it back safely. We arrived home just after 6pm in the evening.
I just wanted to give a great thanks to all of our donors for helping us through the year and making all of this possible, without your help we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. A huge thanks to all of you guys, we can say that we do what we say we do.
Special thanks to every person in Zimbabwe that feed us, give us lodgings and distribute boxes far and wide where we cannot with the trucks.
Thanks to the team in Zim packing the boxes and making sure the oldies get their goodie parcels.
Thanks to the Admin crew in SA, the facilitators and glue.
Many hands making a difference ensuring we can do what we say we do.
Johan and Frans Schultz
Head office South Africa contact details:
Linda Schultz – linda@zpsf.co.za / zpsf@zpsf.onmicrosoft.com – (C) 079 6082676
Johan Schultz – johan@zpsf.co.za – (C) 082 4979328
Section 21 Co Reg. 2007/034036/08; NPO Number 096733; Section 18A PBO No 930031642
