What a trip, indeed. This would be my first trip without Johan, because he had to stay behind to help Linda get to the specialist and her arm operation. Although this trip would not be easy without him, it would indeed be a learning trip for Neels and me.
Monday 9 Feb 2026
Neels Koekemoer and I left Malelane around 7:45 AM. The road was very quiet although the condition of the road was not good considering the floods we had a few weeks before. Driving past the central and northern parts of the Kruger National Park, seeing that there are road closures due to collapsed bridges and roads swept away, was scary. We had a lot of damage around South Africa. We made our way to Musina for the Baobab Guest Cottages. Johan made a reservation for us to ensure we do not have the same surprise we had in December, arriving at a fully booked hotel. We got to the Baobab just after 4PM. We grabbed some KFC at the Baobab petrol station for dinner so we wouldn’t have to make any stops in town. We spent the night getting ready for the road ahead to Bulawayo.
Tuesday 10 Feb 2026
We left just after 7AM to hit the border. Once we got to the border it was surprisingly quiet. The border was a breeze with no queue, and we made it through in no time. I met up with Robert, the Border Agent, and Neels on the other side to finish off the entrance into Zim. We then hit the road for Bulawayo. The road had gotten a lot worse after the rains that they had. A normal trip that would have taken us 6 hours took us almost 7 hours to complete. Once we got to the warehouse in Bulawayo there was another truck busy offloading parked right in the doorway of the warehouse. We had to wait an extra 2 hours for them to move their truck so we could park the truck. We then headed to Caroline and Willems house to spend the evening before we had to pack the truck and get the round trip on the road the next morning. Caroline had spoilt us with some pasta and mince for dinner. We chatted away and then went to rest for the next day.
Wednesday 11 Feb 2026
We got up nice and early after a good night’s rest ready for the day. We left to get the truck ready for the trip. Once we got to the warehouse the team was already packing the truck. Once the truck was packed, we hit the road for Gweru. We got to Gweru just after 3PM where we found out that it was Bruce Chillcot’s birthday. The guest cottage where we usually stay was occupied, but Charmaine and Pieter Esterhuizen were gracious enough to put us up for the evening. We had a good afternoon with some story swapping and a few beers. Later in the evening we celebrated Bruce’s birthday with some cake, samosas and boerie rolls. We had an early night as the next day would be a full day. A very BIG thanks to Charmaine and Pieter for letting us stay there for the night.
Thursday 12 Feb 2026
We got up early to leave Boggies Trust in Gweru around 7AM. Our first stop would be in Redcliff. The road to Redcliff was quiet all the way. The condition of the road was luckily not too bad. Once we entered the gates at Hurbert Lee Cottages in Redcliff, Carol Ferriera and a few other pensioners were waiting for us. We then started to offload the truck and had a chat with some of the pensioners. Once we were done, we then headed for Kwekwe where we would meet up with Ken Connely and Margot Gilby at Lynbrook to offload the boxes. Once we had arrived, we started to offload the boxes while Ken and Neels chatted away. After the truck was offloaded, we had a small chat with Ken and Margot. We had some water and Mazoe whereafter we had to hit the road again. Our next stop would be Kadoma where we would meet up with Del Parkin and a few of the other residents in Westview Home. The road was quiet, with the promise of a bit of rain. So far, we have been dodging most of the rain. We arrived in Kadoma where Del and a few of the other residents were waiting for us. We started to offload the truck where Del Parkin asked us about how it was going with Linda as she was going to the doctor while we were in Zim. We chatted a bit with the residents and closed the truck so we could hit the road again. Our next stop would be Chegutu. The road to Chegutu was a bit worse due to the rain that they had in Zim, but we made it in good time. Once we got to Greenway Trust in Chegutu, the team was ready for us so we could offload the truck. We chatted a little bit with some of the residents while locking up the truck. We then headed for our resting place for the evening in Chinhoyi. On our way there we encountered a few rain clouds. We were hoping that it would not rain while we were offloading the truck in at Sunningdale in Chinhoyi. Luckily there was no rain while we offloaded the truck. Just a great thanks to Johan Haasbroek and Heather Nel that helps us with the distribution of the boxes in Chinhoyi. We spent the night at Johan Haasbroek where we had a braai and some beers to drink. We caught up and had a reasonably early night after a great meal.
Friday 13 Feb 2026
We got up bright and early to get to Harare for the deliveries. We had some rain the night before and John Herbst said that it was currently raining in Harare, we just hoped that we would get a gap to offload the boxes. Once we got to Harare, the weather was in our favor as we got a small gap to offload the boxes. Just wanted to give a huge thanks to John and Leonie Herbst and the team for helping us with the deliveries in and outside Harare. Our next stop would be at Concrete Structures for a diesel donation from Vit Bongiovanni, a great thank to Vit for the fuel. It really helps us a lot on these trips. Once we were done with the fuel, we had to hit the road as our next stop would be in Marondera to drop some boxes for the pensioners there. We had some problems with mobile data, so we struggled a bit to get ahold of Sheila Gibson and Peter Banks to let them know that we were on our way, so we had to wait just a bit longer for them to come and pick up their boxes. Once we were done offloading the boxes we had a small chat with some of the pensioners while we were waiting for everyone to come and pick up all their boxes. Once we were done there i took over driving the truck from Neels for the road to Resthaven in Rusape. The road was a lot bumpier than I’m used to, but it was fun driving the truck for the second time in Zim. We got to Rusape at a good time. We started to offload the truck as all the residents were gathering for a small get-together with coffee and some snacks. Once we were done offloading the truck we headed into the library and mingled a bit with the residents. We then retreated to our cottage for a power nap. Later, we met up with a few of the residents to enjoy the evening with a few beers and to hear all about some of the stories they had to tell. During this visit we were introduced to their new extracurricular exercise, target shooting with ketties (slingshots). We had a couple of good laughs and enjoyed the experience with this lot of “youngsters”. Once we were done, we headed back to the cottage to creep in for the night.
Saturday 14 Feb 2026
We woke up bright and early to get the day started. We left for Mutare bright and early, because we had a long day ahead of us. Once we arrived in Mutare, Des Bekker’s team was already waiting for us so they could start offloading the truck. Once again, a great thanks to Des and Sally Becker for helping us with the distribution of boxes in Mutare. I took the wheel for the rest of the road to Masvingo. I must say that driving the truck in Zim is quite nerve-racking, but fun at the same time. The road was long and bumpy, but we got there all safe and sound with heavy rain clouds all the way. Once we arrived at Pioneer Trust in Masvingo the rain gave us a small window to offload the truck while Sister Connie, Maria and her team were helping. We retreated to our cottage soon after we were done offloading the truck. Just a great thanks to Sister Connie for helping us with the offloading and distribution of the boxes in Masvingo. We spent the rest of the afternoon resting and getting ready for the last push back to Bulawayo. Luckily the mozies were not too big of an issue, having a fan in the room. We had good rain during the night.
Sunday 15 Feb 2026
A day filled with rain and wet weather. We woke up bright and early, having to basically run toward the truck through the rain. Once we got to the truck, we were wet and ready to hit the road to finish the last push. We hit the road to Zvishavane to meet up with Mike Timvios to deliver his boxes. We got to Zvishavane early, where we waited a bit for Mike. One of his helpers arrived and we gave him the boxes. It was still raining and we hit the road to a wet Shurugwi, but the road felt like it was hitting back. The mountain pass between Zvishavane and Shurugwi is in very bad shape. We had to go through the whole pass at an average speed of 10km per hour, and to make things more interesting it was still raining. Once we arrived at Muus Lodge in Shurugwi, the rain gave us a small gap to offload the boxes. We had a small chat with Martha Daily, and some of the residents, and we hit the road for Gweru to pick up the empty boxes at Boggies. Once we arrived in Gweru, it was still raining a bit. Bruce was waiting for us ready with the empties is the small guard hut at the gate. We loaded them and hit the road for Bulawayo. The road to Bulawayo was wet and cold. Once we got to Bulawayo, Neels dropped me off at Caroline and Willems house to pick up the bakie. We met up at the warehouse and started to offload the truck. Once we were done, we headed back to Caroline and Willems house. We opened a few beers to celebrate a successful trip. We then had a well-deserved rest for the rest of the day.
Monday 16 Feb 2026
Neels took the day to rest for a bit while I had a few more stops that I had to make on Johan’s behalf to conclude the trip. Once I was done with my small errands, Neels and I wet to the truck so we could get some diesel from Colbro and prepare the truck for the trek back home. Once again, a huge thanks to Tinashe and the team at Colbro for the diesel donation that we receive every trip. I really helps us more than I think they know. We then headed back to Willems to get ready for the trip back home.
Tuesday 17 Feb 2026
We got up around 4AM so we could hit the road at 5AM. Neels and I went to the warehouse to pick up the truck, but once we arrived we noticed there was a small truck parked behind our truck blocking the way out, again…., so we called the owner of the truck who said the keys were in the truck and that we could move the truck to get out. As we were delayed for a bit, we still managed to get to the border at a reasonable time. The Beit Bridge Crossing crossing went seamlessly, and we were in SA at a very reasonable time. The plan was to get to Louis Trichardt before dark, but Johan called and warned me that there was no guest house with space in Louis Trichardt due to a Military get together in the area, so we ended up sleeping at the Baobab Cottage in Musina. Once we all got together, we then headed to the Spur for dinner. We then headed back to the lodge to rest for the next day’s drive to Malelane.
Wednesday 18 Feb 2026
We woke up very early to hit the road as this was the last stretch of the trip. The road was long and quiet all the way home. We had Johan and Linda waiting for us at the warehouse to welcome the truck and the bakie back home. What a trip that was. We celebrated a good trip at the bowls club with some bowls and a braai.
A huge thanks to all our donors and supporters. Without your help these trips would not be possible. Just the feeling of helping the oldies in Zim is amazing, to see all the smiles and to hear all their stories and seeing the happy smiling familiar faces is such a blessing. And you, the donors and supporters make that possible. Thank you to everyone for helping us to do what we do. A great thanks to the ZPSF team, making these trips possible.
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
