Painting in Zimbabwe ~

I was able to go on a number of trips to paint in Zimbabwe in the 1990s.

British friends of mine serving with BMAT were stationed up in the hills on the Mozambique border where it was possible to fish for trout.

I had other friends who were farming near Chegutu who kindly invited me to stay, giving me time to sketch 

Their daughter Jenny was thirteen then and we would sit, peacefully drawing together.

I left them several framed paintings including one of this lady washing clothes and another of their prize Brahman bull.

When their farm was invaded, they had so little time to pack that some of their pictures were left behind. Eventually they made contact by e-mail from Australia telling me of their loss. I spent a wet afternoon sending them these scans from my sketchbook to remind them of their life in Africa.

Sketches of Victoria Falls

When I first reached Victoria Falls there was so much water that we couldn't see a thing - just a cloud of mist that soaked us to the skin.

These quick sketches were executed on the Zimbabwean side in the Victoria Falls National Park.

I'd reached the town by train and was enchanted by the railway station.

This is of the bridge that spans the Zambezi Gorge.

Perhaps the most exciting thing was canoeing down the Zambezi towards the great waterfall. We pulled up our green canoes on one of the islands in the middle of the river and walked across the rocks to peer over the very lip of the falls. Despite the roar of the water, which was so loud we could hardly hear each other's voices, we set up camp under palm trees, building a fire to cook an evening meal.

We were guests of Ben Parker who was running Tongabezi Lodge. They have a panoramic shot of Livingstone Island and a number of fabulous photographs on their website, which gives you the feeling of being there.

Twenty years ago in Zimbabwe ~

~ Fishing on the Pungwe River ~

A short extract from 'Ride the Wings of Morning' ~

"I’m now staying with an artist in the Nyanga Highlands, a girl who is married to a British Army officer out here with BMATT who provide military training for the Zimbabwean Forces. They spend their spare time fishing in the Pungwe River or picnicking on gigantic granite boulders while their children splash in the shallows. There are parties here all the time, and unlike in South Africa, where men talk to men and women with women, they actually interact normally. I am assured this isn’t always so in the local community but Zimbabweans tend to be outgoing and rather fun. I went riding with a farmer’s wife called Pixie. She had one little girl called Burgundy and another called Summer Rain. They rode their ponies bareback, jumping them over gates and fences without hesitation. I’m heading for Victoria Falls by train next week and after going down the Zambezi plan to fly up to Lilongwe so I can drive up through Malawi to the Nyika Plateau.

I didn’t realise how bushed I had become at Equus. I hadn’t taken a day off in four months ~ hadn’t used my own money, watched television, worn anything accept khaki clothes, had hardly driven on a tarmac road or been to a town since I was in the Cape. It’s strange adjusting back to life on the open road and making decisions alone. Being able to wear turquoise. Having time for myself."

~ Read more of 'Ride the Wings of Morning' on Amazon.co.uk

All sketches on the blog are featured in 'Ride the Wings of Morning' and are (c) Sophie Neville. Please contact me if you need to use them on sophie@sophieneville.co.uk

Now with colour illustrations on Amazon Kindle ~

'Ride the Wings of Morning' ~ the illustred ebook is now in colour

Click on the regional links below for the book's product page on Amazon:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon USA & India ~ Amazon.de ~ Amazon.fr ~ Amazon.it ~ Amazon.es

‘But I don’t have a Kindle!’

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‘How?’

If you are in the UK

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If you live in Africa, you want to download the Kindle app direct from Amazon.com

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