Four thousand miles of smooth-topped roads in Rhodesia are made enjoyable for the motorist by cultivated patches of vivid-red poinsettias, bottlebrush trees, and flowering pomegranates. All of this soothes the passengers but, at the same time, does not distract the driver.

Should you wish for a roadside picnic, there are stopping places (called “laybys”) with sturdy tables and benches under shady fig, msasa, acacia, or other indigenous trees.

A Visit with African Friends

But let us branch off onto the graveled roads and to the Africa you have visualized. As we enter what is known as Tribal Trust Land we see clusters of thatched pole-and-mud huts strung along the roadside. We could stop at any one of these “villages” and the people there would make us most welcome, but since we do not understand their language and there is not always one on hand who understands ours, we shall go on until we reach a schoolhouse. Then, perhaps, a teacher will consent to accompany us as interpreter and guide.

Oh, did you notice that baobab tree? “Not much beauty there!” you say. Granted, at times during the year it resembles a giant, upside-down turnip with its roots to the sky, but there are other times, when its leaves and large white flowers appear, that it is quite presentable, and it is best (so children will tell you) when it bears its hard, coconut-shaped fruit containing edible white pulp.

If it is shade and beauty that appeal to you, then look over there in the pasture. That is a wild fig tree, and if you note the twenty or more cattle standing under its leafy branches you will appreciate the great size it must be. I don’t recommend its fruit to you if you are squeamish about worms.

Depending on the time of the year, trees that will delight your eyes are the purple jacaranada with their thick blossoms, lacelike and bright-red flamboyant (well named!), fragrant and creamy franjipani, and the African flame, which produces huge, lily-shaped, red-orange blooms.