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:: Special Interests
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Zimbabwe |
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Eastern Highlands |
This mountainous area bordering Mozambique offers a completely
different landscape and climate to most of Zimbabwe. The cool,
lushly vegetated uplands could easily be mistaken for the
Lake District of England and are a welcome respite from the
heat of lower lying areas. The low population and remote nature
of the Highlands makes the area a hikers paradise as well
as being a haven for many bird and animal species. Many golf
courses lie scattered throughout the area as well as bubbling
streams offering an ideal opportunity for trout fishing. Interesting
archeological sites have also been found throughout this area.
The Highlands encompass three specific mountain areas stretching
for 300km; Nyanga which is the largest, Bvumba with the highest
rainfall and Chimanimani, the most remote of the groups, located
on a windswept massif. Nyanga is reminiscent of English moorland
with dense forest, waterfalls, rivers and silent lakes. The
Iron Age population living in this area stripped much of the
forest for agriculture, leaving stone terracing which still
exists today along with stone walled enclosures, corrals and
forts.
Mt. Nyangani is Zimbabwe's highest mountain at 2593m and
it towers above the Nyanga landscape. The area is not home
to a great density of animals, but there are a number of kudu,
wildebeest, waterbuck and leopard, a predator that seems able
to thrive in almost any habitat. There are many private nature
reserves in this area as well as Nyanga National Park which
consists of 33,000 hectares of Cecil Rhodes Homestead. The
private reserves are characterized by pine plantations, montane
hardwood trees and fern and orchid filled valleys.
The Mutarazi Falls are situated in the Mutarazi National
Park, in the south of Nyanga.The Falls are 762m high and are
the second highest in Africa, after the famous Victoria Falls.
The area is beautiful, lush and green with wildflower meadows
and shady valleys.
The Bvumba mountains lie 28km southeast of Mutare, the area's
major town. The Bvumba and Bunga National Botanical Reserves
offer a pretty contrast between planted English gardens and
indigenous forests. There is a profusion of wildlife with
samango monkeys, eland, duikers, bushbuck and sable as well
as many tropical birds. The Bvumba area is also famous for
the good quality cheeses produced here!
The Chimanimani area is the most remote, and most of the
granite peaks are only accessible by foot. Two thirds of this
area lies in Mozambique and it can be easy to stray across
the border by accident as there are no fences. Many interesting
hiking trails wind their way around these mountains and the
Bridal Veil Falls are located here, a peaceful and scenic
landmark surrounded by ferns, lianas and still, clear pools.
The Chimanimani area is riddled with some of the worlds deepest
cave systems, one in particular sinks 250m into the ground!
This area is home to many bird and animal species, and visitors
may have the chance to see some of the rare tropical birds
or the tree civets which make their home in the botanical
forest reserve.
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Zimbabwe |
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Hwange National Park |
The Hwange Wildlife area is a 280km large area of land which
includes the Hwange National Park, the remote Kazuma Pan National
Park, three safari hunting areas and two indigenous forests.
The area of Hwange was historically important for it's extensive
reserves of coal, and a good amount is still mined here. For
this reason, the abandoned Cape to Cairo railway was routed
through Hwange and Victoria Falls instead of through Harare.
The wildlife area and National Park were actually only set
aside due to their poor soil quality making the land unsuitable
for agriculture. When the designation was made in 1929, the
area was almost devoid of animal and birdlife due to seriously
overenthusiastic hunting practices. Nowadays the Park is a
rich habitat for many rare and fascinating species including
giraffe, sable antelope, buffalo, impala, kudu, zebra, elephant,
lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, wild dog and jackal. The Park
is also home to over 400 bird species including numerous eagle
species, kestrels, goshawk, falcons, buzzards and osprey.
There are over 1000 species of tree and shrub, presenting
a great variety of habitat and scenery.
Unlike the more popular and well-known Parks of East Africa,
Hwange is relatively uncrowded and although the area is managed
quite extensively by Park authorities, it still represents
one of Africa's most interesting game areas, with an excellent
density of wildlife. The Park is marked into three areas;
Main is the headquarters of the Park and is mostly covered
with savanna grassland. Sinamatella comprises granite ridges
overlooking a lush valley with thick mopane forest. Robins
and Nantwich are a little more remote and usually afford good
opportunities to view lion. There are 480 km of road in Hwange,
80% of which is only accessible to specialized camping and
photographic safaris.
The good underground water reserves in the area allowed the
initial establishment of around 60 artificially pumped pans
for the wildlife to drink from during the dry season. The
best time to visit Hwange is between September and October
as the wildlife is concentrated around these water holes.
The southern area of the park is situated at the tip of the
Kalahari desert, and giant fossil dunes can be seen in the
far eastern corner.
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Zimbabwe |
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Lake Kariba |
 Lake
Kariba is the result of a massive damming project undertaken
in 1958 to flood an area of the Zambezi Valley in order to
create a hydroelectric power plant for Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Many hundreds of local people were displaced in order to flood
the valley, and many animals were relocated in the months
before the floodgates finally opened. The lake is 282km long,
and the dam is 24m thick at its base.
The town of Kariba is an eclectic mixture of fishing boats,
luxury hotel complexes and local township streets. There is
no centre as such but the shores of the lake are dotted with
campsites, small bed and breakfast guesthouses and hotels.
Views from the surrounding hilltops are beautiful and sunsets
are spent very peacefully watching palm swifts dart in and
out of their nests, and the silhouettes of the submerged trees
grow to shadows in the dusk.
The Lake itself is a popular destination for fishing, boating,
game watching and relaxing. Many visitors take a house boat
with a crew and drift off to explore the many secluded inlets
and islands which are home to a good variety of animal and
bird life, as well as 42 species of fish. The fishing is excellent
with opportunity to catch tiger fish, bream, carp and black
bass. Many hippos make the lake their home, as well as crocodiles,
and the Matusodona National Park, Chete and Charara Safari
Areas on the shores of the lake offer a great opportunity
to see some of the larger of Zimbabwe's game animals such
as elephant and buffalo.
Chizarira National Park is the most remote of Zimbawe's wildlife
areas and is located 50km inland from Kariba. The landscape
is a rolling mass of mountains, river gorges, flood plains
and plateaus. Animal life includes tssesebe, buffalo, roan
and sable antelope and zebra.
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Zimbabwe |
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Mana Pools |
 This
area is one of the more remote and wild areas of Zimbabwe,
and also one of the only wildlife rich areas of Africa where
guests can walk freely in the bush. The Mana Pools National
park is a declared World Heritage Site which stretches along
the Zambezi River and as far inland as the Zambezi escarpment.
The vegetation varies from twisting apple-ring acacia and
ancient mahogany trees to fig, sausage and rain trees on the
floodplain.
Animal species include numerous hippo and crocodile in the
river, clawless otter, honey badger, buffalo, elephant, waterbuck,
nyala antelope and jackal.
Mana means four in the local language, and refers to the
four main pools which give this area it's name; Long, Main,
Chine and Chisambik. The Park is open to vehicles from May
to October. Canoe safaris can be undertaken in this area,
and these offer a unique and exciting experience, drifting
down the mighty Zambezi past herds of lazy buffalo grazing
on the river banks, pods of hippo wallowing in the water and
crocodiles lying quietly beneath overhanging branches.
Walking is allowed during daylight hours, but visitors must
adhere to the recommendations of Park authorities.
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Zimbabwe |
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Matopos |
 This ancient area of huge, heaped boulders and inspiring views is located just a few kilometers from the city of Bulawayo and is the final resting place of Cecil John Rhodes. The National Park of Matobo is home to many bird and animal species including reintroduced black and white rhino, kudu, agile klipspringer antelope, warthog, giraffe, zebra and also a relatively high population of elusive
leopard. In addition it is an important breeding area for black eagles and visitors may also have the chance to see the African hawk eagle and the rare Cape eagle owl.
The restless granite hills are thought to be around 3000 million years old and have been eroded in situ by millions of years of weathering. Caves in this area were home to San tribesmen up to 100,000 years ago. Evocative paintings, pottery fragments and human bones have been found in this area which has deep spiritual significance for the Rozwi
tribe who believe that the Matopas Hills are the resting place of their ancient ancestors.
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Zimbabwe |
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The Victoria Falls |
 These spectacular waterfalls are a designated World Heritage Site as well as being one of the natural wonders of the world. Ever since their existence was publicized by David Livingstone in 1855, visitors have traveled from all over the world to witness this amazing natural phenomenon. The falls are 1.7 km wide and have an average height of 100m.
The volume of water passing over the falls is 550,000 square meters per minute on average, although this can increase dramatically during the high water period between March and May. The geology of this area is fascinating, the original falls were actually 8km downstream of the present ones. Erosion over millions of years, combined with weaknesses in the basalt rock perpendicular to the flow of
the Zambezi have gradually worn away the previous seven sets of falls and have led to the magnificent gorge system that visitors see today.
In the first years of the 20th century, the growing village of Victoria Falls was put on the map by Cecil Rhodes' British South African Company plans to attempt the construction of a Cape to Cairo railway line. Although the line was never completed, the track still runs through Victoria Falls and luxury trains, offering opulent service as well as breathtaking views, travel through this station in addition to the regular Zimbabwean Railway service. The famous Victoria Falls Hotel was originally built in 1904 and was extended many times throughout the last century. The hotel initially catered for travelers entering the Falls by rail and has since developed into one of Africa's most luxurious facilities, offering a taste of times past.
The Falls can also be viewed from the Zambian town of Livingstone where visitors are able to get spectacularly close to the edge of the river gorge! Many adventure activities can be arranged from the town of Victoria Falls, varying from bungee jumping, gorge swinging, micro-lighting and white water rafting to more leisurely boat cruises on the upper stretches of the river.
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Zimbabwe |
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Great Zimbabwe Ruins |
 This
World Heritage site is one of Zimbabwe's enigmas and the largest
single ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert. Located
on an open, wooded plain and surrounded by rolling hills,
Great Zimbabwe is around 700 years old and consists of a series
of intricate dry stone walled enclosures and walls covering
720 hectares. It is thought that the people who built the
impressive structures were wealthy cattle owners, and not
traders from north Africa as some historians have suggested.
After two centuries of prosperous living, with around 20,000
people being based in this area, and trading relations with
Swahili gold merchants, the population had depleted the local
resources and moved to more productive land.
The Great Enclosure is thought to have been a royal residence
originally, and has a large conical structure in the centre
which may have been a grain store, or even a treasury. Some
of the walls are 5m thick and 11m high, the circumference
of the Great Enclosure is an impressive 243m. The name of
these ruins was that given to the country at Independence,
and the original soapstone birds that once perched atop the
walls have been adopted as one of the country's National symbols.
A museum exists on site, and exhibits range from the soapstone
birds to archeological finds such as gold, bronze and copper
items and pottery fragments. The nearby Mutirikwi Recreational
Park offers water sports on the lake and is home to a wide
variety of animal and birdlife including white rhino, kudu,
wildebeest, giraffe, collared sunbird, lanner falcon and miombo
rock thrush.
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