World-famous
Victoria Falls, 1.7km wide, drops between 90m and 107m into the Zambezi
Gorge.
An
average of 550,000 cubic metres of water plummet over the edge every minute,
but during the flood stage
from
March to May, up to 5 million cubic metres per minute pass over the falls.
It's Zimbabwe's
contribution
to the world's great attractions, and miles and miles of film and videotape
are gobbled
through
cameras every year here. Victoria Falls town was built on tourism and has
now developed into
an
archetypal tourist trap. Fortunately, the star attraction is safely cordoned
off by a real jungle
of
its own creation. To walk along the paths through the spray-generated rainforests
that flank the gorge,
you'd
never suspect the existence of anything other than the monumental waterfall
that's giving you
such
a good soaking. For something really special, time your visit to coincide
with the rising of the full
moon
when the park stays open later to allow you to witness the magical lunar
r! ainb ow over the falls.
Victoria
Falls is quickly becoming the greatest adrenalin
capital-cum-tourist
playground
west of New Zealand. Heartstoppers include scenic flights, white-water
rafting,
the
world's highest bungee jump and parachuting. If the batteries in your pacemaker
are
on the tired side, the walk along the Zambezi above the falls is excellent
and
is packed with wildlife. Don't take this walk too lightly;
you
may see warthog, crocodile, hippo, and even elephant, buffalo and lion.
Avoid
walking too close to the shore -the crocs are thick along the riverbank
and
can appear without warning.
Great
Zimbabwe National Monument
Great
Zimbabwe, the greatest medieval city in sub-Saharan Africa, provides evidence
that ancient Africa
reached
a level of civilisation not suspected by early scholars. As a religious
and secular capital, this city of
10,000
to 20,000 people dominated a realm which stretched across eastern Zimbabwe
and into Botswana,
Mozambique
and South Africa between the 13th and 15th centuries. The structure best
identified with the site is
the
elliptical Great Enclosure. Nearly 100m across and 255m in circumference,
it's the largest ancient structure in sub-Saharan Africa. The mortarless
walls rise 11m and, in places, are 5m thick. The most accepted theory is
that
it
was used as a royal compound.The greatest source of speculation is the
10m-high Conical Tower, a solid and
apparently
ceremonial structure which probably has phallic significance.
Hwange
National Park
During
the 19th century, the area now known as Hwange National Park served as
a hunting reserve
for
the Ndebele kings. When Europeans arrived on the scene, they realised the
area's richness in wildlife
and
set about overhunting it. Hwange was accorded national park status in 1929,
settlers created artificial
water
holes fed by underground water, and by the 1970s, Hwange had one of the
densest
concentrations
of wildlife in Africa. Animals you can expect to see include elephant,
monkey, baboon, impala,
lion,
giraffe and zebra.Although Hwange is Zimbabwe's most accessible and most
wildlife-packed national park,
it's
not overcrowded and most vehicles stick to short loop drives within 10km
of Main Camp.
Matobo National Park
You
need not be a woman who runs with the wolves to sense that the Matobo Hills
are one of the world's
power
places. Dotted around the park are a wealth of ancient San paintings and
old grain bins, where warriors
once
stored their provisions. Some hidden niches still shelter clay ovens which
were used as iron smelters in making spears to be used against the colonial
hordes. Some peaks, such as Shumba, Shaba and Shumba Sham are considered
sacred
and locals believe that even to point at them will bring misfortune. Hidden
in a rock cleft is the
Ndebele's
sacred rain shrine, where people still pray to Mwali and petition for rain.
Matobo is also home to the world's greatest concentration of the blacK
eagle.
Further
south are the Vumba,
an archipelago of misty peaks famed for their fabulous views into Mozambique.
They
are also home to the Vumba Botanical Gardens that are just a few minutes'
drive from the eastern metropolis of Mutare, containing shrubs and trees
that have been gathered from all over the world.
Overlooking
the giant waterlilies on the ornamental lake is a tea house which appears
for all the world like an English cricket pavilion, uprooted from a village
green in the Home Counties and replanted in the heart of Africa.
At
the southern end of this exquisite mountain chain, the volcanic peaks of
Chimanimani are
sharp and jagged. Most of them can be conquered with little mountaineering
skill, and they are punctuated with hundreds of rivers, waterfalls and
pools to entice bathers after a long day's hike.
Great
Zimbabwe National Monument
Matobo National Park
