Matobos in Zimbabwe, a guides view

23 August 2017

Having just completed his first Zimbabwe Botswana Game Tracker, Liberty a new guide at Sunway wanted to share his experience at Matobos National park in Zimbabwe.

The Matobos National Park visit was preceded by the Great Zim monument tour which was also awe-inspiring. The world’s view , the great balancing boulders, the Cecil John Rhodes grave ,the moving clouds in the sky with a rocky foreground ,the up-close and personal encounter Rhino walk and of course the amazing bushman rock art !!!!! It was such an unrivalled nature combo.
Our guide Norman was so informative and knowledgeable about the Matobos environs that he made our visit more special. The first port of call was the sight of 5 Rhinos that tolerated our presence as we approached them silently and respectfully till we were about 10m away. Spine-chilling!! Norman frequently uttered a soft whistle for the Rhinos that made them so cool, everyone guessed they now know him and recognise his voice and face.

After the walk with the rhino we climbed up the kopjes to the top most summit and here we were welcomed by a soft breeze and a breath-taking panoramic view of the world. The clouds were hovering just above our heads and a hazy sky towards the horizons. One only appreciates the reason why the Legend Cecil John Rhodes picked this spot as the place for his burial. On top of his grave hundreds of Pungwe Skinks, so colourful in appearance, were strewn all over.

We drove to the bushman painting mount were we did a bit of a relaxed hike to reach the area.th paintings are still well preserved by a protective barbed fence .the paintings reveal the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the prehistoric bushman. We got a fascinating explanation of how the paint was made and a rough idea of how old the paintings might be.
The Matobos had a variety to offer and everyone really enjoyed the time:”worth the time and worth the visit “everyone hailed praises. My post tour analysis showed that all the clients liked the Matopo the most. A must visit!!

The Matobos or Matopos Hills are an area of granite kopjes and wooded valleys commencing some 35 kilometres south of Bulawayo, southern Zimbabwe. The Hills were formed over 2000 million years ago with granite being forced to the surface, this has eroded to produce smooth “whaleback dwalas” and broken kopjes, strewn with boulders and interspersed with thickets of vegetation.
Mzilikazi, founder of the Ndebele nation, gave the area its name, meaning ‘Bald Heads’. The Hills cover an area of about 3100 square kilometres, of which 440 km² is National Park, the remainder being largely communal land and a small proportion of commercial farmland. Part of the national park is set aside as a game park. This covers some 100 km² of beautiful scenery including some spectacular balancing rocks and impressive views along the Mpopoma river Valley. The Matobos Hills have been included into World Heritage List. The hills were the scene of the famous indaba between Cecil Rhodes and Ndebele leaders in 1896. Rhodes and several other leading early white settlers are buried on the summit of Malindidzimu, the ‘hill of the spirits’. This mount is also referred to as the World’s View.

Want to join the next Game Tracker? You can choose for the accommodated or camping tour.