Matobo National Park

Coordinates	29°57′53″N90°4′14″N
Name	Matobo National Park
Iucn category	II
Photo	Sunrise Matobo Zimbabwe.jpg
Photo caption	Sunrise in Matobo National Park, 2006
Location	Matobo (district), Zimbabwe
Nearest city	Bulawayo
Lat d	20.55
Lat ns	S
Long d	28.508
Long ew	E
Area	424 km²
Established	1926
Governing body	Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority

Whs	Matobo Hills
State party
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, v, vi
Id	306
Region	Africa
Year	2003
Session	27th
Link	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/306

The Matobo National Park forms the core of the Matobo or Matopos Hills, 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 km², of which 424 km² is National Park, the remainder being largely communal land and a small proportion of commercial farmland. The park covers some beautiful scenery including some spectacular balancing rocks and impressive views along the Thuli, Mtshelele, Maleme and Mpopoma river valleys. Part of the national park is set aside as a 100 km² game park, which has been stocked with game including black and white rhinoceros. The highest point in the hills is the promontory named Gulati (1549 m) just outside the north-eastern corner of the park.

Administratively, Matobo National Park incorporates the Lake Matopos Recreational Park, being the area around Hazelside, Sandy Spruit and Lake Matopos.

History of the park

The national park is the oldest in Zimbabwe, established in 1926 The park area then increased with the acquisition of World's View and Hazelside farms to the north.

The current name Matobo reflects the correct vernacular pronunciation of the area.

The Matobo Hills were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. The area "exhibits a profusion of distinctive rock landforms rising above the granite shield that covers much of Zimbabwe".

Features

Flora

The Matobo Hills is an area of high botanic diversity, with over 200 species of tree recorded in the national park, including the mountain acacia, wild pear and the paperbark tree. There are also many aloes, wild herbs and over 100 grass species.

Fauna

Matobo National Park has a wide diversity of fauna: 175 bird, 88 mammal, 39 snake and 16 fish species. due to the abundance of hyrax, which make up 50 % of their diet. as well as giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and ostrich.

Matobo National Park contains the highest concentration of black eagles, and breeding pairs of these birds, worldwide.

A limnological research centre has operated since 1950 at Maleme Dam and researched species such as the yellow-fish Barbus mattozi.

Geography and geology

The Matobo Hills are composed entirely of granite, making up the Matopos Batholith. The granite weathers into fantastic shapes, such as the balancing rocks known as Mother and Child Kopje. Between the granite mountains, narrow valleys form. These are often swampy valleys known as dambos or vleis,due to runoff from the whaleback mountains. The following major sites have been developed for tourist access:

Bambata Cave is also a major archaeological site, located in the west of the national park, north of the game park on the Kezi-Bulawayo road. The frieze includes elephants, giraffes, warthogs, tsessebe and mongoose.

Inanke Cave has the most extensive paintings, located in a remote cave accessible by a three-hour hike from Toghwana Dam. Along the route of the hike is an iron age furnace. Archaeological digs within and downslop of the cave revealed 39,032 stone tools, several hearths, with the main fire-making areas were in the centre of the cave floor. Bone fragments showed that hyrax formed a major part of the meat component of the diet of early human inhabitants of the cave, which also included tortoise and larger game animals. The oldest material on the site is probably pre-Middle Stone Age.

White Rhino Shelter is a small site near Gordon Park, on the main tarred road through the park. The frieze includes the outline of a large rhinos, which is said to have inspired the re-introduction of the species in the 1960s. Upon learning of the death of the Mlimo, Cecil Rhodes boldly walked alone and unarmed into this Ndebele stronghold and persuaded the impi to lay down their arms. During the indaba it was also in these hills that Robert Baden-Powell, the Founder of Scouting, first learned woodcraft, the fundamentals of scouting, from Burnham. Even today, a great deal of the pottery and artefacts found on cave floors and most of the clay grain bins in the hills are remnants from the 1896 rebellion era. There are other reminders too - bronze plaques dotted here and there in various hills mark the sites of armed forts or brief skirmishes.

Cecil Rhodes, Leander Starr Jameson, and several other leading early white settlers, including Allan Wilson and all the members of the Shangani Patrol killed in the First Matabele War, are buried on the summit of Malindidzimu, the 'hill of the spirits' -- this is a great source of controversy in modern Zimbabwe as this is considered a sacred place by nationalists and indigenous groups. This mount is also referred to as the World’s View. (Not to be confused with the World's View, Nyanga).

Accommodation and camping

Maleme Camp

This is the main camp in the centre of the park, and hosts the park headquarters. All accommodation is self-catering. There are eighteen lodges and six chalets, the former fully equipped and the latter with communal ablutions and without crockery or cutlery. Three of the lodges, Imbila, Black Eagle and Fish Eagle, have fantastic views over the Maleme Gorge. Imbila Lodge offers a higher standard of luxury with ensuite bathrooms and teak furniture. Camping and caravan sites are situated along th eastern shores of Maleme Dam.

Mtsheleli Camp

Located in the south, this camp offers campings and caravan sites.

Mwesilume Camp

Located on Circular Drive, west of Maleme Dam, this camp offers campings and caravan sites.

Toghwana Camp

Located in the east, this camp offers campings and caravan sites.

Arboretum Camp

Located in the west of Lake Matopos Recreational Park, near the Hazelside Office, this camp offers campings and caravan sites.

Sandy Spruit Camp

Located in the east of Lake Matopos Recreational Park, this camp offers campings and caravan sites.

Lake Matopos Camp

Located in the north of Lake Matopos Recreational Park, this camp offers campings and caravan sites.

Privately-operated camps and sites

The Boy Scouts Association of Zimbabwe operates a camp called Gordon Park, in the north of the Mtsheleli Valley. Gordon Park is a 115 ha lease from the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and is maintained as far as possible close to natural conditions. In addition to camping sites for Scout Troops there is a small cottage. The Girl Guides Association of Zimbabwe maintains a camp site at Rowallan Park, in the north of the Mtsheleli Valley.

Big Cave Camp is a privately owned camp, bordering the Matobo National Park. The Camp offers four star accommodation in seven granite under thatch lodges and separate camping facilities elsewhere on the property. Activities on offer include game drives, game walks, bird watching, tours to famous rock art galleries, as well as tours to Rhodes Grave. The Big Cave property is approximately , and is ideal for walking and birdwatching. Facilities include a natural rock pool for swimming, the "Leopards Lair" bar and dining area which incorporates a huge granite boulder into the building,as well as separate library area.

Camp Amalinda, which offers game viewing, hiking, bird watching, climbing and horse-riding. and Matobo Ingwe Lodge are commercial lodges.

Tourism

Access

By road from Bulawayo: Take Robert Mugabe road in the city centre; this turns into Matopos Road which continues south some 30 km to the park boundary. This is a two-lane tarred road. A single lane tarred road continues to Maleme Dam and Rest Camp. The remaining roads in the park are gravel or earth, but suitable for most vehicles. However, access to Toghwana Dam during the rainy season may require four wheel drive.

The park can also be reached from Gwanda: taking the Thuli-Makwe road towards Kezi and turning north on the main Kezi-Bulawayo road.

Game viewing

Some game can be seen throughout the park, with regular sitings of white rhino, sable antelope and impala. However, the best viewing is to be had in the 105 km² Game Park, in the west of the national park. The game park, also known as Whovi or Hove Wild Area was established with animals translocated from the border areas of Hwange National Park. It has been restocked with white and black rhinos. Other animals to be seen include sable antelope, giraffe, zebra, impala, wildebeest and ostrich. On rare occasion in the late afternoon to early evening visitors, can be lucky enough to spot leopard, with many nights being disturbed by the ruckus of baboons screaming due to leopard attacks. There are two game viewing hides.

Hiking

With beautiful scenery, pleasant climate and safe environment, Matobo offers excellent hiking country. Shorter hikes and walks include:

Lakeside walk, Maleme Dam, from Fish Eagle lodge

Mount Pomongwe, near Maleme Camp

Maleme Camp to Pomongwe Cave rock paintings

Longer hikes include:

Climbing mount Shumbashawa, near Gordon Park

Climbing Nyahwe mountain

Hike from Toghwana Dam to Inanke Cave and rock paintings.

The name of the park has been used twice in films: According to director Stéphanie Machuret, the title and landscape in her 2007 film Matopos, about a traditional healer, were inspired by the park. The name was also used for the fictional Democratic Republic of Matobo in the film The Interpreter.

See also

Cecil Rhodes

First Chimurenga

Thuli River

External links

Parks and Wildlife Management Authority

An Introduction to the Matopo National Park

Matobo National Park in Pictures

Matobo Conservation Society

Camp Amalinda

References

Category:National parks of Zimbabwe Category:Bornhardts Category:World Heritage Sites in Zimbabwe Category:Prehistoric Africa