TRAVEL. AFRICA
The Unknown Wonders of Zimbabwe
Waterfalls, Honde Valley, Meat and Adventure
When you search best places to visit in the world, Zimbabwe never pops up but I can tell you it’s a great place for adventure. If you enjoy hiking, outdoor activities, nature, freedom, national parks, waterfalls, food, and sunny weather then you’ll like Zim. It’s one of those places many haven’t been but the ones who have, love it.
I was born in Zim. Our family moved to Ireland when I was 6 years old so I never really got to experience what life was like there. The 1st few years we would travel back every summer but as flight became more expensive and time less and less it became harder. It had been years 7 years since I was last there.
I travelled to Zim on the 5th of January. I didn’t really have any exceptions for adventure. Zimbabweans are extremely family orientated so whenever we travel back, we would spend most of the time with family (and we have a lot of family). I was excited to see my family and have that amazing Zim food.
I was accompanied by my brother Oz (10 years since his last visit), my mother and aunt (who both visit frequently). None of them would tell you the wonders of Zim because it’s not in the culture to go to such places. The country is struggling so Zimbabweans don’t even think of the beautiful life and scenery they have around them.
Over the years I’ve visited many countries, experienced many cultures and thanks to my girlfriend I started to appreciate the simple things in life like hiking up mountains and being outdoors.
The European countries I’ve lived in have lacked this. That’s why my ideal holiday destination is somewhere I can be surrounded by nature. It had been so long since I was in Zimbabwe and I was young at the time, I didn’t know Zim was full of nature and wonders.
Balancing Rocks
When we arrived we were picked up by family members at the airport in Harare. My brother, my cousin, and I were in one car and the rest in a second car. The drive from Harare to Honde Valley (our destination) was 4 hours.
During that drive, I was completely amazed at what I was seeing. I had never realised the amount of land and open space there was here. There were these jaw-dropping structures called “balancing rocks” and they’re everywhere scattered around Zim. You look at them and wonder how is this even possible, a bigger rock on top of a smaller one or how it’s still standing at those slanted angles.
Here is an explanation of how the rocks were formed:
Many years ago, magma formed within the earth’s crust and was forced up towards the surface through weaknesses in the rocks. As it slowly cooled and solidified, it formed into a hard crystalline rock, such as granite. The granites at Epworth are typical of volcanic rock and known for their hardness — the surrounding rocks, especially if they are sedimentary rocks like sandstones, or mudstones, may be significantly softer and therefore as the erosion processes continue, they are worn down faster than the hard granites. Eventually the hard granites also start to split; they develop cracks, which are attacked by weathering processes, whilst still under the ground.
Honde Valley
We arrived at my grandmothers' plantation in Honde Valley and the scenery was just amazing. I had been here many times before but when you’re a teenager you can’t really appreciate these things.
The fresh air and the sunlight filled you with so much life. This area is quite mountainous so wherever we walked it was an uphill struggle, when it was wet (it was the rainy season) going downhill was no picnic either but I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it.
Mutarazi Falls
Every morning my family wakes up to the view of the Mutarazi Falls, right there in the distance but yet no of them had ever been there. Many of the locals believe in a mythical tale of a mermaid that lives at the bottom of the falls.
It entices people and brings them to the depth of the water. It’s said if you scream it will take your life but if you don’t it will release you (everybody always screams).
They link any disappearance near the falls to this tale. I didn’t believe any of this, it’s the kind of stories people share when they’re drunk and around a fire. An outsider didn’t believe this either and built a sky bridge and one of the highest zip lines in the world!
Mutarazi falls stands at 772 metres, it eclipses the much famed Victoria Falls (108m) in height. It’s the 2nd highest waterfall in Africa and 17th in the world but yet most people don’t know about it. It definitely is a must-see.
Oz and I walked on the sky bridge, we were filled with so much adrenaline. I’m scared of heights but I enjoyed every moment of it. Leading up to it I had butterflies in my stomach but when I saw the bridge and how secure it was, all my fears went away.
There are actually two bridges, the 1st one is short to get you comfortable and the 2nd one is super long a real test. We spend a while there taking photos, videos and soaking up this beautiful experience. I could even see my grandmother's place.
Banana Plantations
The soil in Honde Valley is very fertile and even in the dry season, it rains quite a bit. The conditions in this region are perfect to grow various crops like yams, sugar cane, maize, madombe, zumbani, mangoes, avocados, oranges, covo and many more.
In recent years many farmers have switched to focusing on bananas and now Honde Valley is one of the biggest producers of bananas, for the whole of Zimbabwe. So even though there may be poverty in some regions and cities, Honde Valley for the most part remains well of.
Moon Light
I’m not someone who is into moon gazing but I couldn’t help noticing how prominent the moon was. The 1st few weeks the moon was covered so the nights were dark.
It was so dark to the point where I couldn’t see my hands in front of me. The fire and lights were put out, and everyone was asleep. It was so scary just standing there not being able to see anything (I had turned off my flashlight).
In my 3rd week, I was walking to my room when I realised it was late and I wasn’t using a flashlight. I looked up at the moon and it pretty much hit me in the face, it was so close.
I’d never seen the moon so bright, in so much detail and radiating like that. I sat down and just marvelled at it. You don’t get that in Europe, the moon always looks far away and you can’t see the stars because of all the light pollution.
East Highlands Tea Estate
Next up was the East Highlands Tea Estate which was about 45 minutes away. I had heard some great things about this area so I was looking forward to it. We got there and the views were spectacular.
There were mountains just full of tea, everywhere. We drove for 4 hours and still more and more tea crops. By the end of the drive, I didn’t want to see any more tea. Just for you to picture how big this area was, it takes about 3 hours to drive from the north of Netherlands (Where I live) to the south of the country.
This is where the famous Tanganda (which Zimbabweans love) tea is produced and processed. They export it to making countries worldwide where they then blend it (in its original form it’s very strong) and create their own mix.
You don’t acquire land the size of a country through normal means. This land was stolen many years ago when Zimbabwe was still under British rule. When Zimbabwe regained their Independence they decided to let the owners keep the tea estates.
Nyanga National Park
Nyanga is another area with jaw-dropping scenery, you won’t run out of Instagram worthy photos. We went to the national park which was about two hours away from us.
It had been raining heavily the last couple of days so it was harder to spot the animals. Normally you go to the water sources and you're bound to see some life but now the water was everywhere.
We decided to focus on the tourist attractions that are located in the park. We did however spot some waterbucks and kudu’s along the way.
Nyangombe Falls
A waterfall you surely have never heard of, and neither had we. This one was just as special in its magnitude. The was a double waterfall. In the 1st part of the waterfall, you could actually stand on some of the rocks. The 2nd part of the waterfall was the big drop.
Many Zimbabweans don’t know about this waterfall. My mum had lived most of her life around this area and said “I never knew there was something as beautiful as this in Zimbabwe”.
Pitt Structures
When we arrived at the Pitts I didn’t think much of it because it was just huts. The same huts that people live in all over Zimbabwe. I’d seen my fair share of huts but then we were explained the history of them.
Back in the day when this area was teeming with wildlife they had to find a way to protect their livestock. They built a gate around their homes but left an opening that leads to a tunnel.
This tunnel would lead the predator to the gate of the livestock which was laced with bells. The father slept right above the tunnel. As soon as he was alarmed he would wake up and trap the animal using another gate.
Nyanga Swimming Pool
This is a great place to come and relax with friends and family. You can swim in the water, there are areas to barbecue, facilities and it’s a water source so you might spot some wildlife.
Life in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe has been ranked with many different travel and tourism agencies as one of the safest countries on the planet. As a Zimbabwean I can attest to this, we don’t like violence, are respectful, and very educated.
The Majority of people speak English (Shona is the main language) and everything is written in English, so getting around won’t be an issue. You will see many nationalities living there, British, Indian, Chinese, etc.
Land
The government in Zimbabwe has failed its people. There are so many blatant corruptions, they don’t even try and hide it. The money generated in the country and the aid given back to donors is going into somebody’s pockets instead of fixing things such as hospitals and the roads.
But people in Zim are resilient and as Oz said “it’s a country full of entrepreneurs”. They’re making the most out of a bad situation.
The electricity is unreliable so many homes are using solar.
The water is not being properly processed so many homes have built their own water systems.
Many homes have their own crops.
The average person possesses so much land. Things in the country might be falling but people are building their own fortresses. If you ever do visit Zimbabwe I would recommend going to an Air BnB because then you can experience the space and freedom some people have.
Meat
“What is this” these were the words I said when we had chicken the 1st night. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact I was eating chicken. The taste was so different!
The texture was the main thing that was throwing me off because it was rough. I’m used to chicken in Europe that is soft. Then the next day we had beef and that was different too. It tasted so much better.
The difference is in how the livestock is raised and their diet. The cows in Zim are 100% muscle, they’re so lean and not an ounce of fat on them. They’re truly grass feed and spend a lot of time in the mountains.
One day I was looking at the chickens at my grandmothers' place and I was thinking I didn’t know chickens could have such massive legs.
The livestock is free-roaming, in Honde Valley you’ll see cows sleeping on the road (they like the warmth of the tar) and chickens are just free to run around the plantations.
That’s very different to here in Europe, you don’t know where your meat is coming from, the food industry is deceitful and cruel. On the package, it might say free-range or grass feed but likely they’re lying and just working around the parameters. Free-range is probably just a slightly bigger cage or they’re let out for five minutes a day.
In Zimbabwe you can see where you’re meat is coming from. This experience is why I’ve decided to not eat meat in Europe.
Final Thoughts
Zimbabwe is a great place to put on your bucket list, post-Covid 19. I spent one month there and still didn’t have the time to go to half the places Zim has to offer. It’s a place to relax, step outside your comfort zone and eat mangoes straight from the tree.
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