Unique Places in Zimbabwe

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The outskirts of Victoria Falls is not densely populated. The taxi driver took a shortcut before Victoria Falls and ended up in a small gravel road behind the backyards of a village, and almost drove into some allotment gardens.

Hi Auzzie
The route from Mana to Mutare is as follows:
- Route A1 (from Lusaka Zambia) takes you to Harare.
- From Harare there is a direct route A3 that takes you directly to Mutare.
I would recommend using public transport (busses) in Zimbabwe.
Once you have crossed into Moz at Mutare, ask for advice at any of the fuel stations at Machipanda. There are loads of traffic travelling towards Beira (Beira corridor) so you will easily find a taxi to Inchope. The driver will assist you with transport north on route 215 to Gorongoza.

Gorongoza is just a national park. The transfrontier (across border) park in Mozambique is the Parque Nacional do limpopo i.e. adjacent and extention to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Gorongosa is in the process of being re-established, but a very nice park to visit. (see http://www.gorongosa.net/ for more info)

I hope this was helpful...let me know if I can assist you with any more information.

Regards

Frank

If you're the type who casts aside fears of too-worn ropes on jumps offered by people for whom safety is not necessarily a primary concern, take a leap off the Victoria Falls bridge. All the people we saw jump survived. To be fair, I know nothing of the quality of ropes or the outfit(s) that offer the experience. I assume they're of good quality with good safety records, but this isn't a given.

Anyway, I'm sure it's quite the experience.

There's a place in Zambia that does the jumps... here's some information from their website:
(This is the same place as mentioned on my Zambia page.)

They boast a 100% safety record!

Minimum age 14 years
Minimum weight of 40 kg, maximum weight of 140 kg
Passports are required by clients to access the bridge
Jumps operate from 09h00 to 17h00 every day
Bungee Jumps

Available daily on request, all year round from Victoria Falls and Livingstone;
US$90 per jump, US$130 per tandem jump

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Serima Mission - founded by Father Groeber in 1948, a Swiss priest. The locals were taught the skills of woodcarving without being shown examples of European carving. They, thus, developed their own uniquely African style that is organic and approachable.

Every available piece of wood at the mission is carved - pillars, lintels, candlesticks, etc. There are also some wonderful paintings depicting biblical scenes.

Near Masvingo, Serima Mission does take some dedication to visit. It is located 25 km off the road to Masvingo. Going from Harare to Masvingo, pass through Chatsworth, turn left at the small dam, and continue straight until you reach the mission.

There are several interesting books about Serima Mission. Several I've recently discovered:

1. Morton, Elizabeth A. Missions and modern art in southern Africa. PhD dissertation, Emory University, 2003. Ann Arbor: UMI Dissertation Services, 2003. 378pp. illus., bibliog. (pp. 222-234). N7391.7.M67 2003a AFA. OCLC 57238134. Taking four art schools as her focus of study, Morton investigates the pedagogical philosophy, tutorial methods, limits on artistic freedom, commercial (or non-commercial) nature of the mission art enterprises, and subsequent careers of leading artists.

2. Serima by Marcel Diethelm Albert B. Plangger (Hardcover - 1974; ISBN: B000ITKBAW). In German and English, has the history of the Mission as well as information about the architecture and art. An excellent resource.

Rozwi ruins are a great selection of archaeological sites about 20km outside of Bulawayo at Khami. They are very worth a look if you are in the area, but they are not a substitute for the Great Zimbabwe Ruins near Masvingo.

Hwange National Park is very close to Victoria falls, is probably one of the least visited parks in the area, we hardly saw anyone whilst we were there. This is a great place to see elephants, and it really is a great place in its own right...

Chimanimani National Park is one of Zimbabwe’s premier hiking venues. The mountain floral is primarily sub-Alpine plants such as heather, lobelia, orchid, aloe. Big game is not here but there are klipspringer, chacma baboon, blue duiker, and leopard. The range is on the boarder with Mozambique to the east and has a maximum altitude of 2,440m at Mount Binga.

Stay on all pathways as unexploded mines may still linger, especially along the boarder with Mozambique.

Directions:
Near the Village Chimanimani located in the eastern part of the country near the Mozambique boarder.

Stop at one of the rural villages! You will find the most friendly people on earth ! It's so interesting how they live! They always have a smile for you! This picture is taken at a gas station in Juliasdale/Nyanga! It's one of my favourite pics from Zimbabwe!
I bought some delicious Biltong here. Biltong is dried meat! It tastes quite good!