Half an hour's drive south of Bulawayo is the Matobo Hills National Park. This small, easily accessible park contains some of the region's most arresting scenery. It is a super area – very under-rated and easily reached by car from Bulawayo or by air. Huge piles of granite boulders litter the landscape; giant smooth whalebacks rise up from the plains; rocks balance on rocks at improbable angles. It boasts superb Bushman rock art and is a sacred area for the Ndebele people – chosen by Cecil Rhodes as his last resting-place.

Game is found throughout the park, including white rhino, leopard and Africa's largest populations of black eagles. There are, however, no lion or elephant - meaning that you can walk freely amongst the hills and explore on your own, making a much more personal experience. Adjoining the main park is a smaller, intensively protected game park, containing Zimbabwe's highest concentration of rhino (black and white).

Amalinda and Big Cave are two super little camps that used to nestle here amongst the hills. When last we heard, the camps had fallen on very hard times: Cave camp's managers and owners had been forced to leave, and it was being run on a simple level by its staff.


^ Top of page