Zimbabwe's Matopo Hills are a mysterious and wildly beautiful site, not only Cecil Rhodes' burial place, but also part of a large national park. The peace and serenity of the hills belie a turbulent past; from the Stone Age the site has been used as a place of worship, refuge, hunting ground and battleground, and all of the attraction of the place lies in the landscape.
The valleys act as sponges and water is held in marshes below the hills, meaning that surface water stays in the Matopos for a long time after the wet season, meaning that the grassland and woods here are an oasis for wildlife and man.
People have lived in the Matopo hills for up to 100,000 years, and the most recent relics found there include beads made from ostrich eggs, and polished stone rings. The area saw a lot of fighting during the Matabele Rebellion, as well as peace talks to negotiate a truce, and lots of items remain from this time, including brass plaques and tribal objects.
Cecil Rhodes described Malindidzumu (a Matopo hill) as “one of the views of the world”, and decreed in his will that he wanted to be buried there, as well as stipulating that the land should be given over for public use. In 1953 the area was officially made a National Park, and 250,000 acres are protected here.
White rhino have been successfully reintroduced to the region, and now the largest population of black and white rhinos in Zimbabwe live on the reserve, with the game park reclassified as an Intensive Preservation Zone for their protection.
Lots of bird species can be seen here year round, including the purple-crested lowrie, golden oriole, red-crested cuckoo and red-winged starling, as well as one third of the world's Eagle species nesting here, and the rare Mackinder's eagle owl. This area offers birders the chance to see rare and beautiful birds in a secure and protected environment, knowing that their populations are stable here.
Tourism has flourished in the park but brought problems of its own, as some vandalism and graffiti has appeared in the ancient painted caves, for this reason tourists are asked to make as little impact as possible to the area, and to respect the historical significance of the site.
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