Matobo Hills

Bulawayo and the Matobo Hills has long been recognised as an area of exceptional beauty with a rich and colourful history. The Matopos is an area of incredible beauty with a mythical history and a proud people, the Matebele.

The latter half of the 19th Century in southern Africa was a time of adventure, exploration and conquest. In the 1890's the pioneer columns ventured north from South Africa, through Fort Tuli and into southern Zimbabwe, thereby expanding Rhodes interests northward. After a Matabele raiding party crossed into Mashonaland killing a number of the pioneer's staff, the authorities issued an ultimatum to the Matabele, which was ignored. The Matebele War resulted with Rhodes finally securing peace in an act of bravado, from which his legend was born. The peace saw the securing of Matabeland and the establishment of the modern city of Bulawayo, derived from the name given to Zulu King Chaka's kraal, 'GuBulawayo'.

Zimbabwe has some of the oldest rock formations in the world and some of the most exposed. This is especially dramatic in the Matobo National Park south of Bulawayo where spectacular examples of these primitive granitic formations are to be found. The Matobos were named by Mzilikazi the 'Ama tobo', after the bald heads of his indunas (chiefs). The entire region is a complex of bizarre and exposed granitic formations providing one with endless days of exploration. Once inhabited by the bushman, today one can find magnificent examples of rock art in and amongst the caves. Today the Matobo National Park is one of Zimbabwe's prime wildlife sanctuaries with a large population of white rhino, the elusive black rhino, a variety of antelope species, baboon, rock hyraxes and a large population of leopard and black eagle.

From an ecotourism point of view, the sights of the Matopos including Rhodes Grave, the Matopos National Park and the spectacular rocky outcrops combined with the Cultural History Museum and sights of Bulawayo offer the international and domestic market a tremendous diversity of activities to enjoy.