sending...Victoria Falls/ Mosi-oa-tunya
In eastern Zimbabwe, where Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet, lies the ‘smoke that thunders’ - Victoria Falls. The truly spectacular Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi River plunges into a series of gorges, ranks high on most lists of wonders of the natural world. 1700 metres wide and over 100 metres deep, the cascades are wreathed in rainbows and spray drenches the lush rainforest fringing it. Part of a series of national parks, the surrounding areas are home to a variety of wildlife.
For outdoors lovers, fishing the waters of the Zambezi or challenging whitewater rafting are popular activities. The brave can try the 111 metre bungee jump from the bridge linking Zimbabwe to Zambia, that many say is the best jump in the world.
Great Zimbabwe
Perhaps the most famous and impressive African architecture outside Egypt lies in the centre of Zimbabwe near the town of Masvingo. Not the great mystery it is still sometimes hyped as, Great Zimbabwe was the centre of a powerful African trading state that thrived between the 11th and 15th centuries AD. Its peoples, forebears of today’s Shona speakers, were farmers and traders, exporting gold and copper through exchange networks that extended as far as China.
The ruins, spread over 7 km2, include valley farmsteads and the famous Great Enclosure, which housed the rulers and elite. The structures and meandering walls are all drystone (without mortar), some with elaborate herringbone patterned stonework. Many other stone-built settlements, or dzimbabwes, are found across the country, but few evoke the wonders of the precolonial past as powerfully.
Zimbabwean Arts
Zimbabwean has a long tradition of visual arts, from magnificent San rock paintings in rock shelters to contemporary sculpture. Traditional pottery and basketwork are amongst the crafts still thriving, although much work is produced specially for the tourist trade. Various arts projects provide employment for talented Zimbabwean artists and craftspeople, who create unique paintings, textile works and other pieces.
Zimbabwe soapstone sculpture, principally the work of Shona artists, is world famous. Some works, with their fluid lines, have been compared to that of Henry Moore. Chapungu Sculpture Park in Harare is perhaps the best known, with a second Chapungu brought into existence in Loveland, Colorado (US) in 2007. Also renowned in the art world is Tengenenge Sculpture Community near Guruve, a few hours drive north-east of Harare.
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