Day 47: Matopos

Just after 4:00 in the morning, three giraffes wander past our car – how beautiful!

Today is a day trip to the Matobo NP. We start in the eastern part and visit the "View of the World", a hilltop with a wonderful panoramic view of bizarre rock formations. Fantastic.

Cecil Rhodes, who strangely enough is still not only revered by white people, is also buried here. A rather massive, martial memorial to the fallen (whites) in the fight against the Ndebele is astonishing. It is amazing that a school class has their photo taken in front of it.

In the eastern part, we visit two of the caves, the White Rhino Cave and the Nsawatugi Cave: a more or less short and steep climb and you can admire fantastic rock paintings.

Back to the gate and into the eastern part in the hope of seeing rhinos and not just their remains. The ranger is kind enough to give us a few tips and yes, we come across rhinos twice near the dam and further north on the way to Bambata Cave. Even if they look a bit strange without horns (the horns are trimmed to prevent poaching), the animals are simply great.

We take the access road to Bambata Cave at top speed; we have wasted a lot of time and it is almost 5 p.m. The gate closes at 6 p.m. and we still have to go back. Everything works out and it was worth it. The drawings are really great.

The park is a gem in terms of landscape. At the weekend it is certainly full as a local recreation area for Bulawayo and during the week it is also a destination for school classes and tour groups and has more infrastructure than many other national parks. Nevertheless: it is worth it and is great fun.

After dinner in the farmhouse, our hosts give us a lift to the campsite, because hyenas are said to be on the farm at night. And so, for the first time in our lives, we drive on the back of a pickup truck – cool!