ROSIE MITCHELL

While failing in terms of the specified destination — Gulubahwe Cave, outside the Matobo National Park, which boasts some particularly fine ancient San paintings — one of our family expeditions over Christmas, proved a most excellent day’s adventure for children and adults alike, through the lovely Matobo hills.

No matter that we never arrived at its allotted end; for “it is better to travel hopefully, than to arrive”, and such outings are really all about the journey. 
To set any kind of goal destination in the Matobo will inevitably lead you through stunning scenery, and is the “excuse” rather than the reason in itself for setting out there!

Indeed, some of the places to visit, no one of our acquaintance had ever heard of until we discovered them in this book, and then missioned off to find them!

This was a fourth expedition to the cave for Sarah and I, and would be the second that failed to arrive — yet just as enjoyable as our first try, back in 2004, which was thwarted by the same natural challenge — a river!

We had charted a route using both the old maps in the Tredgold book, and the newer Ordnance Survey maps, having read about the cave and becoming excited to see it — but wanting to go there, “across country” as opposed to the much longer route from Maleme Rest Camp, using better established roads.

This would make it more of an interesting navigational challenge and adventure.

Of course, just because “roads” are shown on these old maps (some of the Ordnance Survey maps also date back decades) doesn’t mean they actually exist!

Covering 43 km one way, on a combined effort of driving and cycling through some of the Park and then the Matobo communal lands along all kinds of little tracks, the scenery en route was spectacular and offered all that Matobo is about; the pristine Park, but also, the areas still inhabited, showing the way of life of the farming families living from the land in this dramatically scenic part of our country.

The Cave itself defied us, for just 5 km away we were foiled by the Tuli River, which, with the amount of rain that Matobo had evidently had, was impassable without four wheel drive — and for some inexplicable reason my brother Dave’s 4x4 just wouldn’t engage in this mode, and at this time!

We were lucky with the weather, for despite dramatically glowering skies, our route evaded the rain until the return trip, for which we all piled into the car.  A great time had by all, on bikes and off them!

Another outing, by car, took us all, friends from Bulawayo who did not know if its existence included, in search of the fascinating Shentendabudzi Dyke, a little known geological phenomenon of the area.

This amazingly dramatic dolerite reef, in parts, 14 metres high and 10 metres wide at top, with practically vertical sides, can be seen in various other areas as well, such as near Plumtree, and a particularly good stretch of it, around 44 km long, runs through the Matobo.

It looks rather like the Great Wall of China — except it’s not man-made! 
Dolerite has a smooth, dark greenish to almost black appearance, very different from the granite that otherwise dominates the landscape in the Matobo.

The huge rectangular and square slabs of rock, all balanced on top of one another, became “jointed”, giving them the appearance of huge “bricks”, by the effect of shrinkage when this molten rock solidified millions of years ago.

Again, for Sarah and I, this was a second visit, using map references and mostlydisused tracks, and despite its dramatic appearance from a distance, with some gradient on one’s side the better to view it, from ground level, the Dyke is a challenge to find.
Our route turned out to be very different from our first such expedition.

This enjoyable escapade was almost thwarted by heavy rain, leading us to miss spotting the dyke, even though we had actually driven right through the middle of a break in it at one stage, on a track – but retracing our route, we did find it and were suitably amazed.

This dyke is not marked on the one in 50 000 scale maps from the Surveyor General, but it IS marked on the one in 250 000 maps, and is well worth tracking down using co-ordinates and GPS – and then, searching hard in the approximate area reached.

It’s a dramatic sight indeed, but can easily evade detection at first, due to thick vegetation which can obscure it when at ground level.

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