Matopos National Park, Zimbabwe

Matobo National Park: Matopos, meaning ‘bald heads’, was the name chosen for the area by the Ndebele King, Mzilikazi. He is buried in the Matopos hills just a short distance from the park. It is an apt description of the dramatic hills and granite rocks of this area. The park is also the site of Cecil John Rhodes’ grave at the summit of Malindidzimu – ‘hill of benevolent spirits’. He referred to this hill as having a view of the world. His grave is carved out of solid granite and surrounded by a natural amphitheatre of boulders. A visit can be made to one of the more accessible bushman caves, of which there are many hidden amongst the hills.

Bushman Caves

Pictures of Matobo Hills most famous and remote rock art gallery at Inanke Cave. The cave is one of hundreds painted by the San people about 3,000 to 10,000 years ago and located in Matobo National Park. Beneath Inanke’s encompassing dome, herds of giraffe, eland, kudu, ostrich and duiker, among others, fill a broad painted band running the length of the back wall just above eye level.

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Cecil John Rhodes Grave

The remains of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes lie under a slab of stone atop a granite hill in Zimbabwe, largely unscathed by political ferment over a man whose colonial legacy rankles many in Africa nearly a century after his death. The Rhodes grave lies in Matobo National Park, a United Nations heritage site where granite spires and other unusual rock formations captivate visitors, and where indigenous spirits are said to dwell.

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