The Great Zimbabwean Ruins

We are staying on the banks of Lake in a beautiful small campsite at Romelda Lodge where we can pick fresh lemons and avocados from the bountiful trees all around. We have based ourselves here so that we can easily spend a day exploring the legendary Great Zimbabwean Ruins.

The drive there is truly spectacular following the route around the Eastern banks of the lake and then winding over and around hills dotted with traditional mud brick houses and veggie gardens. Everyone is so friendly and has the time of day to stop and wave as we pass by.

Late morning we arrive at the Great Zimbabwean Ruins entrance gate and a guide is available on site to take us around. Ishmael is truly amazing ( having even studied archaeology ) and brings the story of Great Zimbabwe to life with his stories and historical perspective spending double the time with us than a usual tour takes. His favourite phrase “it is said “ makes us smile long after our time here.

We start with a climb up to the Kings Residence on top of an impressively high dolomite hill and enter via a steep stone stairway between two huge vertical boulders allowing only one person at a time to pass through, part of the defence strategy back in the day. There is also the “Maidens Path” as an alternative more gradual inclined route which was used by the young maidens chosen to serve the King to carry water from the river below. We can only imagine what a task that would have been !

On top of the Kings Enclave we take huge breathes of awe at the 360 degrees views stretching out in all directions. We pass through the Ritual Chamber where the spiritual advisor to the King would have stayed and where all significant ceremonies such as rain making took place. High above sits a gigantic overhanging rock where the King would sit holding judgement over all in his Kingdom and have the perfect Birds Eye view over all his subjects below including the Queens Residence. We are reminded of the first original people, the San that lived here and most likely used the same spaces for their own spiritual practises. A Black Raven calls continuously from a tree growing in a rocky crevice nearby lending an eery and haunting feel to our experience.

We walk past a buried tunnel where “it is said” archaeologists think the lineage of Kings that once ruled are buried and then back down the hill visiting the museum where the royal bird statues of Zimbabwe originally found in the Kings Residence are housed ( you can see the emblem on the Zimbabwean flag) and over to a replica homestead where local crafters are busy at work weaving baskets and carving from wood and stone.

Each traditional mud hut here shows what life would have been like hundreds of years ago living in this ancient Kingdom and when we look at the rural homesteads we pass on our travels the same set up seems to still apply.

We still have the Queens Residence to visit and it is wonderfully cool here in the shade of the stone walls in the afternoon heat. The masonry craftmanship is unbelievable with the 258m stonework circular walls still intact after 600 years and symbolic conical tower rising so high. “It is said” that these structures are second only to the Great Pyramids in Africa.

It has been a long but fascinating day. We say our goodbyes to Ishmael, enjoy a late picnic lunch under the trees and then head back to our little campsite by the lake. On our circular return route we stop in Mashvingo auto visit a recommended beautiful chapel called the Italian Prisoner of War Memorial Church built to commemorate all the Italians who died in Zimbabwe during World War Two. Beautiful Romanesque style paintings adorn all the walls and ceilings of this peaceful holy place and we meet the lady who is the 2nd generation in her family to lovingly care for its upkeep. She hugs us and wishes us well on our way still standing vigilance and waving in the distance as we drive away.Read more