Chimanimani Mountain Hiker

Noah, our walking guide picked us up at 8, still (or freshly) smelling faintly of jazz cigarettes. We stop at the market to pick up supplies. Noah then takes most of the 150 Bond ($10) we advanced him, and disappears into the back of the market to pick up more “supplies”.

The road to the start of the national park cannot be called a road any longer. It was washed away by the cyclone, and there is now just an alarmingly steep dirt road, covered with loose stones and boulders. The bridge over the river was also washed away, and has been replaced by hundreds of big stones fording the river. We slip, slide and get stuck even in our large 4x4.

On the road, Noah tells us about the farmer who used to own the entire valley leading up to the national park. The farmer was incredibly successful, and once produced a single coffee harvest that sold for $5 million. He was so popular that he was convinced by the town to run as an MP, which he finally did, representing ZANU PF. However, when he was elected, he turned against ZANU PF, and switched to the opposition, MDC. This did not go down well with Mugabe and the ZANU PF, which started a campaign of intimidation against Chimanimani, and the MP himself. Eventually, the MP was forced from office, and his farm was invaded by the War Veterans- soldiers who had fought in the independence war who were loyal to Mugabe. The farm went from producing lucrative cash crops, to subsistence farming. The coffee processing machinery was apparently turned into a chicken coup. The MP, and his wife, later perished in a plane crash.

We start the hike around 9.30am, and it is already hot. The start of the journey is not so much a hike but a rock climb, as we scrambled over large granite boulders in between small passes. Without a guide, it would have been impossible to know which boulders we had to climb in order to stay on track. This wasn’t helped by the fact that the cyclone had washed away the paths, and had carved huge scars through the hills.

At the top, we entered an area called “Paradise”, which is overlooked by a little mountain hut. Usually, this is staffed, but Noah tells us that the ranger usually just hangs out at the border, where he can make a bit more money, and chat to the border police.

On the drive back from the hike, we come across a little hatchback trying to make its way across the stones in the river. It is clearly stuck, but the driver will not give up, until he revs so hard that smoke billows from his front tyres. He gave up, and dropped off his passengers (a mother with newly born twins) at the bottom of the hill. Noah tries to convince him to pull to the side so we can pass, but the young driver is determined to reverse back over the ford and up the other side. However, on the way back, the car gets stuck on a large rock, and the front bumper rips away from the body, left hanging by a thread. We get out and manage to push the car back up the hill, and we’re able to get back on the road, to get some well earned rest at Heaven Lodge.Read more