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Top Attractions in Matabeleland North

Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls is a town in the province of Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. It lies on the southern bank of the Zambezi River at the western end of the Victoria Falls themselves. It is connected by road and railway to Hwange and Bulawayo , both to the south-east. According to the 2012 Population Census, the town had a population of 33,060. Victoria Falls Airport is located 18 km south of the town and has international services to Johannesburg and Namibia. The settlement began in 1901 when the possibility of using the waterfall for hydro-electric power was explored, and expanded when the railway from Bulawayo reached the town shortly before the Victoria Falls Bridge was opened in April 1905, connecting Zimbabwe to what is now Zambia. It became the principal tourism centre for the Falls, experiencing economic booms from the 1930s to the 1960s and in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Victoria Falls National Park

Open to visitors throughout the year, the Victoria Falls National Park in north-western Zimbabwe protects the south and east bank of the Zambezi River in the area of the world-famous Victoria Falls. It extends along the Zambezi river from the larger Zambezi National Park about 6 km above the falls to about 12 km below the falls. A notable feature of the park is the rainforest which grows in the spray of the falls, including ferns, palms, liana vines, and a number of trees such as mahogany not seen elsewhere in the region. Visitors have the chance to view elephant, cape buffalo, white rhino, hippopotamus, eland and a variety of other antelope during drives and walking safaris. Crocodiles may be seen in the river, and a nearby Crocodile Ranch offers a safer view of these dangerous animals. Accommodation is provided in campsites in the Zambezi National Park and in the numerous resorts and hotels in and around the town of Victoria Falls which forms part of the western boundary of the park. Visitors are required to take precautions against malaria.

Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls, or Mosi-oa-Tunya (Tokaleya Tonga: The Smoke That Thunders), is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It has been described by CNN as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view Victoria Falls on 16 November 1855, from what is now known as Livingstone Island, one of two land masses in the middle of the river, immediately upstream from the falls on the Zambian side. Livingstone named his discovery in honour of Queen Victoria of Britain, but the indigenous Tonga name, Mosi-oa-Tunya—"The Smoke That Thunders"—continues in common usage as well. The World Heritage List officially recognizes both names. The nearby national park in Zambia is named Mosi-oa-Tunya, whereas the national park and town on the Zimbabwean shore are both named Victoria Falls. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, Victoria Falls is classified as the largest, based on its combined width of 1,708 metres (5,604 ft) and height of 108 metres (354 ft), resulting in the world's largest sheet of falling water. Victoria Falls is roughly twice the height of North America's Niagara Falls and well over twice the width of its Horseshoe Falls. In height and width Victoria Falls is rivalled only by Argentina and Brazil's Iguazu Falls. See table for comparisons. For a considerable distance upstream from the falls, the Zambezi flows over a level sheet of basalt, in a shallow valley, bounded by low and distant sandstone hills. The river's course is dotted with numerous tree-covered islands, which increase in number as the river approaches the falls. There are no mountains, escarpments, or deep valleys; only a flat plateau extending hundreds of kilometres in all directions. The falls are formed as the full width of the river plummets in a single vertical drop into a transverse chasm 1708 metres (5604 ft) wide, carved by its waters along a fracture zone in the basalt plateau. The depth of the chasm, called the First Gorge, varies from 80 metres (260 ft) at its western end to 108 metres (354 ft) in the centre. The only outlet to the First Gorge is a 110-metre (360 ft) wide gap about two-thirds of the way across the width of the falls from the western end, through which the whole volume of the river pours into the Victoria Falls gorges. There are two islands on the crest of the falls that are large enough to divide the curtain of water even at full flood: Boaruka Island (or Cataract Island) near the western bank, and Livingstone Island near the middle—the point from which Livingstone first viewed the falls. At less than full flood, additional islets divide the curtain of water into separate parallel streams. The main streams are named, in order from Zimbabwe (west) to Zambia (east): Devil's Cataract (called Leaping Water by some), Main Falls, Rainbow Falls (the highest) and the Eastern Cataract. The Zambezi river, upstream from the falls, experiences a rainy season from late November to early April, and a dry season the rest of the year. The river's annual flood season is February to May with a peak in April, The spray from the falls typically rises to a height of over 400 metres (1,300 ft), and sometimes even twice as high, and is visible from up to 48 km (30 mi) away. At full moon, a "moonbow" can be seen in the spray instead of the usual daylight rainbow. During the flood season, however, it is impossible to see the foot of the falls and most of its face, and the walks along the cliff opposite it are in a constant shower and shrouded in mist. Close to the edge of the cliff, spray shoots upward like inverted rain, especially at Zambia's Knife-Edge Bridge. As the dry season takes effect, the islets on the crest become wider and more numerous, and in September to January up to half of the rocky face of the falls may become dry and the bottom of the First Gorge can be seen along most of its length. At this time it becomes possible (though not necessarily safe) to walk across some stretches of the river at the crest. It is also possible to walk to the bottom of the First Gorge at the Zimbabwean side. The minimum flow, which occurs in November, is around a tenth of the April figure; this variation in flow is greater than that of other major falls, and causes Victoria Falls' annual average flow rate to be lower than might be expected based on the maximum flow.

Kazuma Pan National Park

Kazuma Pan National Park is situated in Zimbabwes extreme north-western corner. The Park lies on the Botswana border a short distance north-west of Hwange National Park. Some 77,345 acres in area, it provides one of Zimbabwes few areas of plains scenery, with good visibility and sparse but important mammal populations. Kazuma Pan is a haven for birdlife, as well as home to roan antelope, tsessebe, South African cheetah, black rhino, giraffe and many other species. Much of the park consists of grassland, fringed by mopane and Kalahari sand woodlands. There are a series of seasonally flooded pans in the south-west of the park attracts a wide variety of waterfowl. Kazuma Pan was proclaimed a National Park in 1949, but was deproclaimed in 1964 as no development had taken place. It regained its National Park status under the Parks and Wild Life Act . There is no accommodation within the park but camping is allowed at two undeveloped camp sites, with permission from the Department of National Parks and Wild Life Management.

Bumbusi National Monument

Bumbusi is a Zimbabwean archaeological site, surrounded by Hwange National Park, in Western Zimbabwe. It is not often visited because of its remote location and low tourist profile. The remains on the site resemble those of other archaeological sites in the Great Zimbabwe tradition. The Bumbusi National Monument consists of colossal stone walls, boulders, platforms and the ruins of dwellings. Its main structures date from the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Excavations in 2000 revealed the floors of eighteen original dwellings. The site was declared a National Monument in 1946. In 2008 it was listed in the World Monuments Watch List of 100 of Most Endangered Sites by the World Monuments Fund because of the threats posed to the sandstone walls by wild animals from the surrounding nature reserve.

Big Tree at Victoria Falls

The Big Tree - one of the best-known trees in the world - is a huge baobab of the species Adansonia digitata in Zimbabwe, close to the Victoria Falls. It has sometimes been called Livingstone's tree erroneously. Unusually for a baobab it has both an impressive girth and is very tall. It measures 22.40 metres in girth and is 24 metres tall . The explorer and missionary David Livingstone who discovered the Victoria Falls for the British Empire (naming the Falls for his queen) carved his name in 1855 into a Boabab tree on an island (Garden Island) above the precipice of the well known waterfalls that is now an international tourist attraction. Big Tree is in fact roughly 2 km from the river, the falls and the island where Livingstone arrived in a 'makoro' dugout canoe made landfall and wrote his records. Apart from being the best known this impressive tree is possibly the oldest and biggest baobab in Zimbabwe. Some as impressive, or more impressive trees were sadly lost under the flooding further downstream that occurred once Kariba Dam wall was finished in 1956. Unlike the animals rescued and saved by Operation Noah during the flooding the trees had to stay where they were, many were bulldozed so they would not become underwater hazards. Big Tree may be about 2000 yrs old using estimates from its girth and growth ring data collected from other trees under Rhodesian rule. However it is deeply incised and there is speculation that it is three tree trunks ( or trees) and it may be considerably younger.

Victoria Falls Hotel

The Victoria Falls Hotel is a historic hotel at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The hotel is dramatically situated, with a view of the Second Gorge and the Victoria Falls Bridge from its terrace. The hotel was opened in 1904 to accommodate passengers on the newly built railway, part of the planned Cape to Cairo Railway. Later it was a staging post for the BOAC flying boat service between Southampton and South Africa. The hotel has accommodated royal visitors on several occasions, including King George VI and his family in April 1947. The hotel has been the site of a number of important political meetings. In 1949 Roy Welensky organised a conference there to discuss the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and in 1963 the Victoria Falls Conference at the hotel led to the breakup of the federation. The hotel is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World group. It is managed by African Sun Limited.
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