Green Gold on Zimbabwe's Shoulder

12/03/09

In the previous two articles we have examined and extolled the virtues of some of Zimbabwe’s natural gems from the lusciously languid Zambezi in the north to the biologically diverse Ghonarezhou and Matobo areas. In this article we will end off the series with a look at Zimbabwe’s green shoulder, the Eastern Highlands where an absence of the crowd drawing teeth and claw gang of the big five is overwhelmingly made up for by abundant local biological endemism.

Despite the often believed but totally misguided fallacy that the Eastern Highlands are the coldest part of the country (the Dete vlei in Hwange holds the lowest recorded temperature in Zimbabwe of minus 8 degrees Celsius) the area offers the discerning and even lackadaisical traveller a bevy of variety from which to choose.

The Eastern Highlands comprise several islands of green in the midst of a patchwork of agricultural and community land starting in the north with Nyanga and the Nyanga National Park, to the Vumba and its botanical gardens and leafy forest ceilings, further South the hikers’ Mecca of the Chimanimani and the Rusitu valley with the green pearls ending at the Chirinda forest, famous for harbouring Zimbabwe’s tallest tree, a massive Red Mahogany (Khaya anthotheca) that challenges the sky with its 35 plus metre magnificence.

The flora and fauna is, due to the unique climate of the region, like nothing else found around the country with over 4,500 species of tree, shrub and flower flourishing with around 150 genus’ (families) being locally endemic (not found anywhere else). This is enough to keep any budding botanist peering wistfully into the vegetation canopy or scratching around on all fours for an eternity while novices (ashamedly such as myself) flip endlessly and myopically through tree identification books.

This green blanket is maintained and flourishes under the prevailing wet, misty and generally drippy conditions created by the constant supply of moist air from the Mozambique coast which, when suddenly confronted by the phalanx of the Eastern Highlands is forced to rise, cooling rapidly and creating the clouds, rain and mist that is characteristic of the region. Ideal conditions, which if you have ever had to force your way through a seemingly impregnable green wall with water running down your back and into your boots you will agree, are necessary to sustain the established endemism that relies more on atmospheric moisture than on available ground water.

However, the climate that makes the Eastern Highlands such a mystical place is also one of its fiercest threats, as the fertile soils and high rainfall create an ideal location for agriculture and subsequently since the first pioneer set foot in the area the natural vegetation has been cleared to make way for citrus, tea and coffee plantations. The result of this fervent agricultural development is that few areas, even those subsequently protected, escaped the attention of the plough and hoe and only a miniscule percentage of the original forest lie preserved at Chirinda forest.

Despite being a veritable island of biodiversity in a sea of Miombo woodland and agriculture the Eastern Highlands do not exist solitarily but form the midriff of an afromontain vegetation belt that runs almost the whole length of the African continent from the Drakensberg in the south through Zimbabwe, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and ending in the highlands of Ethiopia. So in addition to the high levels of local endemism the Eastern Highlands range represent an important link in a long chain of African endemism in which locally and regionally endemic species thrive and often migrate through the ecosystem. Several families of plants and trees in Zimbabwe’s Eastern highlands form a predominant percentage of East Africa’s coastal forests.

Despite its obvious ecological importance the high levels of biodiversity in the Eastern Highlands are not the areas’ only draw card so those less inclined to dendrology can heave a sigh of relief and visit the area without having to be barking mad! The rolling hills and forested slopes of the Nyanga National Park house the highest peak in Zimbabwe where one can stand with the clouds around your ears and the country at your feet and with awe on your lips. The heights and chilly air aren’t the only factor that will elicit a shiver as the local community believe the mountain has mystical and magical properties and anyone foolish enough to spend the night on the mountain may never return.

In addition to the highest the park also has the longest to offer in the form of the Mtarazi falls which is the longest falling sheet of water in Zimbabwe and the runner up on the continent, a sight that is made even more dramatic by the sheer granite cliffs and the pastel patchwork of the Honde valley catching the plume of falling water.

This view has been presided over for many a decade as the multitude of grey brooding ruins dotted around the landscape suggest that not much has changed since the first Stone Age communities are though to have settled there about 350 000 years ago where as hunter gatherers they left their pigmented marks in the multitude of caves in the area.

The areas’ true farming potential was only believed to be discovered and utilised by subsequent settlers, believed to be Tonga, who arrived from the Zambezi valley and swiftly changed the façade of the landscape by building pit pens for cattle and terracing the slopes for agriculture, structures that stand true to this day attesting to the skill of the original craftsman.

So for any discerning biological, mammalian, ecological or social expert or connoisseur looking for some time away from the office with some vices of his/her profession close at hand for distraction the Eastern Highlands offers up a multitude of attractions that anyone would be hard pressed not to soak up, revel in and wish to stay longer with.