Country Information
Zimbabwe is located in southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia. Zimbabwe is entirely landlocked and borders Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, and South Africa. The area of Zimbabwe is 390,580 square kilometres. This makes Zimbabwe approximately 9.4 times the size of the Netherlands.
Landscape
The country is dominated by a plateau with a mountain range forming its central backbone. This mountain range forms the watershed between two drainage basins, with drainage to the northwest into the Zambezi and to the southeast into the Limpopo and Save (Sabi) rivers. The northern section of the mountain range is the Mvurwi mountain range with peaks such as Mount Mvurwi (1,748 metres) and Mount Chikonyora (1,731 metres). The Mashava Hills form the central section and the Matopo the southern section of the mountain range.
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Climate
Zimbabwe's climate is (sub)tropical. Zimbabwe is drier and cooler than you would expect in the tropics. This is due to the country's altitude and also because the country is not situated on a sea or ocean. In winter (May to August), temperatures can drop below freezing at night and there is little or no rainfall. Summer lasts from November to April and is also the rainy season.
Plants
There are few dense forests in Zimbabwe. Only along the border with Mozambique can any rainforests still be found. The ‘Lowveld’, which is hotter and drier, however, has grassland steppe vegetation with sometimes semi-desert-like regions.
Animals
Throughout Zimbabwe, lions, giraffes, elands, waterbucks, zebras, and other wildlife can still be found in reasonable numbers, primarily in the national parks. The greater kudu is the national animal of Zimbabwe.
In Hwange National Park, we encounter Africa's largest herds of elephants and buffalo. In Lake Mutirikwi National Park, near Masvingo, the rare white rhinoceros, oribi, and nyala still live.
Holidays and Sightseeing
When you say Zimbabwe, you say Victoria Falls. These waterfalls are Zimbabwe’s main tourist attraction. Victoria Falls are the largest in the world. The falls are over 2.5 km wide and the water plunges more than 100 metres down into the Zambezi River. The falls can be seen and heard from a great distance and are a phenomenal natural phenomenon.
Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe. Harare's original name was Salisbury. The main attractions in Harare include the National Museum and Art Gallery, Lion & Cheetah Park and Larvon Bird Gardens. The Queen Victoria Museum gives you a good insight into how the first inhabitants of Zimbabwe lived. Among other things, you can see a reconstruction of a 19th-century Shona village.
The Great Zimbabwe National Monument is the largest complex of ruins in Africa south of the pyramids in Egypt. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and dates from approximately 400 – 1450 AD. In its heyday, the complex may possibly have housed around 18,000 inhabitants.
Hwange National Park is one of Zimbabwe's largest parks, both in terms of size (14,620 km²) and the variety of animals and birds that can be found there. With over 40,000 elephants, Hwange is also one of the last refuges for elephants in Africa.
Mana Pools National Park covers over 2000 km² of woodland along the banks of the Zambezi River. The park is home to rhinos, buffalo, elephants, antelope, and many different species of birds. You can go on safaris in this park, including on foot.
Source: landenweb.nl
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