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| view on our hike to Ngomakurira |
Ngomakurira or "Mountain of Drums" is an hour or so north of Harare and home to some of Zimbabwe's best rock paintings. We had been before to another location nearby called Domboshawa. The huge, bald granite rock-face was the sit of Eliza's
"christening" in one of our early day trips here. In the dry season, the landscape is browner but still as beautiful.
Our HIS "buddy family" (a project initiated by the PTO - whoot whoot - to help new families find their way) came along: Sheryl and Vaughn, Miles's classmate. They're American and recently from DC but lived in Kenya for years.
Other than us, there were no tourists climbing on the hill or in the valley shadowed by the tall sheer face of the rock where we saw the paintings. The few guys we passed on the trail were just taking the shortest route between villages. One group were barefoot old men dressed in the long white robes of the Apostolics. They were singing in perfect African harmony, the deepest bass vibrating in our hearts as they passed.
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| view about half way there...kids walked the whole way |
It had been Miles's idea to go there. He talked for days about the spirits of the people he imagined were there, which made Vaughn less enthusiastic about the trip. We were all the way up the hill (see above) before we came across the arrows indicating the way to the paintings...and letting us know we were headed in the right direction. The kids loved hunting for the arrows and leading the way.
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| MIles, Vaughn & Eliza |
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| at base of this high, sheer rock-face are the paintings |
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| archaeologists estimate they are 4000-13,000 years old |
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| Miles with the zebras |
Ngomakurira or "Mountain of Drums" is an hour or so north of Harare and home to some of Zimbabwe's best rock paintings. We had been before to another location nearby called Domboshawa. The huge, bald granite rock-face was the sit of Eliza's "christening" in one of our early day trips here. In the dry season, the landscape is browner but still as beautiful.
It's always hard for me to believe you live in a place like this and the kids have these kinds of experiences. Thanks for the photos - would never be able to visualize it even with YOUR creative writing skills.
ReplyDeleteMf father was a head master to a Mutake school below the mountain in the village nearby he planted bougainvilia ,pinus sylvestrus and other orchard tree i have very fond memories of this mountain my bedroom window at our house had view to the cave, we used to go and climb the mountain and look for local tasty mazhanje tropical fruit mahobohobo or wild loquat, uapaca kirkiana named afre Dr .kirk who acccompanied David livingstone on his 1873 Zambezi expediton, Please if you post a picture of the school and heaad master house for me i would be grateful as they are now memories.
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