PICTURE: Chibasane Falls in Ngaone communal lands in Chipinge North
CHIPINGE District in the south-eastern part of Zimbabwe under Manicaland Province is bordered with Chimanimani district on its north, Chiredzi district on its south and both Chiredzi and Buhera districts on its west. The eastern part of the district is bordered by Mozambique.
Naturally, the district blessed with the Lowveld, Middleveld and the Highveld. Chipinge South and part of Chipinge West are in the Lowveld, so Natural Region 5. Chipinge North and East share the Middleveld and the Highveld so Natural Regions 1-4.
The Lowveld boosts of sugar cane plantations at Chisumbanje and at Middle Save. Companies like Rating and Macdom Investments are into sugar cane farming and co-owns the ethanol giant; Green Fuel. The company is the sole supplier of ethanol in the mandatory petrol blending exercise in the country.
The Middleveld and Highveld boost of tea and coffee plantations, natural forests and timber plantations. Companies like Ariston’s South Down Holdings and Tanganda are into coffee and tea production. On forestry, the popular Chirinda Forest at Mt Selinda is the nature’s blessing. Timber plantations are also spread with companies like The Wattle Company, Allied Timber and Border Timbers found doing timber production at commercial level.
Another crop that makes Chipinge East tick is the Macadamia nut. Like timber plantations, Macadamia plantations are spread throughout that part of the district with companies like Makandi, Tanganda and South Down Holdings growing the nuts at commercial level.
Livestock production is high with dairy farmers spread around Rusitu area. This explains why Dairibord Zimbabwe Limited has a depot in the district. Although the district is rich with natural and artificial features, a lot is still desired in tourism circles.
Chipinge has no rated hotel. Only a safari lodge in Chipinge South headlines the hospitality industry. Owned by award winning conservationist, Mr Clive Stockil, Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge in Mahenye has lived to its billing since the turn of the millennium.
In the early 1990s, the Mahenye community had two safari lodges, the afore-mentioned Chilo Gorge and the now defunct Mahenye Safari Lodge. The later was destroyed during the Cyclone Eline floods that rocked low lying areas of Zimbabwe and Mozambique and caused severe damages to infrastructure in the two countries that up to this day, the countries are still nursing the wounds of that disaster.
PICTURE: MaChangana Festival takes place at Mahenye in Chipinge South
Mahenye hunting concession is adjacent to Zimbabwe’s second largest wildlife reserve, Gonarezhou National Park. Zambezi Hunters are currently operating in the concession under the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE).
Under CAMPFIRE, a safari operator is permitted to shoot a quoted number of animals per year under problem animal control. It is the duty of the safari operator to find clients who will sport hunt the quoted animals. The local rural district council as the local authority monitors the hunting processes and manage funds from the hunting activities on behalf of CAMPFIRE Association. The councils would give dividends to communal household after each hunting year. The other money is used to develop infrastructure in the respective area.
Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge is attracting an influx of tourists in the southern part of the Chipinge. In addition to the safari lodge business, Mr Stockil also contributes to cultural tourism by bankrolling a gala dubbed MaChangana Festival that takes place in September each year at Mahenye. The extravaganza has been incorporated on the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority calendar in the Lowveld.
Chirinda Forest, the country’s biggest natural forest is found in Chipinge East. It is well known for attracting domestic tourist mainly school children. It is home to Zimbabwe’s tallest native and indigenous tree named The Big Tree, a 65m tall Redwood tree (Khaya anthotheca) which is estimated aged above 1000 years and has trunk diameter of 4.5m. The main drawback of this national monument as a tourist attraction is that it has a tired marketing program despite being the biggest forest in the country. Another tourist attraction in Chipinge East is the Musirizwi Falls on Musirizwi River near Glassplats along the Mt Selinda road. Not much has been done to market this natural beauty.
In Chipinge North there are seven Chibasane Falls along Changazi River in Ngaone communal lands, the smallest measuring 40m high and the largest measuring 150m. Nothing has been done as far as rural tourism is concerned to attract tourists to the area so that the communities can start benefitting from possessing such natural beauties.
PICTURE: The Big Tree of Chirinda Forest in Mt Selinda in Chipinge East
The other ornaments that Chipinge possess among others include the less talked Rupise Hot Spring at Middle Save adjacent to Chipangayi Safari Area in Chipinge West and the world renowned arch causeway, Birchenough Bridge at Mawunganidze Growth Point in Chipinge West.
On cultural tourism, Ndau Festival of the Arts is doing well in keeping tourists descend in Chipinge East during the month of September. Lack of an official sponsor for the annual gala has resulted in the exposition being rated inferior despite that fact that it has the potential of growing into an international festival.
Chipinge has the potential to become a tourist hub. What is needed is to give value addition to the existing features so that tourists get more than just viewing the natural features.