HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1972-11-09, Page 20Times, Thursday, Nov. 1972
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RHODESIA
LAND BLESSED BY
MOTHER NATURE
The, enormous splendour of the
V4etoria Falls. . the mystery of
the Vanished empire which built
the Great Zimbabwe Ruins. ..the
'Slender soar and curve of Kari-
ba's wall containing in a giant
lakethe whole surge and flow of
the„Zambezi River... an elephant
effortlessly tearing off half a tree
for fodder in the Wankie National
Park... a moment's silence at
the simple grace of Cecil Rhodes
among the great sun -warmed
boulders of the View of the World
in the fateful Matopo Hills. . .
These. are the memories you will
take away from Rhodesia... the
country where leas than 80 years
divide the skyscraped, neon -lit
nightlife of the capital city of Sal-
isbury from the bare and lonely
veld from which it sprang.
Where does one begin a tour of
Rhodesia? Let's first take a look
at some of the cities we visited,
beginning with Salisbury. This is
the capital city of Rhodesia, and,
with a population of 314,000 is the
country's largest city. Although a
busy commercial and industrial
centre, the wide streets lined with
flowering trees, numerous
colourful parks and clean, con-
temporary architecture give it an
air of spaciousness. Here you can
shop in some of the most sophisti-
catedstores you'll find any-
where, and you'll 'also enjoy the
food and wine of restaurants an
nightclubs.
Bulawayo is Rhodesia's secon
city (population 214,000) and
Major industrial centre. B , t
near the kraal of the last o he
Matabele kings, Lobengu : , Bu-
" lawayo is rich in historical asso-
ciations, and the home of the Na-
tional Museum. Nearby are the
ancient Khami Ruins the remains
. of a culture now long -dead, while
to the south is the area known as
the Matopos where ` Cecil
Rhodes's grave ' stands , on the
summit of a granite hill called
"View of the World". Huge for-
• mations of granite boulders,
darns with excellent fishing,
caves with rock paintings and a
well -stocked game park have
made this .a holiday attraction.
`Two other cities of note are Um -
tali which 'as the. eastern gateway
Rhodesia and -Fort Vidloria
which is the oldest town in Rho-
desia.
Half -hidden by stooped trees
wind leafy undergrowth, the Zam-
besi River begins as a tiny trickle
in the heart of Central Africa.
Then, gathering strength from a
thousand tributaries, it broadens
on its long and winding journey of
750 miles to the south and then the
east, until, as a mile -and -a -quar-
ter -wide torrent, .it pours thun-
derously over the 350 -foot -high
edge of the Victoria Falls. This is
the greatest spectacle in the con-
tinent of. Africa.
In the RhodeSian autumn of
April and May, when the Zambezi
is filled with the floods of sum-
mer's rain, 75 million gallons of
water, the largest curtain of fall-
ing water in the world roar over'•
the black basalt brink each min-
ute, then boil through the seven
great eroded gorges below the
falls. This matchless phenome-
non has made the Victoria Falls
one' of the world's great tourist
centres: Thousands of visitors ar-
rive each year by road, rail and
air to see the falls, in unspoilt, un -
commercialized surroundings,
preserved as near as possible as
David Livingstone saw them over
a century ago. You can stay at the
famous colonial -style Victoria
Falls Hotel, the contemporary
Casino Hotel, where evenings can
be spent in the luxury gaming
rooms .(unfortunately we didn't
have enough greenbacks to parti-
cipate in this sport) or in national
park -lodges... all within sound of
the roaring waters.
What makes Victoria Falls so
splendid, so majestic? With all
due respect to our own Niagara
Falls, which indeed is a wonder of
the world, Victoria Falls however
is just as it was in the past, beau-
tiful, unspoiled, non -commercial-
ized. unchanged if you will. The
hippo and the crocodile; the
flashing birds and the fighting
tiger fish. In the game -rich coup-
tryside nearby, elephant, zebra,
eland, sable, wildebeest, buffalo
and many other,animals are to be
seen.: from the safety of your
car of course', or as we did it, a
low-flying, gameviewing . air-
craft. At the Victoria Falls, along
miles of scenic drives and splen-
did views, dominated by the
white and towering cloud of
spray, the visitor will share with
David Livingstone the thought
that "scenes so lovely must have
beers . gazed,upon by angels in
their flight T., " u; ,
But we must corltiaue on: Let
me tell you, there are few experi-
ences'more thrilling and stirring
than the sight of big game roam -
IT'NT*1973. Ride the Silver Bullet.
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