Wednesday 27 July 2011

And we saw hippos - Monday 25 July

This was billed as a day of rest and in a way it was.   We haven't seen many churches, just the one where we had dinner, but we have seen hippos and a bit of a giraffe and some impala.  Today we have been in the Matopo Hills and have climbed up to the view of the world where Cecil Rhodes’ grave is.   He had apparently loved the spot so much that he put into his will that he wished to be buried there.  

Cecil Rhodes was an English-born businessman and mining magnate who started the diamond company De Beers, and founded the state of Rhodesia, which was named after him. After independence, Rhodesia separated into the nations of Northern and Southern Rhodesia, later renamed Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively. He set up the provisions of the Rhodes Scholarship, which is funded by his estate. 

On the hillside are also the graves of Leander Starr Jameson (Rhodes’ right-hand man), Southern Rhodesia's first Prime Minister Charles Coghlan and several leading early white settlers. There is also a large memorial to the 34 men who died in the Shangani River massacre of 1893.  The Ndebele tribe crossed the river when the tide was low and the British soldiers who were fighting them tried to cross at another point when the river was high and the Ndebele tribe picked then off one by one.

This high place has a wonderful view over the surrounding countryside and it is easy to understand why Rhodes loved the place as much as he did.   The Matopo Hills is a beautiful spot and although it is not so well organised for tourists as the Gweru Antelope Park had been last week it is another indication of the possibilities for the opening up once aging of the Zimbabwean tourist industry.

From the site of Rhodes grave we went to visit one of the caves with drawings by the San people, dating back between 8 – 12,000 years, and from there following lunch we visited the game park.  We saw five very sleepy hippos by the dammed water and a giraffe and the legs of another.   There were some impala too. The viewing point gave us a splendid view of the park and the possibility of seeing more animals. We didn’t manage to spot any more but that really didn’t matter because the views were awesome once more and we were able to enjoy looking out over the magnificent treetops and across the plains.

Following a brief stop at our hosts for a cup of tea and freshen up we went to St David, Nketa for dinner.  St David’s Church has been complete for a number of years now.   Founded in 1997, the foundation stone for the church was laid in August 1999 by Rt Revd Peter Price when he was Bishop of Kingston.   Consecrated in December 2000 the congregation has been gradually furnishing and have settled on the pews that they now want to have for the church.  These are very nice but very expensive and it will take them a long time to get the fifty that they want but they are making plans for doing this.



At the back of the church was a pile of bags of concrete which are to help to complete the church hall in which we were to have dinner.  It is mostly made but there are things that need to be finished and the church is busily working to achieve this.

Bishop Cleophas invited Bishop Richard to introduce the group from the Kingston Episcopal Area and then we were given a splendid meal.  After this the people from St David’s were introduced and a special round of applause was given to those had cooked dinner.   Bishop Cleophas’ wife, Soneni, encouraged them to sing and sing they did! Hospitality and singing have characterised this trip and the singing at St David’s was no exception.

St David’s priest asked if either of the churchwardens would like to say anything and one of them rose to thank the members of the Kingston team for their visit and went on to assure Bishop Cleophas of their continued support for him and all that he is trying to do in the Diocese of Matabeleland.  He said that with Bishop Cleophas’ leadership he felt sure that success in all their endeavours was assured.  Bishop Cleophas was obviously moved by this speech and thanked the churchwarden warmly speaking of the special place that St David’s has in his heart as some of his early ministry as a Bishop in Matabeleland had been in St David’s.  Bishop Richard, in closing the evening in prayer, said that he had presided at the Eucharist for the first time in Africa at St David’s Church and so it held special memories for him too.    

The rest of the group visiting from Kingston had not yet had the chance to see the church and so as we were leaving they too went inside to have a look.   Pleased by all they saw we all went off home with our hosts to prepare for another day.

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