Mberengwa – hidden in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe, southeast of the city of Gweru on the Runde River with its well-kept secrets: the Lemba tribe, Buchwa & Mberengwa mountains and an abundance of mineral wealth. The district is inhabited by about 5,000 people and the number becomes significant when you consider the name derives from a census that was carried out after a plague hit the region in pre-colonial Zimbabwe. Once the plague was over, a counting of the survivors was necessary and to ‘be counted’ in Shona means ‘verengwa’. The name was distorted to ‘Belingwe’ during colonial rule and was changed back to Mberengwa in independent Zimbabwe. Now that we have gotten a bit of history out of the way, let’s dive into why this is a must visit area, particularly for those who like the road less travelled!
Mberengwa is an area where few tourists have ventured, making it virgin territory to the explorers. You will be able to trek and camp for days with no hassle or competition for places to set up camp. To camp you have to get permission from Mberengwa Rural District officers and you have to pay a courtesy visit to either the Kraal head or the Chief of the particular area you explore. Very few roads and walking trails are marked and so you can prepare for some ‘bundu’ bashing and creating your own path. A pre-travel ritual that is good even for the technologically challenged of us is to download trail apps on your phone like Komoot – it is possible someone would have recorded their trail and uploaded it to that community.
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN VISITING MBERENGWA
Mt Buchwa: the isolated mountain is worth separating from the rest of the mountains in Mberengwa – with its dry acacia and miombo woodlands, and the Eastern Highlands influenced evergreen forests. The mountain has a very unique crescent shape rising up steeply from a generally dry plateau of 900 -1000 m to 1627 m at its highest peak. The sharp rise allows the mountain range to enjoy its microclimate, and it is this sharp rise that makes it a challenging incline – so don’t let the height in metres fool you! It is very hot so you will need a hat and enough water during your hike. The altitude level between Mount Buchwa and nearby low veld explains the higher rainfalls and frequent mist on higher slopes and peaks. The high amounts of rainfalls allow intriguing plant species to survive creating diversity in the area. You can expect to see Dry Acacia woodland near the base, Miombo woodland on the slopes, rocky areas, some submontane grassland and evergreen forested areas. The evergreen forested areas create good views you can enjoy. To see the aloes in full bloom, the best time to visit Buchwa is between April and May.
Hike all the way up 1000m and enjoy the nice views at the top, where the ponds down below give a green hue. The green-coloured water in the ponds may be a result of the banded iron formation in contact with phyllits and ultramafic lithologies belonging to the Mweza greenstone belt. The region has abundant gold, iron ore, emeralds and asbestos, mined by several companies, including the Buchwa Mine, Vanguard Mine, Sandawana and C Mine. The rocks housed by the mountain range have large concentrations of iron ore and segments of the mountain were extensively mined until 2001. Some local people believe that the mining ended because the water trapped inside the mountain was going to burst and kill people downhill.
Mushonganebuli mountain means “Do not point” and it is a mountain close to Mt Buchwa. It is the only mountain in the whole world where Aloe tauri occurs and flowers at this time of year (June-July).
THE LEMBA TRIBE
The Lemba or ‘VaRemba’ are believed to be “The Lost Tribe of Israel” – the black Jews because they have similar practices and beliefs related to Judaism. They believe they are the children of Abraham who left Sena and came to Africa as traders. The Lemba people follow strict dietary laws, practise male circumcision and when someone dies, they follow a seven-day period of mourning. They have a tradition of helping each other and looking after each other. They have a great enthusiasm in religious practices such as food taboos, New moon festivals and ritual slaughter. They celebrate the high holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The celebration is mainly about blowing the horn and eating apples dipped in honey. You will learn a lot from the Lemba Tribe making it a good area for cultural tourism. There is evidence that the area was mined for gold because 250 gold ornaments were found at Mundie Ruins.
The plague I mentioned above is considered responsible for the migration of other clans of the Lemba who migrated to South Africa and inhabit the Venda area, near the Limpopo River in present-day South Africa.
FILABUSI REBELLION MEMORIAL
The Filabusi Rebellion Memorial was erected to commemorate colonists who were killed by natives resisting colonialism in late March 1896. Although the reasons are unknown, the memorial was pushed over in 2016, perhaps as an act of vandalism or it could be linked to the narrative of the Rhodes Must Fall Movement. Fortunately, the Museum of Natural History of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo rescued the remains of the Memorial and has re-erected it within the grounds of the Museum in Bulawayo. The google coordinates are 20 32 0” South and 29 17 0” East.
HOW TO GET TO MBERENGWA
Mberengwa is 419.6 km away from Harare and you can use the Masvingo route and add it to your Great Zimbabwe itinerary since it is 185 km away from the ruins. From Harare, you drive through Kadoma, Kwekwe and then branch off once you reach Gweru, so that you can drive through Shurugwi and Zvishavane. The isolated Mount Buchwa is about 68 km Southeast of Zvishavane. From Mt Buchwa, a gravel road reconnects you with the Harare-Beitbridge Highway at Rutenga.
Book your tour with Tiritose Sustainable Travel to explore the virgin territory of Mberengwa. The place has not been really documented and you might be one of the first people to put the territory on the travel map.
For more inspiration, follow us on our social media handles:
Facebook: Tiritose Sustainable Travel – Home
Twitter: Tiritose Sustainable Travel (@TiritoseTravel)
Instagram: Tiritose Sustainable Travel (@tiritose_sustainable_travel)
Pinterest: Tiritose Sustainable Travel (tiritose_sustainable_travel) – Profile
LinkedIn: Tiritose Sustainable Travel | LinkedIn
