eBusiness Weekly
Chipo Sabeta
I was among the amateur athletes who participated at the Troutbeck World’s View Run in Nyanga a fortnight ago, as part of a getaway weekend with my friends.
After the race on Saturday, we had our recovery session at the Nyangombe natural swimming pool and prioritised to take on the famous, or the infamous Mutarazi Skywalk and Skyline adventure, before proceeding to the Mutarazi Falls on Sunday morning in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe.
With a minimalistic and eco-friendly design, we just wanted to connect to the natural world, waterfall and sky away from the hectic usual routines of the city
We woke up early, having been informed by locals that it was going to take us two hours to get there because of a bad road.
But just four kilometres from the Nyanga-Rusape highway, we opted to make a U-turn.
We had passed by a couple of people leaning against their truck, pondering their next move, after its two rear tyres had burst along the bumpy strip road.
To say the road was bad is an understatement despite using an off-the-road vehicle — a Toyota Surf.
Being adventure lovers, we were heartbroken, as we were forced to abandon the trip.
It’s a sad story, not only for us the adventure lovers, but the tourism sector and Zimbabwe at large, I guess.
But then again, adventure tourism is about connecting with a new culture or a new landscape and being physically active at the same time . . . maybe we were just not ready for the rugged landscape of the mountainous Nyanga.
The beckoning question is: What lies ahead for the tourism industry?
Tourism, being a big business can be the biggest contributor to our economy. It is also one of the fastest growing industries in the world.
It has been identified as a key economic pillar in the current Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) reaching five million tourists and contributing 15 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 8 percent, receiving over $5 billion in receipts and employing 300 000 directly and indirectly.
A company called “Far and Wide” in Zimbabwe opened the “Mutarazi Falls Skywalk and Skyline” two years ago which enables visitors to “sky-walk” across the 762-metre high chasm, and observing the falls head on.
There is also a dual 90-metre long zip-line and cableway lie parallel, overlooking the waterfall, enabling guests to fly or walk with a friend.
In addition to the Mutarazi Falls, the second highest waterfall in Africa, there is now a jaw-dropping new adventure activity that allows observers a never-before-seen perspective of this beautiful waterfall. Despite all that, the place is difficult to access.
The fact that it is difficult to access such a beautiful tourist attraction, is proof enough that the tourism sector in this country, still has a long way to convince the Government on the importance of tourism to the country’s economy.
Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe vice president Clive Chinwada, says the matter has been discussed by various players although the challenge has not been attended to yet.
“The Mutarazi Falls and general adventure area is within the territories of National Parks, which ordinarily means everything belongs to them. Bad roads are not only affecting the Nyanga region but other tourist’s destinations around Zimbabwe.
“As tourism players we always try to engage several offices, owners and Ministry of Transport to come up with solutions but people haven’t come to the party regarding such issues. It’s always been a topical matter,” Chinwada said.
Locals in Nyanga have been crying foul over the poor roads, saying tourists were shunning some destinations because of poor roads.
Some say gigantic trucks, carrying wood and sand are contributing to the destruction of roads.
“We feel neglected. We pray that Government repairs our roads to make trade easier and to boost tourism in the region. The absence of bridges have been a thorn in the flesh for the local community and we walk long distances to the highway,” an elderly woman told this publication.
With the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development prioritising major highways, the Eastern Highlands road networks are in a deplorable state leading to poor tourism growth.
Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management public relations manager Tinashe Farawo conceded that Mutarazi adventure lies within National Parks but distanced the organisation from the poor road connectivity.
“I can safely concede that the Mutarazi adventure area is inside the national parks space but it is not the responsibility of Zim Parks to maintain roads. Whilst there are many factors causing the decay of roads, it must be noted that all road links in the national parks are properly graded and that’s the case in Mutarazi,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the bigger part of this road is not in the National Parks. The mandate to fix the roads belong to Ministry of Transport. It is the duty of the Nyanga rural district council under the relevant department to oversee and maintain the roads.”
Whilst a lot is expected from the Ministry of Transport, some locals also feel that the company running various activities in Mutarazi, Far and Wide Zimbabwe, must play a role in fixing the roads considering that they are charging foreign currency for their activities and benefiting from the natural resources.
