eBusiness Weekly
Tawanda Musarurwa
Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands is a great destination for a well-deserved vacation and the Vumba Mountains perhaps offer the best of the great retreats.
The Vumba Mountains (or Bvumba Mountains) straddle the Zimbabwe – Mozambique border, and are situated some 25 km south east of Mutare.
The Vumba rises to Castle Beacon at 1,911 metres and are, together with the Chimanimani and Nyanga part of the Eastern Highlands of the Manicaland and adjacent Manica provinces.
Here I make a selection of some stunning places to consider spending your holiday in the Vumba Mountains. White Horse Inn: English elegance in the Mountains
This fancy little hotel combines the best of both worlds – English elegance and enchantment of the Vumba Mountains. Where else would you want to be?
Nestled in a wooded corner of the Vumba Mountains south of Mutare, with an ambience stuck in time (the hotel was originally built as a cottage in the mid-1930s and only became a licensed Hotel in 1964), this is the place for relaxation.
All the rooms have a delicious English style, which the owner David Graham says is deliberate. The Cottage Suite consisting of a sitting room and two bedrooms is particularly popular with family parties. Private dining rooms allow diners intimate moments over lunch or dinner, enjoying a three-course menu and delicious homegrown coffee from the Vumba Mountains.
Indulge your taste buds with the braised Wildebeest in red wine sauce, or the chilled Vichyssoise or Smoked Trout Pate for appetiser served with yeast rolls. Or, if you have a heartier appetite, go for the roast lamb with mint sauce and quince jelly or the chicken provencale, concluded with an apple crumble or homemade ice-cream and meringue for dessert.
With staff as gracious and welcoming as David (this isn’t saying much, if you haven’t met the man) get ready to you enjoy an experience you’ll want to re-live again and again.
Seldomseen: A birdwatcher’s paradise in the Vumba
This little paradise setting offers a pleasurable alternative to the rush and pressure of everyday modern life. Seldomseen’s holiday cottages are set in the midst of a rich forest within the Highlands of Vumba. This offers the visitor an opportunity to wander through cool, green forests festooned with ferns and orchids, or sit quietly in the sun and marvel at the butterflies and sparkling sunbirds.
The birding experience here is quite unique: Chances are you will spot specials such as Swynnerton’s Robin, the Buff spotted Flufftail, Orange Thrush, Crimsonwing, Gurney’s Sugarbird are all found in Seldomseen’s forests or protea patch. Experienced guides are always on hand to assist. The Seldomseen Holiday Cottages are a complex of self-catering cottages each with secluded, private gardens surrounded by indigenous forests.
Kwayedza Lodge: Simply unwind
Serenity seems to be a recurrent theme in the Vumba Mountains. Kwayedza Lodge is a perfect hideout from the hustle and bustle of city life. The lodge offers accommodation for a limited, exclusive number of guests.
Enjoy your outing in a double room with King-size bed or a suite with Queen Size bed. The common living area is at the disposal of all guests. This includes a living and dining room and a well-kept outdoor complex with sun terrace. Particularly popular is the small swimming pool for fun and to cool down.
If you are into eco-tourism, Kwayedza Lodge management firmly believes in sustainable tourism and to this extent participates in reforestation around the community in order to keep a balance in the very fragile natural environment.
Wise Owl Motel: A Christmas Pass Location. Yes!
Location, Location, Location. This three-story Motel located on the Mutare side of Christmas Pass, in natural garden setting. It makes for some great vistas as the views of Mutare City from the pass are simply spectacular.
