Wild & Free: Best Places to Visit during the Rainy Season in Bulawayo

Solitude and the outdoors have been my great loves for as long as I can remember. My mother always says there was never a time in my life when I could blend in. Easily or naturally at least. Even as a child, I always preferred hanging by myself. Don’t get me wrong, I do love people and group functions but I also prefer being alone. The downside of this part of me is that it can be very difficult to make people understand. Understand that I haven’t disappeared or been quiet because I am angry or don’t love them anymore but I am just taking life the best way I know how.

I guess this love for solitude is what has drawn me to outdoor adventures. I love the quietness of the forests, the mountains, the rivers, and the lakes. However, I must say that I suspect it’s more than the solitude these places present that I find quite attractive but the dangers that lie in the uncertainties of what might happen. Danger is always looming in the shadows of these places, could be a dangerous wild animal, an unstable or slippery mountain trail, or a rock that can send one to the ER at any moment. No death wish over here, it’s just that I have always found the safety of shallow waters to be exactly that, shallow. Nothing to offer!

Over the years I have been fortunate enough to see some of the most beautiful places in Bulawayo that has offered me everything I have ever craved for, solitude and the uncertainty of the wild. Like anything wild and free, these places are quite enchanting during the rainy season.

Hillside Dams Conservancy

Hillside dams is a wildlife and environmental nature reserve. As part of the conservancy is the breath taking Hillside dam whose view is more enchanting from the various Kopjes within the reserve. One of the most beautiful views of Hillside Dams Conservancy is its biodiversity from the charming succulent garden to the chilling vibes of the reptiles.

As a sucker for mountain trails, the best activity for me at the conservancy is hiking. This is mostly so because of the enchanting views from the top which are made beautifully so by the greening of the rainy season. It is even more fulfilling during a rainy day, there is just something enormously refreshing about hiking in the rain, which could be the washing down of any burdens by the falling rain. Hillside Dams is 7km from Bulawayo city centre and offers a wide range of recreational activities including kayaking/canoeing and birds watching.

Matopos National Park

Located 35km from Bulawayo City centre, Matopos National Park is one of Zimbabwe’s largest national parks. It is known for its kopjes and balancing rock formations named Matobo Hills. It is also home to Cecil John Rhodes, the Victoria Rangers and Salisbury horsemen led by Alan Wilson’s graves.

Matopos is an all year-round beauty but what makes it the best place to visit during the rainy season is the Maleme Dam

The dam is such a beauty, on one side is a pool of water and on the other a heap of rocks forming a beautiful array of matobo hills and a mountain.

Silwane Nature Reserve

Finally, the last place to visit during the rainy season in Bulawayo is Silwane Nature Reserve. Silwane is home to Bulawayo’s man-made waterfalls along the Umguza river in Umguza district. It is around 15km from Bulawayo city center and houses a dam, a wide range of wild animals most falling under the antelope family, and some wild berries.

The reserve is best in the rainy season because the falls are more fuller and lively due to the high flow of the river. As part of the recreational facilities is canoeing, game drive and once in a while the reserve hosts family events like music shows and BBQs.

All the best visiting these places. I hope they will be as charming to you as they have been to me.

Ps. Considering that my Dad named me Shirley, a bright meadow, I guess I was always bound to the wild, no way I could escape it.