Africa 2001
Domboshava
On Friday, we were at liberty in Harare. In the morning, Lucy and Stephen
took a taxi out for a ride into the countryside. We had asked the taxi driver to take us
to the Epworth balancing rocks which feature on all Zimbabwean bank notes.
However, a misunderstanding led to him taking us to the Domboshava rocks.
Fortunately it wasn't too far away!
Our guide led us up over this very strange hill
The main hill is just solid rock, covered with yellow, green and red lichens.
Over the other side we were still expecting to find the balancing rocks, but instead
reached what we later discovered are famous Domboshava rock paintings.
Each animal is drawn with its own blood.
It wasn't that these paintings weren't impressive - they are - but it wasn't what we had
been expecting to find after our climb up in the baking heat.
Lucy surveying the summit of the hill, with its strange gullies.
We did find one impressive balancing rock
At one time, this whole area was much higher, but was gradually eroded. Huge boulders that
resisted erosion sunk as the soil level decreased. As boulder came to rest on boulder,
massive arrangements called kopjes were formed, such as at Epworth. Here, a boulder has
come to rest on the large extrusion that eventually formed this hill as the softer rock
all around was eroded away.
Lucy inspects the strange formations on the ground. Acidic rainwater collects in these,
gradually dissolving the rock, making the hollows deeper until they merge with each other.
On the summit these have resulted in gullies a metre deep.
A strange mixture of different coloured rocks.
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