Part 8: Shona sculptures and prehistoric paintings

Brunch on Sable Lodge verandah overlooking the valley towards a misty Mazowe lake was a perfect end to our time in the Night Manager’s Estate.

We gave Josh and Nick some hot curries as a thank you for their hospitality and our remarkable experiences with AWMC. Jon and Ian had been a little too enthusiastic with the chillies despite guidance from super chef Ron………..clearly they needed more supervision!

We returned to Malcom and Paulettes’ B&B in Harare for a few more days before our planned Rivergods trip on the Zambezi.

This gave us the opportunity to visit the Chapungu Sculpture Park in Harare.

The Adventurers had waxed lyrically to Jon and Jan about this place and it did not disappoint. On entering the park we found a myriad of original works by Shona artists. These had been carved, polished and fretted from semi-precious stone of different hues. We had already seen artworks aimed at the tourist trade, however these sculptures were on a different level.

The artists were on hand to describe what had inspired their creations…………it wasn’t long before we had all bought some fabulous pieces. Interestingly we were able to use $US for our purchases………not a $Zim in sight! Jan and I blew our luggage allowance for the return journey but what the hell, we may never see the likes of them again.

Chapungi also had some “heroic” sculptures over 4metres high……..joyful and inspiring stuff. Some had longer legs than the girls!

Over the past 2 weeks, Fixer Innes had done an amazing job but by now the strain of herding us cats was beginning to tell. Nevertheless

Jan, Ian, Terry and Jon persuaded him to take them to some prehistoric cave paintings located in a hidden location on the Thetford Estate………..Fixer Innes was not keen as he had been several times before and a little black storm cloud started circling round his head!

After a 30 minute drive on dirt tracks we arrived at the site of the paintings. They were hidden in a cleft between two enormous rocks. We were awestruck at their beauty and extent……..the more we looked, the more we saw. All was quiet. no one else was anywhere near. What a privilege! Even Fixer Innes enjoyed it when he saw the wonder of it all through our eyes. Either that or that hot curry was taking effect!

The animals in the paintings were predominantly impala and kudou with a few elephant some short-necked giraffes. Hunters with spears held monkeys and impala aloft. Strings of dancing women glided across the scenes. I had to stretch my mind to appreciate just how many thousands of years old these perfectly preserved paintings were.