CHINHOYI CAVES RECREATIONAL PARK

Zimbabwe is one of the countries flourishing with historical sites. It is a hub for tourist resort areas. Chinhoyi Caves located about 9 kilometers north-west of the town of Chinhoyi, 120 kilometers from the capital city of Harare the Park lies along the main Harare-Chirundu Road and it is one of the tourist resort areas which has experienced a number of tourist visits. Historically, the first white man believed to have discovered the Caves was Frederick Selous, the famous European hunter, during his wanderings in 1887.

lnside the caves

 It was believed that prior to that the Caves were being used as a stronghold by an outlaw called Nyamakwere who murdered many victims by throwing them into the Silent Pool. The notorious Nyamakwere was eventually defeated and killed by a Headman called Chinhoyi who became a Mashona Chief, hence the name Chinhoyi given to the nearby town. Chief Chinhoyi and his followers used the Caves as a refuge from raiding tribes such as the Matebele. Until a few years ago the remains of Chief Chinhoyi's grain bins could be seen in some of the underground passages. The traditional name for the Caves is "Chirorodziva" which means the "Pool of the Fallen". The name was derived from an incident which took place in the 1830s when the Angoni Tribe, who were moving northwards surprised people living near the Caves and flung them into the pool. The area close to the caves was first declared a National Monument and in 1957 it was declared a National Park with its existing boundaries. It was then re designated as a Recreational Park in 1975. The Caves consist of a system of tunnels and caverns. This system is a dying one (in geological time spans), in that they are slowly collapsing. These collapses can be noticed by the sink holes and depressions within the surrounding area. The Wonder Hole, which is the main feature of the Caves, is in fact a "swallow hole" or a large cavern with a collapsed roof.

The Environs of the Caves

The walls or sides of the Wonder Hole drop vertically down for 150 feet to the Sleeping Pool. The pool is unbelievably blue and crystal clear which reflects great depth and non-flowing water. Exploration by the Zimbabwe Sub-Aqua Speleological Research Group has revealed that the depth of the water in the Sleeping Pool varies between 80 metres and 91 metres. This fluctuation in depths is attributable to the amount of rainfall received in a particular season. Several under water passages have been found leading from the Sleeping Pool, but all those so far explored lead back into the Pool.