Southern Africa - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 156

195 CAmp AmALINDA,
ZImbAbWE

For anyone interested in the origins of Africa,
the Matobo Hills in Zimbabwe contain a
higher concentration of San Bushmen art
than anywhere else on the continent. These
vast, smooth granite boulders also provide
the resting place of Cecil Rhodes, the founder
of diamond company De Beers and one of
the most notorious British colonialists. From
Camp Amalinda - a luxury safari lodge built
among these hills some 50km outside the
city of Bulawayo - you can explore all these
landmarks, or just relax in the outdoor spa
overlooking the hills.
Camp Amalinda is also a partner in the
Mother Africa Project, which is committed to
ensuring tourism benefits the communities
and wildlife of Zimbabwe. When guests at the
lodge aren't marvelling at snake eagles or trying
to spot elusive leopards amid the rocks, they
can visit projects the organization funds with
Camp Amalinda's support, such as a primary
school and clinic. Alternatively, people with more
time can volunteer on either of Mother Africa's
conservation or community programmes, during
which a part of their thirty-day experience
will be based at the lodge. Either way, a stay
at Amalinda will make you feel a part of
Zimbabwe's efforts to build itself a better future.

200km north of Cape Town, folded peaks and
limestone formations rise over the vast, stark
landscape of the Cederberg Wilderness Area.
Despite the challenges such terrain imposes,
man has been here for millennia (as the 6000-
year-old cave art attests) and wildlife still
abounds: leopards, bat-eared foxes and grey
mongooses can occasionally be spotted foraging
around the rocks.
The Heuningvlei Donkey Cart Adventure,
organized by Cederberg African Travel, is a
languorous three-night journey across the
rugged wilderness, punctuated by stays with
local communities in this little-visited region.
Whether you are riding in the cart or hiking
beside it, villagers will act as your guides,
pointing out wildlife and explaining customs
before you head home for a simple meal
accompanied by the area's best-known product -
rooibos tea, produced organically for generations
by farmers whose livelihoods are greatly aided
by tourist visits.

Matobo Hills Lodge, Bulawayo
& Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe

Need to know For more on accommodation and
activities at Camp Amalinda, as well as details of the
Mother Africa project, see W www.campamalinda.
com; T [phone]. Camp Amalinda charges
a fully inclusive rate of US$220 per day. Thirty-day
volunteer programmes cost around US$2500.

196 rIDE THE CEDErbErG
HErITAGE rOuTE, SOuTH AfrICA

Need to know The Cederberg Mountains are
approximately 2.5 hours' drive north of Cape Town.
Trails start from Clanwilliam. For bookings see
W www.cedheroute.co.za; T [phone].

Looking out from the cart across the red-rocked
panorama of the Cederberg Mountains, the
mark of modern man is barely visible. Here, just