Nswatugi: Ancient Cave Paintings

While staying at Camp Amalinda in the Matobo National Park (UNESCO World Heritage site), Zimbabwe, we hiked up to Nswatugi Cave.

The unassuming entrance to Nswatugi Cave.

The cave paintings are between six and ten thousand years old.  That's right: 6,000 - 10,000, as in the Late Stone Age.  Insane.

Here's a scene that includes giraffes, hunters, and kudu.

Ancient cave paintings in Africa very, very rarely include images of women.  Many believe this woman is a healer or rare female leader.

This is a close up of a scene of men, some with bows, hunting.

Kudus and a man.  In 1975, excavations found the oldest known skeleton in Zimbabwe:

a bushwoman, dated 9,500 years ago,

A better image of a man carrying a bow, just to the center of the image.

The view of Matopos from the entrance of the cave.  Nswatugi means "place of jumping" because according to legend

God made his earthly home in Matopos at Njelele Hill, landing from His first leap at Nswatugi hill, leaving a footprint in the hill's granite.

The footprint is a natural mark in the hill that has sadly been slowly destroyed by individuals.
And anyone who knows me in person knows I have a slight obsession with jumping photos.
Seems the perfect cave for me to have visited.

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Sundowners at Domboshawa

In the spirit of the Zimbabwe tradition, we recently hiked Domboshawa for sunset.

What's a sundowner?  

The fantastic Zim tradition of going somewhere beautiful, having a drink, and watching the sun set.

Domboshawa isn't a taxing hike, but the view from the top of the kopje is beautiful.

Domboshawa means "Red Hill."

Anyone who has the (pleasure?) of meeting me, knows that this arrow--marking the hike trail---

that clearly means "watch out for the hole" would be interpreted as an invitation for me to accidentally fall in the hole.

Part of Domboshawa contains cave paintings.

These are over 6,000 years old!

A teaser of the next post: the amazing sunset over the hills of Zimbabwe!

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