Ultimate Guide To Africa May 2015 | Page 45

A lthough not known as a big game reserve, this UNESCO World Heritage Site just south of Bulawayo is venerated for its dramatic rock formations: red-tinged rock outcrops; gigantic, grey, smooth-surfaced “whalebacks”; and towering **kopjes** of balancing granite boulders and pillars. This visual drama is compounded by the thrill of getting close to some of the world’s highest concentrations of leopard and rare black eagles, as well as the chance to explore caves and rocky overhangs which preserve ancient San paintings (over 2,000 sites have been recorded here). Also here, is the high-altitude grave of archimperialist, Cecil John Rhodes, at a thrilling location known as the View of the World. Built between huge granite boulders on a 300-acre concession within Matobo, rooms at Camp Amalinda (www.campamalinda.com) are thatched chalets incorporating the very rock that makes this park famous. Even the enormous pool is a depression in the granite whaleback that forms part of the property. 45 Regulars in the know MATOBO NATIONAL PARK Accommodation directory Services Guide Accommodation guide read Features Ultimate guide to Africa - for Luxury Travel