Friday 5 June 2009 - Our final day begins with a tour of Mapungubwe Hill, World Heritage Site. We head out into parched landscape, the burnt ochre rock formations creating a stark contrast to the beautiful azure skyline. In our open vehicle, our guide Ali and armed ranger John point out Kudu and Klipspringer, their eyes accustomed to seeing any movement within their surroundings, as I squint into the distance, sometimes struggling to see what they are pointing out.
Arriving at our destination we take a short walk, passing trees ladened with hanging Weavers nests, Ali and John direct us to a large green metal plate on the ground. By ingenious design, with very little effort, the plate is rolled on its runners to one side, to reveal stairs descending into an underground dig site. The rock cut vertically to reveal layer upon layer of deposits, soil and bones, time lines dating back thousands of years.
Mapungubwe Hill is referred to as Sacred Hill of the Jackal and dates back to around 1220 AD and was home to a advanced culture of people, the ancestors of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. The area thrived trading in gold, ivory and other commodites with cultures such as Africa, Persia, Egypt, India and China until 1300 AD. The site was discovered in 1932 and has been excavated by the University of Pretoria ever since, producing some amazing finds including the famous gold foiled Rhinoceros. Sadly the site and its findings were kept quiet at the time since they provided contrary evidence to the racist ideology of black inferiority underpinning apartheid and only made public in 1994.
After visiting the dig site, we climb a couple hundred rickety wooden stairs built in the side of Mapungubwe Hill, ascending to the hilltop and its graveyard. Twenty-three graves have been excavated from this hilltop site. The bodies in three of these graves were buried in the upright seated position associated with royalty, with a variety of gold and copper items, exotic glass beads, and other prestigious objects. The hilltop also shows other evidence of habitation, patterned indentations on a level area of sandstone rock providing the board for a game of Maruba.
We make our descent back to the game vehicle, but not before enjoying the panoramic views from the hilltop. After lunch back at our accommodation, we take some time to relax before heading out again to the Tree Top Hide found on the edge of the beautiful Limpopo river. The board walk built high amongst the trees, making a leafy walk way to the hide and its stunning views. We spend some time identifying a variety of birds and spot a baby crocodile through the binos basking on the sand bank, before heading to the Confluence Sunset Deck for sundowners. The deck is situated to enable us to watch the sun go down over the land of thr
ee countries South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe, the view is spectacular, vast in proportion. Drinking warm Hunters, we watch the locals fish in the river, returning home to their huts with filled water containers expertly balanced on the heads of the women.With the sun finally set, we head back for a braai on our sandy patio, our final night together before heading back to civilisation early in the morning.
