Welcome to Bulawayo

On 1st June 1894 Dr Leander Starr Jameson stood in front of a small crowd outside the Maxim Hotel and – with characteristic lack of ceremony – declared the town of Bulawayo open: “I don’t think we want any talk about it . . . There’s plenty of whisky inside, so come on in.”
            Little did he know that from this speech - in its own way as humane as any ever made by a politician - Zimbabwe’s second city would be born.
            This had been the realm of king Mzilikazi after his Ndebele people fled Shaka’s rampaging Zulu impis and the Transvaal Boers . . . only for his son Lobengula to fall before the equally unforgiving advance of Cecil Rhodes’s British South Africa Company. Today all that survives of Lobengula’s capital is his indaba tree (which ironically survived the torching) and the Ndebele name, equally ironically, meaning ‘Place of Slaughter.’
            The colonial foundations of the town were built in the gold rush that saw 400 claims staked within two weeks of Jameson’s amicable invitation. Within a decade Bulawayo had a population of six thousand and it was one of the major transport hubs of Southern Africa.
            With its charming colonial architecture and wide tree-lined avenues, Bulawayo is still more reminiscent of a well-equipped highveld retreat than of Zimbabwe’s leading industrial centre and its citizens have sometimes complained of feeling neglected while the chromium-and-steel high-rises of Harare’s business centre glitter in the spotlight. The local people have a reputation for conservative dress and on a Sunday morning when the folks are heading to church and there are just a few old Austins and an errant MG dotting Main Street it can feel like you’ve stepped back into the Zimbabwe of fifty years ago. In fact Bulawayo recently managed to steal the spotlight briefly from greater cities when it doubled as a cinematic set (in A World Apart) for 1950s Johannesburg!
Until recently Bulawayo attracted tourists only as a way-station between Johannesburg and Vic Falls, as the access point to the spectacular Matobo Hills (where ‘Dr Jim’ Jameson now lies alongside his mentor Cecil Rhodes) and as the departure point of the celebrated Victoria Falls Express (which compensates in its reputation for romance even when it fails to live up to its ‘Express’ tag).
The colourful old buildings and expansive parks are enough to convince tourists who do stop to explore that, far from being a dingy industrial centre, this enchanting old city is a place of light and space.
            But there is more to do here than merely wander. The Railway Museum gives an insight into one of the great visions of colonial times, and Rhodes’s private Pullman flaunts the opulence that was due to the man behind Britain’s most successful ‘privatised invasion.’ The Natural History Museum, with 75,000 specimens of indigenous wildlife has been rated as the best in sub-Saharan Africa. Whatever your particular interests in Zimbabwe – and wherever your next stop – this is the perfect starting point.
            Finding your way around the centre is not a problem because of the navigational ease that comes with the colonial grid layout and the relatively short distances involved. But in the northwest, beyond Lobengula Street, lies the cluttered township of Makokoba, the city’s oldest and most vibrant. The buildings of the Township Square Cultural Centre are styled on traditional Ndebele architecture, the restaurant serves authentic Zimbabwean food and the pioneering Amakhosi Theatre puts on cutting edge performances as well as celebrating music and dance that dates back to the time of King Mzilikazi.
            Bulawayo may traditionally have missed out on the tourism that Harare has attracted but its laid-back attitude and the friendliness of the Ndebele population has kept it free from the tension that can dog visitors to similar ‘high-density suburbs’ around the capital.
The MaKhumalo Beer Garden (one of Africa’s biggest) is a focal point of social life in Makokoba and tourists are often pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by locals with bucket-sized ceremonialbeer mugs: “Ekuhle!” they smile, “- come in . . . have a drink.”

The End