Bulawayo

Modern Bulawayo was built on King Lobengula's royal Ndebele city, sacked by the colonising British South Africa Company in 1893. The city is capital of the majority Ndebele people, who themselves only arrived in 1840, having split from South Africa's Zulu people.

Bulawayo grew on a minor gold rush and the arrival of the Cape to Cairo railway in 1898. The strict grid pattern retains many colonial-era buildings. Bloody history with the British was continued after independence in conflict with the majority Shona people.

The city is a road and rail hub, with links to South Africa. The Railways Museum looks back into the steam era through its locomotives and associated paraphernalia. The centre piece is Cecil Rhodes luxurious private coach, used to bring his body from Cape Town for burial.

Matobo national park, in the nearby Matopos Hills, draws visitors for its well-preserved prehistoric rock paintings as well as its wildlife which includes the white rhino. It was here that Cecil Rhodes is buried, having himself chosen the dramatic location carved into a rock with fine views over the grassy plains.