Bulawayo

Bulawayo is Zimbabwe's second largest city. Located in the South-west of the country, it is home to more than a million people. Bulawuyo is the hub of the province of Matabeleland which comprises the whole western Zimbabwe from the South African border in the south to Victoria Falls in the north. The city has wide tree lined streets and is surrounded by beautifull parks, a legacy of Cecil John Rhodes.  Within the city are many examples of early Victorian buildings which are maintained by the Bulawayo City council and landlords as heritage sites.

Bulawayo houses the country's main museum, the natural history museum, a railway museum, the Bulawayo Art Gallery, which is housed in a most attractive turn of the century building, theatres, the Mzilikmzi Art and craft centre, good hotels and one of the finest caravan and camping parks in Zimbabawe. Bulawayo is also home to the Chipangali wildlife orphanage and the Kame Ruins.

Winters (May to September) are like luscious Mediterranean summers with warm, sunny days and cool, clear nights. There is never any snow, not even in the eastern highlands, but overnight frosts and freezing temperatures are not uncommon anywhere on the plateau.

Most of Zimbabwe's rain falls in brief afternoon deluges during electrical storms in the summer months (October to April) and bring little relief from the humidity.