Set in cattle and mining country, Bulawayo is the second-largest city in Zimbabwe. It is an attractive place with tree-lined streets originally designed by the colonists to be wide enough in which to turn an ox-drawn cart. Although it has more than 600,000 residents, it doesn't feel that large, and it's an ideal stopover on the route between Great Zimbabwe and Hwange or Victoria Falls. In town are a number of museums, including the Railway Museum that exhibits old locomotives and rolling stock. On display is the private carriage of British magnate Cecil John Rhodes, who was best known for his (failed) attempt to build a railway from Cape Town to Cairo.
The carriage also carried him after his death in 1912, when his body was transferred from Cape Town to the Matobo Hills outside of Bulawayo, where he was buried. The National Museum exhibits more about Rhodes and other regional history, and the Natural History Museum has displays of everything from Zimbabwe wildlife and plant life to geological and cultural exhibits. Be sure to see the Indaba Tree (at the State House) and the 17th-century Khami Ruins (13 mi/20 km west of the city), built by the Rozwi tribe (allow an hour on the grounds). The Tshabalala Wildlife Reserve (with kudu, wildebeests, zebras, impala and other animals) is only 6 mi/10 km outside of town. If your schedule permits, visit the Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage, where sick, orphaned and wounded animals are cared for—there's even a large enclosure where eagles earn their wings again. Most people visit Bulawayo as part of a trip to Matobo National Park, where there is a healthy population of rhino that can be tracked on foot. On top of a hill with panoramic views lies Rhodes' grave. Matobo means "bald-headed ones" and was named after the balancing granite rocks found throughout the park that reminded the local people of men with balding heads.
230 mi/370 km southwest of Harare.