Rivers, Mountains & Lakes (Nzizi neMakomo)

To the Tonga and Kunda communities of the valley, the river is Kasambabezi ("only those who know it may bathe in it"). It sustains elephants, hippos (mvuu), crocodiles (ngwena), and the African fish eagle (hungwe).

The Save Valley is a historic crossroads connecting Zezuru, Manyika, Karanga, and Ndau communities, famed for its giant baobab trees (miuyu) and fertile alluvial plains.

Near the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers stood the ancient 11th-century kingdom of Mapungubwe, predecessor to Great Zimbabwe.

For centuries before colonial times, Shona women panned alluvial gold (ndarama) in the sandy beds of the Mazowe and Angwa rivers during the dry winter season (chando).

Mount Nyangani is revered as a sacred mountain (gomo rinoera). Visitors follow traditional etiquette (zviera): speaking respectfully, never pointing at the peak with a single index finger, and never mocking the sudden mountain mist (mhute).

"Bvumba" comes from the Manyika word for mist or gentle drizzle (mubvumbi), while "Chimanimani" refers to a narrow mountain pass where two cliffs squeeze tightly together.

"Domboshava" literally means "Reddish-Brown Rock" (Dombo + Shava), named after the vibrant orange and rust lichens covering the giant granite hill just north of Harare.

The name "Kariba" comes from "Kariva" (little trap), referring to a narrow rock gorge where the Zambezi once surged before the dam wall was completed in 1959. At night, hundreds of fishing rigs sparkle like stars catching kapenta (matemba).