Thread by @Yvonne_Maphosa

CHINHOYI CAVES 🇿🇼
 
Enchanting and deep history.

Think clear bottomless pool, blue waters, dark caves, underground rivers, beautiful fish, lions, a laid back picnic, green lawn and endless tunnels 🍹🧜‍♀️ 🌊 🌴 🌞
 
Definitely worth a visit!

#TravelZimbabwe 🇿🇼

You could go on a day trip, stop on your way, camp overnight or stay at the motel.

We went on a day trip from Harare. It's ~134 km, so it took us 1.5 h to get there.
 
The road is very good so even a small car would be fine.
 
Made a quick stop in Chinhoyi town to get supplies.

COST:
 
Local, Regional and International tourists pay different prices [See attached price list]
 
LOCALS:
Caves - $3
Lions - $5
Guide - $15 for a group of 1-6
Picnic - $8/group
Camping - $5 pppn

TIMES:
Caves: 8 am - 5 pm
Lions: 8 am - 4 pm.

Also, motel prices (Frame 2)

HISTORY

First white man to discover the Caves was Frederick Selous in 1887
 
The original name was TYINOYI. TJINOYI was a Rozvi chief. The Karanga name, Tjinoyi, was bastardised to Sinoia by white settlers and later changed to CHINHOYI by the Zezuru.

LEGEND
The traditional name of the sleeping pool is CHIRORODZIVA meaning 'Pool of the Fallen'. The name was derived from an incident in the 1830s when the Angoni Tribe surprised people living near the Caves and flung them into the pool.

Chinhoyi was a Headman who defeated the Nyamakwere outlaws who used the caves as their stronghold. They would murder people by throwing them into the pool!
 
Then Chinhoyi and his people killed these outlaws and threw their bodies into the Pool! Chinhoyi later became a Chief.

Chief Chinhoyi and his subjects used the Caves as a refuge from raiding tribes.
[Until a few years ago the remains of Chief Chinhoyi’s grain bins could be seen in some of the underground passages.]
 
You can still see the blackened surfaces on the roof caused by cooking fires.

Wait, so Chinhoyi killed the outlaws? Then lived in those caves? 😲🥶

Imagine moving into a place knowing very well that many people were murdered there and their angry spirits are probably hovering around the place! Would you move in? I would do it 😅

THE CAVES
 
WONDER HOLE
A collapsed roof above the Sleeping pool.
You see it from the inside but can't see it from the outside 🤯
 
SLEEPING POOL/POOL OF THE FALLEN
Filled with non-flowing, unbelievably blue, crystal clear water.
Houses beautiful fish.

The water stays at a constant temperature of 22-Degrees Celsius every single day, from the beginning of time till Kingdom come! Come Winter, come Summer.

[Q: Who's taking the temperature every single minute? 🤔🙈]

The depth of the pool is unknown. The deepest any diver has gone

is 191 m in 2013. He couldn't go any deeper because there was strong currents from the river below the cave.
The diver threw in a tracking device and it was recovered in Mozambique.
The river, ~200 m below the ground, is thought to run from Tanzania to Mozambique.

I feel challenged. I need to dive deeper than 191 m one day🤸‍♀️

DARK CAVE
A pitch black cave accessed through a flight of stairs and a narrow path. Big bodied people might struggle to make it through some parts inside.

There are lights💡inside that the guide switched on. Using torches also helped us.

There is a natural sculpture of a lion in the Dark Cave. You would miss it if it wasn't pointed out to you because it's pretty dark down there.
 
You get beautiful views of the sleeping pool down below. It looks unbelievably blue! You also see what was the Chief's bedroom.

There were some remnants of rituals in the bottom of the dark cave (beer froth, snuff etc)
Apparently you can find up to $100 notes left there. Don't take it!
But if you decide to take it, stomp hard on it first to crush the bad luck 😅, then pick it up and exit the cave…

…do not put it in your pocket. Just hold it in your hand. Go straight to the shops and use all of it. Don't take change… or else bad luck will follow you all the days of your life 😅

GET A GUIDE!
A guide is optional. A guide is $15 for a group of up to 6.

I think it would be pointless to go down to the Caves without a Guide. It's the history of the Caves that makes them special. Also, a Guide will point out things you would otherwise miss, like great view points and the lion in the Dark Cave (Not a real lion).

The MYSTERY TUNNEL

From the Dark Cave, you see a tunnel that's alleged to run underground for ~200 km. If you enter that tunnel in Chinhoyi, you will get out 40 km from Kariba. Kuthwa you can see the tunnel entrance/exit from the road, half way between Makuti & Kariba.

I volunteered to take a team and go on the expedition but once again, superstitions made them say: "No. You can't do it. Two white men tried it and were never seen again!"
We don't even have to go through the tunnel. We can detect it from above the ground. It’s 2021!

SCUBA DIVING
Dive Wild Zimbabwe (Paul) - [phone]
 
COST: USD 120 for 2 dives
 
$120 = $40 permit for you & instructor + $70 diving fee (to instructor) + $10 - 2 porters
 
191 m recorded dive

Paul has gone 100 m so far and done over 2000 dives in the Sleeping Pool 👏 🏆

LION ENCLOSURE
They have 2 lions at the moment, Dingani & Kenya. I hope the project grows and they get more lions.
 
Absolutely AMAZING. Could be $3 though because they are not very interactive.
So maybe the Caves could be $5 and the lions $3 and maybe have combo deals.

PICNIC
$8 per group.
Very nice rest camp type tables and braai area.
Close car windows and guard your food, otherwise baboons will loot your stuff.
 
You could opt for the motel restaurant.
 
CAMPING
$5pppn. I regret that we didn't camp 😔
 
You could opt for the motel.

WHAT TO WEAR:
Comfortable walking shoes because the walk down to the caves is steep, uneven and can be slippery
 
TIPS:
~Have drinking water
~Picnic basket& cooler box
~Tip the Guide (Optional but recommended)
~Don't fall into the pool
Try scuba diving. It will change your life😅

SCARED STILL 🧜‍♀️?
Sometimes the spirits are off duty so you'll be ok 😉
If you disappear, harde mfethu. Anjalo amaSports.
 
Have you been to the Chinhoyi Caves?
Did you see anything unnatural? 👀
What was your experience?

When all is said and done, forget the myths and have FUN!

Have FUN
Be responsible
Share space
Don't hoard the 'photo spot'🙃
 
SCARED STILL?🧜‍♀️
Sometimes the spirits are off duty so you'll be ok. If you disappear, harde mfethu. Anjalo amaSports.
 
Have you been to the Caves?
Did you see anything unnatural? 👀
What was your experience?