Guarded by the quartzite peaks of the Chimanimani Mountain Range, the small town of Chimanimaniis bordered on one side by a national park with lush indigenous vegetation, and verdant green swathes of commercial forest land on the other. It’s a sedate yet colourful little town, and one that’s well positioned to be a base for exploring the area’s many attractions. The higher altitudes and lower temperatures in these parts ensure that the area’s many rivers and streams are bilharzia-free, a rarity in this country. And, with the highest rainfall in Zimbabwe this area sees much deciduous fruit farming as well as coffee, tea and timber production. Chimanimani can trace its roots to the Moodie brothers, Thomas and Dunbar, who in 1892 founded a settlement called Melsetter, some 15 km north of the town’s current position. In 1895 the town moved to its current position, and after Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 it was renamed Mandidzudzure, then finally Chimanimani after negotiations with the local community. In 2019, Cyclone Idai, one of the most destructive tropical cyclones to hit the Southern Hemisphere, destroyed many parts of the Chimanimani District, taking the lives of 169 people, and destroying crops, roads and buildings. The aftermath of the cyclone, such as landslides, can still be seen in the area.