Welcome back, good people! You’ve been passport ready and traveling with us on the podcast’s journey across southern Africa these past few months: Johannesburg and SOWETO, Pretoria, Ehlanzeni, Graskop, Cape Town’s Bo-Kaap and the Stellenbosch winelands. This month we are making our stop in the beautiful country of Zimbabwe in Victoria Falls!
Zimbabwe is considered a land-locked country being surrounded on all sides, with Zambia to its northwest, Bostwana in the southwest, South Africa to its south and Mozambique to its east.
In Zimbabwe, I’ve spent my time exploring Victoria Falls township. I enjoyed the opportunity floating alongside a bloat (or herd) of hippos while on The Zambezi River (referred to as “Great River” in the Tonga language) and waving to folks in Zambia during sunset.
The Zambezi is the continent of Africa’s fourth largest river system, flowing through 6 countries on its way to the Indian Ocean: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and Mozambique.
I also spent a day visiting the Victoria Falls National Park Rainforest (A UNESCO World Heritage Site). The Falls itself is one of the world’s largest waterfalls and it is definitely a sight to see in person. I will say I am not adventurous enough to swim in the Fall’s Devil’s Pool though I witnessed a small group daring to swim in close proximity to the Fall’s edge!
Besides the Falls, most people may be unaware that Zimbabwe was considered a significant participant in the gold trade route through East Africa and along the Indian Ocean prior to the 1500s. Its agriculture and land diversity also appealed to settler colonizers in the 16th century and through the period of civil war until Black independence in 1980. Prior to independence, the country’s ideal land was monopolized by whites wherein Blacks were barred from land ownership and prevented to live in many townships as these were designated for whites only.
Similar to South Africa’s apartheid system, Zimbabwe’s Land Apportionment Act and other segregationist policies grossly impacted Black life and personhood until it’s repeal and attempts for land reallocation in the mid- to late 1990s. Therefore, the significant increase of Black hotelier ownership since 2018 indicates the overdue progress the country needs in order to flourish economically.
Marking this significance is the growth in the number of Black women revolutionizing hospitality with the establishment of luxury hotels and safari lodges. I had the wonderful fortune of staying at one such place called Mbano Manor Hotel Victoria Falls by Mantis, a boutique luxury hotel founded, built and managed, since 2020, by Dr Matifadza Martha Nyazema (affectionately referred to as “Doc Mati”).
Dr. Matifadza Martha Nyazema (“Doc Mati”)
Doc Mati has brought her two-decades-plus experience in the hospitality industry to Victoria Falls to become the first Black woman to own a 5-star luxury hotel, which also became the first internationally branded hotel in Victoria Falls in over a decade under the Mantis Collection in 2023.
Listen to the podcast’s Season 5’s finale (Ep #48), which premiers June 18, 2024, and learn about Doc Mati’s journey to realize this dream of bringing luxury and conservation to her beloved Zimbabwe as a Black woman entrepreneur and hotelier.
Stay tuned to this website and follow us on social media for Season 6 updates and announcements! Mark your calendars: Season 6 premiers September 17, 2024!!!!
Peace and Prosperity! @ProfYndia & @BelongingToBlackness_Podcast
Ms. Yndia, I am looking forward to Season 5’s finale episode . I will be travelling out of the US so it will be wonderful to be listening to Doc Mati’s journey as a Black woman entrepreneur and hotelier.
Thanks.