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OUR LATEST NEWS

• Tribute to Charles Douglas Morton Hyslop
  19th October 1954 – 29th July 2023 It is with a heavy heart that National Trust of Zimbabwe (NTZ) announce the sudden passing of Charles Douglas Morton Hyslop, from a heart attack at his home with John, his brother by his side, on 29 July 2023. Charles matriculated at Mount Pleasant High School and then went on ...
• Invitation from the The Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe
    We very much look forward to seeing you there:)
• Tributes to the late Edone Ann Logan
  Edone Ann, Chairman of the RHNE welcoming members of the Matimba Family NTZ Executive Members Tributes to Edone Ann Logan It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Edone Ann Logan on 1st March 2023, born 8th September 1939. Members from the Executive Council of The National Trust of Zimbabwe (NTZ) would like to extend ...
• The Trust at the Stables Market
  The Trust at the Stables Market On Sunday the 9th of October 2022 The National Trust of Zimbabwe happily hosted a stand at the very popular Old Stables weekly open air market at the Borrowdale Race Course in Harare. M Managing the table was Executive Councillor Fira Bache (on the right) kindly assisted by Life  Trust Member ...
• Organic Celebration
  The National Trust of Zimbabwe (NTZ) would like to congratulate the Organic Farming Academy (organicfarmacademy.com) for hosting such a successful event: celebrating organic farming on EU Organic Day (23 September 2022).  Europe is working towards realising its target of seeing 25% of farming land being used for organic farming by 2030 whilst looking at trends ...
• The President of Botswana, His Excellency President Masisi and his wife, the First Lady visit Worlds View
  It is with a great sense of pride and with immense gratitude to the NTZ team at Worlds View, Nyanga that we can announce a VIP visit which took place on Saturday 3rd September 2022- when the NTZ team and local officials welcomed the visiting President of Botswana, His Excellency President Masisi and his wife, ...
• INTO Heritage policy: INTO member organisations and their responses to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals’ covering the period 2018-2022. 
  In June 2022, NTZ was contact by Tamara Di Marco, an Oxford Intern working with the NT UK carrying out important research for the International National Trust Organisation (INTO). Tamara’s National Trust Partnership Curatorial research micro-internship project is entitled: ‘INTO Heritage policy: INTOs member organisations and their responses to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals’ covering ...
• Citizen Science
  Citizen Science is a relatively exciting new field whereby members of the general public collect data relating to the natural world and share it with professional scientists as part of a collaborative project. The Trust is proud to invite you to Citizen Science Training day at Mabukuwene Nature Reserve in Bulawayo which is being run by ...

We have made good progress on the restoration of the Dell garden this year. Many of our guests that have                      come to the garden, have commented on its transformation over the last couple of years. I find that it is                          once again the main attraction for guests who come to La Rochelle. The beauty of being involved in a                              project such as this, is seeing what was accomplished last year blossom into something people can                                  enjoy today.

Mr Kevin Martin, Estate Manager

The Nursery and Orchid Centre that was refurbished last year is looking better and better with each month that passes.  Koi fish have been bought for one of the ponds and goldfish for another. The goldfish have started breading and we will be able to stock other ponds from this. We have completed the toilet block at the Nursery. This has wheel chair access and has drinking water for garden visitors. The orchids have done well this year since the houses have been restored. The greatest impact is seen on the Phalaenopsis and Cattleya that are in the glass and heated houses. We have been inviting schools and orphanages to visit and be taught basic knowledge on plants and trees.

See photos below of Nursery and Orchid Centre

We have made good progress on the restoration of the Dell garden this year. Many of our guests that have come to the garden, have commented on its transformation over the last couple of years. I find that it is once again the main attraction for guests who come to La Rochelle. The beauty of being involved in a project such as this, is seeing what was accomplished last year blossom into something people can enjoy today. I       

Hillcrest School grade 5                                                  Riverside School grade 1 and 2

Restoration of the Dell

This year we have been working on the Dell. To help in doing this we have rebuilt the tractor trailer. This has been most helpful on the project and other areas of La Rochelle.

The Aloe and Cycad Garden

In the aloe and cycad garden we have removed many trees that had come up in amongst the aloes and were over shading them. Unfortunately this damaged many of the Aloes. The damaged plants have been used as our propagation material for replanting. The underground irrigation has also been repaired. We have mulched this whole area to improve water retention and the soils and will be replanting this area with the coming rains.

Before                                                                                                             After

Aloes and Cycads cleared of weeds and mulched

Area around the dam

We have built a bridge to the island where we have placed a bench. It’s a lovely quiet place to go sit and watch the birds. We also restored the row boat for use on the dam. This has been an entertaining addition to our activities. Since January we have started feeding the fish in the dam. We  hope that we will be able to offer fishing as an activity soon. We have repaired the retaining walls that were collapsing on the steep banks around the dam. Soil retaining plants have been planted on the banks in large swathes that we hope will give quite a good impression. The dam is still leaking badly when it gets over three quarters full. We have had the water engineer that advised using the plastic membrane originally, come and look at it. He has advised that it will not be too difficult to repair and explained how to do it, we are working on a quote to repair it.

Paving

Work started on repairing the paving through the garden.  We estimate that there is about 9km of paving throughout the garden and we have completed about a quarter of it so far. We are reusing as much of the existing paving as possible but are also relaying new concrete in sections.

Benches and Dustbins

There were no dustbins in the garden and rubbish has always been a problem. We made 18 new metal dustbins and placed them through the garden.

The existing benches were refurbished and new ones were made bringing the total to 26. We also used logs, from trees that were removed from the garden, to make natural benches.

Gazebo

We have rebuilt the gazebo at the top of the garden. The size was increased so that the area inside was practical. A view has been opened up along the river and this is now a favourite spot for visitors. Gardens in this area will be replanted with the coming rains.

Tree surgery

There were a lot of dead trees and branches that we have removed most of now. Trees have been removed where they were overshadowing other rare trees. This has allowed a lot of much needed light in.

Irrigation

We have repaired two of the four lines of underground piping and garden taps on this side of the garden. These get water from the water furrow. As a backup, we have also made allowance to connect them to the borehole water supply.

A lot of shrubs and ground covers have been propagated in the nursery. These we have collected from people in Mutare who have kindly opened up their gardens for to us to collect planting material from. We eagerly await the rains when we can begin replanting the garden.

Thank you to the hardworking and very dedicated Estate Manager and all his team, all of the restoration was only made possible by a very generous donor that the NTZ is enourmously appreciative of.

NEW: Publication

We are very pleased to announce that publication of a very comprehensive booklet entitiled “Nyanga’s Rich Heritage”by Khami Press, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.  The booklet has been co-edited by Mrs Edone Anne Logan, Chairperson of the NTZ Rhodes Nyanga Historical Exhibition, and Mr Robert Burrett, Archeologist and Historian, who spent a considerable amount of time compiling the information. The main aims of this booklet are to inform Zimbabweans and overseas visitors  on the many and varied aspects of the rich natural and social heritage of this area, and through knowledge and interest encourage a sense of pride and a wish to preserve this heritage.   It is the authors hope that  the booklet, which includes many historical black and white photographs,  will  serve as a historical reference for those interested in Nyanga – particularly the early pre-history period. Proceeds from sales of the booklet will assist with generating funds for the Rhodes Nyanga Exhibition where it will be sold.

The booklet has 100 A5 pages, the contents include the following chapter headings:

• Nyanga : our home
• Geography
• Our Natural Heritage
• Our Archeological Heritage
• Community History
• The Anti-Colonial Struggle
• The Nyanga National Park
• Some Nyanga Hotels : a little History
• Nyanga Churches and Missions
• Driving to Nyanga: a Roadside Guide for the Visitor. The latter a detailed description of the way from Rusape to beyond Nyanga town.

The booklet is available at the cost of USD$5.00 from the following people:

• Nyanga: Edone Ann Logan Email: leecrofts@bsatt.com Tel: +263774459477
• Edgar Nyagwaya Email: enenyagwaya@gmail.com Tel: +263772974681
• Rhodes Nyanga Historical Exhibition
• Nyanga National Parks Office
• Rhodes Hotel and Montclair Hotel
• La Rochelle Boutique Hotel
• Harare: Dave Scott Email: dashcott@telkomsa.net Tel: +263772572966
• The bookshop at the Hub, Chisipite
• Rosanne Kenny Email: kenny01@gmail.com Tel: +263772328193
• Bulawayo: Rob Burrett Email: robburrett@icloud.com

Other Publications:

Mr Rob Burret is also the author of a series of cultural and social hisotical booklets that are all available from the at the same cost USD$5.00 each:

• Nyanga’s Rich Heritage
• Khami World Heritage Site
• Great Zimbabwe
• Bulawayo Heritage (Focus on the town)
• Ironspine & Ribs (History of Rhodesian Railways & NRZ)
• Bulawayo Memories (Focus on regional monuments and historical places)

Postage Rates for the booklets from Zimbabwe is as follows:

• Southern Africa $3.50
• UK & Europe $5.00
• Rest of the World $6.50 (Australia, New Zealand, USA, Asia)
• Zimbabwe $1.00

Subject to rates applicable. Please confirm first with Rob Burrett on khamipress@gmail.com

New Travel Article posted

Please see link below for a recent review of La Rochelle Country House Estate compiled by a travel writer:

linkhttps://wolfganghthome.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/zimbabwes-eastern-highlands-continue-to-amaze/

World Heritage Day: 18th April

World Heritage is the shared wealth of humankind. Protecting and preserving this valuable asset demands the collective efforts of the international community. This special day offers an opportunity to raise the public’s awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage and the efforts that are required to protect and conserve it, as well as draw attention to its vulnerability.

On 18 April 1982 on the occasion of a symposium organised by ICOMOS in Tunisia, the holding of the “International Day for Monuments and Sites” to be celebrated simultaneously throughout the world was suggested. This project was approved by the Executive Committee who provided practical suggestions to the National Committees on how to organise this day.

The idea was also approved by the UNESCO General Conference who passed a resolution at its 22nd session in November 1983 recommending that Member States examine the possibility of declaring 18 April each year “International Monuments and Sites Day”. This has been traditionally called the World Heritage Day and it affords an opportunity to raise the public’s awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage and the efforts that are required to protect and conserve it.

As part of this years heritage celebrations The new Chairman, Dame Fiona Reynolds, gave a lecture on the threats and opportunities facing heritage across the globe and you can read it here:

World Heritage Day speech (15 04 16 4pm)

You can also read the INTO State of Global Heritage report here:

“The long-term sustainability of cultural heritage depends on ensuring its use and developing local support. Without heritage being valued and protected, it will become irrelevant and disappear.”

Taboroff, 2002.

State of Global Heritage NTO 2016

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