BY BURZIL DUBE
LAST week’s article on the state of Hwange-Deka Road seemed to have hit the right musical chord as there was some form of unanimity on the need to repair this once popular tourist highway.
Those living in and around the coal mining town are fully aware of how this particular road was one of the busiest when vehicles could be seen hauling caravans and fishing boats.
They were all heading to a popular place where angling and boating was then the in thing. The place is still being called Hwange Angling and Boating Club.
It was also a favourite for camping fanatics as well as those interested in leisure outings.
This used to be a prime tourist resort for predominantly fishing enthusiasts whose hobby is tiger fish hunting, which is abundant in the adjacent Zambezi River.
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The road also leads to Msuna fishing and holiday resort situated about 20km northeast of the angling and boating resort where a couple of Victorian chalets are situated overlooking the Zambezi River.
Still on the Msuna holiday resort, local tidings are that the area is home to the world’s second largest baobab tree. Details around this particular notable phenomenon are currently rather sketchy.
However, stay tuned to this travelling and touring column after ferreting more information concerning this strange spectacle.
Barring any logistical challenges, this holiday resort is a place to visit with the entire family due to its serenity and being a stone throw away from the mighty Zambezi River.
The place is also a gateway to Binga, which is another emerging giant within the hospitalityand tourism circles and boasts of an array of untapped tourist attraction places.
If fully utilised, some of the places such as Binga Sand Beach, Ba Tonga Museum among others would certainly become a force to reckon with in the travelling and touring industry.
Binga Rural District Council (BRDC) has of late been on a crusade to promote tourism facilities within its area of jurisdiction.
To the uninitiated, Binga district is endowed with a variety of tourist attraction facilities and Yours Truly considers it to be in the mould of Victoria Falls or the Eastern Highlands.
On a lighter side, it is said the region also ‘competes’ with the likes of Chipinge in the world of supernatural powers!
If you know you know.
Still in Binga, there is a thriving crocodile farm, game reserve, Chiijalile Pass, spectacular swamps in the Simatele area, breath taking gorges among others.
Joshua Muzamba, the BRDC chief executive officer advised Yours Truly of the uniqueness of Chibwatata Hot Springs compared to other natural scalding waters scattered around the country.
He added that sand beaches stretch for about 200m and ideal for visitors, who whose pastime activities include lakeshore outings.
More on that and other related interesting places to be discussed in detail in the forthcoming travelling and touring columns as Yours Truly has been assured by Muzamba of unfettered tourism access to the whole of Binga.
However, there is utmost need for responsible authorities to urgently attend to the Cross Dete-Binga road which was recently in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
This road is slowly hindering the growth of Binga and other outlying areas into a tourism hub and this calls some for urgency in repairing this particular highway.
Yours Truly last used the road about two years ago and there was strong indication on the need for repairs as it was gradually becoming an eyesore in terms of potholes.
It is said the road starts to deteriorate when one passes Kamativi Tin Mine on the way to Binga where a variety potholes could also be tourist attractions.
Self-made detours along the highway are now the order of the day amid looming dangers of the road becoming completely impassable thus putting a dent on the fast growing tourist district.
However, there is glimmer ofhope as government recently declared a state of disaster on all the country’s major roads thus in the process triggering release of road infrastructure funding.
And this particular road is no exception.
According to information reaching Yours Truly’s cat eared lobes; repairs to this particular road are currently a top priority as its status has reached the higher echelons of ower.
One can safely say it is a matter of time before the road is fully transformed to its former glory.
Time is nigh for awakening of the sleeping giant.
Till we meet again in the next column.
- Comments always welcome on: dubebasill@gmail.com or Twitter@DubeBurzil