specials IN THE MIST

With a distinct habitat and climate, Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands are a must-visit destination for any birder wanting to see a bevy of special birds.

- ALBERT MCLEAN AND PIET ZWANIKKEN

Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands extend for about 300 kilometres from north to south along the country’s eastern border with Mozambique. They form part of the East African Highlands, one of the continent’s four distinct physical geographic divisions. The mountain ranges that make up these highlands share many plant, animal and bird species that collectively make up Afromontane flora and fauna.

The Eastern Highlands comprise three ranges of hills and mountains:

Nyanga with its rolling countryside and tea plantations; Bvumba with its coffee plantations and green forests and meadows; and the Chimanimani Mountains with their magnificent granite peaks. Thanks to the cool, moist climate, the vegetation consists of montane and submontane grassland, evergreen forest, heath, miombo woodland (at lower elevations) and dry montane forest, all of which provide habitats for a diverse range of bird and animal life. This is why the region is a target for birders who want to add to their southern African bird list.

On a recent visit to the Eastern Highlands we visited Nyanga and Bvumba, but were prevented from getting into the Chimanimani Mountains as the roads and infrastructure had been badly damaged by Cyclone Freddy. We took some comfort, though, from knowing that the birds we would have seen there would have been little different from the ones already seen on the trip.

Nyanga Mountains and Honde Valley