The Mountain Club of Zimbabwe

(Mountains Only Peak Beneath our Feet)

April 2011

Pontifications from the Chair

Greetings one and all!!

It has been a grand year so far, this issue gives you some insight into our activities since last

December and I must say that members have moved into top gear as Zimbabwe recovers

from the Lost Decade.

The Great Gairezi River Expedition finished successfully with more or less 8 explorers

navigating the un-navigable. I eat humble pie, it was meticulously planned and executed,

although the equipment, or some of it, was as worn and torn as some of us by the end! We

learnt a bitter lesson about personal hygiene, water from a crystal clear Gairezi in September

may be totally palatable, but in December when the river is raging brown with cattle and

human detritus from the Nyamaropa Valley, it is anything but potable. Some are not over

their woes yet! Laurie Watermeyer gave a brilliant, but one-sided, story of how the

expedition went and he has been asked to present the same to a wider audience at 5 pm on

18 May at St Georges for the Pre-History Society, and anyone else who would like to attend.

This Easter weekend a very few of us go to climb Malawi’s Great Massif, Mulanje. A big thank

you to Michael Laban for organizing this and to the Malawi Mountain Club for taking us under

their wing for a few days. We look forward to reciprocating in due course.

In May the Club will do a full frontal assault on the magnificent Gurunguwe Mountain, which

dominates the Zimbabwe/Mozambique border a few kilometres north of Mutare, the

gateway to paradise. At over 1 800 metres it is as tall as Gorongosa, but the summit of

Gurunguwe is squeezed in to a two kilometre block and does not stretch for ten. We look

forward to a report on the conquest of this last wild frontier in the region.

What else is new, Lynda has new knees, Alan has married his sweetheart and Laurie

Watermeyers’ dogs have been untangled from the hind legs of sundry stock in the Nyanga

North area. All good news in a heartwarming sort of way.

Oh and if you are really adventurous you can join the Hackers an acronym for people who

regularly tempt death on our rivers as they rage uncontrollably seawards. They usually do this

in canoes and kayaks, but there is a lot of time spent bobbing! They are always wet behind

the ears!

Rob Jarvis

Some Thoughts On Meandering

By Mafungi

Murehwa

There have been some great walks this year already with perhaps the best a return to Murehwa

where a multi-ridged granite conglomerate was scaled in February. Led by Rob Fisher and Rob

Jarvis the beauty of the four-pronged summit was somewhat palled by the headlong descent

down a river course from the top. One marriage I know of, was very rocky by the end of the

day.

The lack of any cattle spoor should have been a giveaway, if cows cannot get into the valley it is

usually for good reason, it is impassable! However we have to go back, the only peak we didn’t

go to has the ancient ruins according to the locals and many of our members are interested in

this sort of thing.

Momwe

Last weekend Phillippa Marrett led a walk in the Momwe area, which is about 15kms due north

of Ngomakurira. The rocks here are spectacular with the granite being a very orange colour

and weathered in strange rifts and valleys with some outcrops having multiple handholds

etched into them. Right near the summit there is a large rock pool nearly a metre deep and the

size of a home swimming pool. It was brimming with water, a little green, but otherwise water.

We saw a lone elephant shrew skipping across the rocks and many skinks and rock lizards. The

last time the Club visited this mountain there were klipspringer but on this occasion only ravens

croaked their way across the sky. One nightjar flew up from our very feet and an Augur Buzzard

abandoned the summit for us. Some buff-coloured shrikes objected us taking lunch in their

mountain acacia woodland on the way down, but the incessant chatter of the socialites

amongst us soon shut them up and they gave up the fight for flight.

The beacon at the top shows signs of having been blasted by lightning and chunks of concrete

have been blown away from the base. Steer clear of the top if you are ever caught in a storm.

Marge has cleverly recruited a youngish Irish girl, Kate, to join recently and this means that all

jokes are heartily laughed at! No matter how weak they are, which is very morale boosting to

the older crowd who know no new jokes and take unkindly to being the butt of one.

Ngomakurira

A favourite with Iain Bell, the walk around the mountain was enjoyed by more than twenty

people and some braved the descent down into the large cave on the rock face where San

depictions of elephant and other large game point to a very different ecosystem around Harare

than we see today. The Museums and Monuments Authority has pushed up prices and it now

costs $4 each to visit these shrines.

Of course some of the group just had to get lost, some before we started, although they caught

up and some after the visit to the cave. No deaths, so it ended up pretty much as planned.

Alice regaled Rob with stories about her mis-spent youth (long gone!) at the back. Rob had

been relegated to the back for misbehaviour on the previous trip.

Jingo School or Thereabouts

Lorraine’s walk to the mountain close to Jingo school had all the hallmarks of a comedy. Thirty-

eight people in thirty-six cars turned up, the line wound around the mountain several times

going up and even more coming down. However the view from the top was worth seeing and a

juvenile Black Eagle was pestered repeatedly by smaller birds of prey as he caught an

updraught and shot high into the sky above us. Below the sun squirrels gave vent to a terrified

chatter. They make very good snacks for eagles. Juvenile black eagles are a beautiful golden-

brown colour and only after about a year off the nest do they develop the distinctive black

colouration with a white V on their backs. Black Eagles lay two eggs and when the second

hatches the first born eaglet will peck his sibling to death, an instinctive reaction because there

usually is not enough food for two.

For this trip we were joined by a Herald reporter, which was a little unusual and he was non-

plussed when told that the reason the Chairman was lifting up all the flat stones en-route was

“He is looking for rock-spiders and snakes in the grass”.

Great Zimbabwe and Glenlivet

The weekend was organised by Annedore Smith,a new and enthusiastic member of our

Club, and our host for the weekend was Mir Selem who had all 11 of us comfortably accommodated in his home.

All went well with initial plans to meet at 1.15pm and to load up Val's vehicle

and mine for departure at 1.30pm. By the time we cleared the Chitungwiza roundabout it was 2.30pm and time to begin to relax and destress from the chaotic drive up to this point. The road to Masvingo was in fair repair with not too many

heavy vehicles to pass. We arrived in Masvingo +/- 5.30pm.

Upon arrival at Mir Selem's home, a braai fire had already been started and we

were welcomed by some residents of Masvingo who were also joining in the braai. After settling in and booking our places for the night, we settled down to a very

enjoyable evening around the braai and lots of exchange of conversations took place.

On Saturday morning it was planned that we would visit Great Zimbabwe, leaving

the house at 9.00am. Upon arriving at Great Zimbabwe we had a very informative talk from the guide at the Museum and then proceeded to climb the Ruins. The

Ruins are still most definitely worth a visit.

Aimless Mountain Club members trying to figure out the origins of Great Zimbabwe!

After climbing to the top we proceeded down to the "enclosure" and also to the

grain bin symbol where we were met by another guide who also was very informative. After a well spent morning at the Ruins we all proceeded to Lake

Mtirikwe where we entered the camping ground and had a picnic lunch.

We then drove to the Dam Wall - magnificent sight and took numerous photos. There were many colourful lizards who became very inquisitive and obviously are fed by tourists at this photographic spot. We decided at this point that we would take

the scenic route round the lake and make our way to Glenlivet Hotel where we would stop over and have dinner. The scenic route took us approximately an hour

with reasonable road conditions. The only "complaint" being that on some parts of the road the "lantana" had protruded into the road (waiting to scratch my car)

- but by taking care this was not a serious issue.

We arrived at Glenlivet Hotel at 3.00pm. As we had the whole afternoon ahead of us we all agreed to do a climb on one of the beautiful mountains which overlooked

the hotel and also the Lake. This climb took us the whole afternoon and we arrived back at the hotel at 5.00 to order our well deserved refreshments. It

must be pointed out that we were all amazed at the dense vegetation in all the areas we walked and climbed. Can only say "beautiful" to see.

We all settled down to dinner at 7.30pm. After dinner, now being 9.00pm we headed back to Masvingo. Upon arrival at the house we sat out in Mir Selem's

garden with some of us having a glass of wine or Amarula.

On Sunday morning we briefly packed up before heading for another exploratory walk to a disused gold mine. This took us up until 11.00am when we returned to

the house where a lovely cold meal was awaiting us before our departure to Harare.

The trip back was pleasant apart from Val having a puncture - unfortunately an

irreparable tyre at that. Michael and Christian assisted heroically in removing the lock (with great effort) on the spare tyre and getting Val back on the road.

We arrived home at 7.00pm.

Our thanks must go to Annedore and Mir Selem for a most memorable weekend.

Lorraine Regadas

Notes About Kariba Collated by Laurie Watermeyer M.A.S.L. = Metres above sea level

The lake year is from October to September but the graphs are from January to December.

Absolute minimum level for generation = 475.45 msal

2010 Walker of the Year

The recipient of the Walker of the Year award for 2010 was David Whiddett. He

was presented with the Walkers' Boot at the Bushman Rock luncheon

attended by about 30 walkers on Saturday 4 December. Although a member

for some years, during 2010 David took up the challenge of backpacking for

the first time, actually venturing into the Chimanimanis on two occasions. He

also joined in other camping events and participated regularly in day walks.

Thanks, David, for your support of the MCZ Walking Section.

Current maximum retention level = 488.5 msal

Lowest level drawn down was in 1995 mid December - 475.9 masl

1980 - 3 gates were open on 16 February and were progressivly closed by 30 June.

1985 - earthquake - 5.6 on the Richeter Scale - 18 July

It was 19 years before flood gates were opened again due to flooding in 2000. 3 gates were opened on February 26. 2 gates were left half open 14 March. 1 gate left half open 13 May.

Final gate closed 9 June.

Greatest rise in lake level since 1980 was in February 1997 after 9 hours of rain.

The lake rose over 51 cm over the next two days.

Average depth of lake = 20 - 29 meters

Surface area when full = 5 580 sq.km. (the size of Wales). Enough water to supply Greater

London for around 300 years.

Mean annual evaporation = 1.5 meters (when full). This will expose 236 sq.km. of land.

Length = 190 km.

Cost = between £ 78 & 122 m.

Dam Wall = Built between 1955 + 1959; double curvature concrete arch. 128 meters high.

Crest length = 617 meters and width = 13 meters top :24 meters bottom.

Volume of concrete = 1 032 000 cu.m.

6 flood gates each 9 x 8.8 meters. At Max. Retn. Level, one gate will spill 1 574 cu.m/s.

Stilling pool = 78 m deep. Volume = 335 000 cu.m.

86 people killed on site during construction.

Built by Impresit (Italy) and designed by Andre Coyne.

Transmission Towers weigh 7.5 tons each and are an average of 39 meters tall.

2 gates opened 50% 9/3/10 although all gates were opened, one at a time for testing.

3rd gate opened 50% 19/3/10

All 3 gates close on the 12th July 2010 at around 16:55hrs.

2010 was the year that Kariba North had the fire inside their power station. Cause still being

investigated

Due to the unusually high lake level for Jan 2011

and because of the higher than expected rains

catchment, ZRA decided to open two gates to make "room" for the coming flood in a few months time.

22/1/11:- No.3 gate opened fully at 12:05hrs and No.5 gate opened fully at 12:30hrs.

between 29 and 31 Jan, the lake was still rising by at least 4cm per day.

Gate No.1 opened at 12:00hrs on 2/2/2011

I have looked at some data on the levels of Kariba and I have plotted these onto a graph which I think is

quite interesting.

The Dam authorities have a RULE Curve which helps them manage the dam levels. The thinking is that at

each time of the year there is an expected level above which they will be in trouble later in the year if

they do not let some water out then….i.e. the usual flood inflow later in the year will make the dam over

fill unless some water is released. That is shown on the BLUE curve.

There is also a minimum level at which there would be excessive air intake into the turbines which

would cause damaging cavitation so they have to try and hold levels higher than that, the GREEN curve.

Then there is the ACTUAL which shows very interesting increases in recent years, this despite the fact

that additional generating capacity has been installed resulting in greater discharges through the

turbines. So we end up with an interesting record which indicates Rainfall in the Kariba catchment area.

Hope you enjoy looking at this.

Laurie Watermeyer--

Lazy River, Arcturus

"Saturday, 18 December, 2010, the Mountain Club of Zimbabwe walked around Bryony Stonier's place (Lazy River), west of Arcturus. Twelve for the walk,

and three more joined for the braai afterwards.

We drove from Larmenier (some of us on magnificent, BMW, motorcycle!) to the gate on Gardener Road, where the Zebra (a yearling and a two year old), gave us a great deal of scrutiny, from as close as 2 meters, but no

touching! And they had time for the scrutiny as there was a lock problem on the gate(could not be opened), so took the insiders a few walks and a

bolt cutter to get us in! Once in, we met the 22 year old cat - who certainly did not come across as old.

We walked out another gate to the SW, swung in a loop around to the

'viewing platform' (flat open rock) on the north side, and then home (to the braai).

Some Flame Lily plants, but few blooms yet. We picked some indigenous fruit.And, despite the green new growth all around, we did not have to

fight through any dirty bush.

Apple juice on return. The braai was lit, and we cooked our own meat on it. There was a spread of salads etc. on the porch. We sat on one of the front

Editor’s note: There has been much concern about the status and safety of

Kariba in recent months. Authorities have been quick to point out that the

wall is subject to several inspections each year and the cracks and fissures

that develop from time to time are repaired.

However there is a school of thought that concrete has the amazing

attribute of hardening for the first hundred years of its life, thereafter it

becomes very brittle and can shatter at any time. Some of the early dams

in Italy are soon to reach this age and it will be interesting to see if the

theory is true. Kariba is only just over fifty years old.

As we have seen in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan,

authorities need every conceivable check and balance applied otherwise

they are prone to be economical with the truth. And perhaps as we go

forward the importance of the environmental impact assessments of mega

projects will receive the resources and attention they deserve.

Honest Rob

lawns to eat, looking at the lake/dam and the spread of the Mountain Acacia crowns, and how they fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Of course, the Mountain Acacia is not an acacia at all, but a Brachystegia

glaucescens (so, a Brachystegia, same genus as the Msasa), but that did not make them feel bad, nor make them not fit their flat tops together in a

very pretty manner.

Then, we came home. Some of us on a magnificent, BMW, F650 GS motorcycle! "

Michael Laban

Gairezi River: Watermeyer and Holmes helmsmen, show how the rapid should

normally be taken, front first.

r Jarvis and Zia show that with a bit of courage and application, the same

waterfall can be power-canoed up.

T

Nyanjiwa Falls, Gairezi River: The scale of the gorge is clearly reflected in this

view down the valley Keen eyesight will reveal Watermeyer, Jarvis and Holmes.

NEW MEMBERS:

ROB NESHAM, JONATHAN LANDREY, JAN HART, PIERRE & MIGNON DE HILL

MEMBERSHIP FEES:

Those who attended the A.G.M. will know that the subs have been increased as follows:

SINGLE – Joining $20.00 : Annual $20.00

FAMILY – Joining $30.00 : Annual $30.00

Members have the option of paying quarterly, and in this regard they can contact either Marge

Dewdney on 0772236319 or Lorraine Regadas on 0772416024

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR MAY 2011

Saturday 7th Cross Kopje Jenny Don 0772 362 296

Saturday 14th Arcturus Bryony Stonier 0773 654 366

Friday to Sunday Assault on Gurunguwe

20th/22nd Mountain, Penhalonga Rob Jarvis 0777 747 286

The last wild frontier in Southern Africa, >1 800 metres of impregnable mountain

fortress.

Saturday 28th Inyauri Richard May

WALKING : PLEASE NOTE, WE WILL MEET AT A CONVENIENT VENUE WHERE EXCESS VEHICLES CAN BE LEFT- CONTACT

THE LEADER OR WALKERS’ REP. MEET 15 MINUTES BEFORE THE ADVERTISED TIME, TO ENSURE A PROMPT DEPARTURE.

SATURDAY DEPART 1.15PM (AFTERNOON MEETS), SUNDAY DEPART 8AM (ALL DAY MEETS) UNLESS INDICATED OTHERWISE.

CLIMBING : Climbing is usually held on Wednesday at Cleveland Quarry, from about 4pm.. Contact Lyn

Gilmour(011771221 or Andy Heelas (885158), particularly if use of MCZ climbing gear is required.

WEDNESDAY EVENINGS : The Club (Boy Scouts HQ, 76 Mchlery Ave, Highlands)will be open on

Wednesday evenings from about 6.00pm. There will be a braai fire. Bring your own braai pack etc.

CAMPING WEEKEND- Please attend the convivial held 10 days before the

weekend, if you wish to come along. Transport will be arranged at the meeting.

Mountain Club of Zimbabwe

KEY CONTACTS:

CHAIRMAN : Rob Jarvis 0777747286 - bohoom@yahoo.com;

CLIMBERS’ REPRESENTATIVE: Lyn Gilmour – 0712 771 221 – lynn@autoworld.co.zw

WALKERS’ REPRESENTATIVE: Marge Dewdney – 0712 211 576 – philmarge@zol.co.zw

NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTIONS: Rob Jarvis 0777747286 – bohoom@yahoo.com

ABOUT US

The Mountain Club of Zimbabwe meets every Wednesday evening at its

headquarters 76 McChlery Avenue which is just off Enterprise Road. Parallel to

Enterprise, before Track-It.

We: Climb Rocks, social ladders, do full frontal assaults on mountains, big and

small

We: Bring and braai every Wednesday night at 6 pm

Monthly: Slide shows by members who have been there and done that.

Organise social events