We were now in the Chirinda area. An area of absolutely beautiful forest. I found it to be similar to the Bvumba forest, but the canopy is higher, the trees bigger and older. Coming from the border quite late in the day we were keen to find a place to stay. We’d seen on one of our maps the obscure marking “Big Tree” and had seen a couple of signs saying the same. What was this Big Tree? We stopped to ask a couple of locals walking along the road. “Ah Yes, Its a BIG Tree”, “Aaahh, I suspected as such. Have you seen it?”, “Ah Yes, Its very enourmous!”. Sounds good, we follow the track indicated and soon come to a car park. Its flat and there is even a braai area, albiet somewhat overgrown, so we decide to camp there for the night. In the dying night we take a quick walk to find the fabled tree. It turns out to be a big tree, the legends are true. Its a huge tree reaching up above the canopy, with ancient roots spreading out into the underbush.
That night, trying to finish off some of the cans we’d inherited from the Morrungulo food, we dine on tinned asparagus and butter beans with tomato, served on water crackers. It goes down well. After dinner we sat in the dark and watched while hundreds of blinking fireflies layed trails of dashes in the forest around us.
In the morning after another walk in the forest we head to the closest town, Chipinge, where we stop for a new tyre and some supplies, then we drive on to the next stage of our adventure, a hike in the Chimanimani mountains.

We were now in the Chirinda area. An area of absolutely beautiful forest. I found it to be similar to the Bvumba forest, but the canopy is higher, the trees bigger and older. Coming from the border quite late in the day we were keen to find a place to stay. We’d seen on one of our maps the obscure marking, “Big Tree” and had seen a couple of signs saying the same. What was this Big Tree? We stopped to ask a couple of locals walking along the road. “Ah Yes, Its a BIG Tree”, “Aaahh, I suspected as such. Have you seen it?”, “Ah Yes, Its very enourmous!”. Sounds good, we follow the track indicated and soon come to a car park. Its flat and there is even a braai area, albiet somewhat overgrown, so we decide to camp there for the night. In the dying night we take a quick walk to find the fabled tree. It turns out to be a big tree, the legends are true. Its a huge tree reaching up above the canopy, with ancient roots spreading out into the underbush.

That night, trying to finish off some of the cans we’d inherited from the Morrungulo food, we dine on tinned asparagus and butter beans with tomato, served on water crackers. It goes down well. After dinner we sat in the dark and watched while hundreds of blinking fireflies layed trails of dashes in the forest around us.

In the morning after another walk in the forest we head to the closest town, Chipinge, where we stop for a new tyre and some supplies, then we drive on to the next stage of our adventure, a hike in the Chimanimani mountains.

Chirinda Forest
Chirinda Forest
Forests on the border of Zimbabwe, near the towns of Mt Selinda in Zimbabwe and Espungabera in Mozambique.