Mount Selinda facts for kids

Mount Selinda is a village and mission station in the eastern mountains of Zimbabwe. It's about 1,100 metres (3,600 feet) high. This beautiful area is near the Mozambique border. Mount Selinda is right next to the Chirinda Forest Botanical Reserve. This forest is the most southern tropical rainforest in Africa.

The main people living here are the Ndau people. They are related to the Zulu people from South Africa. Their language is called chiNdau. Most Ndau people in this area grow their own food to live.

What's in a Name?

For a long time, the local Ndau people called this area "Chirinda." This name means "lookout" or "vantage point." When you stand on the western slopes of Mount Selinda, you can see for miles around. This makes the name "Chirinda" make perfect sense.

The Shangani people to the south said "Silinda" instead of "Chirinda." The name "Selinda" that we use today is an English version of the Shangani word.

The name "Mount Selinda" first appeared in the late 1800s. This was when European settlers claimed land in the area. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions wanted to build a mission here. They asked Cecil John Rhodes of the British South Africa Company for land. Rhodes gave them land in the Chirinda area. Much of this land was already part of a farm called Mount Selinda.

It seems a Mr. Steyn owned the farm then. He sold it to the mission for £300 (three hundred pounds). In 1892, Mr. Wilder, Mr. Bunker, and Mr. Thompson started the Mount Silinda Mission. The mission used the name "Silinda," while the farm kept the name "Selinda." The American Board Mission officially owned the Mount Selinda farm in 1901.

Land and Location

Mount Selinda is at the southern end of a mountain range. This long mountain range separates Zimbabwe from Mozambique. It runs from north to south. The Nyanga mountains are at the northern end of this range.

Mount Selinda itself has two large hills. These hills are covered in thick forests. They rise from the mountain plateau, with a gentle dip between them. There is no other high land between Mount Selinda and the Indian Ocean. The ocean is about 400 kilometres (250 miles) away. This is why Mount Selinda gets so much rain.

To the northeast of Chirinda Forest is the Ngungunyana Forest. There is also a eucalyptus tree farm there. East of Mount Selinda, the land slopes down into Mozambique. West of Mount Selinda, the land changes very quickly. After about 30 kilometres (19 miles), the mountains drop down to flat, dry lowlands. This is the Sabi River Valley. In summer, it can be 40°C (104°F) or hotter. You will find many baobab, acacia, and mopane trees there.

Only one paved road goes into the area. It is a single lane, has potholes, and is not in good condition. Other paved roads have fallen apart over time. Many dirt roads also lead to Mount Selinda from different directions.

Weather and Climate

Mount Selinda has a humid subtropical climate. This means it's warm and wet. Warm, moist air comes from the Indian Ocean. It moves west across Mozambique and rises into the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. As it rises, it cools and forms rain and mist. Because of this moisture all year, Mount Selinda stays green. It does not have the dry winters that most of southern Africa experiences.

The weather is also affected by the nearby Chirinda Forest. The forest acts like a sponge, holding a lot of moisture. Summers are warm and humid. Winters are cool and humid. Temperatures rarely go above 30 degrees Celsius (86°F) in summer. Light frost can happen in the lower areas nearby during winter.

We can describe Mount Selinda's climate well. However, there are not many complete weather records for the area. But from the information we have, we know some things.

Rainfall

Records from 1911 (with a break in the 1970s) show that Mount Selinda gets almost 1,500 millimetres (59 inches) of rain each year on average. The most rain recorded was 3,699 millimetres (146 inches). This happened in one year, from 1917 to 1918. The least rain recorded was 757 millimetres (30 inches). This was from 1940 to 1941.

It's important to remember these are only rainfall numbers. They do not include all the mist, fog, low clouds, and heavy dew that often cover Mount Selinda.

There is a rain gauge at the Chirinda Forest Campsite. It is placed near forest trees, which might affect its readings. There is also a basic weather unit at Mount Selinda High School. It is not clear if accurate weather data has been shared with the public recently.

A serious drought hit all of Zimbabwe, including Mount Selinda, from 2013. It finally ended when the rainy season started at the end of 2016.

Rocks and Soil

The ground in Mount Selinda is made of different types of rock. There are phyllitic mudstones (a fine-grained metamorphic rock). There are also fine to medium-grained feldspathic sandstones. These rocks sit on top of an igneous base of dolerites. Much of the soil in the area comes from these dolerites.

The soils are a rich red-brown color. They are fine-grained, sandy clay. Underneath this, there is ferralithic clay. The soils in the Mount Selinda area are usually deep and good for growing plants.

Plants and Animals

The Mount Selinda area has many amazing native African plants, fungi, birds, butterflies, insects, and reptiles. This is mostly because it is next to the Chirinda Forest Botanical Reserve. This forest is protected by law.

Hundreds of native trees grow in Mount Selinda. These include Red mahogany, Brown mahogany, Natal mahogany, Albizia, Forest Newtonia (Newtonia buchananii), Big Leaf, White stinkwood, Chirinda stinkwood, and Ironwood. There are also huge strangling fig trees. The largest Red Mahogany tree in southern Africa is here. It is between 1,000 and 2,000 years old. Its trunk is about 6 metres (20 feet) wide!

Other smaller plants include thousands of yucca-like Dracaena fragrans. You can also find many ferns, creepers, vines, epiphytes, montbretia, orchids, and flame lilies.

Because it's so close to the botanical reserve, Mount Selinda has many different birds. You might see Trumpeter hornbills, Livingstone's turaco, African pygmy kingfishers, Firefinches, Sunbirds, African green pigeons, Owls, Nightjars, Narina Trogon, Eagles, and Bee-eaters. The many types and bright colors of butterflies in the area are also special.

Samango monkeys are often seen here. The area's reptiles include pythons, cobras, vipers, mambas, adders, chameleons, geckos, skinks, and lizards. The unique chameleon called Marshall's leaf chameleon, Rhampholeon marshalli, lives in the forest and at its edges. It can be found in suitable forest areas throughout the Eastern Highlands mountains.

Farming and Crops

Farmers in the Mount Selinda area grow many different crops. These include avocadoes, tea, bananas, sweet potatoes, taro, citrus fruits, pineapples, sugar cane, coffee, and macadamia nuts. They also grow trees for timber, like eucalyptus, wattle, and pine. Dairy farming, which is raising cows for milk, has become less common in recent years.

Local Facilities

Mount Selinda has schools for formal education. These are Mount Selinda Primary School, Mount Selinda Secondary School, and a School of Nursing at Mount Selinda Hospital.

Two kilometres (1.2 miles) west of Mount Selinda is a small town called Chako. This is the closest place for shopping and services. Chako has a post office, basic grocery stores, general shops, a small market, butcher shops, carpenters, and places to buy drinks.

In the Chirinda Forest Nature Reserve, visitors can stay in three thatched chalets. There is also a camping site.

The single-lane paved road from the town of Chipinge to the north ends at Mount Selinda. A dirt road continues for eight kilometres (5 miles) to the Mount Selinda border post. This post has immigration and customs services for people traveling between Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Mission History

In 1919, Emory Alvord came to the Mount Selinda Mission. He taught local people modern farming methods. He also helped set up the Nyanyadzi irrigation scheme in Zimbabwe's hot, lowland area. The United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (UCCZ) also helped with this irrigation project.

The mission church was started and run by the American Board Mission. It had smaller churches in other places like Beacon Hill, Emerald Hill, and Muzite. The Mount Selinda Institute is a sister school to the Chikore Mission. Chikore Mission is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) northwest of Mount Selinda.

The institute has historical items. These include an earth mover known locally as 'Gandapasi' (meaning 'catapillar'). There is also a brick molding machine. The first building made from bricks and tiles in the Melsetter district of Manicaland was built here.

Today, the Mission Station includes a church, a primary school, and a secondary school with places for students to live. It also has a farm, a grinding mill, and the Willis F. Pierce Memorial Hospital (also called Mount Selinda Hospital). The boarding school welcomes both boys and girls. The Mission Hospital trains midwives and primary care nurses. The Daisy Dube Orphanage is also located on its grounds.