Kwekwe
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Kwekwe

Kwekwe

Zimbabwean mining and steel town midway between Harare and Bulawayo, rooted in gold history.

Kwekwe (formerly Que Que) is a mining and steel town almost exactly halfway between Harare and Bulawayo on Zimbabwe's main road and rail corridor. It exists because of the Globe and Phoenix Mine, which at its peak in the early 1900s was the biggest gold mine in the world. The mining museum on its premises preserves the Paper House, a wood and reinforced cardboard dwelling on stilts that once served as home to the first mine manager and was slept in by Cecil John Rhodes.

Today Kwekwe is a town of around 200,000 people. Its satellite town Redcliff is home to ZISCO, the state steel corporation. Cricketing enthusiasts have ensured the town stays on the sporting map — the renovated Kwekwe Sports Club has hosted internationally televised matches against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

Some small operators maintain hunting and photographic safari concessions on farms near town, and the nearby Sebakwe Recreational Park preserves antelope and lake country east of town. Kwekwe has always been a sociable and warm-hearted place, and is worth a short stop if you are travelling between the two big cities.

Guide

Getting There

Kwekwe sits roughly midway between Harare and Bulawayo on the country's main A5 road and railway corridor. By car it is around 215 kilometres from Harare and 220 from Bulawayo — about three hours either way on a normally maintained road.

Long-distance buses between the two cities stop at Kwekwe several times a day, and the rail line still runs sleeper services on the Harare–Bulawayo route, though schedules are unreliable. There is no commercial airport; the nearest is at Gweru, an hour south.

Guide

Things to Do

Kwekwe earns its place on the map through its mining history. The Globe and Phoenix Mine site preserves the Paper House and a small museum of the operation that built the town. The Kwekwe Sports Club is the local social heart, with a renovated international cricket ground.

Out of town, the Sebakwe Recreational Park to the east offers a quiet day among lake, antelope, and miombo woodland, while the satellite town of Redcliff with its hibernating steelworks gives a window into Zimbabwe's industrial past.