Don’t be surprised when this remote, small site pops up as a nomination in 2026 or so, because There Have Been Signs. A relatively new Tentative List entry (2018), it has been part of the Upstream Process since 2020 with the aim of getting nomination advice. The World Monuments Fund and the US Ambassadors Fund initiated restoration works in 2014. Also, Solivagant, who has a keen eye for sites like this (think of Marib!), wrote praisingly about it. So although it wasn’t on my initial itinerary I decided to make the detour between Masvingo and Bulawayo and go and see Naletale for myself. My biggest worry was whether I could make it in a non-4WD car.

The exit from the A6 is just beyond the town of Shangani, marked with a sign to the Dhlo-Dhlo and Regina ruins (which probably are part of this cluster, although not specifically named in the Tentative Site Description). What follows is a 26km long unpaved rocky road. After 2km or so I contemplated turning around, but I did not want to give up. Besides the bumpiness of the road, there’s also the worry whether you are on the right track. It is not signposted, however, it’s mostly a single track with one spot at the beginning where it forks and you have to keep left. I encountered a couple of other cars, and there also is a gate manned by a private security firm that you have to pass 9km before the end. They protect the private nature reserve that surrounds the Naletale Cluster.

After some 50 minutes, I reached the main Naletale site (the turnoff to the others in the cluster was about 2km earlier). I stopped at a house near the sign, where a man came out and told me he was the guide/caretaker for the site. Surprised to see a visitor, he quickly changed into his neat clothes and we went uphill together. The structures here, like in Great Zimbabwe and Khami, were built on a hilltop. This one is a big granite block that you have to climb. It had been cloudy and rainy all day, and up there it wasn’t more than 13 degrees. 

The stone structure here also is a full circle, with not much left of the interior. Eyecatching is the long stretch of outer wall decorated with stone works, which indeed is the best among the dzimbabwes. Different types of stone were used to create the visual effects (a good explanation can be found here). There’s a straight darker line with lots of iron in it. I especially liked the small herringbone accents at the lower part of the wall, representing female crocodiles. The guide had a lot to tell, both about its history and conservation issues as he has worked here for 12 years already. He also showed me that due to weather erosion, more space between the stones gets created which makes the walls unstable.

Back at the car, it turned out that it hadn’t survived the hellish ride unscathed. At first, it wouldn’t start. The guide/caretaker took a look under the hood and found that the screws that hold the ignition and battery together had come loose from all the bumping. Fortunately, he had the right tools to fix that. When I wanted to drive away, he started waving wildly – I had a flat back tire as well! So more work awaited, replacing it with the spare. I was glad that this all happened when I was at the site and help was available. There is no cell phone reception along the road and you’d just have to wait for some other car to drive by. Seeking help on foot would be unwise as hardly anyone lives there and although the private reserve doesn’t hold big mammals, there are hyenas and leopards which I wouldn’t want to encounter either.

I managed to make it back to the highway without further incident (although an hour later the spare tire went flat as well). So was it all worth it? I certainly wouldn’t want to do it again. Of course, I will sit gloating that I got this relatively difficult ‘tick’ when this site ever gets inscribed. But it could just as well fall into oblivion. As the guide said, “I wonder what this place looks like in 50 years. Maybe it has all crumbled down”.