What do the urban streets of Zimbabwe look like?

This post features city scenes from Harare, Bulawayo, KweKwe, Gweru, Chegutu and Kadoma.

Written by Beth

During my most recent visit to Zimbabwe, I put up my camera and started filming the streets as we were driving between cities. I didn’t really know why I was doing it – maybe for my own memory archives, to record the small details of how these places looked at that moment in time. Many of the landmarks held memories for me, and I took in the changes that I saw with an open-hearted interest. Some places had become dilapidated and litter-strewn, closed in with advertisement boards, fuel stations and cell phone towers. And yet life still continues in all its complexity despite these modern trappings. The red earth still stains the durawalls, some of the buildings were freshly painted, well-worn pathways were ingrained like mazes in the grass, and the blue sky stretched out above, as impossible in size as Mary Poppins’ bag.

The videos aren’t the best quality – they were taken from a moving vehicle, after all. They’re not ‘touristy’. But I decided to publish them because I hoped they might feed someone else’s own path of nostalgia – or curiosity – or something else.

Perhaps you grew up in Zimbabwe (or Rhodesia) and have a hankering to see the streets you once knew as a child. The views are probably more billboard-strewn than your childhood days, but these videos might reawaken some happy memories that had been locked inside your subconscious.

Perhaps today you have a dream to rebuild Zimbabwe into a place its people can show off with pride. I hope these videos add fuel to the fire in your heart.

These videos were filmed at a particularly ‘brown’ time of year in Zimbabwe. August is typically a dusy, dry month. I think the trees, grass and vegetation would have looked much more green and made the videos look much more colourful if I’d filmed this in the month of January – but I didn’t, so there we have it.

Here are links to each of the videos and a short sumary of the featured landmarks.

Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city

I start my drive on ED Mnangagwa Rd (formerly Enterprise Rd) and continue along the main road Samora Machel through the downtown centre of the city.

Featured landmarks include: Chisipite Shopping Centre, ED Mnangagwa Rd (Enterprise Rd), Nandos drive-through, Ridgeway, Highland Park Shopping Centre, Arcturus, Holiday Inn Hotel, Samora Machel Ave, Sam Nujoma (Second Street), Central Avenue, Cresta Jameson Hotel, and Rainbow Towers (Sheraton) Hotel.

During colonial and Rhodesian times, Harare was called Salisbury, named after the British Prime Minister the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. After Zimbabwe gained independence and majority rule, Harare was renamed after the Shona chief Neharawa in 1982.

You can learn more about the different areas and suburbs of Harare here. Plus, there’s the Harare travel guide here.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city: Part 1

Our route features the following landmarks: George Ave | Ascot Shops & Gwanda Rd | Ascot Racecourse | Townsend Girls High School | Phillips Drive | Mater Dei Hospital, Burns Drive | Zonkizizwe Shopping Centre, Bradfield, Hillside Road | Famona Fire Station, Hillside Rd | Gifford High School, Matopos Rd.

Bulawayo was the base of the Ndebele King, Lobengula, until settlers overtook the area in 1893. In 2025 it has a population of about 1.5 million people, according to the City of Bulawayo website.

Read our Bulawayo travel guide here.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city: Part 2

Our route features the following landmarks: Old Falls Rd | Masotsha Ndlovu Ave heading East | Robert Mugabe Way and First Ave | Robert Mugabe Way (Formerly Grey St) and 8th Ave | The Grey’s Inn | Cape To Cairo Restauran | City of Bulawayo Municipal Buildings.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city: Part 3

Our route starts on Robert Mugabe Way, to 9th Ave, 11th Avenue and Hillside Rd, including the historic Trade Fair Grounds. These ZITF grounds are laid out over 67 acres on the original location of the first 1899 Agricultural Show. The annual exhibition showcases agricultural, mining and manufacturing equipment. The 55-metre spire was constructed in 1960.

KweKwe town

We drive along the main A5 road running through the centre of KweKwe town, heading south west from Harare towards Bulawayo. We pass the KweKwe post office and the intersection with the Robert Mugabe Highway to Mvuma town.
During colonial and Rhodesian times, KweKwe was called Que Que and Sebakwe. It is said to be named after the sound that frogs in the nearby river make.
It grew as a mining settlement from 1902, with Globe, Phoenix, Gaika, Sherwood Starr and Anzac Mines a key part of the town’s history. Gold copper, iron ore, limestone quartz and silica sand can be found in this area. Redcliff iron and steel centre is nearby.

Gweru city

The video shows the main A5 road running through the centre of Gweru city, heading south west towards Bulawayo. We pass the town council offices of Gweru too.
During colonial and Rhodesian times, Gweru was called Gwelo, a mispronunciation of the Ndebele name of the river nearby. Its name reverted to the correct version after Zimbabwe became independent in 1980. It is the third largest city in Zimbabwe after Harare and Bulawayo. It was established in the 1890s as a coaching station and had six hotels by 1895.

Chegutu and Kadoma

We drive along the main A5 road running through the centre of the two towns, heading south west towards Bulawayo. Outside Chegutu you will also see two old Vickers Viscount planes, once called ‘The Flying Pot’ restaurant. These planes once flew royalty around the world but have met a rather dusty demise.
During colonial and Rhodesian times, Chegutu was called Hartley. Kadoma was called Gatooma. Their names were changed after Zimbabwe became independent in 1980.
Chegutu was first documented in 1867 when ancient gold workings were discovered by Henry Hartley. Gatooma was a mining camp in the 1890s and became the centre of Zimbabwe’s cotton industry in the 1920s.

#streetview #urban #africa #architecture #zimbabwe

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