Mbalabala

Mbalabala (Balla Balla until 1982) is a village on the main Beitbridge-

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...

road (at the junction with the Filabusi Road) in

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. Situated approximately 41 miles (66 km) south-east of the city of

. The name is derived from the

Ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana Languages * Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele *Northern Ndebele language Northern ...

name for the greater

kudu The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'': * Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa * Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa The two species look similar, th ...

(scientific name: Tragelaphus strepsiceros). It was originally rendered ''Balla Balla'' by Europeans, which was altered to its present name in 1982 by the Zimbabwean government in order to coincide closer with the local pronunciation. The village has a railway station on the Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway and is the railhead for the mining area of

Filabusi Filabusi is a town in the Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe. The town is the district capital of Insiza District and a service centre for the surrounding mining and farming areas. Location Filabusi lies off the Mbalabala–Mutare Road ...

. The village also hosts a large army barracks, which is the Zimbabwe School of Infantry, formerly Shaw Barracks for the

Rhodesian African Rifles The Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) was a regiment of the Rhodesian Army. The ranks of the RAR were recruited from the black African population, although officers were generally from the white population. The regiment was formed in May 1940 in the ...

from 1976 to 1980. The site was previously St. Stephen's College from February 1959 to December 1975. Mbalabala is situated on high ground, which forms a ridge between the Mzingwane and Mbilambowe watersheds, in an important cattle ranching area with a history of gold prospecting. There is a prominent landmark nearby in the form of a granite hill (

kopje An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

) known as Balloon Kop or "Baldy" - due to its bare rock. Populated places in Zimbabwe {{Zimbabwe-geo-stub