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The capital city of Zimbabwe, Harare, is a beautiful, light-filled, open city; high on the country's central plateaux. It is a city of modern buildings, wide thoroughfares, numerous parks and gardens. A city whose streets are lined with flowering trees and a wonderful and invigorating climate. There is a strong appreciation for the city's cultural and historical heritage and a number of the older buildings have been preserved. The Mining Pension Fund Building at Central Avenue and Second Street is one example and many more are to be found along Robert Mugabe Road between Second Street and Julius Nyerere Way. The National Gallery houses not only a valuable and interesting national collection but also hosts travelling international exhibitions and has a permanent display of some outstanding Shona soft-stone carvings. The priceless collection of Rhodesian and African in the form of diaries, notebooks and reports of various origins, are housed in the National Archives. Some of the original works of some of the greatest names in African exploration and missionary can be viewed.
Other institutions which are well worth visiting include the Harare Museum and the Harare National Library, both at the Civic Centre; in Rotten Row. The city was laid out with large open spaces like the 68ha National Botanic Garden with more than 900 species of wild trees and shrubs from all over the country. The Mukuvisi Woodlands is 277 hectares of remarkably preserved natural woodland that stances astride the banks of the small Mukuvisi stream. A variety of bird and of wild animal species such as giraffe, zebra, impala, tsessche, wildebeest, bushbuck, steenbuck, reed buck and eland can be viewed. If you want to experience shopping the way it is traditionally done in many African countries, you need to stroll around at the open flea-market at Mbare. Here tourists can feast their eyes on a colourful array of baskets, food, clothing and other items. The Kopje, a granite hill rising above the south-west corner of central Harare, is a great place to go for views of the city.
Harare has a pleasant and healthy humid subtropical climate. The average annual temperature is 17.95°C, rather low for the tropics, and this is due to its high altitude position and the prevalence of a cool south-easterly airflow. There are three main seasons: a warm, wet season from November to March/April; a cool, dry season from May to August (corresponding to winter in the Southern Hemisphere); and a hot, dry season in September/October. Daily temperature ranges are about 7°C to 20°C in July (the coldest month), about 13°C to 28°C in October (the hottest month) and about 15.5°C to 25°C in January (midsummer). Come and visit our beautiful country and experience our great hospitality.
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