 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2014) |
Mapai | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Mapai | |
| Coordinates: 22°43′50″S32°03′30″E / 22.73056°S 32.05833°E | |
| Country |  Mozambique |
| Provinces | Gaza Province |
| Elevation | 237 m (778 ft) |
Mapai is a small town in southern Mozambique. It is a semi-arid region, with a dry climate and vegetation dominated by mopane (Colophospermum mopane) and galleries of ironwood (Androstachys johnsonii).
Mapai is served by a station of the southern railway line which runs between Maputo and the Zimbabwe border at Chicualacuala. It is also an important road crossing, with the Chicualacuala-Maputo road meeting the road from Pafuri and the road to Banhine National Park.
Given its location between Limpopo National Park, Gonarezhou National Park and Banhine National Park, Mapai is set to form an important hub for the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.
In colonial times, Mapai was a popular hunting destination with visits from well-known South African personalities including Jan Smuts, Ben Schoeman, Victor Verster and Judge Louis Weyers, as well as Paul Dutton.[ citation needed ] Mapai was also the seat of the powerful Western Native Labour Association, which supplied South African mines with labour, and N’Gala Limited which was Orlando Pais Mamede's transport company, as well as, the Pecuaria de Mapulanguene trading mainly in Brahman and Hereford cattle, also belonged to Pais Mamede.
In June 1976, the Selous Scouts, a Rhodesian special operations unit, launched a raid on the ZANLA transit camp in Mapai and Chicualacuala. The area again came under attack on 31 October 1976. [1] It was again the site of fierce fighting during Operation Uric in September 1979 during the final months of the Rhodesian Bush War.
Mapai was founded by Orlando Pais Mamede as a ranch headquarters. This area had its own school, sports centre, generators and a basic telephone system. After independence the family was forced to leave and today there is nothing but ruins and the corroding shells of the family vehicles. [2]
Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km2 and a population of 1,422,460, which is the least populous of all the provinces of Mozambique.
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park is a 35,000 km2 peace park that is in the process of being formed. It will link the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, Kruger National Park in South Africa, Gonarezhou National Park, Manjinji Pan Sanctuary and Malipati Safari Area in Zimbabwe, as well as the area between Kruger and Gonarezhou, the Sengwe communal land in Zimbabwe and the Makuleke region in South Africa.
The Limpopo National Park was born when the status of Coutada 16 Wildlife Utilisation Area in Gaza Province, Mozambique, was changed from a hunting concession to a protected area. It forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park with the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe.
Articles related to Mozambique include:
The wildlife of Mozambique consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southeastern Africa. Mozambique has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife. This includes 236 species of mammal, 740 species of bird and 5,692 species of vascular plant. The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany hotspot, with significantly high levels of biodiversity, stretches from the southern tip of Mozambique into northeastern South Africa.
Chókwè District is a district of Gaza Province in south-western Mozambique. Its principal town is Chokwe. The district is located in the south of the province, and borders with Mabalane District in the north, Guijá District in the east, Chibuto, Xai-Xai, and Bilene Macia Districts in the southeast, Magude District of Maputo Province in the south, and with Massingir District in the west. The area of the district is 2,466 square kilometres (952 sq mi). It has a population of 187,422 (2007).
Chicualacuala District is a district of Gaza Province in south-western Mozambique. It has a population of 41,638 (2011) and covers 18,155 square kilometres (7,010 sq mi). The population density of Chicualacuala District 2.1 residents per square kilometers, significantly lower than the average of 17.5 in Gaza Province.
Chigubo District is a district of Gaza Province in south-western Mozambique. The administrative center of the district is Dindiza. The district is located in the east of the province, and borders with Massangena District in the north, Mabote and Funhalouro Districts of Inhambane Province in the east, Chibuto District in the south, Guijá District in the southwest, Mabalane District in the west, and with Chicualacuala District in the northwest. The area of the district is 14,864 square kilometres (5,739 sq mi). It has a population of 20,685 (2007).
Mabalane District is a district of Gaza Province in south-western Mozambique. The administrative center of the district is Mabalane. The district is located at the center of the province, and borders with Chicualacuala District in the north, Chigubo District in the east, Guijá District in the southeast, Chókwè District in the south, and with Massingir District in the west. The area of the district is 9,107 square kilometres (3,516 sq mi). It has a population of 32,040 (2007).
Massingir District is a district of Gaza Province in southwestern Mozambique. The administrative center of the district is in Massingir. The district is located in the west of the province, and borders with Chicualacuala District in the north, Mabalane District in the east, Chókwè District in the southeast, Magude District of Maputo Province in the south, and with South Africa in the west. The area of the district is 5,893 square kilometres (2,275 sq mi). It has a population of 28,470 (2007).
The tourism assets of Mozambique include the country's natural environment, wildlife, and cultural heritage, which provide opportunities for beach, cultural, and eco-tourism.
Banhine National Park is a protected area in northern Gaza Province, Mozambique. The park was established on 26 June 1973. In 2013 the limits of park were updated to better reflect the realities on the ground, particularly the human presence in the area.
The Zinave National Park is a protected area in Mabote District of Inhambane Province, Mozambique, created by decree on 26 June 1973.
Operation Uric was a cross-border raid carried out in Mozambique by operatives of the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Rhodesian Bush War, with combat assistance from the South African Air Force. During the operation, which took place from 1 to 7 September 1979, up to 200 Rhodesian and South African military personnel attacked bridges and a major staging point for Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) insurgents in Gaza Province. Along with Operation Miracle, this was one of the largest Rhodesian external operations of the war.
The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, commonly the Rhodesian Light Infantry, served in the Rhodesian Bush War as part of the Rhodesian Security Forces between 1964 and 1979, under the unrecognised government of Rhodesia after its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain on 11 November 1965. Latterly, during the second half of 1979, it fought for Zimbabwe Rhodesia, a reorganised version of Rhodesia under a black majority government which still went unrecognised. After an interim period under British control from December 1979 to April 1980, the RLI briefly remained active within the armed forces of the internationally recognised Republic of Zimbabwe, but did not see action under this government. It laid up its colours on 17 October 1980 and disbanded two weeks later.
The Zambezian and mopane woodlands is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of southeastern Africa.
Operation Eland, also known as the Nyadzonya Raid, was a military operation carried out by the Rhodesian Selous Scouts at Nyadzonya in Mozambique on 9 August 1976.
Operation Aztec was a military operation launched by the Republic of Rhodesia against the communist backed insurgent group ZANLA, in Mozambique from 28 May to 2 June 1977. The successful operation resulted in the destruction of Mozambique's railway in Gaza Province, limiting the movement of enemy soldiers, and equipment from Mozambique to the Rhodesian border.
Limpopo Railway, also called Gweru-Maputo railway, is a railway that connects the city of Maputo, Mozambique, to the city from Somabhula, in Zimbabwe. It is 900 km long, in a 1067 mm gauge.
22°43′50″S32°03′30″E / 22.73056°S 32.05833°E
 | This Mozambique location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |