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One of the most popular tourist attractions in South Africa
is the 'View of the World', which lies a short drive south of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, in the Matobo National Park. This granite hillside provides a stunning view of the horizon in every direction. Cecil John Rhodes, who called it the 'View of the World', is buried here. But the Matobo Hills have another, lesser known attraction, for those lucky enough to witness it. A little bit of magic, known as the Lizard Man, who can still sometimes be found at the granite summit near where Rhodes is buried, performing a feat that has delighted and mystified all those lucky enough to witness it. 
Once an audience has gathered, the Lizard Man takes a little ball of moistened ground dough from his pocket, and sits down with his back to one of the giant granite boulders. He then calls, a staccato 'hup, hup, hup', apparently to the empty rocks. And, miraculously, from all around him, lizards emerge from the cracks and crevices, and cluster around him. Within a few seconds there are up to fifty lizards surrounding him. They nibble from the ball of dough in his hand. Then he holds it a little higher. 'Jump' he encourages, and jump the lizards do. At the end he gives bits of dough to the watchers, who try it for themselves. But for some reason the magic is lacking, and the lizards scuttle away. Rumour has it that the Lizard Man is not training a successor. Let us hope that he lives long, under the hot African sun, to delight many future visitors with a little bit of natural magic.
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