Shiwa Ng'andu

Stewart Gore-Browne came to northern Rhodesia on a boundary commission before the First World War, bought land beside a lake and spent decades building a brick manor house with a clock tower, formal gardens and an avenue of eucalyptus, running an estate that made essential oils and employed thousands. The house is still owned by his descendants and can be toured: the library, the portraits, the workshops. Its incongruity in the middle of the bush is the whole point.

What you actually see

• The manor house - a brick country house with a clock tower built from the 1920s.
• The library and portraits - the interior kept largely as the family left it.
• The gardens - the formal planting and the eucalyptus avenue leading in.
• The estate buildings - workshops and quarters from the essential oil operation.

When to go

May to October is dry and the roads are good. The rains from November make the approach harder. House tours are arranged in advance.

Honest expectations

The house is a private home and tours must be arranged rather than turning up. It is a long drive from anywhere. The estate's colonial history sits uneasily with some visitors.

Nearby

Kapishya Hot Springs is on the estate, and Nachikufu Cave is south.