The A7 Road's number one purpose is to link all Zimbabwe with Botswana and western South Africa.
Waypoints
There are three major waypoints on the A7 Road. There seems to have been a deliberate waypoint naming criteria on the three main waypoints on this route. • Plumtree, Marula and Figtree were all named after edible fruit trees in the particular area. From the border with Botswana the first port of call is Plumtree, a settlement named after the numerous indigenous plum trees in the area. Plum trees found here are mainly those whose fruits are commonly called Gingerbread Plums. The tree is also called the Hissing tree or the Mobola Plum. In ChiShona it is called muhacha or muchakata, and in isiNdebeleumkhuna. Botanically it is named the Parinari curatellifolia. The Mobola Plum is an evergreen tropical tree in Zimbabwe, and also in the greater part of Africa. There are also several home-grown species of plum trees in Zimbabwe but the ones in Plumtree are the wild Mobola Plum. • The second port of call is Marula. The Marula is a drought resistant leafy tree that yields exceptional fruit per tree. One tree can bear up to half a tonne fruit per year. Its wood is used to carve mortars, beehives, drums and stools, and even canoes. It is a protected tree in most rural areas under chieftains. The tree has a large population in Marula, Zimbabwe. • The third port of call is called Figtree. The fig tree in the area is known simply as fig. Its botanical name is Ficus carica. However both the Ficus carica and the Ficus sycomorus are found in Figtree.
Junctions
Ten kilometres into Zimbabwe the highway comes to Plumtree Town. Here a +89 km road branches right to Mphoengs. Another one also turns right slightly to the east of the Mphoengs Road. This one runs south through the Mangwe Pass and eventually to Mphoengs also.. Thirty-two kilometres from Plumtree there is a small urban village called Marula. Here a road to Mangwe through to Kezi branches right. Another thirty-two kilometres from Marula, Zimbabwe there is a small urban settlement called Figtree. Here a road to Matopos and through to Kezi turns right. Another road that eventually reaches Tsholotsho turns left. Source:
Travel time from Bulawayo to Plumtree is about 1 hour and 27 minutes. There is a halfway rest place at Shashani Lodge 59 km from Bulawayo on this Plumtree Road between Figtree and Marula.
