Old Photos – Nyangombe Swimming Pool

Some photos just keep on going. The photo of the Nyangombe swimming pool in Zimbabwe’s Nyanga National Park seems to be one of those, being viewed on a daily basis on my Flickr photostream. Taken in 1994 on film, both of the photos here could do with some improvement, but they remain popular.

The Nyanga area, in the East of Zimbabwe, boasts many beautiful places, with many cottages and some good hotels providing accomodation. Many Zimbabweans who live / lived in Harare, Mutare, or anywhere in between will have spent weekends or longer in the area. To some it is almost in their DNA. On any visit to Nyanga at least one trip to Inyangombe is an essential part of the holiday.

The narrow, low level bridge was, until around 1978/9 the main route into the rest of the area. Which gives rise to a bit of a story.

In 1978, on a bit of time-off, I was lying on the rocks below the bridge with a friend. Now the noise of the water, along with the frequent traffic on the bridge at the time makes it difficult to pick out individual sounds. There was a bit of unusual banging on the bridge, and I looked up to see the bottom of a heavy vehicle held back by the guard rail. Two vehicles had collided, and one had nearly come down on top of us! Needless to say we got off the rocks pretty smartly!

Here’s another view of the pool, with the water catching the sunlight.