Udu Dam Thorn Trees

A grove of acacia thorn trees at Udu Dam in Nyanga, Zimbabwe, against the background of a granite dome. That’s a place wher I walked on a few occasions. It is beautifully cool and shady in the tropical sum. But not to be underestimated. It is, after all, the African bush. Those thorns are pretty vicious, and, on one occasion I did surprise a reasonably large Boomslang snake.

Memories

Udu Dam brings back many memories.

Alone at the dam

In 1978, towards the end of the Rhodesian war, i took a week long trip to Nyanga with a friend. At that time there was no camp at Udu. We spent a glorious morning there, just the two of us, swimming and sunbathing and having breakfast. Perhaps not the safest thing to do, but it was fun.

Udu Camp

After the war I took a trip to Udu with my Dad to survey the site for the construction of cottages. The dam is situated in the Nyanga National Park, so the Zimbabwe Parks And Wildlife Management Authority were considering building cottages there. What is now the Udu Camp.

With the family

Fast forward a few more years, with my family in tow, we had a few great Nyanga getaways, staying in the cottages. My kids loved Udu. It was always a peaceful spot, and with just a few cottages that peace was generally not spoiled.

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