Hillside Dams also called Hillside Dams Conservancy is a national monument of

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

located in the city of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

History

The Hillside Dams area history dates back to the Stone Age as there were various Stone Age tools and rock shelters discovered within the area. In the 19th century it was one of King Lobengula's favourite villages to relax at. In 1895

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

n workers started constructing infrastructure for commercial water supply. It was then that the name Hillside Dams was adopted after completion of the structures in 1898. Unfortunately the structure collapsed. In 1924 the Hillside Dams were sold to

Bulawayo City Council The Bulawayo City Council is the governing authority of the city of Bulawayo in terms of Zimbabwe 2013’s constitution Amendment 20. There 29 councilors representing the 29 wards in that city. These councilors are elected by the residents of Bu ...

, and the dams for water supply were changed. Thereafter the area became a low density residential suburb known as Hillside. In 1942 Hillside Dams was designated as a National Monument.

Features

Flora

The woodland vegetation of Hillside Dams is mainly dominated by ''

Terminalia Terminalia may refer to: * Terminalia (festival) Terminalia () was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the god Terminus, who presided over boundaries. His statue was merely a stone or post stuck in the ground to distinguish between propert ...

'', ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

'', '' Burkea'', '' Sclerocarya'' and ''

Peltophorum ''Peltophorum'' is a genus of 5–15 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The genus is native to certain tropical regions across the world, including northern South America, central and southern Africa, ...

''. The trees are labelled by numbers and you can refer somewhere to the meanings of the numbers. There is also an Aloe Garden with different types of ''

Aloe vera ''Aloe vera'' () is a succulent plant species of the genus ''Aloe''. It is widely distributed, and is considered an invasive species in many world regions. An evergreen perennial plant, perennial, it originates from the Arabian Peninsula, but ...

''.

Fauna

Hillside Dams is a proclaimed bird sanctuary, but has few mammals.

Geology

The dominant rock in the area is Syenite. There are a lot of kopjes and scattered rock boulders.

Recreational Activities

Canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

Ziplining A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide''Who Really Benefits from Tourism'', Publ. Equations, Karnataka, India, 2010. Working Papers Series. "Canopy Tourism"page 37/ref>Jacques Marais, Lisa De Speville, ''Adventure Racing'', ...

Barbecuing Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

* Nature Walk *

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

External links

Official Website

References

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