Grande Hotel, Beira
Before independence, the Mozambican city of Beira was a popular holiday destination for Rhodesians. The 300km section of road from the border town of Umtali to Beira passed through Manica, Gondola and Vila Peri (Chimoio), which all boasted iconic swimming pools, often with diving boards.
Today (2025), some of those facilities have survived, but some have been destroyed.
The Grande Hotel Beira is an abandoned luxury hotel in Beira, Mozambique. It was opened in 1954 and operated until 1974, when it was closed due to lack of guests.
Gondola, Mozambique
155km east of Beira lies the town of Gondola, which boasts the third-largest Olympic swimming pool in Mozambique.
The opening of the Gondola swimming pool was attended by the Rhodesian swimming and diving teams.
A recent (2023) photo of the Godola pool. It seems to have been renovated.
Manica, Mozambique
Built in 1962. The town pool is 270km's west of Beira, along the road to the Rhodesian(Zimbabwe) border at Umtali.
Cabinda, Angola
Grandly labelled as the Piscina Olímpica Provincial, this 50 metre swimming pool lies abandoned.
