Kariba Magic
"Water lapping at edge of the boat beneath the silence of the sky,
Swaying branches of mopane trees and fish eagles cry.
Wind of changing seasons and melting palates of hue,
in the blood red sunset glow and murky silvery water blue.
Elephants in numbers dot the shores,
hippo’s and crocodiles are at the core
of many memories and visions of old,
Lake Kariba, inland sea, full of tiger fish and bream.
The place of the skeleton trees, mountain passes, and copper sun still
where the stars in the universe, scatterings like lost thoughts, visions, and chants chill
across the forging path, that strides through this african wilderness blue
Lake Kariba, the artery of the north, run straight, run true."
Tim Marks
Our next stop was Lake Kariba, the biggest man made lake in the world. Famous for the Tiger fishing, houseboats and lazy boat safaris.
We had 3 nights booked on the edge of the lake at Warthog Lodge in safari tents with en suite bathrooms. A bit extravagant but we knew we would be hot and dirty exiting Mana Pools. We wanted a bit of time to rest and clean up before setting out for the next leg of the trip to Matusadona, a remote game reserve on the south west of the lake.
Warthog Lodge
Warthog Lodge was just what we needed, green lawns led down to the wetlands surrounding the lake. Antelope and elephants grazed below us. Zebra strolled through the camp and warthog snuffled in the undergrowth.
It was clear the water levels were low as piers and water access points were still high and dry so the water based activities were off the menu from the lodge. We did not worry, we would get on the water somewhere in our perambulations.
There was a bar and restaurant and copious hot water, everything we needed, plus a quirky sense of humour thrown in.
It came in handy as we had quite a job cleaning and fixing various minor issues with the cars.
Changing the auxiliary battery in Bessie took all hands on deck and about 6 hours hard labour due to the ergonomically challenging and unexpectedly robust installation by our local 4x4 guy in Richards Bay. Eish. So much for lazing by the pool.
Lake Kariba
Kariba Town
Lake Kariba was created between 1956-59 when the British built a dam wall on the Zambezi river to generate hydroelectric power. Both Zambia and Zimbabwe have hydroelectric power plants fed by the dam.
The dam construction was not universally popular and some 57,000 Tsonga people were relocated to higher ground to accommodate the dam.
This relocation has been described as the worst dam resettlement disaster in African history. Many now live in less-productive, problem-prone areas, some of which have been seriously degraded.
Before the dam they were in the Zambezi floodplain which could reasonably be described as a fertile paradise in comparison.
The Tsonga still believe that the dam will eventually fail and they will be returned to their land. Wishful thinking I am afraid.
Kariba controls 90% of the outflow of the Zambezi and provides the majority of the electricity for Zimbabwe and Zambia. It has reshaped the downstream landscape.
The lake is 223 km long and over 40 km wide but these measurements fluctuate depending on the level of the water.
Ferries run the length of the lake and it is a popular spot for fishing and boating, famously the Kariba houseboats are a classic holiday option, but on this occasion we were planning to drive the length of Lake Kariba in our trusty vehicles.
After having experienced the roads I think a ferry will feature large in any future trips!
Kariba Dam Wall
The dam wall is impressive and we drove down to look at the view point over the wall. In 2014 serious concerns were raised as to the integrity of the wall when they found erosion of the basalt under the wall. Certainly if the Kariba dam wall fails it will be a human and environmental disaster, reverberating through Zimbabwe and Mozambique, so the risk was not exaggerated.
In 2017 repair work started to try and reconfigure the plunge pool and reconstruct the spillway gates. This was aided by the prolonged drought which brought the lake down below 10 % capacity over the last 10 years, allowing easier access to the areas that needed reconstruction and strengthening.
Water levels remain low but are improving.
Because of the low dam levels the hydroelectric capacity has had serious challenges, and we had familiar load shedding in many Zim towns we visited, serenaded by generators and grid locked without traffic lights.
From the overlook to the dam wall and border crossing with Zambia we could appreciate this feat of engineering.
We were given some serious tourist treatment by the informal traders and crafters that ply their trade there.
Sonia was mobbed and bought a copious amount of guinea fowl encrusted table linen. We bought a walking stick carved with the story of the Tsonga people and depicting Nyami Nyami, the river god, a familiar talisman all along the Zambezi.
Nyami Nyami
I admit to being fascinated by NyamiNyami ever since I bought a necklace depicting him at Vic Falls 10 years ago. Kariba is his birthplace as it were. According to mythology he is a serpent like creature, 3 m wide, and no one knows how long, who lives in Lake Kariba. He is depicted with the head of a snake and body of a fish and the carvings show him with hippo teeth and a croc like scale on his back. The African version of the Loch Ness Monster you might say.
The name comes from the Shona for ‘a piece of meat’ and one of the stories about him was that he would appear in times of famine and offer a part of himself to be cut off by the villagers to eat. Where he swims the river turns red but he has not been seen for a long time because he is angered by the dam.
According to legend he lived under a rock near to the dam wall. The rock was called Kariwa meaning ‘trap’ from which the dam derived its name. No tribesman would venture near it and those that did were caught in whirlpools and their canoes sucked down into the river.
The rock ended up 30 m under water with the building of the dam.
NyamiNyami has a wife who was visiting down river when the dam wall was built and the Tsonga people believe the dam wall separated them which has added to his ire.
Periodically earth tremors are felt near the dam wall, something to do with the weight of the water, but the locals believe it is NyamiNyami trying to get to his wife.
During the planning and construction of the dam there were several unprecedented floods which damaged the infrastructure and cost lives, clearly reinforcing the legend of the angry god.
On one occasion the bodies of workmen were only retrieved after a white calf was sacrificed to the river god. By the time of the completion of the dam in 1958 more than 80 people had lost their lives.
Anyway we brought this beautifully carved stick as a suitable keepsake of the place and the legend. Each part depicts a different part of the Tsonga life.
These sticks have been given to statesmen and royalty as a sign of respect, Winston Churchill, Pope John Paul and Queen Elizabeth were presented with them, so who are we to break tradition! Mind you I doubt they paid for theirs.
The head is shown as a fish with hippo teeth and crocodile scales.
Next are carvings of fish which represent the most common food of the Tsonga.
A group of people under a mopane tree performing rituals and music.
Under this is a marijuana leaf, considered a gateway to wisdom.
The rings represent bangles worn by Tsonga wives, The number and colour denotes seniority in their polygamous system.
Beneath this is a hollow baobab which is the home of the king, the magic ball inside is the heart of the king.
The magic hand holds the magic ball. Before a hunt they throw the ball and whichever direction it falls they must take.
The lattice is a representation of the waves of the river and under this is a calabash pipe to smoke ganja
Gache Gache
Next stop was Gache Gache a camp on the South East edge of the lake. To get there we drove the dirt roads which follow the dam. It was pretty clear from the beginning the roads were in a bad state, rocky and rough and not well signed. We took a couple of wrong turns but eventually found our way back to the lake at Gache Gache. The camp was a bit disorganized and they were not expecting us.
Stan greeted us in a miasma of alcohol fumes and informed us he was renovating. He also told us cheerfully he was a functioning alcoholic which he followed up by cadging beer off us.
I think we may argue about the functioning part of his statement but anyway. I suspect his family marooned him here to dry out but where there a will there’s a way it seems.
He showed us to a camp overlooking the lake but the water remained far away and the promised boat and canoe rides we had hoped for were all off the menu. We explored as best we could but the roads were not mapped and many dead ends.
There was quite a local population and evidence of fishing and hunting with a huge game scaffold. We heard a pack of dogs barking in the night. I am not sure what constitutes poaching here but I suspect it is also a booming industry.
Matusadona
Brick kilns
After a hot and sticky night we left to our next destination, Matusadona. The roads, if anything, were worse.
We climbed steadily until we reached the top of the southern escarpment where it was a bit cooler. The land was stark and barren and clearly very dry. Over grazing and few crops supported a visibly poorer population.
Many villages had kilns for brick making and they greeted us warmly, but how they scrape a living is difficult to imagine.
If this is where they relocated the people from the flood plain I can see how it earned the nickname name of the worse dam relocation in Africa. 230 km took us 9 hours to navigate and so next time we will definitely try the ferry from Kariba.
From the main road we drop down 600m back to the lake. Matusadona translates as ‘ the place the dung falls’ which apparently references this mighty escarpment. We arrived tired and thirsty.
The camp office at Tashinga was deserted so we pushed through the gate and found a spot in the camp site right on the waters edge.
Apparently the staff had just run the rangers 21 km race and were sleeping off the after effects. In that heat it’s a surprise they survived.
For the next 3 days we would watch the sunrise and sunsets and the elephants coming down to drink. The lion roared in the night but we searched for him in vain.
The park basically consists of flat open floodplains and scattered grasslands and scrub around the edge of the lake. Further inland mopane forests meld into the miombo of the escarpment but all the animals are at the water this time of year so that is where we roamed.
The maps were useless. I assume the roads are flooded every year and have to be redrawn. The floodplain routes close in the wet season.
We often hit dead ends and drove in circles.
From the edge of the lake the old dead trees emerge like skeletons giving an eerie landscape. The game is sparse and skittish but there were good water birds and raptors.
This park is often overlooked. It is difficult to access on poor roads. It took us the best part of 2 days after all.
You can charter a ferry from Kariba which is a 4 hour trip and takes 4 cars and costs around $500. Next time.
Proclaimed in 1975, Matusadona was plagued by poaching but this has been addressed to an extent by African Parks who took over in 2019.
Now there are legal fishing camps and much better management with community engagement and, in a unique and beautiful landscape, it is a place to watch. More animals are returning. Once famous for its black rhino it is hoped to reintroduce them at some stage.
Having lucked out at our previous camps due to the low water levels we finally managed to arrange a cruise on the lake which was quite magical. As it coincided with Mikes birthday it was a good celebration. Again we saw water birds, hippo and crocs a plenty. Animals mooched down to drink, elephants, waterbuck, kudu and Impala, and the sun set in a glorious red and gold haze.
The skeletal arms of the dead trees again gave an eerie backdrop to many of the vistas, prominent because of the low water levels.
Fish eagles and storks perched in their branches and on the way home we passed a squawking heronry, the birds vocally vying for position in the dying light.
It was a fitting ending to our journey around Kariba. A man made lake but a unique many faceted landscape. Next time we will definitely schedule more time on the water.
The car ferry from Kariba to Mlibizi in the far West takes 22 hours, runs weekly, sometimes twice a week, and costs $150 per person and around $200 for the car including meals. It positions you much closer to Chizarira or Hwange but for Matusadona you need the chartered ferry to and from Kariba. Something to look forward to.
Whilst cruising the lake our captain told us we could cut the travel time to Chizarira by taking the ferry across the Ume river. Then, he assured us, we could join better roads back to the main road to Binga and Chizarira. A saving of at least 2 hours. We jumped at the offer and arranged to meet him at the boat slip early next morning.
The little ferry only took 1 car at a time and once the Beast was loaded it was so heavy we could not cast off so we had to come off and reload. I am not sure it would take an Iveco that's for sure.
The little diesel engine spewed black smoke and we chugged to the opposite side. Negotiating the exit backwards on flimsy thin rails was a bit hairy.
To get all the cars across took nearly 4 hours. So much for the 2 hours saving on travel time. The better roads did not materialise either. But it was fun.
Next stop Chizarira, the place of hidden gorges.
