ZIMBABWE

Previous HOME Next IMPORTANT UPDATE

Please remember graphics may take a few minutes to download.

LAKE KARIBA

A spectacular, if eerie, place, Lake Kariba is among the largest man-made lakes in the world. A home to hundreds of "drowned" and petrified mopane trees, as well as bream, fighting Tigerfish, and kapenta (a sardine-like fish); egrets, kingfishers, cormorant, fish eagles, and heron, including the Goliath heron, which we saw in flight early one morning. Crocs and hippos inhabit the shorelines, and elephant, water buck, and impala are among the animals you can spot on land.

The Lake and Park

The Lodge

The Lake and Park

 
The Kariba Dam, which has changed the face of the Zambezi valley, by creating the Lake Kariba. Here we are looking at Zambia from the Zimbabwe side.
Kariba is not the best destination in the rainy season, as it has been know to reach 50 degrees Celsius. Keith is trying for tigerfish, a popular game fish in the lake, and he is completely covered up because of the sunburns from yesterday's fishing expedition.
Hippos
Water hyacinth on Lake Kariba
Above, a rare sighting of hippos on land. Normally they come up to shore only at night, to feed on the grasses. The very pretty water hyacinth was introduced to Lake Kariba by a well-meaning European: now it chokes much of the Lake and the Gache Gache River. It is proving difficult to control without upsetting the delicate balance of life on Lake Kariba.
.
Keith photographing an elephant
Bull elephant
Keith is photographing a huge bull elephant we spotted on shore while fishing.  He was a magnificent sight  and almost seemed to pose for us. He is covered with red Kariba dirt. 
Elephant
Fish eagle
Finally he and his companions, the cattle heron, go back inland.  Here is a fish eagle, a beautiful predator who had much better luck fishing one day than we did, 
judging from his loud laughter as we pulled up our empty lines.
Water buck
Impala
Water buck are shy and not always seen on game drives.  Impala wonder if we are a threat. Our guide took us on a game drive through the lodge's private reserve.
Stormy afternoon
Reuben and the leopard tortoises.
The clouds rolled in one afternoon, and Keith and I were caught in a sudden rainstorm while in the open jeep. It had been hot and the rain was welcome.  Our guide Reuben ponders the next moves of a pair of leopard tortoises. He also guided our early morning canoe safari, a frightening experience as we were stalked by almost a dozen crocs.  Reuben was a thoughtful host at the lodge too, and arranged a special meal of traditional Zimbabwe food for us.
 
 
^ TOP


HOME ] HWANGE NATIONAL PARK ] Game Drive, Hwange ] Nyamandhlovu Pan, Hwange ] The Lodge, Hwange ] VICTORIA FALLS ] Zambezi River ] The Lodge, Victoria Falls ] [ LAKE KARIBA ] The Lodge, Lake Kariba ] THE FARM ] MAPS & WORDS ]

Email Copyright (c)1999, 2001 All rights reserved.