To be honest, this vacation paradise has been doomed and unused for the last five years. I was there in September 2004 and it was very quiet, which was great for us, but not for the local and Zimbabwean economy. Can you imagine being in the heart of African nature, nothing around you but a huge expanse of water, mountains and the knowledge that on the coast there are really wild animals by nature? For me, Lake Kariba is home to the “floating house”. Since he was a teenager he had heard of these houseboats. A floating vacation in a huge expanse of water. What I didn’t know was the size of these floating hotels and how big Lake Kariba really is. In the vast majority of our ports of call, all you can see on the horizon is water.
Landing at Harare airport is a lot like arriving at any third world airport. It is not much different today than the first world, except that it is much smaller. The convoy ride to Kariba was quite exciting due to the knowledge of the turmoil in the country and not knowing what to expect, although we did have some locals with us and they assured us it would be fine. What a change, even though having been to Zimbabwe seven years earlier, the degradation had taken its toll. Most of the gas stations closed, fenced off and blocked, waiting for fuel. Driving through the countryside, desolate farms, barns with only shells, the lumber and roofs collected to create makeshift houses (huts). Once a prosperous agricultural country now reduced to a sinking nation. The drive to Kariba takes about 5 hours. Three hours or more outside of Harare you enter the national park. Wow, there are no fences and the game is plentiful.
Going off the main road, otherwise you’ll end up in Zambia, it’s really amazing. Don’t drive too fast as you are really out in nature now. We saw a lot of elephants, giraffes and a lot of money. Plus, the scenery is picturesque, winding through hills and mountain passes, flat landscapes with the famous African savannah and still knowing that you will enjoy the next ten days on a fully equipped houseboat cruise – paradise. Driving through the last mountain pass and seeing the vast expanse of Lake Kariba is magnificent. I could not believe that it was so vast, also around the town of Kariba and towards the wall there are mountains that look out to the water. The landscape is impressive.
He hoped the houseboat was small, old, and dilapidated. What a surprise when I saw him and the crew of four, waiting with welcome drinks. It’s hot, very hot. The houseboat has one floor at water level and one above. On the ground floor are the four cabins, the kitchen (kitchen) and the storage rooms. Upstairs, a large entertaining area, comes the dining room, all under an open-sided awning, the bridge where the captain drives the boat, and then in front, outdoors, is this plunge pool. Two cute boats are towed behind this huge house on the water powered by a huge diesel engine.
Once all the luggage, food and drinks were loaded, the captain took us out of the mini port. She had often heard of Lake Kariba and the vast expanse of water, now sitting in the pool at the front of the houseboat, cooling off with an ice cold beer, she couldn’t believe the size of the lake. We left the port on a cruise to the open sea and it was huge. The African landscape on the Zimbabwean side is perfect with the mountains descending sharply towards the lake around the town of Kariba and towards the wall. South of the city of Kariba, the mountains are farther from the lake and gradually descend into the African savannah that eventually reaches the shore. An hour later and still in the pool chilling with ice cold beers not far away, we are advised to put on sunscreen from the harsh and severe African sun that is. We hear shouts of excitement and there, on the coast, a great noise of elephants is heard. The coast on the Zimbabwean side is about a mile from us. To see them up close you need the binoculars. The coast of Zambia is beyond the horizon of the water. This gives you an idea of how wide this lake really is. We return to the shade of the entertaining area and relax in the many armchairs now protected from the sun by the huge canopy. This must be one of the most relaxing vacations I have ever been on. Perfect for an afternoon nap. We sail towards our first port of call. Ports of call are remote cruise stops on small islands or on land in the nature reserve. There are no towns or villages, only wild animals that greet you, that is, there is no civilization, do not take your cell phone.
At the end of the afternoon, plus 4 hours on the cruise, we hear the engines slow down and we realize that we have reached our destination. The captain gradually negotiates the houseboat almost to shore and the crew moor the boat with long mooring ropes. We are now stationed on the shore. The captain turns off the engines and there is a silence like you have never experienced before. Then you start listening to nature. Hippos are barking and we all look, there is sure to be a family of hippos. I counted six. The two cuddly boats are loaded with snacks, fishing gear, and snacks. We choose a boat and we go. This is the highlight of the trip. Small bays abound along the coast, but the captains of the tender boats, one is the captain of the houseboat and the other is the head cleaner, they know these areas like the back of their hand, they direct us to the best fishing spots.
As you can imagine, fishing is good (mainly sea bream) because you are in nature where not many humans venture. We save the biggest catch for dinner and snacks. I was a bit skeptical about eating bream, I prefer saltwater fish and have never eaten freshwater bream before. The sun now begins to set on the horizon over the water. We are told that we must return. There is nothing like an afternoon cruise on the water with a relaxing gin and tonic and the beautiful African sunset. At the houseboat we headed to the showers. Back on the upper deck, we are greeted with a pre-meal drink and, with the darkness looming, we chat about the day’s events. Suddenly it’s dark and the crew is summoning us for dinner. Man, can they cook. At eight o’clock at night, everyone was battered and retired to bed. Most of us slept on the upstairs deck on outdoor mattresses. Older people slept in the cabins on the ground floor.
At approximately four thirty in the morning, you are woken up by a movement downstairs and a rich aroma of coffee being brewed. You have twenty minutes to wash off, apply generous amounts of sunscreen lotion, and drink coffee and biscuits before another adventurous fishing adventure in the soft boats. The sun is now rising over the mountains, you can feel the heat and you realize that the rest of the day is going to be scorching. Between ten and eleven o’clock in the morning we arrived back with our catches and eager to eat. They welcome us with a magnificent brunch. While we enjoy our brunch, the captain starts the engines and the rest of the crew unties the moorings of the houseboat. Maneuver out of the bay and return to the vast expanse of Lake Kariba. We are on our way to our next port of call. We finish brunch and some of us take a quick dip in the pool and relax to the gentle movement of the houseboat sailing on the lake. The rest of the day’s cruise is divided between naps, spotting wild animals on the coast, and card and board games.
We arrive at the next port of call with a totally different landscape. A bigger but we are welcomed with a family of elephants. Now elephants are my favorite animals. Up close and in nature like this is one of the highlights of my vacation. Hippos are also there along with the great variety of deer. The routine is the same as the day before with the soft boats and the fishing. This is by no means boring as there is always something to look at, a wide variety of birds with elephants appearing in the bushes, deer everywhere and the odd hippo in the water nearby. Crocodiles are plentiful too, but it’s the hippos to watch out for as they will load up your boat if you get too close to them. If they do, you will definitely end up being a meal for alligators. After other very successful fishing afternoons, we have another sunset cruise back to the houseboat.
The rest of the trip is more or less the same as the first day but, as I said, it is always entertaining and never boring. So much wildlife, fresh air and the days fly by. Stargazing at sunset is incredible, with shooting stars and satellites moving across the sky. With so many hundreds of miles between you and the nearest city, you can imagine how many stars you can see. We didn’t see the lions, but we heard them roar one or two afternoons. One day after the roar we could see vultures hovering around. The locals and crew said they were waiting for the lions to finish their “slaughter” so they could enter after them. They must be within five hundred meters of us.
Unfortunately, the time had come to return to the city of Kariba. Some said they had their vacations and now need to get back to their daily life. I could have stayed longer. I would normally recommend this amazing Lake Kariba houseboat vacation to anyone, however considering the state of the country of Zimbabwe at the moment it is sadly a no-no. Who knows that in a short time things could change for the better and this would become a very popular destination?
