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LAKE
KARIBA
MAP
Lake Kariba is Zambia's undiscovered Riveira !
It offers spectacular views, stunning sunsets,
great fishing, boating opportunities, water
sports or wonderful relaxing holidays or
weekends just soaking up the sunshine.
The
weather here is mostly sunny and fine. It can
get quite hot in mid summer, but even mid winter
days are warm and the nights are balmy.
This
is Africa's largest man made dam, 226km long
and in places up to 40
km wide. It provides considerable
electric power to both Zambia and Zimbabwe and
supports a thriving commercial fishing industry.
The sheer size of it makes one forget it's a dam
and in certain places it almost feels like an
ocean!
A
houseboat
holiday is a great way to spend a few days under
the sun, and the best time to
plan it is over a full moon. The twilight
atmosphere between sunset and full moon rise on
this lake is quite magical.
Accommodation
ranges from well established lodges on the banks
with spectacular views to self
catering chalets and campsites.
What to
do
Sport fishing is
good and the major lodges,
Lake Kariba Inns and
Lake Safari lodge offer boats and tackle. Further down the lake shore at Sinazongwe, the
annual Tiger Fishing Competition attracts anglers from all over the
subcontinent and is held in May.
If you have your own
boat, the lake is a
superb playground for all kinds of watersports. The bigger
lodges have many boats to hire if you don't.
A trip on a
houseboat is highly recommended. The tranquility of watching the deep orange sun sink on the one side of the lake
and the moon rise over the shimmering waters on the other is very special.
Try Lake Kariba Inns or Lake Safari Lodge if you need to launch a
boat at Siavonga.
Fishing has been
improving over the last few years and the main catches are tiger and the
tasty bream. The tiger fish, considered
by many to be one of the finest game fish around have flourished in the rich
waters of the lake. The largest average weight caught in competition is just
under eight pounds, but the speed, courage and strength of the tigerfish
make it a worthy opponent for the skilful angler.
The introduction to Kariba of kapenta,
tiny sardine-like fish, has proved very successful. Shoals were airlifted
from Lake Tanganyika to Lake Kariba in 1967. Kapenta are also dried for easy
distribution as a high protein food supplement to areas where fish are
scarce.
Getting There
From Lusaka, it's
and easy 2.5 hour drive to Siavonga through the
beautifully scenic Zambezi Rift Valley. Take the T2 to Chirundu and turn right onto the M15,
18km before the Zimbabwe border. From Harare, take the turnoff to Kariba and
cross over the dam wall to Siavonga. An airstrip does exist at Siavonga but
is unmanned.
See Map from
Lusaka to Lake Kariba
Sightseeing
 Anytime spent in the Kariba or Siavonga area
should include a visit to the Dam Wall if nothing but to witness the size of
this awesome structure. There is a display at the entrance of the bridge
describing the building of the wall and the statistics involved. The wide
bridge offers ample room for walking on either side. The contrasting views
-- the vast lake stretching to infinity on the one side and the sheer drop
to the gorge on the other side, is breathtaking. The
story of the building of this dam is a very
interesting one.
Chirundu Fossel Forest 21 km from Chirundu,
on the road to Lusaka, lies a fossil forest with remnants of trees over 150
million years old. Sections of tree trunks up to three meters long are
exposed as a result of erosion of the surrounding soft red sandstone.
Scattered over the area are sparse Middle and late Stone Age industries,
indicating that these people sometimes made use of fossil wood for making
stone implements.
PACKAGE TOURS
offers a list of tour operators that will arrange all your travel
requirements to Lake Kariba and other Zambian destinations.
 HISTORY
OF THE BUILDING OF LAKE KARIBA
WHERE
TO STAY
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