Lake Kariba

Kariba is unique and a place of outstanding beauty, a great inland sea, nested in mountains, guarded by enormous reserves of game and made beautiful and savage by sun and storm, earth and water and by life and death.  It is here, from land or water that one encounters the rawness, the beauty and the savagery which is the real heart of darkness

It is unforgettable, on dust-tasting, hazy blue, September days, to watch the game treading its daily course to the edge of the lake's vast waters; or, in the rainy season when the air is crystal, when images are razor sharp, to watch the massive black blocks of wet-skinned elephant posing on the billiard-table flood plains carpeted with new green baize.

Two of the lakes most common inhabitants are the hippo and the crocodile. Both are quite difficult to observe. The hippo will stay submerged much of the time and only come up for an occasional breath of air giving a brief chance to spot the twitching ears and the peering eyes. Crocodiles are usually content to bask by the side of the lake looking very much like dead logs - until you approach and they slip into the water with a quiet splash.

Another fascinating sight on Lake Kariba is the small fishing village of Nyanzirawo near Bumi Hills in the mouth of the Ume River. This is a place where time seems to have stood still and the local people make a living from fishing to feed the rest of the people in the village. Everything here is basic and to our perceptions, the people seem to have nothing. And yet this is a surprisingly enchanting place to visit and you get a real sense of a community living together without the competitive nature of western society. The people here never beg or expect any money from the visitors - they just love having their picture taken in the hope that perhaps one day they might receive a photograph of themselves which would immediately become a prize momento.

Winters (May to September) are like luscious Mediterranean summers with warm, sunny days and cool, clear nights. There is never any snow, not even in the eastern highlands, but overnight frosts and freezing temperatures are not uncommon anywhere on the plateau.

Most of Zimbabwe's rain falls in brief afternoon deluges during electrical storms in the summer months (October to April) and bring little relief from the humidity.