The Kariba Trip
3 – 8 November
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The Matusadona Mountain Range ahead !
Part of the Kariba Welcoming Committee.
Andora Harbour
The “Kestrel”
One of my sons giving me a heart attack (catching the
spray) on the way in to Sampakuruma Island. (He’s nearly 30 !!!!!) |
Day 1 – We’re Off !!!!
Friday 3rd November 2000
We set off bright & early (4 am) on Friday
morning amid great excitement. We had only had a few hours sleep the night
before, but were looking forward to every minute of the trip. We traveled in
2 cars, as there were 7 of us, plus all the luggage and food for 5 days. As
we neared Kariba, we were met by a small herd of elephant on the side of the
road. They didn’t even bat an eyelid as I took photographs of them. We arrived at Kariba by
8.am. and after stowing away the food and luggage, were under way by 10 am.
(The men had to go into Kariba to buy LOTS of ice, and kapenta – the small
fish used as bait). The trip to the Ume
River mouth would take almost 6 hours, so we settled down and made ourselves
comfortable. It was extremely hot, which we expected, and we got down to
swimming costumes and shorts as soon as possible. We had not been traveling an hour when the sky
started to darken, and the lake got rougher. By 11.30, we were rolling around
in 2 metre swells. I am not ashamed
to admit that I was rather frightened. We have traveled the length of Kariba
many times, but I had never experienced such rough water before. (Little did
we know the drama that would follow 2 days later) By 12 noon, the Captain was looking extremely
worried, and asked us if he could head for cover. The island of Sampakuruma was nearby, and he wanted to get
there as soon as possible, out of the wind and dangerous water. Of course we
agreed, and within half an hour we were safely sheltered in a small bay. We
all heaved a sigh of relief. It had been very frightening. The rough water
continued for most of the afternoon, but it didn’t faze the fishermen ! They
were out in the small boat within 10 minutes of us tying up ! We were
disappointed, as we had planned to be safely moored in the Ume River by
nightfall, but we made the best of it, and relaxed for the afternoon. At 5.pm, we set out to circumnavigate the small
island, but had to turn back after 15 minutes as the water was just too
rough. From the top deck of the Kestrel we saw a small herd
of waterbuck, baboons and crocodiles. It was a beautiful sight ! One
crocodile, about 8 feet in length, got on to the land 10 feet from the boat.
He was very nervous of us, and soon disappeared back into the water. Fish
eagles were everywhere, and I can honestly say that I have NEVER seen as many
fish eagles as we did on this trip. They seemed to be in every tree top.
There were a lot of chicks too ! We enjoyed our first night under the stars on the
top deck.
Sunset from the top deck at Sampakuruma Island
Copyright ã Lorraine 2000-2001
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