The Kariba Trip
3 – 8 November
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A Baby on the Bank
The storm coming.
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Day 3 – Disaster !
Sunday 5th November 2000
Please don’t forget to wait for the photos to load.
They could take a while as there are a lot of them. The day started off clear and fine, and we
thoroughly enjoyed the morning fishing & game viewing from the small
boats. We moved the Kestrel from Mosquito Bay at about 10 in the morning, to
a larger bay, which was actually much cooler. By 2.30pm, storm clouds were gathering. The children
had gone off in the small boat to the Tiger Bay Resort (half an hour away) to
swim in the pool and enjoy the afternoon there, and my husband and I were
relaxing on the top deck. The storm looked really threatening, and as it got
nearer, a terrible wind came up. Within 10 minutes of the wind starting, the
heavens opened, and I can honestly say that I have NEVER, EVER felt rain like
it. It was the worst storm I have ever been in(and we do get some bad storms
here in Zimbabwe). The wind blew horizontally, and hail started. The boat started to shift, and blew sideways against
the bank. The wind became even stronger, and blew the boat over on to it’s
side. By this time, the crew had jumped ship into the water (nothing like the
captain going down with his ship), and were screaming at us to jump
overboard. We climbed over the railing, slipping, sliding & banging our
bodies as we went. When I finally got down into the water, I could not even
see my hands in front of me – the rain was so severe. The wind actually BLEW
ME OVER !!!! Not an hour earlier I
had been watching crocodiles on this same spot. My dear husband was trying the best he could to
shelter my body from the hailstones, which were the size of golf balls, and
he was battered badly. After about 10 minutes in the water, the storm had
passed, and blue sky appeared. We stood in the water, waist deep, and looked
at each other in amazement. We could hardly believe that this had actually
happened. The next priority was to get out of the water, and
right the boat. I climbed on board and tried to start cleaning up (at a very
awkward angle), while my husband directed the crew to attach ropes to trees.
With a lot of sweat and pushing, pulling, winding & winching, she finally
righted herself an hour and a half later. We all cheered. My husband then raced off to the Tiger Bay Resort to
check on our kids. We were worried sick. If they had been in their small boat
when the storm struck, they would have been in serious trouble. Tiger Bay was hit hard by the storm. The kids had
seen it coming and decided to stay there till it passed. Thatched roofs were
blown off, the wind caused so much damage. A lot of the hotel’s furnishings,
crockery, pictures etc. were damaged. Thatched structures in the camping area
were blown away, and the hotel workers homes were devastated. The Management
said it was the worst storm they had experienced since 1992, when Tiger Bay
was hit by a cyclone. I crawled into bed that night, covered in bruises.
My husband’s back was black & blue. We still bear the bruises today. They
may fade, but I won’t ever forget that awful storm !
Drying out !
Righting the boat.
Content Copyright - Lorraine 2000 - 2002 | |||||
