At Kariba DamBy Mariam Said
The news that I was supposed to travel to Zimbabwe for the Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo, did not only come as a surprise, but also a dream come true as it gave me an opportunity to visit one of the most popular countries on the continent.
With its leader, Cde Robert Mugabe, being revered in Africa, for his stance against neo colonialism and homosexuality amongst others, one could not have dared to let a chance to visit the ‘jewel of Africa’ go begging.
What made me more excited is the prospect of visiting one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the majestic Victoria Falls locally known as Mosi oa Tunya (The smoke that thunders).
The forms that I had been given by the organizers here in Dar es Salaam, had a section indicating that we were going for a tour of historical and tourist sites of our choice. So, I quickly chose the group that was to visit Vic Falls amongst other areas.
I chose Victoria Falls because of its importance on the continent, and having studied it in Geography during primary and secondary education, visiting it was a lifetime opportunity one could not afford to miss.
Preparations for the journey were smooth without eventualities and on the day of travelling, I joined fellow journalists at the Julius Nyerere International Airport on Sunday.
We started the journey to Harare around 6pm in the evening with the budget airline, FastJet, who were the sponsors of the trip.
Mhoro Zimbabwe! I shouted as we touched down at the Harare International Airport around 10pm. We were welcomed by cold weather, thank God I had carried my 'Maasai shuka' with me, since my preliminary investigations had revealed that it was winter time in Zimbabwe.
We were warmly received by our hosts and we went straight to the hotel. As we approached the entrance, I was mesmerised by the beauty of the hotel; the five star Rainbow Towers.
I had never slept in a five star hotel before and its beauty made me forget that I was tired. After brief introductions at the hotel, our host provided us with an itinerary for the following day.
We were to begin our tour in the morning and were divided according to how one selected a place to visit, and that is when my dream to visit Victoria Falls vanished. Surprisingly, I was on the list of those going to Kariba and not Victoria Falls.
I was disappointed at first but Ms Rumbidzai Mudzengerere, who is Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Programme Coordinator, managed to convince me to go to Kariba. The next morning, after breakfast and in a group of 10 people, we started our trip to Kariba. The journey, by road, was so enjoyable despite the presence of traffic police officers along the road.
Their presence was an inconvenience as they were ‘planted’ within short distances of each other along roads. What was good about it is that they were friendly and knew their job well.
Our first stop was Chinhoyi Caves located in the outskirts of Chinhoyi town which is about 121km northwest of Harare, along the main road between Harare and Chirundu border post.
Upon arrival at the caves in the mid afternoon, we were briefed by the caves warden Mr Cephas Sitholeon on the history of the caves and straightly we stepped up in a series of tunnels and were welcomed by a long dark underground tunnel that led us to a pool, which sits in an enclave open to the sky.
The Sleeping Pool or Chirorodziva proved to be an implausibly bright cobalt blue sacred pool and it is unquestionable that it is a must destination for visitors. Chinhoyi Dark Cave and Sleeping Pool are quite spectacular and is the perfect place to stop on your way to Kariba/Zambezi Valley.
The steps through the Dark Cave to the Sleeping Pool are very steep one need to be very careful, but they can gain access through the main entrance.
I will keep on remembering Chinhoyi caves through stalactites "hold on tight" and stalagmites "make little mountains" all over again.
After one hour tour of the caves and a nice lunch at Chinhoyi Caves Motel, the journey to Kariba resumed. And, by this time, everyone was tired and in no time people were dreaming. On our way to Kariba we encountered baboons that made our trip more funny and less tiring.
We arrived at Kariba around 6 pm and were welcomed by a scenic view of Lake Kariba, ‘Aww there goes Lake Kariba,' I shouted you could see the smile on everyone’s face.
By this time, I had already forgotten about Victoria Falls and now I was only thinking about boat cruising. Kariba was quite calm and it was somehow cool and not as hot as we had been told. Upon arrival at the Carribea Bay Resort, we were welcomed with a unique dance by the security officer, it was really amazing, but I was more mesmerised with the buildings of the hotel.
It is really magnificent Built in Sardinian architecture and deliberately fashioned with a Mediterranean coastal ambience together with the lapping shores of Lake Kariba, which made me start thinking of convincing my fiancé to come for our honeymoon, the hotel is majestic.
Once I made it to my room, I took a shower and relaxed for some minutes before going to the restaurant for dinner. What I like about this hotel is that you can have your fabulous dinner while having a beautiful view of Lake Kariba. There are restaurants, one being a poolside bar that overlooks Lake Kariba.
I had a delicious starter, too bad I forget the name followed by fresh grilled Kariba Bream and chips as main course, I can eat this dish over and over again as it has a unique taste and is a must try.
On the next day, everyone with enthusiasm and led by our friendly and very knowledgeable ZTA Area Manager in Kariba, Tendai Mushangwe, we visited The Church of Santa Barbara.
This beautiful and unusual place of worship was built on top of a hill known as Kariba Heights, by Italian workers involved in the construction of Kariba Dam.
What makes this church of interest is a story on how a little girl was healed when her father made a bell for the church. It is a long story but to make it short, when Edmund who worked far away from his native country (Italy) received bad news that his daughter Angela was seriously ill, after sharing the news to his friend Lino, he (Lino) gave the idea of making a bell to give glory to God and maybe little Angela would be better.
The bell was large enough to be heard across the valley of Kariba and it was hanged on the African church on the hill. For the first time the bell rang, to the wonder of Europeans and Africans together, their surprise was nothing compared to the news from Italy. Little Angela was well again.
After being energised with the story of the church, just some few minutes away we found these beautiful Shona women selling some local crafts, attractive African prints, crocheted garments, items of local jewellery.
I was so much enthralled with the story of carved wooden walking stick called Nyaminyami, the stick is an interesting artistic blend of the ancient legend of Nyaminyami - River God (or Spirit) of the Zambezi.
You cannot get enough with the beauty of the Lake, the scenery, great fishing and the wilderness it is indeed a great experience.
The sheer size of this Africa’s largestman made dam makes one forget it’s a dam and in certain places it almost feels like an ocean!
The sunsets over Lake Kariba are spectacular, with the flame-orange ball lighting up the sky every evening, all I can say is I was not disappointed.
Now comes the part everyone was waiting for, yes its boat cruising! Before starting, we were shown different house boats of various sizes, shapes and degrees of comfort from 300 USD per day to 5,000 USD that can be hired. I will start saving money for my coming holiday.
Few minutes later, we started our hour long boat cruise. You could see the smile on everyone’s face, with the lake shining, the sun warming up our shoulders sipping drinks of our choice, it felt so good. The Lake has a lot of stories to tell, with beautiful scenery, amazing wildlife, great fishing among others.
I suggest you should mark Kariba as one of you tourism destinations. After an hour of a magnificent tour of Lake Kariba we went for a game drive and it was magical to watch elephants, Zebra, antelopes all together drinking on the lake’s shores without forgetting baboons that you can see moving around.
It is only that we were not lucky to see buffalo, lion and cheetah but it still was so entertaining. Leaving Kariba without visiting crocodile farm to see the ancient creatures would not have made any sense, it is one of the largest Nile Crocodile farming operations in Africa and currently supplying approximately 33 percent of the world’s demand for large, high-quality skins.
On the last day at Kariba after saying goodbye to the magnificent Carribea Bay Resort we went to visit Kariba dam wall. The wall is another worthwhile attraction.
It is so impressive, I agree with the saying that ‘Seeing is believing.’ All I can say is Kariba is a very warm and lovely place to spend a holiday.
People are living in harmony with nature, wild animals move freely around the town. It is without doubt that Zimbabwe is a World of Wonders.
I know I will be back again to complete my dream of visiting Victoria Falls and may be my Shona friend Simbarashe will take me there!
Tinotenda Zimbabwe! It was indeed a great experience for me.
With its leader, Cde Robert Mugabe, being revered in Africa, for his stance against neo colonialism and homosexuality amongst others, one could not have dared to let a chance to visit the ‘jewel of Africa’ go begging.
What made me more excited is the prospect of visiting one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the majestic Victoria Falls locally known as Mosi oa Tunya (The smoke that thunders).
The forms that I had been given by the organizers here in Dar es Salaam, had a section indicating that we were going for a tour of historical and tourist sites of our choice. So, I quickly chose the group that was to visit Vic Falls amongst other areas.
I chose Victoria Falls because of its importance on the continent, and having studied it in Geography during primary and secondary education, visiting it was a lifetime opportunity one could not afford to miss.
Preparations for the journey were smooth without eventualities and on the day of travelling, I joined fellow journalists at the Julius Nyerere International Airport on Sunday.
We started the journey to Harare around 6pm in the evening with the budget airline, FastJet, who were the sponsors of the trip.
Mhoro Zimbabwe! I shouted as we touched down at the Harare International Airport around 10pm. We were welcomed by cold weather, thank God I had carried my 'Maasai shuka' with me, since my preliminary investigations had revealed that it was winter time in Zimbabwe.
We were warmly received by our hosts and we went straight to the hotel. As we approached the entrance, I was mesmerised by the beauty of the hotel; the five star Rainbow Towers.
I had never slept in a five star hotel before and its beauty made me forget that I was tired. After brief introductions at the hotel, our host provided us with an itinerary for the following day.
We were to begin our tour in the morning and were divided according to how one selected a place to visit, and that is when my dream to visit Victoria Falls vanished. Surprisingly, I was on the list of those going to Kariba and not Victoria Falls.
I was disappointed at first but Ms Rumbidzai Mudzengerere, who is Zimbabwe Tourism Authority Programme Coordinator, managed to convince me to go to Kariba. The next morning, after breakfast and in a group of 10 people, we started our trip to Kariba. The journey, by road, was so enjoyable despite the presence of traffic police officers along the road.
Their presence was an inconvenience as they were ‘planted’ within short distances of each other along roads. What was good about it is that they were friendly and knew their job well.
Our first stop was Chinhoyi Caves located in the outskirts of Chinhoyi town which is about 121km northwest of Harare, along the main road between Harare and Chirundu border post.
Upon arrival at the caves in the mid afternoon, we were briefed by the caves warden Mr Cephas Sitholeon on the history of the caves and straightly we stepped up in a series of tunnels and were welcomed by a long dark underground tunnel that led us to a pool, which sits in an enclave open to the sky.
The Sleeping Pool or Chirorodziva proved to be an implausibly bright cobalt blue sacred pool and it is unquestionable that it is a must destination for visitors. Chinhoyi Dark Cave and Sleeping Pool are quite spectacular and is the perfect place to stop on your way to Kariba/Zambezi Valley.
The steps through the Dark Cave to the Sleeping Pool are very steep one need to be very careful, but they can gain access through the main entrance.
I will keep on remembering Chinhoyi caves through stalactites "hold on tight" and stalagmites "make little mountains" all over again.
After one hour tour of the caves and a nice lunch at Chinhoyi Caves Motel, the journey to Kariba resumed. And, by this time, everyone was tired and in no time people were dreaming. On our way to Kariba we encountered baboons that made our trip more funny and less tiring.
We arrived at Kariba around 6 pm and were welcomed by a scenic view of Lake Kariba, ‘Aww there goes Lake Kariba,' I shouted you could see the smile on everyone’s face.
By this time, I had already forgotten about Victoria Falls and now I was only thinking about boat cruising. Kariba was quite calm and it was somehow cool and not as hot as we had been told. Upon arrival at the Carribea Bay Resort, we were welcomed with a unique dance by the security officer, it was really amazing, but I was more mesmerised with the buildings of the hotel.
It is really magnificent Built in Sardinian architecture and deliberately fashioned with a Mediterranean coastal ambience together with the lapping shores of Lake Kariba, which made me start thinking of convincing my fiancé to come for our honeymoon, the hotel is majestic.
Once I made it to my room, I took a shower and relaxed for some minutes before going to the restaurant for dinner. What I like about this hotel is that you can have your fabulous dinner while having a beautiful view of Lake Kariba. There are restaurants, one being a poolside bar that overlooks Lake Kariba.
I had a delicious starter, too bad I forget the name followed by fresh grilled Kariba Bream and chips as main course, I can eat this dish over and over again as it has a unique taste and is a must try.
On the next day, everyone with enthusiasm and led by our friendly and very knowledgeable ZTA Area Manager in Kariba, Tendai Mushangwe, we visited The Church of Santa Barbara.
This beautiful and unusual place of worship was built on top of a hill known as Kariba Heights, by Italian workers involved in the construction of Kariba Dam.
What makes this church of interest is a story on how a little girl was healed when her father made a bell for the church. It is a long story but to make it short, when Edmund who worked far away from his native country (Italy) received bad news that his daughter Angela was seriously ill, after sharing the news to his friend Lino, he (Lino) gave the idea of making a bell to give glory to God and maybe little Angela would be better.
The bell was large enough to be heard across the valley of Kariba and it was hanged on the African church on the hill. For the first time the bell rang, to the wonder of Europeans and Africans together, their surprise was nothing compared to the news from Italy. Little Angela was well again.
After being energised with the story of the church, just some few minutes away we found these beautiful Shona women selling some local crafts, attractive African prints, crocheted garments, items of local jewellery.
I was so much enthralled with the story of carved wooden walking stick called Nyaminyami, the stick is an interesting artistic blend of the ancient legend of Nyaminyami - River God (or Spirit) of the Zambezi.
You cannot get enough with the beauty of the Lake, the scenery, great fishing and the wilderness it is indeed a great experience.
The sheer size of this Africa’s largestman made dam makes one forget it’s a dam and in certain places it almost feels like an ocean!
The sunsets over Lake Kariba are spectacular, with the flame-orange ball lighting up the sky every evening, all I can say is I was not disappointed.
Now comes the part everyone was waiting for, yes its boat cruising! Before starting, we were shown different house boats of various sizes, shapes and degrees of comfort from 300 USD per day to 5,000 USD that can be hired. I will start saving money for my coming holiday.
Few minutes later, we started our hour long boat cruise. You could see the smile on everyone’s face, with the lake shining, the sun warming up our shoulders sipping drinks of our choice, it felt so good. The Lake has a lot of stories to tell, with beautiful scenery, amazing wildlife, great fishing among others.
I suggest you should mark Kariba as one of you tourism destinations. After an hour of a magnificent tour of Lake Kariba we went for a game drive and it was magical to watch elephants, Zebra, antelopes all together drinking on the lake’s shores without forgetting baboons that you can see moving around.
It is only that we were not lucky to see buffalo, lion and cheetah but it still was so entertaining. Leaving Kariba without visiting crocodile farm to see the ancient creatures would not have made any sense, it is one of the largest Nile Crocodile farming operations in Africa and currently supplying approximately 33 percent of the world’s demand for large, high-quality skins.
On the last day at Kariba after saying goodbye to the magnificent Carribea Bay Resort we went to visit Kariba dam wall. The wall is another worthwhile attraction.
It is so impressive, I agree with the saying that ‘Seeing is believing.’ All I can say is Kariba is a very warm and lovely place to spend a holiday.
People are living in harmony with nature, wild animals move freely around the town. It is without doubt that Zimbabwe is a World of Wonders.
I know I will be back again to complete my dream of visiting Victoria Falls and may be my Shona friend Simbarashe will take me there!
Tinotenda Zimbabwe! It was indeed a great experience for me.
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