Lake Kariba Houseboats Trip Review

Lake Kariba Zambia Travel Diary

Lake Kariba safari company used:

Exodus Overland

Duration: 5 nights, April 2005

Journal Authors: Kim Buckley and Richard Baxter, UK

Elephants in the Mist Picture by Bruce Whittaker (c)

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Richard and Kim visited the amazing South Luangwa National Park and then travelled south west to lake Kariba, the second largest man-made dam in the world, to spend some time on a Kariba houseboat.

Accommodation:

Wildlife Camp is situated very close to the entrance to the South Luangwa Park and has chalet and camping accommodation available with restaurant, main bar and swimming pool facilities.

Kariba houseboats come in all different shapes and sizes and can accommodate from 6 to 44 passengers. Most of them have air conditioning and some even have a pool or jacuzzi on board.

Trip Highlights:

A morning drive in South Luangwa was spent tracking a pair of lions and some elephant on a dry river bed. The driver got too close to one of the bull elephants and he began to charge which caused the driver to stall the vehicle. Fortunately it was a fake charge and he stopped a few metres away and ran off into the bush.

The night drive delivered a whole pride of lions (males included) stalking a herd of buffalo for a meal. The lions didn't seem to be bothered by the searchlights and stuck to their hunting task just metres away from the safari vehicle. One of the male lions was chased by a dominant buffalo bull.

Spent three nights on a Kariba houseboat cruising around the lake's waterways and islands, crossing the Zambia/Zimbabwe border many times. This is highly relaxing as there is not much more to do than laze around and enjoy the view.

Some of the more energetic people also went fishing in the run-around and explored the myriad of islands. The fishing is excellent and whenever the captain and crew hung their rods overboard they pulled fish out at a startling rate.

We shared one of our makeshift harbours with a lone male elephant who had swum out to the island. It was a great feeling to watch this magnificent animal as it drank, washed and wandered about.

Lake Kariba Tips & Recommendations:

Swimming in the lake is not recommended due to the large amount of crocodiles and hippos around but going for a short dip in the middle of the lake is safe and refreshing especially if your houseboat doesn't have a jacuzzi or pool on board.

If possible try and get a houseboat with air conditioning because it can get really warm out on the river. Also make sure that you apply sunscreen regularly and cover up because the sun reflects of the surface of the water to cause sunburn even quicker than normal.

The Top Three Lake Kariba safari companies