Kariba Houseboats and Kapenta

Kariba Houseboats

Lying back on a houseboat floating along the warm waters of Lake Kariba while elephants and antelope feed on the nearby shoreline, is one of the most sought-after luxuries of any visit to this vast lake.

Guests, enjoying cold drinks or a deck-top gas braai (barbecue), are often treated to good views of buffalo and other game which usually pay no attention to the vessels.  Hippo and crocodiles are common in the shallows, their presence a reminder that swimming in the lake is unwise.

Consequently, the on-deck swimming pools on most houseboats are busy places, and provide perfect spots to watch the wildlife, birdwatch or simply socialise with fellow holidaymakers.

Keen anglers use the small motor-boats towed by each houseboat to fish for the powerful tigerfish or bream (a species of tilapia), a popular table fish.

The houseboats, which range in size from four-berth vessels to those with 18 or more cabins, are equipped with fridges, kitchens and showers.  Each boat is staffed by a captain, a cook, and also one or two deck hands.

Most people rent houseboats for a few days of cruising on the lake.

All food and drinks are preordered and packed onto the vessel by the crew before departure and the chef prepares most meals, although some visitors prefer to cook their own meals on the gas barbecue out on the decks.

Some boats have air-conditioned cabins, and others have ceiling-mounted fans, to help deal with the heat.  Some people choose to sleep on the decks at night, and most vessels provide extra stretchers or mattresses and mosquito nets.

Star-gazing on Kariba is spectacular because of the lack of artificial light in the region.

Lake Kariba – Kapenta Fish

First-time visitors to Lake Kariba are sometime surprised to see dozens of small lights piercing the inky darkness out on the water late at night but the explanation is simple – the lights are mounted on fishing boats and used to attract millions of small kapenta fish to their nets.

Kapenta play a significant role in the diet of large numbers of people in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other nearby countries.

Kapenta, also known as the Tanganyika sardine (after Lake Tanganyika in central Africa), are not indigenous to the Zambezi River, which forms Lake Kariba, and were introduced to the waters of the newly formed lake in the 1960’s.

The kapenta fisheries create much needed jobs in the region and the salted, sun-dried fish, are sold in markets as far away as Cape Town, some 3000 km away in South Africa.

Kapenta form huge shoals and can grow to 140 mm (about 5.6 inches) but most of those sold in markets are about 90 mm long (about 3.5 inches).

In Zimbabwe kapenta are often fried with onions and tomato and served with a firm maize porridge known as sadza