Golden Mariner Houseboat

About Kariba

Kariba is one of Zimbabwe’s premier tourist destinations and is famous for exciting wildlife and exceptional fishing. The shorelines vegetation is rich in grassland, natural bush and trees. The high hills of the Matusadona National Park offer a spectacular backdrop to the lake. All these offer numerous opportunities for game viewing, birdwatching or fishing in the prolific waters.


The story of the Lake

Kariba Dam, constructed in the period 1955 to 1959, is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, with a height of 128m and a length of 617m. The dam was constructed on the Zambezi River, at grid reference 28.74778°E and 16.51222°S, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe(called respectively Northern and Southern Rhodesia during the colonial times) and it is jointly owned by the two countries. Kariba was designed as a single-purpose hydropower project, but it turned out both fishery and tourism became important benefits.