Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
steel balls - three of which are now on display in Choma Museum (
Click here
)
. When
the dam was complete, the waters rose faster than expected and covered huge areas of
woodland before the trees could be cleared. Scuba divers today tell stories of enchanted
forests under the water - swathes of large trees, still with every leaf and twig intact, frozen
in time - a poignant reminder of the valley now covered by the lake.
THE CURSE OF KARIBA
Kariba Dam was constructed at the head of Kariba Gorge, and both are named after a huge rock buttress called
Kariba, which the local Tonga people believe is the home of their river god - fish-headed and serpent-tailed
Nyaminyami. When the Tonga learnt that the new lake would flood Nyaminyami's residence they were under-
standably angry, but when they found out their own homes and ancestral lands would also be submerged it was
the last straw, and they called on their god to step in and destroy the white man's interference.
Did the god deliver? Oh yes. In July 1957, about a year into the dam's construction, a torrential storm on the
Upper Zambezi sent flood waters roaring through the work site, breaching the temporary 'coffer' dam and dam-
aging equipment. The following March there was an even greater flood - the sort expected only once in 1000
years, and never two years running - again destroying the coffer dam and causing major damage, as well as wash-
ing away a bridge that had been constructed downstream.
The engineers may have had a grudging respect for Nyaminyami by this time (they did increase the number of
spillway gates from four to six), but the building continued and the dam was officially opened in 1960. Mean-
while, the justifiably disgruntled Tonga were forced to leave their homeland.
But Nyaminyami still had a final trick up his sleeve. No sooner had the lake begun to fill, than a destructive
floating weed called Salvinia molesta began choking the lake's surface. A native of South America, its arrival in
Kariba remains a mystery, but the Tonga no doubt assumed divine intervention. At one stage, a third of Lake
Kariba was covered in this green carpet, rendering boating impossible and threatening to block the dam's outflow.
Finally, for reasons still not fully understood, the weed started to disappear, but other problems continued: in
the early 1990s, a drought caused water levels to drop so low that there wasn't enough to generate power. The
rains returned and through 2000 and 2001 the lake was mostly full again, but with rumours of earth tremors and
cracks in the concrete, and concern over the dam's long-term strength and design, not to mention another dam
proposed at Batoka Gorge below Victoria Falls, it remains to be seen whether Nyaminyami will rise in wrath
again.
SIAVONGA
0211
Siavonga, the main town and resort along the Zambian side of Lake Kariba, has a location
to be envied. Set among hills and verdant greenery, just a few kilometres from the massive
Kariba Dam, views of the lake pop up from many vantage points, especially from the
lodges. Built up primarily in the 1960s and '70s, it can at times appear as if no architects,
