July 10-11: Binga

After leaving Hwange National Park, we headed to the town of Binga on the shore of Lake Kariba for a little relaxation by the lake and resupply before heading to our next national park (sorry, no map for this one). Lake Kariba is the world’s largest artificial lake and reservoir by volume. Lake Kariba lies along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was filled between 1958 and 1963 following the completion of the Kariba Dam at its northeastern end, flooding the Kariba Gorge on the Zambezi River. The lake runs 129 miles long and averages 25 miles wide. A number of fish species have been introduced to the lake, notably the sardine-like kapenta (transported from Lake Tanganyika), which now supports a thriving commercial fishery. Kapenta, in turn, now support a thriving game fishery, particularly tigerfish, which was among the indigenous species of the Zambezi river system.

We had a nice stay in Binga at the Masumu River Lodge. Contrary to my pre-trip internet research, it turned out that the lodge no longer accommodates self-contained campers, like us, but we talked the manager into letting us camp on site anyways – since there was nobody else at the lodge. The lodge is situated on a prominent rocky headland protruding out into one of the bays of Lake Kariba in a spectacular setting. The restaurant/bar/lounge area is built into the rocks of the headland with beautiful matching stonework. Nancy and I took advantage of the outdoor lounge area both days during our stay, especially since we had the place to ourselves. We also treated ourself to a local fish (freshly caught from the lake) fish-and-chips dinner – which was private as we were the only guests. Correct that, we actually had abundant guests the entire time, but they were of the rock hyrax kind, as shown below. Our campsite was situated down the hill a few hundred feet from the restaurant/bar/lounge in a nice shaddy lawn area and next to one of the chalets that we were able to use for ablutions. Here are a few photos of our stay:

Otherwise, there is not much to report about our brief stay in Binga. We made the trip into town from the lodge and got the Green Dragon washed, stocked up on some food, mostly produce, supplies, refueled and visited a local women’s collaborative craft shop, where Nancy purchased a couple of baskets made by the local women. Here is a photo of a woman weaving what will become a table.

I hate to end on a bad note, but in fairness to the spirit of this travel blog, I must report that the road to Binga from the main highway between Victoria Falls and Bulawayo was deplorable for much of the way. It was ostensibly tarmak, but in reality only the center 8 feet of the roadway had some asphalt on it, albeit with more potholes than asphalt, and the verges (sides) where rough sand and gravel, much of which was corregated. Needless-to-say, it was not a very pleasant drive. What I can’t comprehend is why they would lay, at most, a 1-inch thick layer of asphalt and expect it to last more than a few years, and then walk away from the road without any attempt at maintenance. I guess money, or the lack of it, and politics are the likely reasons. As the manager of the Binga lodge put it: there’s the 1^st world, the 3^rd world (what happened to the 2^nd world?), and then there’s Zimbabwe – the “lost” world. Here’s proof of my rant:

OK, we are off to the remote and rugged Chizarira National Park. See you there.