Lake Kariba game cruise: photo post

Our second expedition from Spurwing Island – a game cruise – offered fantastic photo opportunities because of the unique viewpoint from the water. It also allowed us to spend time with Lake Kariba’s water-dwelling creatures at close quarters.

Matusadona National Park Kariba Zimbabwe Hippo

Matusadona National Park Kariba Zimbabwe Crocodile

And of course, the chance to see the beloved elephants from a water-level perspective.Spurwing Zimbabwe Kariba Game Drive 37

Laka Kariba Zimbabwe Elephant Game Viewing

… Whilst keeping an eye out for crocodiles, of course. In water, crocs seem small and harmless; it’s only when they’re on land that you realize how big they actually are.

Laka Kariba Zimbabwe Crocodile Game Viewing

And then there are pods of hippo to admire and avoid. Our guide told us that the correct collective noun for hippos is actually a ‘raft’, but the more commonly-used ‘pod’ is also acceptable. Laka Kariba Zimbabwe Hippo Game Viewing

Plus over 240 species of birds to spot: there are so many interesting colours and sizes of birds that even I, a non-twitcher, enjoyed them.

Lake Kariba Zimbabwe Bird Forest

Laka Kariba Zimbabwe Hippo Bird Viewing

Many guidebooks talk of the three types of ecological areas in the Matusadona National Park: the grassy shoreline, the jesse and mopane woodland, and the miombo and mnondo woodlands. But when you approach the land from Lake Kariba, there is a fourth distinct area, for me anyway, and this is the water-enclosed, drowned forests.

The drowned forests are beautiful in their own way, and add an enormous amount of character to the shoreline. So much so, that if you saw a photo of this scene, you would immediately know it was Lake Kariba.

Lake Kariba Zimbabwe Drowned Forest

The trees provide dramatic-looking perches for birds to watch for fish below; the perfect vantage point to dive down to catch their meals.Laka Kariba Zimbabwe Hippo Bird ViewingI can’t deny that for me, Lake Kariba is all about being in the presence of the elephants, so I’ll pause writing and leave you with more photos of these fantastic wild beasts in the place they call home.

Lake Kariba Zimbabwe Elephant

Lake Kariba Zimbabwe Elephant
Lake Kariba Zimbabwe Elephant

With this much water and sky, it’s hard not to enjoy the sunsets, either.

Spurwing Zimbabwe Kariba Game Drive 34

If you liked this article, check out more wildlife photos in the next post about my Matusadona National Park game drive.

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Beth is the founder of Great Zimbabwe Guide Travel Blog: Zimbabwe’s first and longest-running independent online travel guide, created in 2010.

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