Last weekend we went with Don and Laura Oldenburg to Lake Kariba on the southern border of Zambia. They were celebrating their 39th anniversary and asked us to go along. We stayed at a gorgeous lodge right on the lake and enjoyed watching spectacular sunsets each evening of our stay there.
On Saturday we visited the dam at Lake Kariba and found out more about the lake, the dam, and its construction. Lake Kariba is the largest man-made lake in the world, which is amazing enough, but its construction is even more remarkable. The dam was built from start to finish in five years (1955 – 1960), even with severe floods and other setbacks. Having at least a little bit of experience in trying to get things done here in Africa, I am thoroughly impressed that a project of this size was completed so quickly.
The new lake displaced over 60,000 people who were relocated to other parts of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Wildlife also had to be moved out of the area. David remembers watching Marlon Perkins on the “Wild Kingdom” TV show as he documented the efforts to get the animals safely onto high ground before the floodgates were opened.
Now the lake provides hydro-electric power to Zambia and Zimbabwe and is a huge tourism resource for both countries.
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