Lake Kariba and Siavonga

Joe Keaney, SJ and I took a three day trip to Lake Kariba and stayed at a friend's lakeside home in Siavonga. Lake Kariba was formed when the Zambesi river was damned to provide electrical power for south central Africa. Siavonga is about three hours from Lusaka over very good roads (now, they had severe flooding earlier). It was fascinating to pass through changing landscapes until we arrived at the lakeside.

The home was very comfortable and nice and we had a great verandah for watching the lake and the birds of the area. Joe is a birder and so I am far more aware of the great variety of birds in Zambia. Zambia has nearly 700 species of birds and Joe has spotted over half.

The time was not filled with great activity, but with very good conversations. We enjoyed a couple of good dinners and it was fun to have the opportunity to cook. Each late afternoon we took a stroll into Siavonga and watched people and wandered in the market. The people of this area are Tonga speakers and Joe was able to greet people and to surprise the children that he could speak their tongue.

Above this post are a number of pictures from the time in Siavonag.