Construction of Kariba Dam continued...

Patient persuasion was needed, and troublemakers intent on firing discontent amongst the primitive tribesmen did not make matters easier for the authorities. A small battle ensued and eventually the primitive Batonka tribes were moved to higher and better areas that had been prepared for them. Then there was the problem of their ancestral spirits - what would happen to them, for whom the little huts were built in the old homelands. However, even this problem was surmounted when large branches were attached to the trucks moving the tribes and their belongings, and allowed to drag behind from the old tribal dwelling place to the new, and the spirits could then follow the living, without any trouble at all!

Building of the Kariba Dam

Giant bulldozers pulsating in the valley, ripped into the ground and tore up great trees, moved mountains of earth and created a roaring bedlam of dust and turmoil. Houses were built and roads quickly cut through the dense bush and then a constant stream of people, trucks, cement, steel, fuel, timber, machinery, food, drink etc were carried along the roads converging on Kariba. The natives called the spirit of the river Nyaminyami and they were convinced that he could neither be beaten nor tamed, and they were nearly right. Nyaminyami was not to be beaten so easily. While the construction was at a crucial stage, a great flood, such as had never been seen before or recorded, swept down the river and threatened to destroy the millions of pounds worth of work which had already been done. This occurred in March 1958, the great flood, which was to be expected once in a 10,000 years! At the height of the flood, nearly 600,000 cubic feet of water per second roared through this narrow gorge, 3,000 tonnes of water per second, 180,000 tonnes per minute of raging, surging, swirling angry waters. They swept over the coffer dam, tore away great chunk of the river banks and teetered the suspension bridge strung across, below the site. In agony the workers watched and wondered - would it stand? The waters rose and eventually the bridge gave way like a writhing, twisting giant serpent, leaving the spectators with a feeling of chastened defeat. For a while Nyaminyami ruled again. The wall was finally closed in December 1958 and the great man-made lake started to fill. The scene today is placid, the roads beautiful, and the modern hotels, rest houses, boating and fishing facilities on this great stretch of blue water which disappears over the horizon. Yet over a decade previously, there was nothing but an untamed wilderness.

Nyaminyami - spirit of Kariba

The story of Kariba is not complete, if I do not mention a little about the fantastic rescue operation which was responsible for saving the lives of so many wild animals trapped on the islands, formed by the rising waters of the lake. This was called 'Operation Noah' at the time and it caught the worlds imagination. Elephant, rhino, antelope, lion, porcupines, snakes and many others were compassionately moved to the mainland. Some were encouraged to swim, some were caught and tied, whilst others were first anaesthetised by darts. To avoid injuring the smaller animals, thousands of nylon stockings were made into ropes. Ordinary rope cut into the skin. This quite often dangerous occupation was carried out by a dedicated team of Game Department Officials under the leadership of Rupert Fothergill, who survived many an exciting encounter with the wild animals and snakes!

Note: More information about Operation Noah and Rupert Fothergill. A very interesting blog.