Marula Canoe Safari - Kariba to Chirundu

  • 3 days/2 nights  
  • Departs -Tue/Sat/Sun (All Year)
  • A brief experience of the Lower Zambezi.
  • This trip passes through the serene Kariba Gorge and then onto the beginning of the great Zambezi floodplain.
    ZZ-CNMA01
    2008 Rates:   $ 365        + 5% tax

           Extra night in Kariba before the trip: $ 75 per room +tax

Price note: National Parks charge per person rates of US$15 entry fee plus US$5 per night, payable in cash on entry.  These fees are not included in the safari rates and are subject to change without notice.

A typical routine on the Marula Canoe Safari

Your briefing will be held at Kariba Breezes Hotel at 18h15 at the lower pool terrace on the evening before your trip departs. After the briefing you will be asked to sign an indemnity form. Shearwater will collect you for the briefing and return you to your hotel afterwards.

For clients on combination safaris where the Matusadona walking safari is done first, the night at a hotel in Kariba is omitted and there is no pre-departure briefing - we arrange the early morning transfer into Kariba so as to allow one more night in the bush.

Please note that you will be required to pay Z$25 to National Parks on the day of departure - this is not included in the safari rate and is subject to change without notice.

DAY ONE (18km)

  • Shearwater will collect you from your hotel the morning of your safari in time for a check in at the Shearwater Office at 08h00 to hand in extra luggage and valuables. Please do not take your passport on the river with you!
  • Your safari will depart from Kariba Breezes at 08h30.
  • After arriving at the Kariba gorge, equipment, canoes are carried into the gorge and your group will walk into the gorge.
  • A safety talk and a demonstration of how to paddle a canoe will be given to your group.
  • At 11h00 paddling will begin until a stop is made for lunch at 13h00.
  • Lunch is a picnic style lunch with time for a siesta afterwards to pass the heat of the day until 15h00.
  • Your group then paddles until about 17h00 when you set up camp on an island, Nyamoumba, in the middle of the river. There is time to bathe with the use of a bucket, relax and have dinner after a brief safety talk for camping.

DAY TWO (27km)

  • Your group will be woken at sunrise for tea, coffee and biscuits before you start canoeing.
  • Between 08h00 and 10h30 a stop will be made for breakfast.
  • Your group will resume canoeing until a lunch stop is made at 13h00, with time for a siesta.
  • Between 15h00 and 17h00 your group will paddle to the next camping spot at Twin Logs Island.

DAY THREE (12km)

  • Your group will be woken at sunrise for tea, coffee and biscuits before you start canoeing.
  • A breakfast stop is made after paddling for approximately 40 minutes.
  • Between 09h30 and 11h00 you will paddle to the pick up point at Chirundu where your equipment will be loaded for your return trip to Kariba or the Kariba airport, which departs at approximately 12h00 arriving in Kariba at 14h00. For clients continuing with a combination safari we arrange for the air charter or boat transfer across Lake Kariba.

What to bring on your canoe safari

  1. Please keep your luggage to a maximum of 10kg per person, packed in a soft bag, not a suitcase.
  2. We recommend you pack the following for your safari:
    • Swimming Costume Shorts Shirts (including one with long sleeves for sun protection)
    • Canvas shoes or rafting sandals
    • A hat with a wide brim
    • A jacket or cardigan for the evenings
    • A kikoi or length of cloth to cover your legs to protect them from the sun
    • Personal toiletries and towel
    • A torch/flashlight and extra batteries. Film and spare camera batteries. Binoculars
    • Sunscreen
    • Insect repellant
    • Socks for winter nights
    • Warm clothes to sleep in for winter nights
  3. Shearwater provides all camping equipment and food as well as cordials, and wine for dinner. Should you wish to take any hard liquor, beer or carbonated drinks, we will take you to a shop in Kariba to purchase these before the trip departs. Dome tents are available on request.
  4. Please ensure that you have begun a course of anti malaria tablets before your arrival in Zimbabwe and that you continue with the medication for four weeks after arriving home.
  5. Please ensure that you advise us of any dietary preferences or requirements at least a week before your trip departs. Please ensure you advise us of any medical disorders which may require special attention.