Winter in Kariba is probably one of the most mild and enjoyable places to be. The nights and early mornings are chilly, usually no more than a jacket is needed to keep warm and this is shed my mid-morning when the sunshine heat kicks in. We were lucky enough to be invited out to the newly refurbished Kingfisher Lodges (previously Lambs Lair) in the Charara area over the long weekend at the end of May and jumped at the chance to “get out of town.”
The day before we were due to leave Woody picked up a tiny kitten that was about to be run over in the middle of the road, as he was so dinky we couldn’t leave him alone so early on in his little life, and Tash and Penny very kindly let us bring the kitten along to the lodge. The kitten was as good as gold over the weekend.
I digress! …… I didn’t know what to expect of Kingfisher Lodge as I had never been to Lambs Lair when the previous owners had it, but was very impressed with it now. Located between Cerruti and OH, it overlooks Paterson Bay of NAUZ Charara where, due to the current lake levels, the slipway is now located. Many hours of entertainment can be had watching the experienced and not so experienced guests of NAUZ launch and pull their boats out.
Kingfisher is made up of 3 self-catering lodges next to one another. Two have 4 bedrooms each and can take up to 8 people, and the third one is smaller with 2 bedrooms for 4 people. Each have their own fully kitted out kitchen and a cook who can assist in the preparation of meals, or cook them if you so like. We had Gift looking after us at number 2, he had worked his way up from security guard and was very passionate about his new job doing his absolute best to meet all our needs.
After a good night’s sleep and a nice winter lie-in we took Tash up on her offer of using their speedboat for a fishing excursion. Andre and Tash work together and they very expertly launched the boat and we were soon speeding across the bay to a nice fishing spot, doing our best to catch our dinner. Sadly the fish were not biting, but it didn’t really bother us, as it is so great to just get out on the lake and soak up the beauty around us.
Andre and Tash accepted our invitation to come across for sundowners that evening, and we had a lovely time chatting and taking in the gorgeous view from the perfectly located picnic bench near the bottom of the property. Number 2 lodge is most definitely our recommendation for those that have children because there is even an outdoor play area. Each lodge has their own pool overlooking the lake, which this time we decided not to use as the water was just a little too cold for our Kariba acclimatised blood!
So there you have it … if you are looking for somewhere to get away from the winter blues (or any time of the year!) Kingfisher Lodges are ideal and the perfect place for larger groups too, if you take all 3 lodges you can have your entire family of up to 20 people accommodated! What a great place to chill and make memories.
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