Literally.
I was awoken by a loud and jarring
thump that sounded as though the boat had been hit hard by something
large, and produced the immediate thought that somehow the boat was
being attacked by hippos. There came a gentle rocking sensation, and
a few seconds later there followed a series of smaller, then larger
thumps and bangs.
We had moored in a bay that, the
previous night, looked not only idyllic, but was also dead-calm and seemed sheltered. So much for appearances!
Presumably because of the calm, the
boat had been moored loose, and although the crew tightened the lines
a little later in the evening, they were still fairly slack. When the
wind and the water picked up a little later in the night, voila, the
boat moved around with them and repeatedly bumped the rocky shore,
waking almost everyone. We'd planned an early start anyway, so this
was a little bit of nature's alarm clock.
Cold showers also help one wake up.
Our final trip back to port showed
the lake wasn't always dead calm, and as alluded to earlier, the
pontoon design floats like a cork, rather than cutting through the
water like a hull. If I ever owned a boat like this I think it should
be named 'Bob'. There came one moment when we made a valiant rescue
as the table tried to take leave of the upper deck, along with
breakfast, but no-one was seasick and we made it back in one piece.
However the day after, even as I write this I have retained one final
legacy of Kariba, and when ever I lean on something solid I have the
sensation of a boat swaying under me.
Back home to Chinhoyi, unload,
shower for those who didn't want a cold one, catch up emails, sort
and compare photos, relax. Sleep.
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