Zambezi Grande

An extraordinary experience in wildest Africa – TCFF visits a five-star venue on the banks of the mighty middle Zambezi in search of tigerfish and a true African wildlife adventure.

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The Zambezi is Africa’s fourth-longest river, originating in the Ikelenge district in the North-Western Province of Zambia from where it majestically flows through six countries until it finally reaches the Indian Ocean, 2700km away. It is a mighty river in all respects, with some sections rated grade 5, the highest possible rating for white-water rafting, while other sections have milder rapids, strong currents, mysterious deep pools and shallow, inviting sandbanks, creating an environment conducive to hosting a myriad of both land and water animal species. Our focus for this assignment was the middle Zambezi, and, more specifically, the lower two-thirds of this part of the river. Here the river is essentially a tailwater, flowing between Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams, both huge and built for generating hydroelectric power for Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa. The roughly lower two-thirds of this section of river is flanked by national parks on both banks; the true left bank, the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia, and, on the right, Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. With parks on both sides one would expect a lot of game to roam the banks and this is indeed the case, making this section of the river fascinating, wild and, of course, a little dangerous.

However, this is part and parcel of what one would expect when fishing for tigerfish in Africa, and, as you will learn later in this article, we were not disappointed. The parks are closed to netting or any kind of commercial fishing, so all things being equal, the tiger fishing in this section of river should be exactly what fly fishermen dream of – wild and virtually undisturbed.