Musuna: Where still waters run deep

predators squirm around looking for their prey: the dinner for their tables.
The rumbling sound of the frothing waters as they snake past the narrow gorges of the mighty Zambezi gets louder and louder as night falls.
Little voices of children are absorbed by the loud roaring sound as they meander their way through an uncharacteristically narrow channel towards the Indian Ocean.  Wrapped in their sari (a Tonga dress) women and girls rush to the banks of the Kasambabezi to secure a place for fishing, ignoring the dangers of being attacked by marauding crocodiles, often seen basking and enjoying the last warmth of the dying sun.
Men tirelessly carry long fishing rods and the more affluent stir boats to the bank, hoping to have the biggest catch. At this stage every villager is impatiently waiting for the gigantic cruise boats to disappear in the further part of Zambezi as they might be the biggest obstacle.
This is the daily routine of the Musuna community, a place which is just along the Zambezi River euphemistically referred to as Kasambabezi river, where fishing is more than a hobby, a way of life if not life itself. It is almost natural and habitual.
The Musuna community is one of the places which geography catapulted far away from the provincial capital of Matabeleland North, it is adjacent to Victoria Falls town and some few kilometres from the small mining town of Hwange.
The area is fortunate to be along a river that never runs dry with waters that flow past six countries.
Here, the fourth largest river in Africa,  the Zambezi has made the people of Musuna’s lives much easier as families and the community as a whole benefit from it.
“This is a God-given gift for us the Musuna community, the Zambezi River has become part of us, we also live with it, fishing is more important in this place because we are also getting income from the fishery” said local villager Efioso Ncube.
The area which is under Chief Hwange has seen most members of the community generate income from the Zambezi and these are mostly done by women.
The fishing is done for both commercial and subsistence purposes, as their target markets are mainly from the locals and tourists coming to view the magnificent wetlands. As the river Zambezi continuously flows in the same community heading to Binga and later pouring into Kariba Dam, the meandering of the river gives birth to a superlative island which is known as the Musuna Island.
The 11-hectare-island has attracted tourists from all parts of the world. The natural surrounding and the quiet atmosphere of the area will always make one extend his or her visit to the island.
The island is infested with aqua life, from crocodiles to tiger fish, bream and tilapia. Land mammals are abound!
Musuna is 87 kilometres from Hwange town and it is common to see birds circling in the sky.
Other birds summersault from one tree to another, singing melodiously and chirping and are indeed a spectacle.
According to the manager of the Island, Mrs Gaye Smith, the island has a fishing resort which is a non-profit making organisation with a mission to promote natural tourism.                                                                                                                                                             She has been living on the island for three years and she enjoys every second of it.  The Musuna fishing resort also does fishing competitions annually making the resort more interesting.
Not very far away from the island and still in Musuna, situated on the famous “Tiger Mile” of the upper Zambezi is what is called the bream land. The land where fishing is a daily routine.
The area is on the top of a hill which gives out the bluish-green view of the Zambezi River and of the shiny hippos bathing in the river.
However, at times the Zambezi River along Musuna has brought a bag of mixed feelings, its existence has influenced the increase of human–wildlife conflict in the area as the crocodiles and the hippos sometimes invade homesteads close to the banks for prey while on the other side the Zambezi River is a source of income  for the community.
The river’s beauty has attracted tourists from all over the world and provides great opportunities for game viewing and various watersport activities   such as rafting, cruises and fishing contests, indeed the wetlands is giving life to the Musuna community. The Zambezi River which was a barrier between Zambia and Zimbabwe turned into a link between the two countries as the Musuna in Zimbabwe and the Simalaha community of Zambia share the natural resource.
It is not just wildlife that is moving across the river to the other country but ideas are also being shared from one community on the Zimbabwean side to the  other community on the Zambian side  for the betterment of both along the Zambezi river.