Developing Life Skills through a Houseboat Adventure.

Houseboat life Skills. Murray John driving the speed boat.

We may be on a Houseboat Adventure, yet Life Skills are Being Developed.

Developing life skills through a houseboat adventure creates an amazing opportunity for our children. Therefore we use our annual seven day houseboat trip as a learning tool.

This is achieved by them embracing the Kariba experience and helping out with all aspects of houseboat life. It is always a wonderful experience out on the beautiful lake and our children embrace each and every minute of our week on Lake Kariba.

Homeschooling Around Life.

Each and everyday we do our schooling around life and our children are encouraged to learn through every experience that presents itself, which has led them to having a fascination with learning. This does not end when they go on fun adventure holidays as these holidays always turn into an educational experience, without the children knowing it.

So yes, it’s a holiday, but it is also an amazing opportunity for them to learn and develop new skills. I’m very much in favour of learning life skills, whilst educating our children, as there is no point in merely being book smart. Life skills are essential for a fulfilled and useful life.

Languages are a Life Skill:

We are blessed to have three staff on the houseboat, who are willing to share, help and teach our children some specific tasks and houseboat duties.

This is helped by the fact that our children speak the local Shona language fluently and that they can communicate well with the boat staff, who so enjoy being able to converse in their native tongue.

We have taught our children that they can learn something from anyone, no matter their station in life, so they should always be in ‘watch and learn’ mode.

Life Skill: Tender Boat Driving.

Paula Joy and Murray John love driving the small tender boats and they have been doing this, since a very young age, under the watchful eye of their father and the boat captain.

Both children are now proficient at handling the speed boats so are now learning how to handle and drive the larger pontoon boat. It is very important that also have an understanding of the safety rules, especially in rough weather.

They also know how to read the wind, in order to place the boats in the correct spot for fishing, as well as how to safely park the boats at night.

Life Skill: Map Studying.

Paula Joy and Murray John are now able to study the map of Lake Kariba and play a part in choosing the location of where to moor the houseboat. This they do, with the advice of the captain, as he always knows the safest areas for mooring and the current best fishing spots.

Life Skill: Mooring the Houseboat.

Another very useful life skill the children have acquired over the years, is how to manoeuvre and moor the large houseboat.

Murray John studies the weather reports online. He then liaises with the boat captain, as to where to moor the boat, for the best protection from incoming storms.

The children are now big and strong enough to help with securing the houseboat ropes, once the boat is moored. This is always to be done carefully and safely, considering that their are wild animals and crocodiles, in and near the waters edge.

Life Skill: Fishing Responsibilities.

At the beginning of the trip our children are each given their specific fishing responsibilities. Paula Joy is responsible for snacks on the tender boats, for our game cruises and fishing trips.

Murray John packs and loads the cool boxes, with whatever drinks everyone desires. Then they both make sure that all the fishing rods, worms, and tackle are on the correct boats.

Life Skill: Fishing.

Both kids enjoy fishing and can now sort out their own rods as well as gut the fish that they have caught.

Paula Joy has more passion for it than Murray John! She loves to fish and learn about all the different ways of fishing and how to catch the many different species of fish. All this she learns from the boat captain.

Her bream fishing is always good, so she is now working on catching many other species of fish.

With the Captain’s help she has learned, from hours of practice and patience, the technique required to catch Cornish Jack in the deeper waters, which is often off the back of the houseboat. This gives her hours of deep concentration and entertainment.

Life Skill: Boat Gilly.

Murray John thrives on becoming a good boat Gilly. He loves to help people with their fishing rods, tackle and worms, as well as serving drinks and snacks. This suits me, as I can now relax, no longer having to constantly put worms on fishing hooks!

Driving and caring for the boats is Murray John’s passion and the more gadgets the boat has the better! Give him a boat with a GPS and fish finders and he is very happy, for hours…

The houseboat’s large engines, generators and inverters fascinate Murray John. He spends hours watching and learning how they operate, whilst asking the captain a million questions!

Life Skill: Day out in Nature.

We enjoy watching Paula Joy, as she takes the small tender boat out, with the help of the boat captain, to go bream fishing for the whole day.

Equipped with her camera, she takes photos of the animals and birds around the bay, whilst patiently fishing.

Paula Joy knows the names of most of the birds on Lake Kariba and just loves being out there amongst them. After nine hours of fishing, she returns with a big smile, many stories and some wonderful photos.

They say that children who love nature will grow up to protect it. This is something we are very passionate about as a family.

Life Skills for the Future.

We shall continue to developed our children’s house-boating life skills. Therefore, by the time they are adults, they will be able to share their knowledge with others and with their own children one day.

They will also be able to find jobs in the hospitality, boat or fishing industry, should they wish to pursue careers in either one of these activities.

All these Lake Kariba skills will certainly help them make decisions later on in life. The more life skills one has, the more opportunities present themselves. No matter where one ends up, all these skills will give one more life options, as we never know where life is going to take us..

We look forward to next year’s houseboat trip and another fun, learning family adventure.