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We are up at 5:30 and on the road by six, as we hope to have time to visit the Mkgadikgadi Pans this evening. But first we must cross the Zambezi into Botswana. Looking at the map it appears that four countries, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, and two rivers, the Chobe and the Zambesi, all meet at a single point at the tiny settlement of Kazungula. In fact the border is between Zambia and Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe being a few miles west and east respectively and crossing the Zambesi is done by ferry.
Day 5. Wed 21st April Planet Baobab.
DaveMidgley2005-10-22 10:10:02
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We are up at 5:30 and on the road by six, as we hope to have time to visit the Mkgadikgadi Pans this evening. But first we must cross the Zambezi into Botswana. Looking at the map it appears that four countries, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, and two rivers, the Chobe and the Zambesi, all meet at a single point at the tiny settlement of Kazungula. In fact the border is between Zambia and Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe being a few miles west and east respectively and crossing the Zambesi is done by ferry.
We arrive at Kazungula around 7:25. There is a huge queue of trucks waiting for the ferry, but we go straight to the front - each trip takes one large lorry and one or two small vehicles. There is only on ferry boat running, the other apparently sank! Even this one was apparently out of commission for a while and has only been running since Tuesday. Just as well for us as the alternative is a journey of several hundred miles back down river to the bridge at Chirundu, followed by all the problems of entering Zimbabwe.
The boat is just setting off as we arrive, but it does the round trip in about twenty minutes so we do not have too long to wait. Unfortunately the load before us contained two coaches full of people, so when we reach the other side there is an enormous queue at customs and immigration. There is a huge problem with foot and mouth in this area and no meat-based food products can be transported - we will not be able to stock up with fresh meat until Ghansi. Luckily the customs officials do not make us unpack everything, and once we reach the head of the queue, and immigration have managed to find a stamp-sized gap in Ken's passport, we can paddle through the disinfectant trough and get on our way.
Like most countries "south of the Zambesi" Botswana is relatively rich, its primary source of income being minerals, in particular diamonds. Prices are significantly higher here than in Zambia, but
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See photographs from:
Zambia Gallery
