Zambia: Botswana to Zambia on a ferry

Friday 27^th February: Kasane, Botswana to Victoria Falls,  Zambia.

Breakfast at 9am, checked out at 1130 and said our farewell to Andy & Ilona as they were heading for Namibia. It was a wonderfully fun and exciting two days with them and we all got on so well.

 I sincerely hope our paths cross again, but not in a swamp the next time! Just updating this blog in Kasane before we head for Kazangula where we will take the ferry across the Zambezi into Zambia. We will then head straight for Victoria Falls to see this wonder. It’s been raining a lot so we’re hoping for a great sight. We’ll probably stay in Livingstone tonight and plan the journey through Zambia over dinner. Oh, and you thought we had planned this down to a fine art!!

Botswana to Zambia on a very small ferry!
 

We drove to Kazangula and of course on arrival were greeted by the sight of hundreds of trucks lined along the road, queuing for the ferry. 

We already knew from the guide book that smaller vehicles just went to the front of the queue. We got to the departure immigration office and after visiting two booths, got our exit stamp. As with the entry into Botswana, that was the easy bit. We then drove down the muddy ground to where the ferry leaves from. 

There are two small ferries operating this crossing and you can see the shore on the other side quite clearly. We didn’t get on the first one as it already had 2 cars and a truck waiting. That ferry came in with just one double trailer truck on it and there was no capacity for anything else. That gives an indication of the size.

We then switched to the other ferry a few yards away and were in pole position for it. However, when it arrived, on it’s first crossing apparently (it was clearly ancient) it couldn’t lower the ramp so we could see he was going to have to go out and come in at the other point. We quickly drove over and got on as soon as the ramp was lowered. One truck & two cars followed and we were on our way within 10 minutes.

The crossing is only 15 minutes and we arrived to utter chaos. Cars and trucks everywhere, no signposting either, so we slowly made our way to a parking spot. John, driving today, stayed in the vehicle while I went off to start the process of entering Zambia.

1^st Stop: Port office to pay the ferry fee of $20 for the crossing.

2^nd Stop: Next door to pay the police clearance, about $10

3^rd Stop: Another office to fill in a book with all the vehicle and owner details
.

4^th Stop: Another office to pay carbon control tax of 150, 000 Kwacha ($30)

5^th Stop: To find a money changer because they wouldn’t accept US$, rather short sighted in Africa!

6^th Stop: To a portakabin, to buy third party insurance for Zambia, 100,000 ($20)

7^th Stop: Back to the carbon control desk to pay the 150,000 ($30) I had now secured.

8^th Stop: Around the corner to write all my details into another book at passport control.

He then stamped my passport & as it’s Africa, I asked him if he would also stamp John in as I had his passport. Yes he would, but there was a $50 visa fee. Irish passports get in free. John meanwhile has been sitting in air conditioned comfort while I battled with officialdom.

9^th Stop: Customs post. I decided I would walk along there and try and get advanced clearance. Showed him all the paperwork and explained we would bring the vehicle along in a few minutes.

That was it, or so I smugly thought at least. This whole process, from arriving at the ferry on the other side, took over three hours. I went back to the vehicle and off we headed to the customs post. We were let through without any further checks. We stopped just outside & I got a very cold beer out of the fridge, well deserved I felt, after all that.

10^th Stop: Joined the main road into Livingstone which is 70 kms away. Drove 1 km and there was a police check. Of course John was driving; he always is for police checks. The policeman asked us for various bits of documents, which we provided. I gave him a blank look when he asked for the RTC certificate. This, he explained, is the Road Toll Certificate to drive on Zambian roads. It can cost up to $150, depending on the size of your vehicle. We decided to head back to the port, well chaos really, and find out more about it. The policeman wanted to keep our insurance certificate and John’s driving licence until we returned and I had to insist it was our property and he could not have it. After a few minutes he relented when he finally understood we would be back this way again & show it again if he wanted. Also, no was no, he was not going to get any of our paperwork to keep.

11^th Stop: So, back to the port only to be told we were exempt. 

12^th Stop: Back to the policeman & still he couldn’t understand but I gave him a phone no. to call & finally we were on our way.

That was another 40 minutes wasted so now we’re approaching 4 hours to get into Zambia in a private vehicle. And, guess what, it’s dark so here we go again, breaking our driving in the dark rule. Huge potholes in the road but we tuck in behind another vehicle and follow his weaving around. 

Livingstone Zambia

We arrive in Livingstone and fairly quickly get down to finding accommodation. We got decent rooms at the Ngolide Lodge near town. It has an Indian restaurant so we’re having dinner by 9pm. By 2am I am up with stomach cramps but I believe it is still just the recovery process from the nausea and stomach problems of a few days ago. Hey, the diet might be working, though not the way I expected.