Zambia Border Crossing
March 22nd, 2009
Making our way to the Botawana/Zambia border crossing proved to be an experience we’ll never forget. Advised by several fellow travellers and some locals we followed instruction to pass the huge line of semi-trucks waiting for the small ferry, which carries one semi-truck, one vehicle and as many passengers as possible. What we weren’t prepared for though was the amount of trucks waiting to be loaded we counted more than 150 before we gave up. Incredible. These truck drivers set up camps doing their laundry and cooking. We guessed they would probably have to wait at least a week. If anyone has some money to invest may we suggest a toll bridge over the Zambezi.
Waiting for the ferry we were approached by a ton of entrepreneurs wanting to assist us. Assuring them we were fine wasn’t enough and the lovely Karel listened to one man’s business pitch, shall we say for at least twenty minutes. Catching the ferry however wasn’t the exciting point, which was only five minutes long and we luckily were able to catch the first one. What was really exciting was the Zambian immigration malarkey. It took us two hours- and we knew what we needed to do! First we cleared immigration and had our passports stamped for which I needed a $50 visa. Next we had to pay council tax ($3.50) which we paid with some leftover pula (Botswana currency). Second we had to pay for the ferry which was $20 (accepted in American currency). Then we needed to pay carbon tax (about $25) which we weren’t allowed to pay with American dollars. This meant we needed to exchange the money for Zambian currency. After the exchange we went back to pay the carbon tax. Lastly we needed to get third party insurance for the car ($30). All of this business was conducted in a random array of buildings some consisting of little more than a tin roof. One also had a man sleeping on a bench snoring loudly. If this is Africa- I love it.
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