TRAVERSE 33
TRAVEL FEATURE- Z a m b i a
SHANE DONKIN
SIMPLE LIFE HAPPY LIFE
Just before the ferry crossing over the Zambezi river, we’ d arrived at the Botswana border post which takes you into Zambia. With the formalities completed it was onto the ferry terminal.
A couple of guys were waving us through, we rode up the ramp onto the barge and purchased a ticket from a young man who looked anything but official, landing on the Zambian side presented a few more challenges.
People were trying to scramble on as we tried to ride off, the official on this side demanded our ticket which do you think I could find in my many pockets of my motorcycle gear? Finally finding the ticket I then proceeded to go through all the paperwork that the Zambian official required, a general council rate, carbon emissions duty, road transport toll and bike insurance all items that had to be paid for as well as our visas, two hours in total.
Leaving the customs area, we passed a great number of trucks loaded with copper that were waiting to board the barge, these trucks travel from the copper belt in Northern Zambia down to South Africa daily.
We were on our way to Livingstone, a couple of hours away. A lot of noise was coming from beneath the bike, I knew the rear tyre was almost worn out plus the chain and sprockets were due for a change. With everything on board to fix these problems I wasn’ t too worried.
Booked through AirBnB we arrived at our accommodation and were met by the host, Mwendalubi, a Zambian woman who had spent 10 years building her house and now hosted tourists, it was great to spend some time with a local and learn a little more about the area.
Next day found us down at the local garage for a tyre change, we then spent a couple of days just wandering around the town and exploring back
TRAVERSE 33