Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Goodbye Botswana, Hello Zambia

I boarded this Air Botswana jet on Sunday. A flight (booked the day before) from Maun to Kasane, near the border, cost about $65. I got the flight because the roads between Maun (pronounced Mau-oon, with the emphasis on the second syllable) are awful, and the 300 km journey takes nearly 10 hours.
The plane seated 47, and a grand total of 6 passengers were on board. It was a smooth flight. I found a ride to the Zambian border -- about 20 km away, and was left on my own to cross. It's a big river, with Botswana on one side, Namibia's Caprivi strip off to another side, and Zambia straight ahead. I was beset by lots of people selling stuff and offering services, so I lodged myself between a few Zambians bringing fruit across the border, asked them how to board the ferry ("just get on"), and then got a ride from them on the other side. I didn't take photos because, well, I was kind of freaked out. But it worked out fine, and I made it to my next Backpackers in Livingstone, Zambia, without incident.

Zambia is green, dusty, and full of villages, thatch-roofed huts, and lots of people. It feels like regular Africa -- more sights, sounds, and smells. I like it more over here.

4 comments:

Alec Jeffries said...

Awesome, Zambia! I was researching the Tanzania & Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) yesterday. Let me know if you find any good hostels/backpackers in Zambia or Zimbabwe. Cheers!

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