Three countries in a day!

Originally the plan had been to take the car to Katima Mulilo and then take a shuttle or bus from there to Livingstone in Zambia. There were two roads leading there. Either by directly crossing the border into Zambia right by Katima, a track feared by many and known as a "car killer" due to its desasteous state (10h drive for 200km). Or by crossing the border south of Katima into Botswana, driving the tarred road through a beautiful Botswanan National Park, and then crossing again at another border crossing into Zambia. That trip would take less than 3h, and was definitely preferred by us.

Unfortunately, there were no buses going on that route, nor scheduled shuttles. I came to realize our only option appeared to be to hire out a private shuttle, a service for which I was quoted around 350 USD. I had been in touch with our relocation driver for a few days now, and found out that he was coming by bus from the south of Botswana to drop off another car two days beforehand. An idea brewed in our heads. What if we ask the agency for permission to drop off the car in Livingstone directly, then drive through Botswana on the way there, pick up the driver, drive with him to Zambia, and then send him back on his merry way?

That was the plan we communicated with them, and for a mere 80 USD extra it was meant to happen. Even with an additional tank of fuel this would be much more convenient than paying a shuttle company 350 USD. Today we were supposed to meet with our guy in Kasane, the northernmost city of Botswana. After we had left our camp, I called the relocation driver again to confirm our meeting spot one last time before we'd cross the border where we wouldn't have any more connection.

In that call it transpired that he had completely misunderstood the agreement 😕 He informed me that the car didn't have the paperwork required to drive all the way into Zambia, that there would be an import fee of around 450 USD to drive across the border with the car, and that he was unable to help us with this. The best he could offer was to drive us to the no man's land between Botswana and Zambia and we'd be on our own from there.

Now, that was just great. He made sure to let us know that this decision was absolute, and he even offered to investigate some cross border shuttles from Kasane to Livingstone. None of those were really feasible financially at 80-100 USD per person. I remembered then that the accommodation I had booked in Livingstone featured a review that mentioned something about the host arranging a transfer for them. I quickly wrote to them from the first border crossing of the day and requested a quote. Shortly after my request they confirmed that they could pick us up from the border with Botswana at around 50 USD. Perfect!

Crossing the first border into Botswana was easy. There were some hygiene inspections (we had to clean our shoes before being allowed in the country), and we had to pay an import tax of around 15 USD for the car, but apart from that all was very simple and smooth. Once across the border we had to register as passing through the national park. It was a park known for its incredible wildlife, but we crossed through in peak midday heat, and all we spotted was a lonely elephant and two antelopes.

In Kasane we met with the relocation driver as agreed, and together we went to a gas station (we had to hand over the truck with a full tank) and to pick up some pizza - we were hungry! We also confirmed with our new hosts that we would indeed be needing the transfer right around now, so they should please send the driver to reduce our waiting time.

The Botswana-Zambia border was bewildering. Up until a few years ago the border River was crossed by a pontoon "bridge". During the pandemic a brand new bridge was opened. However, the signposting was lacking a lot, and we got quite lost between the road going down to the pontoon dock (now inactive) and the bridge to Zambia. Suddenly we were on the border bridge already, without having passed through the exit procedures of Botswana! There was no way back either, so forward we went. All of us were a bit irritated at how things were structured around this border zone.

Ultimately, it turned out that it was really just a signposting mess-up. But before we discovered that we were told we had to go through the health inspection post, where we were actually asked to provide proof of our covid vaccinations, or they'd have to reject our arrival petition unfortunately. Since we hadn't needed those digital certificates in forever, they had expired on our phones, and without an internet connection we were unable to renew them. Luckily, both of us had the required entries in our vaccination passes, so we got a stamp of approval from the health ministry and off we went.

We found out quickly after crossing that they didn't just open a bridge across the border a few years prior, but also a brand spanking new border processing center, with both borders housed in the same building. We could get an exit stamp from Botswana on the left side, and then walk across the hall to go through the entry procedures on the right side for Zambia. It was the first of its kind that we had ever seen, and we felt it was a great sign of friendship and collaboration between the two countries.

Our procedures there were actually lightning quick, the slowest process was for our driver to pay the bridge tolls and to get the required documents stating that he would not leave the no man's land and return to Botswana immediately. So, while we waiting for him to sort out his administrative matters and waiting for the pickup to arrive, we were also productive by exchanging some money into local currency and making friends with the money changers, who were kind enough to make a call to our hosts to ask where our driver was.

After a short while he arrived, we changed all of our luggage into the small car, waved goodbye to our trusty Hilux truck and driver, and drove off into the storm that was raging on the Zambian side 😁Read more