Upon preparing for our 2 day adventure, after ministry in Botswana, to Victoria Falls/Livingstone the logistics team (Brady, Casey, and Jessie) discovered a reality unknown to logical thought. Among some of the logistical issues were how to skirt around the $100 visa fee into Zambia and secure cheap lodging. We talked to locals, travel agents, the tourism department, bus and train stations, internet sites, and any person who would listen. Armed with this storehouse of knowledge, we believed this process would be simple and painless; however, reality reared its ugly head.
The plan was to leave Maun on a bus at 6:30 am headed for Nata. At that point (depending upon which source we listened to), we could either catch another bus to Kasane (the border), or the bus would be full and we would have to hitchhike to cross into Zambia. One source told us that once into Zambia we would not be able to catch a taxi into Livingstone because it’s a trucking border. A second source told us that taxis were common between the border and Livingstone. With conflicting information, we decided to cross each bridge of the journey individually.
One major piece of the puzzle fell into place when one of the lodges finally responded to us via email, and we were able to secure lodging for 6 of the 10. We decided this was sufficient. In addition to that, the visa fee was “waived” provided that the lodge received our fax and took the list to the border before our arrival. No guarantees…
We quickly learned that the best laid plans often go awry. Our actual journey did begin by leaving Maun on the bus. From that point the similarities cease. Upon arriving in Nata at 10am we received conflicting reports regarding buses to Kasane. The Caltex gas station told us we just missed the bus, but the next one comes at 3pm. Across the street at the Shell station, they said the bus would come in half an hour. Unfortunately, the bus driver going in the opposite direction told us we’d be lucky to get a bus to Kasane.
Shortly after this we gave up on the bus and asked every truck driver where they were going and if they had space for ten. Lo and behold, our new friend Sharon arrived. Unfortunately, even the best of World Racers can’t fit 10 in a Mitsubishi, but we managed to squeeze four. Not knowing when our fellow racers would catch a ride, we took off to Kasane planning to meet at the border post. While waiting at the border post the rest of our crew arrived in the back of a flatbed truck, chauffeured by 3 wisemen. Without much ado we found ourselves pulling onto the ferry to cross the river into Zambia.
It turns out the 3 wisemen travel through this border on a weekly basis and have a great relationship with the border officials. Barefield, brave soul that he is, collected passports and entered the immigration office led by one of the wisemen. Shortly he came out with passports and a smile. Visas waived! At this point we were unsure of our transportation, but come to find out the 3 wisemen were passing through Livingstone and dropped us off at the front door of Fawlty Towers.
Victoria Falls….
During our glorious weekend of jumping off gorges, observing the falls, and whitewater rafting we made NO plans whatsoever for the journey back to Maun. Gleaning from our newfound knowledge that plans are useless, we decided to wing it!
Rafting Adventure…I am the 2nd one from the right.
