From Germany to South Africa-Part 8

Zambia, Botswana: Victoria Falls and Lions

We left Malawi and entered Zambia through the Mchinji border crossing on July 21, and then made a stop in Chipata, the capital of Zambia’s Eastern Province. The city boasts fancy hotels, restaurants and shopping malls, and an abundance of banks and ATM machines. This was quite a contrast to where we just came from. It is an observation we made throughout our journey_ that things suddenly, and often surprisingly, change as one crosses borders.
From Chipata, we rode southwest towards Lusaka. On the way, we found a new friend in Noah, a Zambian boy who lives near the Luangwa Bridge with his family. He asked to have his picture taken on my motorbike. I would love to send him a copy, and in general, just get in touch. If anybody is reading this who lives or knows people in Luangwa, I would be grateful to hear from you.

In Lusaka, the capital of Zambia and home to about two million people, we stayed with our friend Faith and her children. Faith introduced us to Lusaka’s vibrant nightlife and was overall a wonderful host. Like Noah, her sons were fascinated by the motorbike. They grabbed our helmets and refused to take them off until I gave each of them a ride around the neighbourhood. Faith needed a little convincing, before she too hopped on.
The next highlight was Victoria Falls, located on the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The waterfall is roughly twice the height of North America’s Niagara Falls, but much less commercialised, making for a great and truly awe-inspiring experience. To get one of the best views of the falls, stand in the middle of the Knife Edge bridge. It takes a bit of courage to step onto the narrow foot bridge 90 metres above a gorge, and you will be drenched in water, but it is well worth it.
Less than 80 kilometres to the west of the falls, we crossed the 400-metre-wide Zambezi River into Botswana, using the Kazungula ferry. We then rode south through the Kalahari Basin in northeastern Botswana, where elephants and lions roam freely, as is the case in most of the country. A Botswanan, concerned about the lions, offered to load our motorbike onto his pickup truck and take us to the next city. We declined. Luckily, we did not meet any lions. We did encounter an elephant though, standing in the middle of the highway, not in the least bothered by our presence.
Once one of the poorest countries in the world, Botswana is now one of the countries in Africa with the highest per capita GDP. For us, that meant the end of cheap accommodation. We spent our first night in Nata, and the second one in Mahalapye, spending about twenty times as much for a room as we had spent in other countries along the way.
As we were still behind schedule due to our accident in Tanzania, we could not spend much time in Botswana, and did not see nearly as much of the country as we would have liked to. I hope to get a chance to go back someday.

To be continued.

The writer is a moral philosopher at Rice University in Texas, USA.

From Germany to South Africa-Part 8

Zambia, Botswana: Victoria Falls and Lions

We left Malawi and entered Zambia through the Mchinji border crossing on July 21, and then made a stop in Chipata, the capital of Zambias Eastern Province. The city boasts fancy hotels, restaurants and shopping malls, and an abundance of banks and ATM machines. This was quite a contrast to where we just came from. It is an observation we made throughout our journey_ that things suddenly, and often surprisingly, change as one crosses borders. From Chipata, we rode southwest towards Lusaka. On the way, we found a new friend in Noah, a Zambian boy who lives near the Luangwa Bridge with his family. He asked to have his picture taken on my motorbike. I would love to send him a copy, and in general, just get in touch. If anybody is reading this who lives or knows people in Luangwa, I would be grateful to hear from you. In Lusaka, the capital of Zambia and home to about two million people, we stayed with our friend Faith and her children. Faith introduced us to Lusakas vibrant nightlife and was overall a wonderful host. Like Noah, her sons were fascinated by the motorbike. They grabbed our helmets and refused to take them off until I gave each of them a ride around the neighbourhood. Faith needed a little convincing, before she too hopped on. The next highlight was Victoria Falls, located on the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The waterfall is roughly twice the height of North Americas Niagara Falls, but much less commercialised, making for a great and truly awe-inspiring experience. To get one of the best views of the falls, stand in the middle of the Knife Edge bridge. It takes a bit of courage to step onto the narrow foot bridge 90 metres above a gorge, and you will be drenched in water, but it is well worth it. Less than 80 kilometres to the west of the falls, we crossed the 400-metre-wide Zambezi River into Botswana, using the Kazungula ferry. We then rode south through the Kalahari Basin in northeastern Botswana, where elephants and lions roam freely, as is the case in most of the country. A Botswanan, concerned about the lions, offered to load our motorbike onto his pickup truck and take us to the next city. We declined. Luckily, we did not meet any lions. We did encounter an elephant though, standing in the middle of the highway, not in the least bothered by our presence. Once one of the poorest countries in the world, Botswana is now one of the countries in Africa with the highest per capita GDP. For us, that meant the end of cheap accommodation. We spent our first night in Nata, and the second one in Mahalapye, spending about twenty times as much for a room as we had spent in other countries along the way. As we were still behind schedule due to our accident in Tanzania, we could not spend much time in Botswana, and did not see nearly as much of the country as we would have liked to. I hope to get a chance to go back someday. To be continued. The writer is a moral philosopher at Rice University in Texas, USA.