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Other entries in Livingstone

Arrival in Livingstone

"The Scramble for Africa in the 1880s resulted in the German colony of South West Africa, which threatened to join across the Kalahari with the independent Boer republic of the Transvaal. The British in Cape Colony responded by using their missionary and trade connections with the Tswana states to keep the ‘missionaries road’ to Zimbabwe and the Zambezi open for British expansion. In 1885 the British proclaimed a protectorate over their Tswana allies, as far north as the Ngwato; and the protectorate was extended to the Tawana and the Chobe River in 1890."

It is interesting to recall that Dr David Livingstone blazed part of the missionary trail. He baptised the Tswana King Sechele, who ruled from 1829 until 1892.

The international politics of the time and the great scramble for territory in Africa has left us an interesting legacy in terms of national state boundaries. To arrive at the Zambian border from Windhoek, we had to drive east along a narrow corridor of land called the Caprivi Strip. This 280 mile long corridor is not only rich in wildlife and natural resources but was (1890) strategically important because it gave access to the Zambezi River and potentially a route from German territory in the west to German territory in the east.

"Caprivi was named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi, who negotiated the land in an 1890 exchange with the United Kingdom. Von Caprivi arranged for Caprivi to be annexed to German South-West Africa in order to give Germany access to the Zambezi River and a route to Africa's East Coast, where the German colony Tanganyika was situated. The annexation was a part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty, in which Germany gave up its interest in Zanzibar in return for the Caprivi Strip and the island of Heligoland in the North Sea."

The Caprivi Strip was also the scene of some intense military action between the late 1960’s and the late 1980’s, when the Apartheid South African regime fought against nationalist movements backed by the Soviet bloc. I would not have chosen to drive along this route in my youth. However I spoke to one of the passengers during one of the rest stops at a petrol station around 0330hrs. She had first visited the Caprivi Strip as a teenager back in 1978 and was flown in by the South African military. She has had a lifetime interest in wildlife and nature. She explained how little appeared to be known about the area, from a zoological/botanical perspective during the fighting. I added that my geographical knowledge, based upon out of date maps, was also poor. I thought we had to cut through Botswana (the former Bechuanaland Protectorate) to get to Zambia but this is not the case. There is a direct crossing into Zambia at Katima Mulilo.

This corridor is quite amazing because so many counties border it. When we stopped at Rundu we were less than two miles from the Angola border on the Okavango River. If you look at the other end of the Caprivi Strip and were standing on the old South African airbase at Impalila Island (on the far tip of Namibia), you are within striking distance of all your neighbours, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. They are all within five miles.

When the British cut a deal with the Germans back in 1890, the Bechuanaland Protectorate was a temporary solution to ensure a route for British expansion to the north. The Protectorate remained under the British Crown and did not come under South African control although I would suggest that South Africa pulled the strings. Direct British influence over South African affairs ended with the commencement of the Apartheid regime in 1948, yet the British continued to administer the Bechuanaland Protectorate from Mafeking (in South Africa) until 1965. Botswana gained its independence in 1966. Sadly we are not visiting Botswana today.

Driving along the straight, rather bumpy tarmac road of the Caprivi Strip is rather soul destroying and hypnotic. Around daybreak the bus hit something in the road, which appeared to cause slight damage. We soldiered on past a couple of police/military check points and eventually made our way to Katima Mulilo. We were deposited at a Shell petrol station whilst the bus went away to be fixed. This gave us the chance to talk to some of our fellow passengers and use the local facilities.

We eventually arrived at the Wenella border post on the outskirts of Katima. We filled in a departure form on the Namibian side, had our passports stamped and then drove across to the Zambian side. Facilities on the Zambian side appeared a little more basic. It reminded me of passing from India into Pakistan last year. My main fear today concerned visa fees. The Irish Embassy in Lusaka said entry to Zambia for Irish citizens was free. The Zambian Immigration Department website also lists Ireland as the only western European country not requiring a visa. But I had lingering doubts in the back of my mind.

We cautiously approached the immigration desk and were given two brief forms to complete (adults only). These forms and passports were handed in and passed from one official to another. Most importantly he stamped the passports and handed them back without giving them to the third official who handled visa fees. We were free to enter Zambia! God bless the Irish ‘Free’ State. One of our fellow British travellers was required to pay £75. Others Europeans and Americans were also having to part company with cash. Following this we had a brief customs parade and then were free to continue the last sixty dusty miles or so to Livingstone.

Once we arrived in Livingstone (around 1430hrs) we engaged a taxi driver. First stop the nearest bank to change British Pounds into Zambian Kwacha. Then to the Protea Hotel Livingstone. We were never so glad to arrive, be shown to our room and have a well-earned wash and change of clothes. It has been a long three days since we left Cape Town in the pouring rain and cold. Now we are on the edge of the great Victoria Falls.

We deliberately chose to remain at our hotel for the rest of the day. By the time we unpacked, washed, changed, did a little admin, it was already getting dark. Ruth tried without success to connect to the free internet service available at the hotel (Wifi).

We ate a rather expensive buffet at the Protea Hotel for dinner, all except Ailsa who was restricted to one plate of rice (provided free by the hotel). She must have felt like an extra from TENKO, but we want to see if she can hold this down without being sick. If she survives until morning she can eat to her heart’s content from the breakfast buffet!

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