If you can deal with the heat and love a bit of adventure, you can walk across the Kazungula Bridge, over the Zambezi between Botswana and Zambia.
After my foray into Botswana where I finally did a Big Game Safari at the Chobe National Park and a quick trip to Katima Mulilo in Namibia to see my buddy, Nick, I headed back the same way across the Namibia-Botswana border at Ngoma, staying again at the Elephant Trail Backpackers in Kazungula before crossing the Kazungula Bridge, which links Zambia and Botswana. The first time I took a shared taxi. This time I walked across it.
Cheerios all around at the Elephant Trail Backpackers, I walked to the Four-Ways crossroads and took an 8-Pula shared taxi to Choppies Supermarket. The shared taxis have fixed routes, and Choppies is as near as one can get to the bridge.
From there, I simply hit the road. I had Googled it. It was 6km from Choppies to the One-stop Border post at Kazungula on the Zambian side.
6km is not far. I have walked 20km on little adventures like these before. They give me so much satisfaction, but you have to prepare to suffer a little.
Afternoons hit 38 degrees C here in this region in late September, so I was on the road straight after breakfast. I was heading from Choppies at 8:20 am. It was already hot, but 6km can be walked in an hour without too much ado.
Only in Botswana:
The Kazungula Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that links Zambia and Botswana. The construction began in December 2014 and opened for traffic in May 2021.
Daewoo oversaw the construction, which was funded by Japan and the African Development Bank.
It replaces the small pontoon ferry that was previously the only way to cross from Zambia to Botswana.
It was built in a curved shape to avoid crossing into Zimbabwean and Namibian territory.
The total length of the bridge is 923m, though at the narrowest point, the two countries are only 135 m apart.
It’s a one-stop border post in that the immigration offices are in the same office. If you are crossing from Zambia to Botswana, both immigration offices are on the Botswana side. Likewise, crossing from Botswana to Zambia, you’ll find both together in one building on the Zambia side. They are 3.7km apart.
The point of no return:
The Kazungula Bridge stretches before me:
In the centre of the Kazungula Bridge. On the left side is Botswana. In the middle, that’s Namibia. On the right is Zambia:
Arriving at the Kazungula Immigration Post in Zambia, having walked across the Kazungula Bridge:
Botswana Exit and Zambia Entry Stamps:
Then I took a taxi to Kazungula taxi rank for 50 Kw, then a shared taxi to Livingstone for 80 Kw. Just another day at the office for Nomadic Backpacker.