Magick Lantern: Arrested Again

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Arrested Again Wednesday, December 27, 2006

(Mokoros at the landing on Bovu Island -- in the background is the car park on the Zambia side of the Zambezi)

We are up early having arranged to drive out with Ian and Ruth and the South African family. I am sorry to leave Bovu Island but we must push on. The South Africans opt for the Mopane road while we prefer to follow Ian out through the village road. This simplifies the trip a great deal and turns out to add very little to the length of the trip back to the main road. There we pump up the tires on the truck, bid farewell to Ian and Ruth and set out for the ferry across the Zambezi at Kazangula.

At the turnoff for Kazangula (on the main road) I am stopped by a policeman. They ask to see my "third party insurance" and the papers I produce fail to get me through this time. I am informed that I must go to the police station in Kazangula. I offer a seat in the cab of the truck (being used to this by now) but this offer is declined and the policeman gestures toward a cab that he intends to take to Kazangula. At that moment the cab pulls away and so do I -- leaving the policeman standing in the road.

Upon arriving in Kazangula, I inquire of the customs people as to this latest demand and am told to simply get in line after paying up and getting our visas and passports stamped. "Did they have black belts or white belts?" The gist was that if they had black belts they were authentic policemen and white belts possible impostors. "Just get on the ferry directly and leave the country." And this we did after paying one more demand for "local taxes" from a kind of ferry attendant/traffic director and dickering with a very forlorn money changer. My son drove a hard bargain -- I am afraid this man bore the brunt of his frustration with all of the touts, dubious police, and sundry street people of the past few days.

(The ferry at Kazangula: the truck spattered with mud from the Mopane road)

Kasane turns out to be a prosperous town and Botswana itself a real contrast to Zambia. We passed through customs and were admitted quickly as the simple tourists we are. Planning to camp at Nata, we buy groceries at Checkers and Jeff uses the internet cafe in the same shopping center. Having regained our bearings we set out for Nata. Further down the A33 we are passed by Ian and Ruth who had also spent time in Kasane. We happily followed them as far as the turnoff to Pandamatenga. We say good bye again to Ian and Ruth -- they want to stop and do some birdwatching and camp there for the night before going on to Otse where they live. We press on toward Nata.

Ian proves to be correct about the road. There are lots of elephants near it and on it. We did not leave enough time having allowed Jeff his time on the internet in Kasane and soon it is fully dark. We finish the last 90 minutes or so on the road avoiding people, elephants, cattle, and potholes before we finally reach the Nata Lodge. We find our camp site but arriving after dark when the Lodge is fully booked is not recommended. We had a reservation of sorts -- I had called from the States -- and had been reassured about availability -- but I think we got the very last site available. There is a camp site at the Nata Bird Sanctuary but the only other alternative accommodations are in Gweta at Planet Baobab approximately 100 km. to the west on the A3 (Maun - Francistown Road). We tried to make as little noise as possible setting up our tents and we ate in the restaurant rather than trying to prepare our own food. The bush babies that are well-known visitors to the Lodge made their appearance in a tree above us.