We rose early to witness the sunrise over the Zambezi - a tranquil scene.
We left the Waterfront at about 09H15 and although we only had a short distance to travel we had a border crossing so Rex had put aside the whole day for the crossing to allow for the worst case scenario.
Just outside Livingstone we were stopped and required to pay a $6 district tax.
We soon arrived at Kazangulu and the formalities were quickly sorted out and we joined the queue to board the ferry. There are three ferries but only one was operating. Rex was the first to go across. Although the time to cross was fairly short the ferry could take three vehicles and one articulated truck at a time. We had a three and a half hour wait to cross but this paled into insignificance compared to the time the trucks had to wait. It has bee known for there to be a 14km queue of trucks at the border. It was only about 3kms when we crossed. There was very little red tape on the Botswana side and once off the ferry we were quickly on our way.
We first went to Kubu Lodge a short distance from the border but it was fully booked. We then went onto Toro Safari Lodge which is also on the banks of the Chobe River. Each site had its own ablution block with handbasin, 2 showers and a toilet and own geyser (the geysers seemed to be a problem as the power tripped out in the early evening and did not come back on again); and a washing up area too. The camp was quite full so John and the Bosch family shared one site and then the Melcks and Watsons shared the next door one.
There appeared to be a shortage of diesel so Ian went with John into town to fill up the jerry cans as we had already put up our tent.
We went down to the Lodge for sundowners and although the setting was stunning there was not much atmosphere and we returned to the campsite to make supper. It was somewhat cooler tonight. Hippos could be heard grunting quite close by during the night.
Charges - Ferry fee $20 Road permit R160 and district tax $6
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