Travel update on the road to Chobe (Kasane)
The following is a brief warning related to the current condition on the road from Nata to Kasane based on driving this road on 28 July 2009.
As many of you know, if driving from Johannesburg to Chobe, this is the only road option. Until recently, it was a long, straight drive with the only concern being the occasional speed trap.
That is no longer the case. As many of you know, the economy in Zimbabwe is in the dumps and the government stability is in question. the result is that many truckers are no longer using the Zim roadways to pass from Zambia to South Africa.
Friendly slogan on tractor/trailer along the Nata to Kasane roadway.
The density of trucks is not the new problem, but the rather the problem is the result of these heavy loads. The roadway foundation was never design for the weight of the trucks. The result is that a signifant amount of the roadway is so pothole heavy that no vehicles are even trying to pass on the tar roadway. Instead, traffic is passing along a makeshift dirt road. Starting about 40 km north of Nata speed will be limited to about 50 km/hr. the net result is the addition of an hour to one’s drive. Previously, Nata to Kasane took 3 hours. It is now a 4 hour drive. Road repairs are underway, but this is Africa, so expect delays and enjoy the game along the drive.
[...] have written previously about the really really bad potholes that have virtually eaten away the road nort…I also spotted a lot of wild game along that road. I never really thought of the dangers of this [...]