In Africa, there are many important trade routes that pass through an area most people have never heard of. Every day, trucks filled with minerals, goods for consumers, and industrial products cross through this area. Today, a modern bridge provides the means for all that traffic to cross, but not too long ago, drivers would sometimes wait up to a week to cross a river.
What is unusual about this crossing is not the bridge itself, but the geography of the area. Four different countries nearly share borders in a small area located in southern Africa. When you look at a map of this area, it is nearly impossible to identify where one country ends and the next one begins.
If you were to examine Namibia, at first glance, its shape does not look typical. The country has a very small strip of land (looks like an arm reaching out towards the East) extending a long way toward the east; therefore, it seems accidental also, as though someone drew a straight line between the edges almost to the end, only to realize they were still drawing and then broke the line at some point as a result of forgetting something. However, this unusual shape forms part of one of the world’s most intriguing borders.
More than one hundred years ago the race for colonialism in Africa among European powers was very competitive. Many nations in Europe were in completion on establishing territorial claims and access to resources and trade routes. European nations wanted to avoid fighting each other but instead negotiated how to divide large areas of Africa, by establishing borders for the territory on maps made thousands of miles away, without ever seeing much of the continent and not having any idea what was actually in those territories.
Germany held a territory in present day Namibia, but many German officials found the colony to be a disappointment because parts of Namibia were dry and thinly populated with little commercial opportunity when compared with other colonies.
German leaders felt that if they could connect the new territory with major river systems in Africa, the new territory would have a positive impact on the long-term economic future of Germany. The importance of the rivers revolved around the ability to use the rivers for transportation, the opportunity to conduct trade through the river system and the ability to connect to the coast would create unlimited opportunities for commerce.
In the negotiations by the German and British governments, both parties found that it was possible to create a rectangle that would connect the German colony to the Zambezi River. Germany with a long history of navy building and operating, was excited about the opportunity of establishing a connection through the Zambezi river system from Namibia to international shipping. The narrow extension of Germany’s colony from Namibia to the Zambezi River was eventually named after the German Chancelor Leo von Caprivi and became known as the Caprivi Strip.
One of nature’s finest features along the Zambezi River is Victoria Falls, or Mosi-oa-Tunya, which translates to The Smoke That Thunders. This large waterfall has formed a significant natural barrier which now means navigation downstream on the river is impossible.
Germany’s hopes for a major transport route were effectively thwarted.
The unique shape of the borders around Victoria Falls was finally agreed upon by the various stakeholders, and their descendants were to inherit one of the strangest shapes on any world map.
Fast forward to today, and this unfortunate historical error has resulted in an area of extreme geographical interest. Near Kazungula, Zambia meets Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia at one location. Geographers still debate precise methods of determining exact boundaries, but this remains the closest thing on earth to an international four-way intersection.
For visitors to Kazungula, the greater attraction than oddly-shaped borders would be the falls themselves.
Less than an hour from Kazungula, Victoria Falls measures approximately 1.7 kms wide as it cascades down the Zambezi River. From a great distance away, the fog caused by the falls can be easily seen rising high into the sky; from great distances away, one can hear the roar of the water long before one reaches the falls, making the entire experience surreal.
For many years another ferry service existed not far from Kazungula: A small vessel that moved cars and trucks (along with buses and their passengers) between Zambia and Botswana. This crossing was pretty awful and packed with trucks and buses and travellers crammed together on floating platforms in the river. This made for very long wait times for all traffic (often backed up with waiting vehicles for a day or two).
Southern Africa relies heavily on transportation corridors to connect landlocked nations with sea ports. Materials such as cobalt, widely used in rechargeable batteries, travel through southern Africa on their way to the global marketplace. Delays at the Zambezi river crossing affect supply chains throughout the world.
To remedy this situation, the nations of Botswana and Zambia embarked upon a very ambitious project to develop new infrastructure. The product of that development is the Kazungula Bridge, which was officially opened in 2021.
Not only does the bridge provide an improved level of efficiency for transporting freight vehicles, it has also significantly reduced driver waiting times (which had frustrated drivers for many decades). What was once a bottleneck has now become one of the most critical transportation assets in the southern African region.
It’s ironic that the border created by colonial-era negotiations is now an important part of modern African commerce and economic growth.
As I look back over a hundred years, it is hard to believe that we still feel the effects of a diplomatic agreement from over a century ago that continues to impact transportation, economics and travel.
The creation of a territory based on the assumption that a river was navigable is where we see an imprint of one of the most unique borders in the world.
It is what makes the Kazungula region interesting. It is a small area in Africa where geographical location, colonial history, trade and modern engineering meet.
Many visitors to Kazungula come to see the magnificent Victoria Falls; however, few people realize a border story as spectacular as Victoria Falls occurs a short distance away.
