BORDER POSTS AND POLICING - A NEW AWAKENING?
Posted: 21 Jan 2013 18:52
Hi all, and a very happy New Year to you as well!
I have just completed a round trip with family, starting out by flying to Lusaka (direct from Durban, avoiding JHB completely) in December 2012, and then motoring down back to Durban, via Botswana. The trip took 3 nights, and was essentially uneventful, although the rains had started to make the summer changes visible.
The return leg on 14th January 2013, when we motored back via Swaziland, Mozambique and then through Zimbabwe back to Zambia, was as different as night is to day. The stunning green pastures and bushveld, and the amazing agricultural growth in Zimbabwe, was a sight to behold, and utimately the people that really mattered were the Border Posting, and Policing of the roads themselves.
All, and I mean ALL, the posts and the traffic controls en route were outstanding - no hassassment, no intimidation, no bribery, just good old fashioned manners and politeness all the way! Immaculate uniforms, ongoing improvements to the border posts to obviate the endless delays, especially at the more popular posts, where we were always directed to "bypass" the hundreds of trucks and bulk vehicles to get in front, threreby jumping the queue, all coming from the traffic police themselves.
My initial question is.....was it because we were travelling in a Zambian registered vehicle? And then what made the changes so relevant and profound, and why?
I imagine a number of reasons could be postulated, but it was a very real and positive experience, and obviously thoroughly enjoyed by all!
Have any others from RSA had similar experiences?
Me thinks we will be visiting Zimbabwe again quite soon, as it is getting better and better by the day, never mind the year, with supermarkets, shopping malls, clean streets, tarred roads, etc. I could go on and on......!
Regards,
Chris.
PS: By the way I was coerced by my grandchildren to go white water rafting down the Zambesi, all 25 rapids nogal, and we made it without turning the boat over, but I remember being jettisoned like a champagne cork at one stage, only to be dragged back on very quickly. it was fantastic fun!! Not bad for a 70 year old Oupa.
I have just completed a round trip with family, starting out by flying to Lusaka (direct from Durban, avoiding JHB completely) in December 2012, and then motoring down back to Durban, via Botswana. The trip took 3 nights, and was essentially uneventful, although the rains had started to make the summer changes visible.
The return leg on 14th January 2013, when we motored back via Swaziland, Mozambique and then through Zimbabwe back to Zambia, was as different as night is to day. The stunning green pastures and bushveld, and the amazing agricultural growth in Zimbabwe, was a sight to behold, and utimately the people that really mattered were the Border Posting, and Policing of the roads themselves.
All, and I mean ALL, the posts and the traffic controls en route were outstanding - no hassassment, no intimidation, no bribery, just good old fashioned manners and politeness all the way! Immaculate uniforms, ongoing improvements to the border posts to obviate the endless delays, especially at the more popular posts, where we were always directed to "bypass" the hundreds of trucks and bulk vehicles to get in front, threreby jumping the queue, all coming from the traffic police themselves.
My initial question is.....was it because we were travelling in a Zambian registered vehicle? And then what made the changes so relevant and profound, and why?
I imagine a number of reasons could be postulated, but it was a very real and positive experience, and obviously thoroughly enjoyed by all!
Have any others from RSA had similar experiences?
Me thinks we will be visiting Zimbabwe again quite soon, as it is getting better and better by the day, never mind the year, with supermarkets, shopping malls, clean streets, tarred roads, etc. I could go on and on......!
Regards,
Chris.
PS: By the way I was coerced by my grandchildren to go white water rafting down the Zambesi, all 25 rapids nogal, and we made it without turning the boat over, but I remember being jettisoned like a champagne cork at one stage, only to be dragged back on very quickly. it was fantastic fun!! Not bad for a 70 year old Oupa.
