View source for Water transport in Zambia

[[Water transport]]. and the many [[navigability|navigable inland waterways]], in [[Zambia]] has a long tradition of practical use in [[Zambia]] except in parts of the south.  Since [[draught animal]]s such as [[oxen]] were not heavily used, water transport was usually the only alternative to going on foot until the 19th Century.  The history and current importance of Zambian waterways, as well as the types of [[Indigenous knowledge|indigenous]] [[boats]] used, provide information on this important aspect of Zambian economy.

== Indigenous boats and traditional use of waterways ==
=== Dugout canoes ===

The techniques of making temporary boats or [[rafts]] by weaving together bundles of buoyant reeds were known to African people living near the many rivers, lakes, lagoons and swamps of what is now Zambia.<ref name="Libakeni">[http://www.lowdown.co.zm/2006/2006-04/nalikwanda.htm Yuyi K Libakeni: “The Nalikwanda”, on ''The Lowdown'' website] accessed 24 February 2007.</ref> The coming of the [[Iron Age]] introduced tools such as the [[adze]] which facilitates the construction of [[Dugout (boat)|dugout canoes]], especially from African teak (''[[Pterocarpus angolensis]]'' or 'mulombwa' in [[Bemba language|Chibemba]], 'mulombe' in Chilozi, 'mukwa' in Chishona) which has a long life even when constantly immersed. The dugout then took over as the principal means of fishing and travel by boat, whether paddled in deeper water, or [[Punt (boat)|punted]] in shallow water like [[makoro]]s in neighbouring Botswana.

When explorer [[David Livingstone]], the first European to see [[Lake Bangweulu]] arrived on the western shore of that lake in 1868, he was conveyed across it efficiently in a dugout canoe 45 feet long and 4 feet wide (about 14 m by 1.2 m), paddled by six men. The people of the lake and its wetlands, which cover a completely flat area of more than 10,000&nbsp;km² in flood, have the ability to navigate unaided across open water or through mazes of swamp channels despite having no landmarks to guide them most of the time.<ref name="Livingstone">[[David Livingstone]] and [[Horace Waller (activist)|Horace Waller]] (ed.): ''The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa from 1865 to his Death''. Two volumes, John Murray, 1874.</ref>

There is an account of the Shila people in the [[Luapula River|Luapula]] swamps in the 19th Century hunting [[Hippopotamus|hippos]] with great skill by throwing [[harpoons]] at them from dugout canoes, despite being in great danger from these huge aggressive animals’ ability to overturn a canoe and virtually bite  its paddlers in half, and they are responsible for many human deaths in Zambia.<ref>[http://NRJ/V2N5/V2N5.htm (On www.nrzam.org.uk website accessed 24 February 2007)] William Lammond: “The Luapula Valley”, in ''The Northern Rhodesia Journal'', Vol 2 No 5 pp 50−55(1954)</ref>

Several dugout canoes may be lashed together and a timber platform built over them to carry heavy loads, and many early [[Pontoon (boat)|pontoon ferries]] were made in this way, such as the first ferry over the [[Luangwa River]] in 1929, which could carry a 1.5 ton truck. Paddled by a dozen men, the crossing used to take four to six hours, not because of the great width of the river but the need to go a long way upstream before the crossing, when the current would sweep the pontoon several kilometres downstream.<ref name="NRJ">[http://NRJ/V2N5/V2N5.htm (On www.nrzam.org.uk website accessed 24 February 2007)] H. C. N. Ridley: “Early History of Road Transport in Northern Rhodesia”, The Northern Rhodesia Journal, Vol 2 No 5 (1954)</ref>

There are both permanent and seasonal fishing communities to which the only access is by boat or canoe, such as in Bangweulu and [[Lake Mweru Wantipa|Mweru Wantipa]] in particular, but also along many rivers and lake shores. To such communities canoes and boats are a way of life. A [[Colonialism|colonial administrator]] in the 1920s saw a dugout canoe crossing Lake Tanganyika (35&nbsp;km wide) which is large enough to have waves of around 1 m. Though such a feat was commonplace, he was astonished to discover that the three paddlers were all blind, and the boat was being steered by a small child to the store at [[Mpulungu]] so they could buy supplies.<ref>[http://NRJ/V2N5/V2N5.htm (On www.nrzam.org.uk website accessed 24 February 2007)] — (No author): “Strange Encounter”, in ''The Northern Rhodesia Journal'', Vol 2 No 5 p55 (1954)</ref>

=== Lozi timber plank boats ===

Before the coming of the Europeans from 1860 onwards, the [[Lozi people]] of [[Barotseland]] were building ''Nalikwanda'' royal barges made from teak planks fixed with iron nails (extensive [[Rhodesian Teak]] forests grew in the east of Barotseland). As seen in the [[Kuomboka]] ceremony these reached huge sizes, requiring a hundred paddlers or more. Although there has been speculation that the Lozi learnt this method of boat building from [[Arab]] or [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] traders, the Lozi did not allow such traders to enter their territory, and the traders certainly did not haul boats overland to central Africa with them. There is no evidence to suppose that the Lozi plank boat is anything other than an indigenous technology.<ref name="Libakeni"/>

== Water transport in the colonial era ==

For about three decades after the start of the [[Colonialism|colonial]] era as [[North-Western Rhodesia|North-Western]] and [[North-Eastern Rhodesia]], there was no road transport in the territory, except by [[ox-wagon]]. Even when the [[Zambia Railways|first railway]] reached the [[Copperbelt]] in 1910, there was no mechanised road transport from that single line into the surrounding areas or the rest of the country. Water transport was used by colonial officials, businesses, and the few settlers, and some Africans made their living hiring out their canoes and labour to them.<ref name="NRJ"/>

The main waterways used in this way were:<ref name="NRJ" />

=== Lake transport ===

# [[Lake Tanganyika]]: the port of [[Mpulungu]] was one of the main entry points to the north of the territory until [[World War I]], and even after remained a significant route with services by the [[MV Liemba]] connecting to the [[Kigoma]]-[[Dar es Salaam]] railway.
# [[Lake Bangweulu|Lake Bangweulu and Bangweulu swamps]]: from [[Samfya]] and [[Nsombo]] to all parts of the system.
# [[Lake Mweru]]: [[Nchelenge]]-[[Kashikishi]] to [[Kilwa Island]], [[Chiengi]] and [[Pweto]].

=== River and swamp channel transport ===

# [[Zambezi River]]: Katombora Rapids to [[Sesheke]] and [[Katima Mulilo]], just above which is a series of rapids over a distance of 20&nbsp;km, and then the Ngonye Falls 75&nbsp;km further on at Sioma. Depending on the water level, boats could be paddled or pulled through or carried around the rapids, and at Sioma, Chief Yeta had a team of 40 oxen available to pull barges 5&nbsp;km over land around the Ngonye Falls.<ref>[http://www.nrzam.org.uk/NRJ/V1N2/V1N2.htm (On www.nrzam.org.uk website accessed 26 February)] E. C. Mills: "Overlanding Cattle from Barotse to Angola", ''The Northern Rhodesia Journal'', Vol 1 No 2, pp 53-63 (1950)</ref>
# [[Upper Zambezi]] between [[Ngonye Falls]] and the Nyamboma Rapids, and especially [[Mongu]] to [[Kalabo]].
# [[Kasenga]] (in [[DR Congo]]) and Kashiba, across from each other on the Luapula River, to Lake Mweru. From the 1930s to the 1950s most of the commercial fishing on the lake was run by [[Greek people|Greek]] fishermen operating from Kasenga. The [[Belgian Congo]] government also operated a [[paddle steamer|sternwheeler paddle steamer]], the ''Charles Lemaire'', on the Luapula and Lake Mweru.<ref>[http://www.nrzam.org.uk ''The Northern Rhodesia Journal'' online], Vol 2 No 3 (1954) pp 86-7. Anderson, J: “Kilwa Island and the Luapula”. Accessed 26 February 2007.</ref>
# [[Bangweulu Swamps]]: The hundreds of channels are often narrowed by shifting vegetation and not suitable for motorboats except those with outboard motors. Efforts have been made over the years to cut channels but they eventually become silted or overgrown with papyrus again. The main routes:
::* [[Kapalala]] on the [[Luapula River]] to [[Chambeshi]] on the [[Chambeshi River]] — this was the main route between the [[Copperbelt]] and the [[Northern Province, Zambia|Northern Province]] until 1930. During the later stages of [[World War I]], a fleet of 900 boats (mainly dugout canoes) ferried supplies over this route for [[East African Campaign (World War I)|British forces]] near [[Abercorn (Northern Rhodesia)|Abercorn]].
::* [[Kapalala]] to Lake Bangweulu and Samfya/Nsombo.
::* Chambeshi to Nsombo.

=== Other waterways, local use ===

* The [[Kafue River]], though navigable between the town of [[Kafue]] and the Copperbelt was not used for that route because its meandering course which takes it far to the west makes the route three times longer than the straight-line distance, and it does not pass close to any areas with much population.
* Similarly the [[Luangwa River]] does not constitute a major waterway since it does not pass through any well-populated areas, and becomes very shallow in the dry season.
* [[Dongwe River]] and [[Kabompo River]] in the west
* [[Lungwebungu River]] in the west
* Luena-[[Luongo River|Luongo]] in the north
* Upper [[Kalungwishi River]] the north
* [[Lake Mweru Wantipa]] in the north
* [[Lukanga Swamp]] in the centre

== Boat operations in the present day ==

There is a need to develop inland waterways in Zambia but it is hampered by a lack of management know-how in the sector and a lack of port facilities.<ref>[http://www.ecfa.or.jp/japanese/act-pf/H17/renkei/zambia/Zambia-Chapter%204-A.pdf Engineering and Consulting Firms Association of Japan website]: “Report on Zambia: Sectorial Development Strategies”, p 4-A-8 (2003). Accessed 24 February 2007.</ref> Development of the road network has reduced the demand for commercial boat services where road services compete. No major urban centres have developed on any waterways and so boat transport is not used for any urban or inter-urban travel. The only centres which can be considered to have commercial boat services are, in rough order of size:

=== Commercial operators ===

* Mpulungu, Lake Tanganyika, serving the Zambian shore and islands up to Nsumbu and Ndole Bay, with international services to [[Tanzania]], [[DR Congo]] and [[Burundi]].
* Samfya, Lake Bangweulu
* Nchelenge-Kashikishi, Lake Mweru (with international connections to DR Congo at Kilwa and Kasenga).
* Mongu, Zambezi River, especially to [[Kalabo]].

=== Tourism operators ===

Boat operators serving the tourist trade are found in:<ref>[http://www.zambiatourism.com Zambia National tourist Board website] accessed 24 February 2007</ref>

* [[Mpulungu]] on Lake Tanganyika
* [[Nsumbu National Park]] at [[Kasaba Bay]] on Lake Tanganyika
* [[South Luangwa National Park]] on the Luangwa River
* [[Kafue National Park]] on the Kafue River and the lake formed by the [[Itezhi-Tezhi Dam]]
* [[Mongu]] on the Zambezi
* [[Livingstone, Zambia|Livingstone]] on the Zambezi
* [[Siavonga]] and [[Sinazongwe]] on [[Lake Kariba]]
* [[Lower Zambezi National Park]] on the Zambezi

In addition to these there are a number of tour companies and camps set up for fishing and adventure tours, especially on the upper Zambezi, mostly catering for international tourists at high prices.

=== Boat use for non-commercial and subsistence use ===

Use of dugout canoes has declined somewhat except in more remote locations, due to a relative shortage of good African Teak trees, and competition from timber plank, aluminium and glass-fibre  boats. The use of [[outboard motors]] remains relatively low due to the high cost of fuel and lack of maintenance services.

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Terracarta: ''Zambia, 2nd edition'', International Travel Maps, Vancouver, Canada, 2000.
* Camerapix: ''Spectrum Guide to Zambia'', Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996.

{{Rivers of Zambia}}
[[Category:Water transport in Zambia]]
[[Category:Transport in Zambia]]
[[Category:Rivers of Zambia]]
[[Category:Natural resources]]