Livingstone, Zambia to Kasane, Botswana 19 - 22 Oct 07

Game watching on the Chobe river

We got delayed for about an hour due to a argument about the calculation of the navigation fees. I was asked about the maximum take-off weight of our Mooney and told them that is was 1168 kgs or 2575 lbs. The poor guy in the airport fees office then had to calculate the charges according to the following formula:

NavFee [US$] = Distance [km]/100 *

SQRT(MTOW [t] / 50) x 12 [US$]

Well, in a country like Zambia, where the literacy is quite high (~80%), it is still a complicated matter to work out square roots and the like on a calculator. Our entry point into Zambian airspace was APDAR, and the distance from that point to Livingstone is 316 NM. Then a discount of 20 NM is given which makes 296 NM. This then has to be converted to kilometres by multiplying by 1.852 which makes 548 kms. The weight and the distance then has to be put into the formula above, and the landing, passenger (none) and parking fees have to be added. Adding it all up it came to almost US$ 350 of which the navigation fee was US$ 318!! That navigation fee was almost as bad as in Peru where we had paid about one US$ per nautical mile. I had to go to the terminal to get more US$ from Angela while the guy made out the receipt. Just before handing over the cash, I asked to read the details in the AIP and to verify the calculation. I then realized the guy had put into the formula the maximum take-off weight in kilograms and not in tons! So I was paying for a 1168 tons aircraft (more than a 747) while the Mooney is only 1.168 tons (=1168 kgs). I revised the calculation, and came to a much more reasonable navigation fee of 10 US$. The guy then had to call in the very friendly female supervisor, who confirmed that my calculation was correct, and a new bill was made out.
The immigration official at Kasane airport was the friendliest we’d ever met – at least since Christmas Island, Kiribati on our world trip. We had tried to book a room at the King’s Den lodge by the river on the Caprivi strip on the Namibian side of the Chobe river, but the telephone number didn’t work when we tried to call them to be picked up at the airport. Mugethi, the friendly immigration official, offered to drive us to the immigration office by the jetty where boats leave for Namibia.