The Kabompo Ferry is a vehicle

Vehicle

A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....

 pontoon

Pontoon (boat)

A pontoon is a flotation device with buoyancy sufficient to float itself as well as a heavy load. A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on pontoons to float. Pontoons may be used on boats, rafts, barges, docks, floatplanes or seaplanes. Pontoons may support a platform, creating a raft. A...

 ferry with a 25-tonne capacity on the Kabompo River

Kabompo River

The Kabompo River is one of the main tributaries of the upper Zambezi River river. It flows entirely in Zambia, rising to the east of the source of the Zambezi, in North-Western Province along the watershed between the Zambezi and Congo river basins which also forms the border between Zambia and DR...

 dividing the Western

Western Province, Zambia

Western Province, encompasses the area formerly known as Barotseland in the colonial era.-Districts:Western Province is divided into 7 districts:*Kalabo District*Kaoma District*Lukulu District*Mongu District*Senanga District*Sesheke District...

 and North-Western Provinces

North-Western Province, Zambia

North-Western Province is one of Zambia's nine provinces. It covers an area of 125,826 km² and has a population of 583,350 . It is the most sparsely populated province in the country...

 of Zambia. It is a manually-powered cable ferry

Cable ferry

A cable ferry is guided and in many cases propelled across a river or other larger body of water by cables connected to both shores. They are also called chain ferries, floating bridges, or punts....

, propelled by pulling on the steel cables which anchor it to each bank of the 100 m wide river. The workers stand on the ferry and use wooden clubs to grasp the cable — each club has a groove cut in it which attaches to the cable and by moving the club like a paddle, half a dozen men can pull the pontoon across the river, which is a major tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the upper Zambezi River. This system is used on other pontoon ferries in Zambia such as the Kafue Ferry north of Chirundu

Chirundu, Zambia

Chirundu, Zambia is a town in Zambia at the border with Zimbabwe and is a key point on the Great North Road. It is the site of two of the five major road or rail bridges across the Zambezi river, the Chirundu Bridges....

 and the Chambeshi Ferry at Mbesuma.

The Kabompo Ferry is on the main north-south gravel road in western Zambia, from Lukulu

Lukulu

Lukulu is a market town in the Western Province of Zambia, on the Zambezi River, and headquarters of a district of the same name. Access to the town is limited to only a few unsealed roads which do not see much traffic...

, Kaoma

Kaoma, Zambia

Kaoma is a town in Zambia. It is the headquarters of Kaoma District in the Western Province.-Location:Kaoma is located approximately , by road, west of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia and its largest city. At Kaoma, the Great West Road , meets the Kaoma-Kasempa Road . This location lies west of Kafue...

 and Mongu

Mongu

Mongu is the capital of Western Province in Zambia and was the capital of the formerly-named province and historic state, Barotseland. Its population is 44,310 , and it is also headquarters of Mongu District.-Geography:...

 in Western Province to Kabompo

Kabompo

Kabompo is a town in north-western of Zambia, lying on the Kabompo River with a population over 88,000 people and the M8 road. It is surrounded by teak forest and is home to a Roman Catholic mission....

, Zambezi town

Zambezi, Zambia

Zambezi is a town in the North-Western Province of Zambia, lying on the Zambezi River and the M8 road, west of Kabompo. It is known for the palaces of the chiefs of the Balunda and Balovale people...

 and Mwinilunga

Mwinilunga

Mwinilunga is a town in the North-Western Province of Zambia and headquarters of a district of that name. It lies on the West Lunga River, not far from the borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola.- Overview :...

 in North-Western Province. If the ferry is not operating the only alternative to reach the other bank is a detour of about 900 km via Kasempa

Kasempa

-Location:Kasempa located in Kasempa District, Northwestern Province, Zambia. This location is approximately , by road, northwest of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and that country's largest city. The town of Kasempa is located on the western bank of the Lufupa River, as it flows south into Kafue...

in the east.