This document was last updated 0n 10 January 2010

Through Forums and emails I get asked advice about Botswana on a daily basis. Instead of typing the same answers over and over again, I though I’d prepare a document detailing the places of Botswana I know well and have traveled to extensively. I do not publish rumors or theories, only facts and current prices. When I have personally spoken to someone who has experienced prices or services different to what I have, or that is published here, I update it. The parks in Botswana are changing their booking systems faster than I can keep up at the moment, so my prices may not always be up to date. Best to find out from them before getting a nasty surprise.

I am not a travel agent, and I do not do this for a living, so please read this document carefully before emailing me a range of questions of which the answers are already here. Very soon I will be on the road for a long time and inter access will be very precious.

Although a little outdated, I think the Shell Botswana guide by Veronica Roodt is a very good book to have. Tracks 4 Africa also has amazing information in it. Apart from that, let me offer the following:

Wet season/Dry season

This is a slightly confusing subject. For the purpose of this document, lets define the “wet season” as the rainy season. This is when the Makgadigadi pans are not passable, and rainwater may prevent you from reaching certain places. This is pretty much from December to March for most places, but depending on the amount of rain in the season, the pans may be impassable for a lot longer. In fact, there was an unusual amount of rain of rain in June 2009, which made the pans impassable for a month or so longer than usual. By mid September they were dry enough to drive again.

The “dry season” can then be defined as the time of year that standing rainwater does not have an effect on your travel plans. The problem is that the rivers and the delta get their water from a catchment area in Angola and it takes 3 to 4 months from the Angola rainy season to reach the delta. So even though the bush might be dry and the roads away from the delta dry, the delta itself may be full and that water may prevent you from reaching certain places. This is specifically relevant to the Dead Tree Island area, the area between 3rd bridge and Xakanaxa, Xakanaxa to North gate and the Khwai River area and Mababe Village area.

The driest time in Botswana is when the floodwaters have subsided, and before the rains start. So September to November would be a good indication of this season. This time of year your challenges will be driving in thick dry sand rather than water crossings and cotton mud.

Thanks to KobysDJ from Gaborone and the 4x4 Community Forum of South Africa, I can also offer the following:

This information is dated and correct at July 2009.

Border Posts Opening/Closing times:

* Pont Drift - Mashatu 08:00 - 16:00

* Platjan 08:00 - 16:00

* Zanzibar 08:00 - 16:00

* Martins Drift 08:00 - 22:00

* Parrshalt - Stockpoort 08:00 - 18:00

* Sikwane - Derdepoort 07:00 - 19:00

* Tlokweng Gate - Kopfontein 06:00 - 24:00

* Ramotswa - Swartkoppie 07:00 - 19:00

* Pioneer Gate - Skilpdshek 06:00 - 22:00

* Ramatlabama 06:00 - 20:00

* Phitshane Molopo - Makgwebi Stad 07:30 - 16:30

* Bray 08:00 - 16:00

* Makopong 08:00 - 16:00

* McCarthy's Rust 08:00 - 18:00

* Middlepits 08:00 - 18:00

Entry Requirements

Look at the Botswana Tourism website

Border Entry Fees

Vehicle Levy: P40-00 per vehicle less than 3.5 Ton. Trailer is P40-00 as well. (Payable every time you enter unless you ask for a multi entry permit)

Road Safety: P20-00 per vehicle. Trailer is also P20-00. (This is valid for the calendar year. Jan 1 to Dec 31)

There is a new P50-00 per vehicle 3rd party insurance for all foreign registered vehicles from January 2009.

If you are planning to go through Botswana to Namibia/Zambia and back through Botswana, ask for a Multi entry Permit. It’ll save you some money.

Border Procedure

At “Immigration”, ask for a “blue form” (all passport holders older than 16). Fill out the form and hand it in with your passport. The driver must ask for the “vehicle register” and complete the details. You will receive a “Gate Pass” (missing one stamp). The driver must proceed to “customs”, pay all applicable “entry fees” (see above) and get the second stamp. Declare anything if needed. That will do it. (Something personal…. Please remove your hat and sunglasses when you approach the official at the gate. It is just good manners. Ummm – and safety belt ON) This goes for any border post in Africa.

Vehicle Registration Papers

You will need the following:

1. If you are the owner: The original reg. papers. Certified copies are dodgy and your last registration disk form will not be accepted.

2. If you are not the owner, copy of registration papers and an original letter from owner, giving you permission to take vehicle into Botswana. If your vehicle is financed, you will need the copy of registration papers and an official letter from the bank giving permission to take the vehicle out of the country.

On the Road

The general speed limit is 120km/h, and 60km/h in towns and villages. There is 80km/h limit when passing intersections or villages (where not indicated) on the main roads. Respect and obey these. Although speed traps are infrequent, if you get caught speeding you will have to pay the fine in Cash on the spot. This is not a bribe, you will be given an official receipt. I have heard stories of people being cocky after being trapped for speeding and made to walk to town to draw cash to pay the fine. Again, respect the law and officers of the law and you’ll have no problems whatsoever!

Money Matters

Cash in Pula is King. 1 Pula (rain) = 100 Thebe (shield).

Most shops in the bigger towns will accept ZAR, but at a "not so good" exchange rate. Use Pula in cash in small towns and villages.

I have found XE.com to be the most accurate for the exchange rate. The actual rate will be 5 to 10 thebe higher or lower (buying or selling), depending on where you exchange. There are places at most bigger border posts to change money and it is very easy to change money in bigger towns inside banks. I have always tried to budget my trip and change money from a Forex in South Africa before leaving. This way I have time to stash some cash in hiding places around my vehicle.

All you need is your passport, vehicle registration papers and proof of address to change money in South Africa. Be aware that as a South African you are limited to R500 000 a year travel and gift allowance. If you’re spending more than that on traveling, I’m very jealous!

Where credit/debit cards are accepted, your Visa will work. Cash can be withdrawn from most ATMs with Visa cards. It is worthwhile to withdraw large sums at a time, as there is a fixed fee per transaction. (Ask your bank for the current international fees)

Fuel (As from August 2009)

Petrol BWP5-40

Diesel BWP5-92

All fuel originates from the South African refineries and is usually about 50c per liter cheaper than in sunny South Africa.

Fuel can be bought by Visa/Master credit card in most main towns, but cash is always the best.

No "Petrol Cards" or "Garage Cards" are accepted.

National Parks and Bookings

This is getting a little complicated. They have started privatizing the campsites, so you will need to make your booking for camping with the different companies listed below, and then pay your park fees through DWNP.

(DWNP = Department of Wildlife and National Parks)

Gaborone: Tel +267 318 0774, Fax +267 318 0775 or Fax +267 391 2354

Maun: Tel +267 686 1265, Fax +267 686 1264

EMail : dwnp.parrogabs@gov.bw

They have changed their rules in 2009. In the good old days you could take a chance without a booking and pitch up at a gate of a national park, enter and camp, paying at the gate. Now this is not possible any longer. You will not be allowed to enter a national park without a prepaid booking for the total time you plan to stay in the park.  A little further down this page you will find a description of how it is possible to avoid staying in Savute...

I have found the best way of communication is to phone the office with a plan A,B and C in mind. Once you have checked availability and made your plans according to that, send a Fax asking for the specific booking. They will reply by fax asking for credit card details to pay for the booking. Recently they started charging the full amount as a deposit. I have always paid my own bookings by Credit Card and have never had any problems what so ever! One of the wonderful things about Botswana is that there is almost no crime and just about zero corruption.

Fees:

I will only publish non resident fees. For residents to Botswana and citizens of Botswana, it is MUCH cheaper. Camping fees are now really complicated as different companies now run different camps.  You are still responsible for buying your own “Park entry Ticket” and I assume that you would need to pay this separately from the camping at the different wildlife offices.

These offices are located:

Molepolole - for Khutse and Central Kalahari

Maun - for Moremi and Chobe

Kasane - for Chobe and Moremi

For Mabuesehube you must still use Gaberone

For Nxai Pans you must still use Gaberone or Maun

    * Non Resident

         1. Park Entry Fees

               1. Adults 18 and above - P120-00/d

               2. Children 8-17 inclusive - P60-00/d

               3. Children under 8 years - Free

       

Vehicle Entry Fees

    * Botswana Registered

         1. Under 3500kg - P10-00/d

         2. Between 3500kg and 7000kg - P500-00/d

         3. More than 7000kg - P800-00/d

    * Foreign Registered

         1. Under 3500kg - P50-00/d

         2. Between 3500kg and 7000kg - P1000-00/d

3. 3.More than 7000kg - P1500-00/d
   

There has been a rumor around that Botswana Parks are looking at Privatization of their booking system and a substantial price increase.

Since June 2009 some camps in the Central Kalahari and Khutse reserves are exclusively booked through “Bigfoot Safaris” and charge a camping fee of P100 pppn (P150 pppn for 2010) instead of the normal P30. They also charge full rates for children of 16 and over, not 18 and over as Botswana Parks normally do. There is no change in vehicle fee or conservation fee as yet.

Big Foot Tours will be responsible for the following campsites:

Khutse Game Reserve – Khutse campground; Mahurushele; Khankhe; Moloswe and Moreswe.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve – Lekhubu; Letiahau; Piper Pan; Sunday and Motopi

Reservations for these campsites must be made directly with Big Foot Tours at:

Tel: +267 395 3360 or +267 7224 3567 

Email: bigfoot@gbs.co.bw  or www.bigfootsafaris.co.bw

It has been reported that they do not accept credit cards.

On 13 October 2009, the following has taken effect:

These camp sites in the Northern parks have now been privatized and are run, and charged for by the named companies:

Parro:

Tel: (+267) 3180774

Fax: (+267) 3180775

Email: dwnp.parrogabs@gov.bw

South Gate, Xakanaxa, Ihaha, Khumaga, Njuca Hills

Their price has not been published yet.

Mapula:

Tel: 6865366 / 6863369 Fax: 6865367

conniem.mapulalodge@info.bw

Khwai (This is North Gate in Moremi, not Khwai Community), Savuti, Linyanti

Non Residents - US$50 per person per night

SADC R250 per person per night.

    

Xomae :

Tel/Fax ++ 267 6862221,

Cell ++267 73862221

Email: xomaesites@botsnet.bw

3rd Bridge, Nxai Pan, Baines Baobabs

Non Residents - P150 per person per night

These fees are CAMPING only, and you still have to ad the P120 per person per day and P50 per vehicle to your calculations. I do not know the booking system yet, but will publish it as soon as I do. It seems very expensive, but is still cheaper than most other parks in East Africa and Zambia. It seems like bookings that have already been made and paid will remain at the old price.

A recent report (August 09) from someone who has been there reads like this:

After making my booking with Big Foot Safaris (you cant book at DWNP anymore), I paid my fees and noticed that the additional charge is quite a bit per person per day.

Traffic from Gaborone to Metsimotlhabe is currently a problem as they are working on widening the roads, but after that it's a smooth ride all the to and through Moleps. Tackling the dreaded narrow road to Letlhakeng turned out to be quite an adventure. It's always been tricky (and I always feel every mm of the Patrols width) when passing on coming traffic but the rains we had a while back have done no favors. The road is badly eroded on the sides and I found myself now having to pull off the road to avoid larger vehicles. I reckon rather slow down and pull over on my terms then get clipped by a 10 ton truck!

Anyway past the Letlhakeng the gravel/sand road is in very good nick. Travel time in total Gabs to Gate = 3 hours.

Arriving at Gate check in is as previously done - the change being a Big Foot label stuck on the old DWNP book?? I was told that they now have ablution facilities at the Gate with hot water but didn’t bother to check this out.

First thing I noticed was that the roads had been cleared of bush on the sides. In the past you'd get a lot of bush scratches in some places. Now the roads are nicely cleared with the Main benefit being that you have a better view of oncoming vehicles and don’t have to stress about collecting some speeding lunatic on the next corner!

They have also clearly signposted roads and campsites which is useful -no more arguments about whose site it really is! They have also opened up the old top road to Moreswe Pan which means anyone heading down there can do a loop. The road has always been there but has been a bit of a pain to drive in the past as it was very overgrown.

There's a new solar powered waterhole at Khutse 1 and they've (thank all the gods) replaced the noisy pump at Molose waterhole with a silent Solar one - well done guys!!

Camp sites all appear clean and neat.

All in all then - lots of improvements, no downsides accept the slightly higher rate. All in all I think it's worth it.

By the way: One thing to be cautious of this time of year is bees. I was harassed by a swarm of aggressive bees looking for water. Campsites by waterholes seem not to be so affected as the bees have access but the ones away from waterholes can pose a problem.

So let’s make it easy and assume that you are 2 people in one vehicle. You park fees are still P120 per person per day, then you need to ad P50 per day for the vehicle, and then ad whatever the new camping rate is.  This is however now getting so complicated that soon we’ll have to list a different price per campsite in the hole of Botswana!

Your entry fees valid from the time you enter until 11am the next day. So if you enter at 06:00, your fee will be the same as entering at 17:00 on the same day. So it would make sense to plan your travels so that you can enter any national park as early as possible,

Rates for Mabuasehube:

Camping: P30-00 pppn

Park Entry Fee: P20-00 pppn

Vehicle Fee: P3-00 pvpn

Wilderness Trail: (One way - Mabuhasehube to Nossob. Including one nights accomodation at Mosomane)

P200-00pp.

Meat

It is allowed to bring 25kg per family…. BUT, if there is any word out on Foot and Mouth disease, it will not be allowed. Meat in Botswana is in any case of good quality, and not expensive. Rather buy it here.

Even if you buy it there, the following rules apply… Now concentrate a little on this one:

You can move meat from South to North.

You can move meat from East to West.

You can however not move meat from North to South or West to East.

So meat that you bought in Maun, for example, you can not take to Nxai Pan or Makgadigadi, but you can take it to Tsodillo Hills or Moremi, Chobe and Savute. Meat that you bought at Woolworths in Gauteng, you can drive with to Maun, to Chobe, to Kasane, to Livingstone and beyond… But as soon as you turn south, you can’t have it any more. (Understand ? )

Communications

Botswana has two Cellphone operators. Mascom and Orange. Look at the websites for coverage maps.

All providers in SA have roaming agreements with the Botswana service providers. I often get asked my opinion about Satellite phones. My opinion is that they are unnecessary for Botswana. If you are traveling alone, you should realize the risks and not take chances. If you still get stuck on break down, you should be on a road that gets traveled on a daily basis and help should not be more than a day away. If you are traveling the road never traveled, you should not be alone.

Camping Etiquette

This is a topic that can be discussed at length, but here are the basics: As with any campsite in the bush, loud music does not fit in! Overland Trucks (The noisies) will insist on playing music at top volume and compete between trucks to see who has the best sound system. So they are best avoided. To be fare, they also get up very early every day, so if you are unfortunate to be in the same camp site as one of them, the noise should stop around 22:00. Because of the cost of the national parks, they rarely go there, so it’s mostly camp sites in the big towns that are plagued by them.

People plan trips like this a year or two in advance and often book their place 11 months in advance. So if you do not have a booking, regardless of the time you arrive in camp, please do not ever camp under a tree with a number on it, or in a booked campsite. With more and more people traveling to Botswana, this is becoming a problem and soon we’ll have a “name and shame” section in Getaway magazine about South African’s misbehaving in Botswana like we currently have for the Kruger Park. Keep in mind that Botswana can do without South Africans and their currency and will be more than happy to make it unaffordable for South Africans to go there if they keep on misbehaving.

Saying that, as from January 2009 they do not accept any payments at the gates any longer. You now have to book and pay all fees in advance and can not change your booking at all at the gates. Perhaps that will solve the problem as no one without a booking will be allowed access.

It has been reported that you can still pitch up at a regional office and pay for park and camp fees even if the booked sites are full. I have not experienced this myself, but if this is the way it works now, the same rules about camping spots will still apply.

Ablution Facility etiquette

Now, apart from the obvious, these camps and ablution blocks do not have fences around them. So if you leave a door open after you leave, nothing prevents baboons or predators to enter the ablution block in search of water, or easy prey. So if you use them, keep the outside door closed. If you get to one and the door is open, enter really carefully as there might just be a little surprise for you inside. A friend of my parents got trapped in the ablution block in Savute for a couple of hours by a male baboon that saw her as a threat.

The Ablution blocks often do not have dustbins, so be prepared to take your rubbish out with you. If you leave it in the corner of the room it will only attract animals. These animals can pose a threat to the next person who’d like to use the facility and they will most definitely litter the campsite with your rubbish. I often take all my rubbish from a week or more in Botswana home with me and dispose of it there.

If the camp requires a fire to heat water, wait for the people who made the fire to finish their showers before taking over! From January 2009 most camps in National parks have solar water heaters. A good tip is to reserve a part of the middle of the day for a shower rather than early morning or walking around the camp at night when predators are hunting.

You may laugh, but all these rude things have actually happened to us in the past.

Vehicles in General

Any vehicle you take into Botswana parks should be in a good condition and you should take along the basic spares like fan belts and water hoses. You obviously need some tools to work on the vehicle should you need to and at least a very basic knowledge of how the things work. I’ll post a full list of tools, spares, first aid and equipment on the site as well.

I see more and more people asking about using a 4x2 with Diff Lock in these parks. Although it is possible to drive most of the main roads in the dry season without a 4x4, I really don’t recommend it. Some of the paces are still really remote.

We came across a German couple in a rented 4x4 last year that got themselves so stuck that they had been there for 4 hours trying to get out without success. We were the first people they saw in that time. In the same area we found a guy and his 6-month pregnant wife who got their 4x4 stuck for 3 hours before I winched them out. We herd about a Swiss couple who drove the Marsh road in Savute in the wet season, got stuck and tried getting out for 3 days before they gave up and walked the 40km back to camp. 

So I guess the question is: Do you want to take the risk? Perhaps if you were in a group with experience of the parks and everyone else had 4x4’s.

I am not a fan of trailers or caravans, but I can see the point. However, I would strongly suggest that you have knowledge and experience in towing your caravan or trailer and how to recover it should you get stuck. If you are traveling in a group, and you’re the one always getting stuck because you insisted on having a trailer or caravan, you’ll loose friends faster than your trailer will loose it’s axle. I have never driven through Botswana without seeing at least one abandoned trailer with a broken axle in the parks.

I have seen 2 clever ways of temporarily fixing a broken trailer. The one involves very heavy duty ratchet straps and a length of strong straight tree trunk to fix a broken axle. The other is using two car batteries in series and a pair of heavy duty jumper leads and a welding rod to use as a welder to fix a small broken bit. I now carry welding rods and spare ratchet straps.

Driving Distances

You can pretty much work on an average of 80km/h on the main tar roads. They are in good condition, apart from the Nata – Kasane road, and although the speed limit is 120km/h, you often have to slow down for villages or animals.

In the parks I work on an average of 10 to 15km/h this will include game viewing and overcoming obstacles. You also don’t want to spend a whole day in a car making dust, so I usually plan about 6 hours max in the morning, and then a 3-hour exploring, or game drive in the afternoon. This gives me a range of about 100km from camp to camp with the exception of Savute or Linyanti to Ihaha, which is a little more.

It is hard to suddenly slow down your life when you get your well deserved short vacation once or twice a year and want to see and do it all. My advice is to take small parts of the country and spend a lot of time in them. There is always next year’s holiday to plan.

Fuel and water amounts

When driving off road I always ad about 15% to my normal cruising on the highway fuel consumption. The worst I ever got was dragging my diff through thick Kalahari sand for a week and that was 50% more than normal. In the National parks I calculate my driving distance from fuel stop to fuel stop, ad 50km per day for game drives and ad 25% onto my normal fuel consumption. I have often made my next fuel stop with 20 liters or so left, but I have never run out of fuel.

Water is a pretty personal thing. We like having a shower every day and have worked out, with our shower system, we can both get clean on about 10l of water between us. We use at least a couple of liters a day for coffee cooking and washing up and probably the same for drinking. So 10l a day for us is enough. I used to have a 40l container I took with us, and a 20l blue water jerry can for shower water. This has never not been enough. The added bonus of the 40l container is that is has a hose with a tap, so we don’t walk to taps after dark. All the camps in Moremi have water and so do Savute and Ihaha. It does happen that their pumps get broken and they don’t have water, so it pays to be prepared. This is not the norm though.

I have never purified or filtered the water in Botswana and have never had any stomach issues at all. This is also true for my wife and her very British parents who visited Botswana for 2 weeks in December 2008 with us.

Firewood

It’s not easy to buy firewood in Botswana. You sometimes see bundles of wood next to the road for sale, which is fine but expensive. But don’t think you’re going to buy wood from the garage or Spar as you would in South Africa. Sure, you can pick up wood in the parks, but often don’t have space to put it. If you have the space, and you can find wood, then that’s perhaps the way. However, with more and more people traveling to Botswana parks, and more people trying to find firewood next to the road, it will be getting harder and harder.

So I often budget my wood supply and bring it from home. Then I don’t have to worry about it. Saying that, I am not the kind of person that makes a huge fire. I make a little one to cook food on or sit around when it’s cold. The usual bag of wood you buy from you locale garage in South Africa will last me 2 to 3 days. I realize that I am in the minority as far as economical use of firewood is concerned but it may be time for all of us to start thinking about conserving wood as well.

I also use Cadac gas instead of fire to boil water on or making Pasta. You can have these bottles filled up in Botswana, but at about 4 x the price as your local hard ware store in South Africa.

Parks I know:

Khama:

The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust is a community based wildlife project, and bookings must be done at the offices in Serowe or on the Internet. See http://www.khamarhinosanctuary.com/

Khama is a logical stopover when traveling to the Parks in the North. It’s about 6 hours drive from Pretoria and if you time it right, you can have a Wimpy Lunch in Palapye leaving you about an hour of driving to get to Khama.

The campsites are big and nice with running water and shady trees. There are Ablution blocks with hot water and adequate showers and flush toilets. (Adequate changes from time to time in Africa, so don’t expect the standard SA water pressure when you’re in the bush.)

Khama is the only place a self-drive tourist can see Rhino in Botswana. They did re-introduce Rhino to Chiefs Island in the delta a few years back, but as a self-drive tourist, you can’t get there.

There are no predators in the park, so you can walk to the Ablution Block after dark. Although I believe it’s good habit to have in Botswana to NEVER walk away from your camp. Predators were not told the rules about only attacking at night time…

Le Khubu Island and Sowa Pan.

I have only been there once, but this is what I know:

When the pans are wet, don’t bother trying. The pans are like quick sand and you can quite literally loose your vehicle in there. So I would say that July to October would be the only time you’d be able to get there. Sure, others have tried and successfully made it in wetter months, but would you want to take the risk? Here is a link to a true story of a German couple who got stuck there for a while...

It is a magical place though, so if you’re in the right time of year, then definitely try and stay there. You pay the local community a small fee. I think it’s P40 per person. These guys also seem to want to climb onlto the 2010 world cup band wagon and i read that their 2010 fees will be P100 pppn. For that you get a tree under which to camp and there are long drop loos dotted around. There is no water and no firewood on the island. I have heard people speak of booking a camp site there, but I wouldn’t bother. No one can really tell you that the Makgadigadi pans are full. If the camp sites are full, simply find a place on the pans... why not...

Your closest shops are in Lethakane. There is a shiny new Spar and Spar tops (Bottle store) that sells everything that you local Super Spar will see. Be aware though, the liquor sales times in Botswana is very strange. To be safe, I’d say that you can only buy liquor during normal business hours. The last time I tried was the 26th of December and was told that the liquor stores are closed between 24 Dec and 2 January. BIZARRE!!

The road from Lethakane to Le Khubu has a short bit of HORRIBLE corrugation. After that there is a 2 track road through mopani velt and onto the pans. The turn of used to be signposted, but as many things in Botswana, T4A will be your friend.

The road North from Le Khubu goes to Gweta where there is fuel, but no other shops to speak of. There also a track towards Nata, but this crosses the pans more directly and I have never driven it.

Your other option from Khama is drive towards Nata. Nata Lodge used to be a great place to stay, but that burned down in October 2008. It was re-built and opened again in May 2009. Not sure if it changed.  There is still a community campsite at the Nata Bird sanctuary. This is where you can drive to the North Eastern corner of Sowa pan and see a breeding colony of Flamingoes. I believe it to be the biggest colony in Southern Africa. Again, in the wet season, don’t bother. Not only is it virtually impossible to reach the edge of the pan, but the flamingoes are not there in the wet season.

There is another Island called Kukonje Island. You can see it from Le Khubu, but you cannot cross the pan to get to it. There is a road from the Eastern side of the pan to get to it. It is wild and uncontrolled with no facilities. It’s not as spectacular as Le Khubu, but it is much less busy.

Here is an extract from someone’s trip report from June 2009:

Shumie & I just returned from an amazing trip into the Makgadigadi Pans of Botswana. This trip was special to us for two reasons, one being that this area received close to 320mm of rains in one week which has never happened in 80 years in June, until Wednesday last week it was decided that we will have to get to our base camp on the tar via Nata.

Late Thursday, after many phone calls to guides in this area we decided to take a chance entering the pans via Mmatsumo village, Kubu Island, Tswagong Vet Gate to Nata. We have never attempted doing the pans in the wet and it was a given that it was going to be a wet adventure.

The second reason was that Landrover gave us an opportunity to guide them to the edge of the pans close to Nata to meet up with the famous Explorer Kingley Holgate and his Boundless Africa Expedition team.

We left Kwa Nokeng at 07h00 on Friday and entered the pans at Mmatsumo village at 10h00 we arrived at base camp at 05h00 the following morning. We were in our vehicles driving and recovering for a total of 22 hours non stop.

- We recovered vehicles out of the mud, using snatch ropes, spades, logs etca total 40 times

- The average moving speed was 15km’s per hour

- Shumie set up base camp and sent the GPS coordinates to my phone, at 03h00 we arrived at a dead end in the Mopane busveldt 8.5km’s from Shumies camp. I left the group behind and tried to find a track that led me to the camp. Two hours later we managed to get our group of very tired, wet and muddy clients to base camp.

- A 1st for Kwa Nokeng, we served last nights dinner of Oxtail to our clients for breakfast at 05h30 that morning

Nxai Pan and Baines Baobabs:

To get to Nxai Pan, there is 30km sand road from the main Nata/Maun tar road. This can be very sandy and corrugated in the dry season. My last visit was in the month of December and I could drive most of it at 80km/h without scaring my wife.

Half way down you’ll see a sign to Baines’ Baobabs, made famous by Thomas Baines who painted them while traveling along a trade route many many moons ago. The interesting thing is that if you take a photograph of them now, and compare it to a painting of some 100 years ago, the only difference is that one branch fell off. The rest looks exactly the same.

There are two roads to get there. The Northern one in a wet season road, the Southern one is a dry season road. I have seen an abandoned Land Cruiser with trailer in the middle of the pan one year with water up to its windows. Apparently is stayed there for 6 months before it could be recovered. Again, I would not take the risk of crossing the pan in the wet season.

There used to be campsites there, but as you are already in the Nxai Pan National Park, you’re supposed to pay Park fees to go there and camping is not allowed. This is however not controlled and many people Bush Camp there all the time. In October 2009 the DWNP published new rates for these camp sites, so I assume they will need to be booked and paid for very soon.

Nxai Pan itself is a small park, but well worth the visit in the dry season. They have a permanent waterhole fairly close to camp and that is the only water for many hundreds of Kilometers in the dry season. It has been said that if you have the time to spend 2 full days sitting at this waterhole, you are almost guaranteed to see a kill. You can also drive around the pans a little. You can see for miles and if you simply sit in one place and look through a pair of binoculars, you’ll always have something to look at.

The campsite itself is really nice. Huge shady trees and an elephant proof ablution block. They sometimes don’t have water because elephants dig up the pipes, so be prepared.

I like the park as a stop over for a day or two on the way to the more Northern parks, but only if you have the time to really chill out. It is not as popular as the other parks, so it should be easier to get a booking there at any time.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve:

From Khama you drive towards Lethakane and then Rakops which is your last fuel stop… Be aware that Rakops has hand pumps and pumping 220l of fuel by hand is not so much fun! Mopipi, some 60km South of Rakops has electrical pumps, so my advice would be to fill up there and top up in Rakops.

The turn off to the park is not that clear, but there is a sigh post just North of Rakops. This is again a 42 KM sand track. In the dry season it is not bad at all, but you average only about 30km/h. It’s a bot of a roller coaster ride and I think people who suffer from motion sickness may not enjoy this road at all. In the wet season it can be a river that lasts for 42km.

I have only explored the Northern part of the park, but can say that Sunday Pan Camp no 2 is arguably the best campsite in Africa! We drove the roads through Deception Valley, past Thau pan, around the North and back to Sunday pan.

Game is plentiful and sighting very easy in the dry season. We never really needed to use 4 x 4 at all, but locked the hubs just for fun anyway. You could see places where people got stuck in the wet season, but not nearly as many as in Moremi and the Northern parks. I think that the sandy soil is easier to drive n when wet.

One night we stayed at Kukama Campsite and there were resident Honey Badgers. A very rare thing to see and we just sat in our camp chairs watching them for hours. You will first notice a cloud of dust on the pans and when having a closer look, you’ll notice it’s a honey badger digging ferociously. Be aware that this animal sees itself as just bigger that an elephant and a little more aggressive than a wounded buffalo. If provoked, it will attack you and will not stop! There is  reason we have the saying in Africa: “As tough as a Ratel... (honey badger)”

We found that the maximum amount of KM’s you can travel in a day there is about 160km, and that’s a full day! When driving up from Khutse in the South, plan to drive no more than 140km in one day. There are some places with really thick sand and especially people who are towing trailers will have to budget time for getting stuck and recovering vehicles and trailers.  The distance between Lethakeng and Rakops (Fuel Stop to Fuel Stop) without game drives is over 900km. So make sure you have enough fuel capacity to make that. Camps have no fences and predators, especially Lions, love the fact that there is sometimes water left in campsites so you do not want to arrive at dusk or when it is already dark.

Most of the campsites have bucket showers and long drop loos, but no running water. As a general rule, water in the Kalahari is salty, and not fit for drinking, so take plenty of fresh water with you.

Just check my notes on park fees and find out which camps are booked through Big Foot Safaris before deciding where to go. Top tip here is to say that Leopard Pan Camp Site is still booked through Botswana Wild Life and is secluded, quiet, and right next to Sunday pan....

Makgadigadi National Park

We used this as a stop over once and were unimpressed! At Pula350 per day per couple, it is quite expensive just for a one-night stop over. The camp was not as nice as other National parks. The Ablution blocks were not that nice. There is a village across the river and they love making noise. The game driving is very limited and there is not that much to see.

If it is the pans you want to experience, rather go to Le Khubu and for game viewing in the area, rather go to Nxai Pan or Central Kalahari.

To use it on the way South from Maun or Moremi is a problem because you can not take meat from Maun there, and to stay there from the South is not that great because it’s close enough to Maun so you can rather get yourself closer to Moremi in the same day.

I have not explored the hole park, but not even Tracks 4 Africa shows a hole lot of tracks in the reserve. Perhaps I only feel this way because of inexperience.

Maun

Maun must be the fastest growing city in Africa. It is massive now and you can get anything and everything you want there. There are many shops you’ll recognize and many banks and restaurants and places to stay. I usually try to avoid it apart from driving though.  I favor the places on the airport road because that part of town seems quieter and safer. I have only stayed over in Maun once, at the Sitatunga camp and I will never do that again! If noisy Overland Trucks with drunken and stones people is your thing, then you may enjoy the campsites in Maun. If it’s not, you’ll find the staff rude and unhelpful, the prices extortionate and all and all a nasty experience… Not that I have any strong feelings about it.

This is however your last stop for fuel and supplies until you get to Kasane so make sure you have everything.

Something to ponder: The water in Maun is recycled. The water running in the delta has been filtered by plants from the time it entered Botswana at Shakawe. Which do you think would be the healthiest?

Audi Camp is quite a famous stop over, but reports about armed robberies and overland trucks made me avoid it. Island Safaris is apparently the place to stay if you have to stay in Maun. I have not stayed there, but have heard only good things about it.

I prefer Kazikini Community campsite some 70km North of Maun towards South Gate in Moremi. Even further North you can stay at Mankwe Lodge, who also has camping or Dizhaana camp which is also a community project.

We did do a flight over the delta for an hour. 4 of us chartered a six seater Cessna for Pula2 400 for the hour. That was definitely worth the effort and money. This was using Moremi air in December 2008. I don’t really see radical changes in the prices over a short time.

Moremi:

South Gate Camp

South Gate is the closest gate to Maun. It’s only 24km from Kazikini Community camp and should take no more than an hour to reach from there. Your game drive starts the second you leave Kazikini Camp though. We have seen Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, elephants and a range of other animals before getting to the park gate. Keeping in mind that you pay a daily fee as soon as you enter the park and it’s only valid until 11am the next day, so it’s obviously worth staying a night at Kazikini rather than entering the park at 16:00 and having to pay Pula350 for the pleasure. Just check the notes on the new fees and privatization of camps as things are changing.

As a campsite South Gate is not too bad. There are new ablution blocks with running water. In Dec 2008 the solar water heaters were installed, but not connected yet. In June 2009 I heard that they were. The camp itself is under big shady Mopani trees. There is a staff village just outside the camp and gate.

Of the 4 camps in Moremi, this is my least favorite. However, it is also the one where you can get the easiest bookings because it is less popular. If you are planning on visiting the park every day, it works out cheaper to stay at South Gate than Kazikini as the camping portion of the fee is only Pula 30 per person per day.

Game driving in the area is not that great. You need to travel about an hour towards 3rd bridge before game viewing becomes good. It is perfectly feasible to make Third Bridge or even Dead Tree Island in a morning in the dry season and using the afternoon to drive back to camp.

The main road to Xakanaxa runs through Mopani Woodland and is not great for game viewing. The main road towards North Gate is also not that good. Both these roads are made and maintained, but in the wet season you can still very easily get muddy water over the bonnet while driving on these roads.

Travel times in wet season:

South Gate to 3rd Bridge is about 5 hours.

South Gate to Xakanaxa is about 2.5 hours

South Gate to North Gate is about 3 Hours

Dry season will be about half of that. These times are to drive from point a to b and does not include getting stuck or game viewing. Saying that, it is estimated with a fair safety margin.

3rd Bridge:

3rd Bridge is the furthest away from the gates. It is also the camp with the most amounts of animals walking through camp. We have had baboons, buffalo, lions, hyena and a hippo walk through our camp in one night. It has new ablutions blocks like the rest of the camps. There is running water and I think by now they will have warm running water as well.

On the western side of the camp, where the new entrance gate is, is a very tall tree with dark green leaves. It’s called a Jackal Berry tree. The camp site under that tree used to be number 7, but these numbers change sometimes. This is the camp site furthest away from the ablution facilities and has a resident troop of baboons living in it.  If this is your allocated camping spot, don’t stay there! Find another tree without a number on it and stay there. The baboons cause havoc in this place! They have been reported to rip open tents and trash off-road caravans. I have never stayed at this particular sight, and I have never has any hassles with baboons at Third Bridge.

Game driving from 3rd Bridge is challenging. There are many little tracks that go off in many different directions. Some where you have to cross deep water, some dry and very sandy. The biggest challenge is to plan your drive so that you do not drive into the sun the hole time. Obviously from a photographic point of view, you want the sun from behind or the side.

A really nice morning drive is to go to the Mboma boat station and do a Makoro trip for an hour. The drive to the boat station shouldn’t take longer than 2.5 Hours. The makoro trip costs Pula120 per hour per boat and the guides are professional, informative and a pleasure to deal with! To avoid driving the same road back, there is a circle route you can drive, but apart from the challenging drive on an overgrown track, there is not much to see. I’d recommend driving the shortest route back to 3rd Bridge for a siesta in the shade before doing an afternoon drive again.

From Mboma you can get a motorized boat to an Island called Gadikwe. This is an overnight island and can be booked through Mankwe Lodge. It is however NOT CHEAP and usually far out of the price range of the self drive explorer.

You can also drive towards Dead Tree Island, which is a spectacular labyrinth of tracks. Some are flooded in the wet season, but this changes every year. There are so many tracks that you can meander towards the island and avoid water crossings most of the time.

In my mind this is what Moremi is all about. You rarely see other people and rarely drive faster than 15km/h, but this is where the good stuff is. You can see massive herds of elephant, lots of Letchwe, the bird life is out of this world and we’ve seen leopard, lion and wild dog in the area.

Dead Tree Island itself is a spectacular sight of hundreds of massive dead lead wood trees. It can be marshy when it’s wet, so be aware of the soil you are driving on. If you are not sure, don’t take the risk. It might be a few days before someone else comes the same way.

Xakanaxa

This is the Skukuza of Moremi. The airfield is fairly close and there is a powerboat station in camp and lodges next to the camp. Xakanaxa also has new Ablution facilities.

Game driving around camp includes much Mopani veldt with very little to see, but Dead Tree Island and 3rd Bridge is really close (11km) and again, in my mind, the best Moremi has to offer.  The road towards Dombo Hippo Pools along the river has been flooded for a few years and only the really brave has ventured there. It is also referred to as the “paradise Pools road”. If you go a little south on the road to South Gate, you’ll find another tun off towards Dombo pools which should be fine most of the year. The guys at the gates will often tell you it is not passable. The best is to ask other travelers about the condition as it often is very drivable. There is one place where you are almost certain to cross water any time of the year, but it’s not that much of an issue. It will take you a good 2.5 hours to reach the pools, so it’s quite a nice distance for a morning drive.

You can do a sunset boat trip from Xakanaxa, but it is quite expensive. Pula 400 per hour per boat. The boats can take quite a few people, so if you’re in a group, it may be something nice to do. We have waited by the boat station before and asked another group if we could join them and share costs. That saved all of us a little money. This was the only time ever I saw a Sitatunga in the wild so very much worth the expense and effort.

North Gate

Maps indicate 3 roads to get to North Gate. The first is the one from South Gate, which I have already mentioned. The second is a little South from Xakanaxa on the South Gate road and then it cuts towards Dombo Hippo Pools, which I have also mentioned. This road is sometimes closed in the wet season and can still be very muddy and challenging in April/May. A said before, it is best to ask other travelers about the current condition. The third road passes Paradise pools and runs along the river to North Gate. I have never been to Moremi when this road was passable and I think it’s been closed for the last 5 years or so. This is the Paradise Pools Road.

As a camp North Gate is quite nice. Big shady trees and new ablution blocks. There have been reports of an aggressive male baboon in camp, but I’m sure the Parks Board will sort that out. Until they do, this particular baboon has no fear of woman and children and has been reported to steal food out of woman's hands before.

Game driving in the area is quite good. You can drive west to the Hippo Pools, or East along the Khwai River, which is an amazing part of Botswana. This is where wild life film makers come to make a name for themselves. I have little experience inside Moremi and along the river, but if it is anything like the other side of the river in the Khwai Community area, it will be mind blowing! Driving South towards South Gate is not that interesting and I’ve rarely seen anything on that road.

Khwai Village and Community Area

Khwai Development Trust telephone +267 6801211 and fax: +267 6801210

Just outside of North Gate is the Khwai Village. There is a shop or two in the village, but you can’t really buy supplies there. They mostly sell cold drinks and beer. You can also find the Khwai wildlife office in the village. It’s on the main road and has a Satellite Dish on the wall. It often has no sign. This is where you need to check in, or pay for the community camp sites. If you can’t find it, or don’t want to stop, they will patrol the area at night and come to your camp to take your money for the camping. I find it less hassle to just stop there for 5 minutes. They will also give you GPS points for where their camps are. My version of T4A indicates only one camp. I think they now have 4 or 5.

Driving East from the village you will follow the Khwai River. Although this is outside of National parks, it is a spectacular area with an abundance of game and an incredible amount of bird life!

There are 4 or 5 community campsites in the area. They have no facilities, and the wildlife office will simply give you a GPS point to the turn off of the campsite…. Which is a tree. The cost is quite high to camp there, but because you don’t pay a conservation fee per person it’s still cheaper than staying in the park. However, if you plan to visit Moremi from there, it’s cheaper to camp inside Moremi as the camping portion of your cost is only Pula 30 per person. Just check the notes on park fees and camping fees as some of the camps are now private, and it seems these guys now charge US$50 per night per person.

The community camps are fairly close to the river so you can always expect visitors in your camp site. We have arrived one day to find 7 hippo grazing in our camp site and also saw Wild Dogs take an impala less than 500m from our camp.

The Khwai area is an ideal stop over between Moremi and Savute. Although it is possible to drive from 3rd Bridge or Xakanaxa to Savute in one day, it’s a very very long day and not really worth it. I have driven these tracks in all seasons of the year and they have always been passable. People very quickly find detours around big water obstacles. In the rainy season all the tracks can be flooded, but the sandy soil makes it easy to drive. Obviously wading through water before driving it is till the way to go.

In October 2009 I heard that they have built a new surfaced road from Khwai Village to Mababe. This will obviously shorten the travel times dramatically, but hopefully the scenic river route will remain the same.

January 2010 I received this news from Luangwablondes:

There are a lot of new developments in Khwai - There is transit road that is just being completed to connect Khwai and Savute. This means that the old road that used to be the link along the river will no longer be used as most self drives ended up doing illegal things along the river front. (this is a done deal)

The whole of N.G. 18 will now see very exciting developments as hunting was stopped and so that whole concession will have to go photographic. A couple of lodges and campsites will be in development. The community is still running their campsites in N.G. 19 i.e Magotho, Matswere and Sable ally. They have a donor who is currently helping them to develop a web site and some marketing material.

I read in a report that the Khwai area maybe gated and access only to campers, guests at lodges and bushcamps, residents and mobile safaris. It seemed to eliminate daytrippers. Any one wanting to drive along the river would need a 'citizen' guide.

Savute Camp

From Khwai you can drive along the river to the East and just before the bad mud starts, there is a brand new made road all the way to Mababe gate. From the gate you have 3 options to get to Savute camp. The marsh road, which you can only drive at the end of the dry season. The sand ridge road, which you can drive most of the year except for the wettest month or two. (The guy at the gate will tell you if it is passable) and then there is a new road as well which you can drive at 40km/h on for more than half the way to the camp. So, if you leave Khwai early in the morning, it is perfectly feasible to reach Savute camp for lunch if you take the new road.

A problem that I have heard of often is that people can not get a booking in Savute and then ask me if they can do Moremi to Ihaha in a day. It is quite a difficult question. I’d say that Khwai Community camp to Ihaha is possible, but you will have to leave as early as it gets light and make sure to leave Savute by 12:00 at the latest. There will be no time for exploring and not much time for stopping. It will be a hard day. If you can get a booking at Linyanti, that would be preferable to driving all the way to Ihaha.

The road directly from Maun to Mababe Village and then Savute is a muddy nightmare and often not passable by the Mababe village. I would only consider that road from about July to October, and then I’ll ask the guy at the Vet gate as you leave Maun what the reports are. Saying that, there has been reports of a new bridge being built over the river, so if that is there, this road would be fine. Best to ask other travelers in Maun of Moremi about the current conditions.

I got this information on the situation there in August 2009:

There is also a problem at Mababe in that the new bridge over the Khwai river is not in place, and the Khwai river has overflowed a lot more than usual so the roads around it are almost impossible. There is however a log bridge used by nearby Mogotlho Lodge, this is the only option (bridge may or may not be in place by September - it was supposed to be finished in April)

The turn off for the log bridge crossing (from the Sankuyo-Mababe road) is

S19 12.968 E23 59.138 - about 4km south of Mababe village

After the crossing, keep straight on the track. At S19 12.419 E23 58.238 there is a road turning but keep on straight until S19 11.234 E23 57.705 where you turn left (track continues straight on). The road continues all the way to Mababe gate, crossing the new gravel road being constructed from Khwai to Mababe. Road condition is good sand, no mudworks/cotton soil

1km after Mababe gate, there is a new road to Savuti - the old road is blocked off. Track good, mostly sand apart from a short stretch where it passes close to the southern marsh. The new road joins the old sandridge road at S18 49.045 E24 00.360

log bridge itself is at S19 12.995 E23 58.684

The ablutions in Savute remind of a German concentration camp in WWII, but they have hot water and flush loos and are Elephant proof. Every numbered campsite has a dustbin, fire pit and tap inside a concrete block… The dustbins do get overturned at night by Hyena and Honey Badgers, so best to leave it empty at night. Someone drives around during the day to empty them, so you can leave your rubbish in them in the morning and it will be gone by the time you return.

Game driving around camp is spectacular and you do not need to drive far at all! There are many little water holes around and the game generally comes to visit these during the day. Marabou pan is an artificial waterhole about an hour South of camp, which is one of my favorites. In the dry season you can find mega herds of Zebra, Wildebeest and Giraffe there and often big herds of elephant as well. Where the food goes, the predators will follow, so it makes sense that Lions won’t be far behind.

A couple of KM’s North of camp are a series of waterholes that are very busy as well and a really nice place to spend an afternoon.

From Savute you can either drive North to Gcotcha Gate and on to Chobe Forest reserve and Ihaha, or you can drive to Linyanti.

Linyanti camp

To get from Savute to Linyanti shouldn’t take much longer than 3 hours. It is however some of the thickest sand I have encountered in Botswana and it is crucial to deflate your tires and use the correct techniques. I for one would never consider trying to “drag” a trailer through there, but then again, I’m not a fan of them anyway.

The camp itself is under huge shady trees and has one small ablution block with running water… when the pump is working. Linyanti is almost like the camp that they forgot about so if you are planning to go there, plan to be 100% self-sufficient. It is a very secluded place and I have never seen anyone else there.

Game driving around is very limited. There is only about 8km of river road to drive and then the road back to Savute. On the Western boundary is a really nice waterhole, but because the river is right there, it’s not that busy.

I would still recommend Linyanti as a place to stay because it does give you the seclusion of camping in Africa that many people like to experience. You often don’t need to drive at all as the animals walk through camp frequently. I wouldn’t stay for longer than one day though, unless I have lots of time to do nothing.

Chobe Forest Reserve and Ihaha

The shortest route from Savute to Ihaha is pretty much straight North East to the Gcotcha gate. The road is supposed to be a main road, but the last time I traveled it in the wet season I drove through a 7km long river where the road should have been. Around the Gcoha Hills area is black cotton mud, which makes it interesting in the wet season. In the dry season it’s a doddle.

From Linyanti you can leave the park and drive the Cut Line road to the Gcoha gate. This road is wide and looks great, but has some seriously deep sandy patches; so don’t inflate your tires just yet…

From Gcoha gate you drive on a track through the Chobe forest reserve. There is not much to see apart from elephant dung and dung beetles, but it is very pretty Mopani veldt.

About 17km from the gate you’ll end up in a cut line road. Depending on the last time this was graded, you might experience it as a track in a wide-open space between Mopani forests. It’s very hilly and steep downhill and uphill. Not difficult to drive, but be careful not to drive too fast and don’t inflate those tires yet.

You then pass through Kavimba and Mabele villages. There are some shops that sell beer and cold drinks, but nothing much else. The road makes a T-junction with the main Kasane/Namibia tar road. In July 2009 I heard that there is a massive construction site in Kavimba and the Chinese are busy building a new tar road between Kachikau village and Ngoma Gate. This has been a pot holed and eroded dirt road, so the tar would help with travel times.

You’ll turn right on the Kasane/Namibia road, and within 200m left into the Chobe National park again. There is a Vet fence right there, but they seem to not really care about people who are turning into the reserve. I have never had any issues.

That part of Chobe is pretty much split into two. You have the Western side of Ihaha camp, which has plenty of game, nice tracks along the Chobe River and an abundance of bird life. The eastern side of the park however is where everything is happening. I have never seen as many animals as I have in the part between Ihaha camp and Kasane.

I have ventured into the forests away from the river as well. The tracks are very overgrown and the bush very dense. I have seen elephant and buffalo there, but then again, they also come to the river.

The camp itself has sites along the River Front. It has two ablution blocks, one on each side of the camp. It has no fences, so animals coming down to the river for drinking and will walk straight through your camp. We have been in the middle of herds of elephant and Buffalo in camp before. It is spectacular and amazing and you can stay there a few days!

Game drives, as said before, is best towards the Kasane side. You can see the rare Puku and so much other game that you will not able to know where to look. The only down side is that the closer you get to Kasane, the more other vehicles you’ll see and the game viewing vehicles from the lodges are generally rude and unhelpful as you often find in African tourist towns where the locals think they should be young Americans from the Ghetto…

Kasane

Kasane as a town offers everything that you’d expect. There are banks and Supermarkets and places to fill up gas bottles and fuel. There are also lodges and camps along the river that mostly all offer the same at the same rates. I favor the Chobe Safari Lodge as it is at the edge of town. They have nice new Ablutions blocks in their campsite and offer a river cruise at sunset, which is an absolute must! Expensive, but worth it. It is a simple camp site that can not be booked, so if you plan on staying there, best to get there early and take your camping spot.

If you have traveled here through the parks, this will be your first opportunity to buy supplies. If you have traveled here on the main road from Nata, this will be a place to re attach your dentures, take of your kidney belt and fix your wheels. Seriously, the main road from Nata is arguably the worst pot holed road in Africa! They’re not so big, but there are so many of them that you simply can not avoid them and traveling at anything faster than 40km/h will only cause damage to your vehicle. It was reported that the President of Botswana had to travel this road in July 2009 and has asked the roads agency to do something about it. Perhaps the Chinese will come fix it after they have built the Katchikau road.

From Kasane you can go in a few different directions:

Zimbabwe I don’t know much about.

You can take the Kazungula Ferry to Zambia, which is an experience in itself! Read my “Botswana, Zambia, Namibia” trip report for info on the crossing.

You can drive the tar road West from Kasane and into Namibia there or you can head south to Nata on that potholed road.

My preference is to re stock supplies, and do the same route back. If however you are driving through the Kaprivi, be aware that you can not take meat into Namibia. Katima Mollilo has plenty of good supermarkets for supplies though. Nambwa Community camp is about half way through the Kaprivi and would be my recommendation for a stop ever. You can make Popa Rapids community camp site in a day.

The Kasane/Maun or “No space in Savute” problem

I hate to tell you that your problem is not unique, but if you have space in Moremi, and in Chobe at Ihaha or Kasane, but could not book a place for the middle night in Savute, your problem is not unique. In the good old days you could just pitch up at Savute camp with a tired look on your face and ask to camp there. The guards would take your money, give you an official receipt and allow you to stay. However, this has now changed. You can no longer enter the parks without a fully pre paid booking and you can definitely not camp there without one. I have even heard from a couple of people that the guards at Savute simply told them to move on at 17:00 in the afternoon, forcing them to drive in the dark and exiting the park.

I honestly believe that it is only a question of time before the local communities start camp sites at the entrance gates to accommodate people with the same problem, but until that happens, here is my advice: If Savute is full, try Linyanti, they are only 2 hours apart. If Linyanti is full, you are in for a long day.

It is possible to travel through the hole of Savute and Chobe reserve in one day, but you really do need to manage your time well. If coming from the south, you will struggle to make it from inside Moremi, or even Maun. If you can stay one night in either Khwai Community camp, or Mankwe, you have a much better chance. I’m confident that the bridge over the Khwai river at Mababe will be completed before the end of 2009, and then Mankwe will be the better option.

You will need to leave your camp at the crack of dawn regardless and make sure you leave Savute by 12:00. If you reach Savute by 11:00, enjoy lunch and move on. If you only reach it by 11:50, then you simply need to move along. You need to see it as a transit day and not a day to see wildlife or do sight seeing. The last time I drove this road I left Khwai community camp site and made Savute by 11:15. This was in the wet season.

From Savute, take the shortest road to Gcotcha gate, through the forest reserve and past Kavimba village. Savute to Ihaha took me 5.5 hours the last time I drove it and that was also in the wet season. There is not that much to see, so the going is fairly quick.

If you are staying in Kasane, rather take the tar road around and get to your destination early. Have a rest and take the next day as a holiday again. If you are booked in at Ihaha, make sure to make it before dark. The main track is a hard surface and easy going and on that side of the reserve game viewing is not nearly as busy as the part between Ihaha and Kasane. It should take no longer than 1.5 hours to reach camp from the gate.

When travelling from the north, also make sure to leave Savute my 12:00. If you are staying in Kasane the night before, do not be tempted to drive through the reserve! If you stayed at Ihaha, don’t take too long to exit the reserve, the game viewing along the Khwai river is much better than that part of Chobe.

When leaving Savute, make sure you make it out of the national park as early as possible. If you are staying at Khwai Community camp that night, you definitely do not want to pitch camp in the dark! You may not find your camp site after dark and there are many wild animals that wonder around in that area.

So, although it is possible to do, it will take between 10 and 12 hours to complete this journey and you really do need to manage your time. Best to make bookings well in advance and get that elusive Savute booking.

If you were thinking of just pitching up and taking a chance, think again! I got this of a recent trip report:

I forgot to mention that when we exited North Gate, we found two trucks that had come all the way from Kasane and camped at North Gate for the night due to having no booking at Savute and getting forced on with their journey! The guard at North Gate let them just set up right there at the gate. This funny guard also told us the night before some very obnoxious hyenas were raiding their area and carried off his radio and tried to eat it! He had to fire shots in the air to force them away. Anyways, these people who we met at North Gate were extremely concerned/nervous about the water in Khwai and also did not have much experience driving off-road. We tried to explain the situation and encourage them that if we could do it anyone could...BUT we actually saw them at Savute AGAIN later Day 4 and they were turned away AGAIN!

The Savute campsite area is guarded like a hawk. The ranger there definitely considers himself the new Sheriff in town! We arrived for lunch and as we were leaving again to game drive, there was actually a traffic jam of cars getting turned away, even a big overland truck! And if any cars snuck in somehow while he was occupied or walking around the sites, (he made at least 3 laps in the time we cooked lunch) he was on them immediately shooing them out. There are no jokes with this guy and he is all business. All campsites were utilized here....

Tsodillo Hills

WOW! What a place! We stayed there for one night, but you could easily spend 2 or 3 nights. There are lots of walks and lots of rock art. Not much wildlife, but a nice place to hang out and rest!

The main road in (Middle one on maps) is surfaced and good and you can drive it at 60km/h. Once you enter the conservation area the roads are still ok. We stayed at the Malatsu campsite. It is the furthest away from civilization and very secluded and quiet. You have to drive through dense bush and very thick sand to get there.

There are no facilities at the campsites, but there are showers and flush loos at the reception.

There are campsites between the male and female hills. Problem is that the wind blows through there at great speeds and we were told it could be very uncomfortable.

From the reception you can ask for a guide to take you on a walk. They do not tell you more than the guide books tell you, but when I was there in 2008, they had a maximum fee of P40 for the guide. Bargain! We did the Rhino Route and it is a nice walk in the hills with plenty of rock art to have a look at.

My recommended Routes

I’ll mention the places I would stay and depending on the time I have I may stay in one place for more than one night. There are 2 basic routes to drive if you wanted to include the Northern Parks.

1:

Limpopo River Lodge in Thuli

Nata

Kasane

Ihaha

Linyanti

Savute

Khwai Community Camp

Xakanaxa

3Rd Bridge

Baines’ Baobabs

Khama

Pretoria

2:

Khama

Kazikini

3rd Bridge

Xakanaxa

Khwai Community

Savute

Linyanti

Ihaha

Kasane and home

Or from Ihaha…

Nambwa Community camp in Kaprivi

Drotsky’s Cabins

Tsodillo Hills

Maun

Khama

Home

You can obviously include Le Khubu island in either of them depending on the time of year and if you have much time, you can include the Central Kalahari reserve as well. For Central Kalahari I think you need at least 3 nights in the park not to rush all the time or 6 nights if you wanted to drive through Khutse.

Here is a detailed trip plan for 11 days...

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and Mabuasehube (Trip report here)

By now you may have noticed that we prefer to travel alone and not see hordes of people where we go. We also prefer the road less traveled and to explore and experience new things.

Be aware that water in the Kalahari is usually very salty and not nice for drinking. So if you venture into this area, make sure you have enough fresh water for cooking and drinking. Your last fuel stop before going North is Nossob camp, so make sure to fill up there. Nossob’s water is also salty.

We have explored the Kgalagadi National park (South African side) a few times. The roads are terribly corrugated and the camps are crowded. Saying that, game viewing is very good and easy.

North of the South African park is the KAA Concession and Swartpan. This is very Kalahari sand veldt, but a spectacular place to visit. There are 4 camps in the area. The KAA gate camp is about 7 hours from Nossob and not the nicest place to stay in that area. It does however have running water and a long drop loo. Sizatswe camp is on the edge of a huge pan and really nice, so is Gnus Gnus camp. Neither one of them has any facilities. Swart pan camp has a permanent waterhole and the only one in a huge area. So if you can book that, it’s worth the stay.

We drove out of the park at KAA Gate, North to Masetleng pan and camped wild in one of the most beautiful African bush settings I have seen! Massive Acacia trees with little to no undergrowth. From there we drove to Hikunsti Town where you can get fuel and supplies, and then South to Mabuasehube.

From the time we left the South African side of the park, the going was slow and tough and the sand very deep and thick. This is where, to date, I have experienced the worst fuel consumption ever in our vehicle. We did literally drag the diff through sand for a few days.

I didn’t like Mabuasehube much because it was too busy. There were too many vehicles with too many people and they were not as friendly as the “lone travelers” we usually encounter. As it is the easiest park in Botswana to get to from South Africa, I think it will very quickly turn into a Kgalagadi for 4x4 owners and it is only a matter of time before the roads become horribly corrugated and unpleasant to drive. Saying that, this was in school holidays, so it should be a pleasure outside of school holidays.

Other nice places in Botswana

Elephant Sands is North of Nata. Since Nata Lodge has burnt down, this is a great alternative and I have heard only good things about it. It wouldn’t make much sense to stay there if your next destination is Maun, but on the way to Kasane it is definitely a proposition.

Planet Baobab close to Gweta is a very popular place to stay over. We have never stayed there, but I have heard only good things about it. I’m not sure if they still offer camping, but if they don’t, Baines' Baobabs is not too far.

Mankwe Lodge North of Maun is a really nice to stay and a great alternative for when Kazikini or Moremi is unavailable. Campsites have bucket showers and flush toilets and the staff is really friendly.

The manager, Socks (That’s his name) is a great help and can give advice on the area.

Drotsky’s cabins on the Shakawe side of the Delta is a nice campsite and lodge. They have big campsites with running water and hot showers. They also have electricity in the campsites and they provide firewood. Their boat cruise if very affordable and although game viewing is not really possible from the boats, the bird life is impressive and you can try your hand at tiger fishing.

For contact details.... Google is your friend! I can’t give you everything... Posting a comment won’t necessarily get you an answer.

If you found this information valuable, please leave me a message! Also see my guide to Namibia and my Guide to Photography.