canadian_robin

Here is another self-drive adventure through Nxai Pan, Moremi and Chobe, taken in August 2008 by two fifty-something Canadians. My husband and I must have crossed paths with both Tockoloshe and Pixelpower, and it is interesting to compare the three experiences.

For our trip, we were completely on our own - no guide. It was our first trip to Botswana, but we had self-driven through other parts of southern Africa twice previously.

I warn you - I am long-winded. I keep a journal as we travel, and then write up our adventure when we get home. I then put together a book with the text and photos using Blurb. What will appear here is the text - although I have much editing to do yet.

My husband is in charge of photos - we took 8000 over the course of the 6 weeks, so the poor man is still labeling. We will post pictures ASAP. Enjoy! Robin

I should add that we so enjoyed this trip that we are already planning a self-drive through Tanzania and Botswana!

Chapter 3: Botswana

This Botswana segment of our six-week journey through southern Africa was preceded by four weeks in South Africa and Namibia. We flew into Cape Town from Calgary via Heathrow and self-drove through the Karoo to Upington and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. From there we drove to Fish River Canyon and Aus, and then on to Sossusvlei. After the dunes, we drove through the Namib Desert to Swakopmund and then on to Windhoek. From Windhoek, we drove into Botswana.


Botswana Itinerary:

13 August 2008 Hilltop House, Windhoek, Namibia www.thehilltophouse.com
14 August Tautona Lodge, Ghanzi, Botswana
15 August Motsentsela Tree Lodge, Maun, Botswana, www.motsentselatreelodge.com
16 – 18 August South Gate Campsite, Nxai Pan National Park, Botswana
19-20 August Third Bridge Campsite, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana
21-23 August North Gate Campsite, Moremi Game reserve, Botswana
24 August Savuti Campsite, Chobe National Park, Botswana
25-27 August Ihaha Campsite, Chobe National Park, Botswana
28-29 August Ichobezi Mukwae, Namibia, www.ichobezi.co.za
30 August Stanley Safari Lodge, Livingstone, Zambia, www.stanleysafaris.com

Trip planning:

After much reading and online research, we drew up an itinerary and then contacted Safari Drive (www.safaridrive.com), specialist African operators based in the UK, who had been recommended in the Bradt Guide. (www.bradtguides.com) Safari Drive shared their expertise and offered advice, provided us with a fully equipped Land Rover, looked after our campsite and lodge bookings, arranged all land transfers and generally made things a whole lot easier. Bradt’s recommendation was well founded we discovered.


Our best sources of information included:

Botswana: The Bradt Safari Guide 2007 by Chris McIntyre, ISBN: 978-1-84162-166-1,

Wild Dogs and Englishmen Out in the Midday Sun by Kathy Dalboth 2007, www.wilddogsandenglishmen.wordpress.com - Kathy’s wonderful and very detailed travel blog about
her and husband Ed’s self-drive camping trip around Botswana.

Tom and Jana’s 2007 Africa Journal by Tom Goetz, www.tomgoetz.com – Tom’s description of his and
wife Jana’s two-week self drive adventure through southern Africa was most helpful.

Fodor’s Forum www.fodors.com/forums, where we learned so much from so many people! A huge resource!

Lonely Planet’s Botswana and Namibia 2007 by Paula Hardy and Matthew D. Firestone,
ISBN: 978-1-74104-760-8

canadian_robin

Highlights

The freedom of self-drive - we loved being able to take our time and stop where we wanted, when we wanted and for as long as we wanted.
The roof-top tent - we loved our roof-top perch and felt completely safe despite night-time visits from elephants, hippos, spotted hyena, a honey badger, lions and buffalos.
The elephant visit at Third Bridge campsite on our first night in the reserve - our favourite encounter of the whole trip.
Cruising the Chobe River on the houseboat Ichobezi Mukwae - paradise after five weeks of traveling through South Africa, Namibia, Moremi and Chobe on rough, dusty roads.
Sixteen lions.
The hyena digging through our fire pit at Third Bridge Campsite
The solitude and skies of Nxai Pan National park.
The cemetery at Kachikau.
The giraffes eating the sausages! No, we were not feeding the wildlife!
The leopard encounter at Nxai Pan.
The sound of the fish eagle!
The people of Botswana and their unfailing friendliness.
The elephant stampede near Third Bridge at dawn.
The giraffe necking.
The little bee-eaters.
The sunsets! The sunrises!
Our first view of the Chobe River and its floodplain - thousands of zebras and impalas.
The success of the slingshot – thank you Luangwablondes.
The honey badger visit.
The view across the Chobe River and its floodplain to Namibia from Ihaha Campsite.
Breakfast with the lions, breakfast with the bee-eaters, breakfast with the giraffes, breakfast with the lilac-breasted rollers…so many wonderful ways to start the day.
Being lulled to sleep by the grunting and snorting of hippos, the roaring of lions, the whooping of hyenas, the singing and drumming from Khwai Village…
The company of Harold and Marion at Nxai Pan, Karin and Tobias in Moremi and Chobe, and Bruce and Sheila, Mike and Isobel, Betts and Wilfred, Diane and Denis, and Matthias and Cheston on the Ichobezi.
Crossing the border from Botswana to Zambia - a whole new experience!
The game drive on the Chobe River with Matthias at sunrise - 39 species of birds and 11 species of mammals.
The visit to Injambwe.


Lowlights

The unfriendly guides from the private safari companies in Moremi and Chobe.
Those wretched baboons at Ihaha Campsite!
Seven safari vehicles at the lion sighting east of North Gate campsite.

twaffle

Another brave traveller, it is encouraging for some of us to think that we could do this too, but I think I would include a guide. I haven't finished reading the report but like the idea of a roof top tent just to keep the snakes out!

cary999

Thanks for your report. You were gone for quite some time, 6 weeks, but could you some way, say something about your costs involved? Not details, just something to give me a feel for it all.

regards - tom

sniktawk

canadian robin

Just out of interest how long did it take you to find Motsensela, or did you have good directions. I am also surprised that you did not included Etosha. Nevertheless looks like a good trip!

canadian_robin

Honestly, Twaffle, if my husband and I can do it, anyone can. It was much easier than I feared - so much so that we are now planning to self-drive through northern Tanzania and Kenya. It helped to know that we had Safari Drive behind us.

Tom - here are the costs. Self-drive is not cheap but we still prefer the freedom.
This segment of our trip cost ~£5000, including the fully-equipped Land Rover for 14 days, all accommodation including the houseboat, all bookings, 130 litres of petrol (long range tanks and 20-litre jerry can), all camping fees, all land and water transfers, LDW insurance, a very generous starter kit of food, satellite telephone and one-way drop off fee for the Land Rover. It cost us 1060 pula to put 104 litres in the long-range (110 litres) fuel tanks of the Land Rover before we returned the vehicle and another ~200 pula to refill the 20-litre jerry can. Our only other expenses were the park fees (12 days) of 3000 pula, US$55 each for our Zambian visas, groceries and souvenirs.

Sniktawk - Motsentsela was easy to find - we had directions from Safari Drive, our Tracks4Africa Map and our GPS - we could have done without the latter, but were practising for the rest of the trip! I would guess that it took us about 1/2 hour, with stops for photos - and with my husband picking the most difficult tracks to get used to driving in thick sand.
We visited Etosha in 2004-2005, when we were based in Cape Town (on a sabbatical) for a year - we hope to return some day - I would love to do a self-dive combination of Etosha and Moremi and Chobe. That would have been our next trip until I starting reading about Tanzania and Kenya - Safari Drive sends clients into both countries.

Robin
Next couple of paragraphs to follow!

canadian_robin

The final leg of our six-week journey through Southern Africa was the part of our trip that I had anticipated and looked forward to the most. Although we had visited southern Africa twice previously, including a year-long sabbatical in Cape Town in 2004-2005, this would be our first visit to Botswana. It was to be new territory for Robert and me, and we looked forward to visiting the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta and the adjacent Chobe National Park, both of which we had heard and read so much about. We would be camping with a roof-top tent, a little more rustic than our camping experiences in South Africa and Namibia, where we have stayed in permanent tents with ensuite bathrooms and well-equipped kitchens. Our camping trip would begin in the bustling town of Maun and, after a side trip to Nxai Pan National Park in the Kalahari Desert, we would travel northeast through Moremi and then Chobe to the small town of Kasane, a distance of about 300km. We would be visiting in the dry season, when game is easier to spot because the animals are forced to congregate near permanent water or artificial waterholes. We would be completely on our own, with no armed rangers looking out for us in the campsites should any large predators wander through. We would be self-driving in a rented Land Rover, and the driving conditions, we had been warned, would be tough, with deep, loose sand. Route finding would present another challenge. We were looking forward to a little adventure and a few challenges, although we would have the full support and in-country back-up of Safari Drive should we get into difficulty. Our books promised some of the last pristine wilderness in Southern Africa and wildlife that wouldn’t disappoint - in short, the experience of a lifetime. We couldn’t wait! Botswana was calling!

The day before our journey into Botswana was spent in Windhoek, Namibia. Late morning, we saw our friends, Anne and Mark from Regina, Saskatchewan, who had been our traveling companions for the first four weeks of our journey, off at the Hosea Kutako international airport. We then spent the remainder of the day running errands in preparation for our departure for Botswana first thing the following morning. We began at Wernhil Centre, where there is a Woolworths, an up-market South African grocery store chain. We purchased all of the non-perishable food items that we would need for our twelve days of camping, having been warned that the shopping in Maun, Botswana, from where we would begin our safari, was rather limited. We picked up a few old favourites from our sabbatical – Woolworth’s muesli rusks and butternut soup, Ceres brand Whispers of Summer, Medley of Fruits and Secrets of the Valley juices, sparkling juices Grapetiser and Appletiser, and Mrs. Ball’s chutney.

Our grocery shopping complete, we headed to a Barclays Bank ATM to withdraw Namibian dollars that we were then going to convert to Botswana pula. We had tried to purchase pula in Canada and at Heathrow airport but with no luck. We each withdrew N$2000 using our Canadian bank cards, the maximum daily limit that we were able to withdraw. We then walked a couple of blocks to the nearby Namibia Bureau de Change off Independence Avenue where we converted the N$4000 to 3200 pula. We felt a tad vulnerable walking around with that much cash, but we would be required to pay our park fees, which would total 3000 pula (~CDN$485) for twelve days, in cash at the park gates. We would also need cash to pay for petrol, as gas stations don’t accept credit cards. We had been warned that the bank machines in Maun were often out of order and that the line-ups at the banks would be lengthy. We were trying to save ourselves some time by purchasing pula before we arrived in Maun.

From the mall, we headed to The Hilltop House, a well known B&B in Windhoek. Our room was lovely, very large with hardwood floors, a stone fireplace and a balcony that overlooked the secluded garden and swimming pool. That evening, we followed the advice of the owners Angela and Allen and headed to Joe’s Beerhouse, which was within walking distance. It was a lovely restaurant, with canvas sides, a thatch roof and a huge central bar. The lighting was subdued and provided by ingeniously modified fish traps. Around the bar were huge tables each with two long benches that held a total of about 16 people. The restaurant, which must accommodate over 200 people, was insanely busy, although the service was prompt and the atmosphere surprisingly quiet and calm. On one side of us sat a young German couple, who had just arrived in Windhoek earlier in the day and, on the other, a family of twelve Namibians celebrating a birthday. The youngest member of the family, who was seated next to me, seemed fascinated by the mix of Canadian and German accents next to him. Joe’s Beerhouse is known for its game with good reason. The menu offered everything from the fairly common kudu, springbok and gemsbok to the more unusual zebra and warthog. Much as I wanted to try something different, I couldn’t bring myself to eat zebra, so I ordered the springbok instead. We enjoyed what was our best meal of the trip. The springbok practically melted in my mouth and was served with the most delicious mielie pap. Robert’s warthog was, not surprisingly, much like roast pork and also very good.

canadian_robin

We enjoyed the company of the German couple who regaled us with tales of their travels in Egypt. They ordered the kudu and a venison platter and declared both to be delicious. Our server asked if the four of us would be willing to try a new brand of African beer for them and we readily agreed. Free beer! The Germans were quite disgusted with the beer and we agreed that it was watery and poor even by Canadian standards. The conversation eventually turned to the Olympics in Beijing. The couple was scandalized that Germany had won only three medals to that point. They were fairly certain that Canada had yet to win a medal and we admitted that they were likely correct! We paid N$250 (about CDN$33.00) for dinner, which included a bottle of wine - ridiculously cheap for such a fantastic meal. Returning to The Hilltop House, we had just settled down to watch our first Olympics when the power went out. As the rest of the neighbourhood seemed to have power, we called Allen and Angela, who live off site. Allen arrived within ten minutes and power was quickly restored. Still on game drive hours and wishing to get a reasonably early start in the morning, we retired before ten, enjoying our very comfortable bed and cozy room.

The following morning, in anticipation of beginning our journey to Botswana, we were awake before dawn. We enjoyed a lovely sunrise as we packed our two weeks supply of food into the Yaris. I was thankful that we weren’t flaunting our generous food supply in front of the workers, who had not yet arrived at a nearby construction site. We savoured The Hilltop House “health breakfast” of muesli, fresh fruit, yogurt, freshly squeezed orange juice and multigrain toast on the balcony which adjoined our room. It was another beautiful, clear morning, and the view of the mountains with the city in the foreground was lovely. We cringed as we watched workers on the construction site work at dizzying heights with no safety harnesses. We left The Hilltop House around 8:30am, after bidding farewell to Allen and Leopold, a staff member who had been particularly attentive during our stay. We stopped at two banks on the way out of town to withdraw more cash to convert into pula, but my bank card was rejected at both machines. In desperation, we stopped at the Hosea Kutako airport and converted some of our American dollars, which we needed for Zambia, into pula. On our way out of the airport, we saw a grey lourie, a beautiful bird with a long tail and very pronounced crest, which is more commonly known as the “go-away bird”, for its comical “go way-y-y” call.

From the airport, we continued east for 200km on the Trans-Kalahari Highway (B6) towards Gobabis. About 30km east of the airport, we passed our first “watch-for-warthogs” signs. Warthogs are often described as being rather grotesque, but I believe that they are not without some appeal. They are brownish-grey and pig-like in appearance, with bristle-like hairs scattered over their bodies, a mane of long hair down their backs, wart-like lumps on their faces and upward pointing tusks on their snouts. They run with their thin tails erect, which gives them a certain endearing quality. We were to see many warthogs along the highway this day. While the highway had been busy in both directions near Windhoek, we soon found ourselves alone on the road. We took to hugging the centre of the highway so that we would have more time to avoid the suicidal warthogs which would inevitably dash out onto the highway in front of us. The highway was narrow and without shoulders, and the centre line disappeared about 100km from Windhoek. We took our time and enjoyed the scenery. We saw many southern yellow-billed hornbills in the trees along the highway, with their distinctive large, curved yellow bills and noisy “wurk” “wurk” “wurk” calls. We were in cattle country but, thankfully, the cows were kept off the highway and safely behind fences. Around Vitvlei, what trees there had been disappeared and the vegetation consisted mostly of scrubby bushes and long grass. It was incredibly dry and dusty. As we approached Gobabis, we began to encounter people walking along the highway. Women and children were carrying all manner of things of their heads, but mostly firewood that they had gathered from the nearby bush. It was winter and the nights were cold, often dropping to zero.

We drove into Gobabis to top up the tank, not certain when there would be petrol available again. We encountered several Herero women in town, wearing their distinctive, long Victorian gowns and colourful horn-shaped headdresses that remind me somewhat of elongated graduation caps. The hats are said to represent the horns of a cow, which would make sense since the Herero are proud cattle farmers. The Herero live mostly in the central and eastern part of the country, and make up the third largest ethnic group in Namibia, numbering around 100,000. The crinoline and layers of petticoats that the women wear under their Victorian dresses made them look enormous and the men who walked beside them very thin. This impractical style of dress was introduced to the Herero women in the 1800s by missionaries who were shocked at the Herero’s semi-nakedness. As I sat in the car in mid-winter, rather warm in my shorts and T-shirt, I couldn’t imagine how these women survive the summer temperatures of the Kalahari Desert.

From Gobabis, we continued east on the B6 for 120km to Buitepos, the Namibian border post. We saw two lilac-breasted rollers, surely one of southern Africa’s prettiest birds with its brilliant blue wing feathers and lilac throat and breast. We also saw several pale chanting goshawks perched in thornbushes which, while admittedly very pretty with their coral pink legs and white upper wings, we had grown very tired of while visiting South African parks. About 20km west of the border, having not encountered a picnic site for many kilometres, we stopped for a very late tea break at the entrance to Zelda’s Guest Farm. We arrived at Buitepos just after noon and were only at the border post for about ten minutes, long enough to have our passports stamped, names dutifully entered into a computer, and to fill out immigration forms confirming that we were indeed leaving Namibia.

sniktawk

Canadian Robin

You were lucky we only had limited directions and were greatly surprised to have a 8-10km drive on sand, still it was worth it.
Just think for the price you paid for 14 days you could have gone to the "luxury" Delta lodges for at best 5 days, and had nowhere near as much fun.

canadian_robin

Fortunately, Safari Drive had warned us about the road into Motsentsela and, for us, it was good practice for the rest of the trip - especially for the road into Nxai Pan, which was next!

Would it really cost that much? - I honestly thought we hadn't saved a lot by self-driving - perhaps we did! Robin

canadian_robin

From Buitepos, we traveled about half a kilometre further down the highway to Mamuno, the Botswana border post. Here again our passports were scrutinized, our names entered into a computer and we were required to fill out an immigration form. Canadians do not need a visa to enter Botswana but are granted a one-month entry permit when they arrive. We paid 40 pula for the permit and a wheel tax for the vehicle, which was another 20 pula. We used our “Dumela rra!” or “Hello sir!” in Setswana, the national language of Botswana, for the first time, which was met with wide grins. The immigration officer immediately responded with “Re teng” or “I’m well” and then “Le kae?” or “How are you?” We would get better at these conversations as the days went on, and we were always warmly received when we made the effort to greet the Batswana in their language. Perhaps because of our efforts, we were in and out of immigration in about 15 minutes. The two border posts took about 30 minutes in total, although there is also a time change at the Botswana border, and we lost an hour going east. It was just after 2:00pm when we entered Botswana

cruisinred

canadian robin-

Thanks so much for taking the time to write such a detailed report. Can't wait for the rest of it.

To snikwiks point, I intended to do a similiar Bots self drive last year with some friends. We priced out several options. While the Safari Drive people we spoke with were very helpful, and their brochure detailed and charming, their prices were much higher than www.bushlore.com ....which offers a very similar 4x4 rental service, complete with equipment. They do not, however, handle the reservations for the national park campsites Bots, which could be a big plus for some people.

canadian_robin

Bushlore has an impressive website - thank you for the link. Pity they don't do Tanzania and Kenya - our next destination!

The camping reservations in Botswana were definitely an issue for us (from Canada) - telephone would have been costly and difficult, and email wasn't available. It wouldn't be a problem in SA - SAN Parks has a wonderful website and we always book online directly with them. Robin

luangwablondes

There are a lot of companies out there. Some are not so good, or insurance is not as good as the next, or equipment is older, etc. You need to ask all the right questions.

Here is a list of some companies in East and Southern Africa. Many deliver and pickup in different countries from their home base. This is more common with SA companies. http://tinyurl.com/3xopno

luangwablondes

The reservation booking system for Botswana parks changes in January, btw. Should be more efficient.

sniktawk

I for one would be very pleased if not amazed if the booking for Botswana Campsites became efficient.

luangwablondes

Its being privatized, so we can only hope.

canadian_robin

Luangwablondes
Thank you for the list of 4x4 companies - it may come in handy for Tanzania and Kenya if Safari Drive doesn't have a vehicle available.

We thought that Safari Drive, although more expensive than some of the other companies we checked out, were worth every penny, as will become apparent when I post the Botswana portion of my trip report.

I know that starting in January you can pay Botswana park fees in advance - in fact, visitors will no longer be able to pay in cash at the park gates. However, what we international visitors need is a way of booking online, so that we don't have to have a local tour operator do it on our behalf. Although I am happy that we will not have to carry our park fees in cash in the future, which is a tad risky, I need to be able to book in advance online, to ensure that I can get the bookings we would like.

BTW Luangwablondes - I hope you saw my thank you to you above (in the highlights) regarding the slingshot. Here is what I say in the report (this part not yet posted):

No sooner had we begun to cook dinner, than the dreaded vervet monkeys and chacma baboons descended on us. We had been warned about these tiresome creatures, which hang around the campsites in both Moremi and Chobe. They have taken the art of stealing to a new level and campers have to be extremely vigilant, otherwise the animals snatch food from your table or vehicle before you even have the opportunity to think about reacting. Prior to our trip, I had posted a query on Fodor’s Forum asking what to do about the baboons and monkeys. One of the regular contributors to the forum, Luangwablondes, had responded that we should take a slingshot. I had suggested that, since I am not able to hit the broad side of a barn with a snowball, I would be of little use with a slingshot. Luangwablondes had immediately replied that I didn't need to be able to hit the baboons or monkeys, because they would flee at the mere sight of a slingshot. I was a tad skeptical, but had gone out and purchased a slingshot at our local hardware store. Imagine our surprise then, when the baboons and monkeys descended, to have them scatter in all directions as soon as Robert brought out the slingshot. He simply waved it about, picked up a couple of rocks, and the pesky beasts disappeared and kept their distance for the rest of the evening. The slingshot would make many appearances from then on, all with equal success. We owe many relaxed meals to Luangwablondes!

Thank you again - that slingshot was the best tip of the trip!!

Robin

tockoloshe

Just seen your post - been looking forward to this! Please feel free to be as long-winded as you like, I like the detail!

I can’t believe how much we have in common, from Mrs Ball’s chutney, to planning our next self-drive in Tanzania & Kenya, and our husbands’ eagerness to try out their new toy in deep sand as soon as possible!

I second your preparation recommendations -The Bradt Botswana Guide and the excellent Wild Dogs and Englishmen Out in the Midday Sun report . I hadn’t seen ‘Tom and Jana’s 2007 Africa Journal’ before, thanks for the ref. – I like reading about other people getting stuck in the sand!! Go on, tell us you didn’t!

We also thought that Safari Drive looked like an excellent setup, especially because they can do all the bookings for you, but it was still a bit on the expensive side for us, they tend to mix camping with the pricier lodges, which kind of cancels out the economy of camping. A similar outfit we tried for a quote said honestly that it ‘wasn’t worth their while’ doing the park bookings, no commission in it for them. By the way, we got our Botswana campsite bookings for August in the post today – so I certainly hope that the new system works better too.

“We used our “Dumela rra!” or “Hello sir!” in Setswana, the national language of Botswana, for the first time, which was met with wide grins”
I second that, our “Dumela’s” also got a few giggles but always in good spirit, and I think our efforts were much appreciated. We were thrilled that after a couple of weeks we were asked by an official if we were resident in Botswana!

Keep it coming, please.

luangwablondes

Hi Robin- glad the slipshot tip worked for you. Too many people complaining about those baboons, when a there are some passive solutions to these problems.

When you are going to Chobe, Moremi and Savute, advance reservations have gotten to be essential. Excluding a couple Namibia campsites and the SA campsites,just about all other parks in Africa I have been too, that has not been the case. I agree that having those campsites booked in advance is important, especially when travelling from overseas,but competion for campsites is not as great as in Southern most part of Africa, where overlanding, camping and off roading is such a major passtime.

With the new Bot reservation system, hopefully you can do all your own reservations, including the SA and Namibia campsites and not pay such an exorbitant fee to have a company like SafariDrive do that for you. When you have reservations in advance- like the way SafariDrive does it- everyday, it forces you to pickup and move on to the next reservation, regardless if you found a special spot or even some new friends. Thats why you should just make reservations at the notorious places in advance and leave the rest open.

tockoloshe
Be a bit more careful in chosing the 4x4 hire company in East Africa. There are some small companies that have some problem equipment and service. So ask the right questions and get it in writing if possible.