Affordable Botswana Part 2: the return trip
 

Dumela!

We’ve recently returned from another Botswana trip – (actually it was May but I’ve only just got round to doing this report!)

I’m not going to do a full report, (after all, it was mainly ‘get up, break camp, watch game, back to camp at dusk, get fire going, cook dinner, and get terrorized by some creature or other’ every day!) but I’ll give my impressions of being in Moremi in May as opposed to August/Sept, and our experience at Grassland Bushman Lodge

And a few photos:

Moremi:
http://www.kodakgallery.co.uk/ShareL...w_photos_album

Grassland Bushman Lodge :
http://www.kodakgallery.co.uk/ShareL...w_photos_album

But why did we retrace our steps? There are so many other places to visit!

There are a few reasons why we did such a similar trip as last year.

Our initial plans to travel up into the Caprivi region were thwarted by the flooding – we could have gone that way but didn’t want to battle through mud to get anywhere.

Second plan was to go through Kgadaghadi Transfrontier Park and up through the Kalahari to Maun, but the park accommodation was booked solidly on the South African side, and arriving without a booking doesn’t seem an option there.

Last trip we drove a long way and didn’t spend as much time as we would have liked in some places (Moremi in particular) because we’d booked many places on our itinerary, and had to keep moving, this time we decided we didn’t want to do so much driving as last time, (and we’re doing a longer driving holiday later in the year) and would spend more time in any place we particularly liked, and we had just 18 days so not so long as our month-long trip last time. So third option was to see how much time we could get in Moremi and just have a simple ‘camping holiday’ …. and the more we thought about it the more we liked the idea of staying around Moremi and not trying to do too much like we usually do. Basically it was an easy option compared with planning a trip into the unknown, though we still want to visit Zambia, Zimbabwe & East Africa some time in the future. We reasoned that we’ll have plenty more opportunity to visit the other places again in future when conditions allow.

Cost also came into it, we had a limited budget this year and having been before we knew what kind of budget we could work on

We’ve also heard various rumours about privatization of Moremi & Savuti and measures to prevent self-drivers using the camps so we thought we’d better go back while we still had a chance

From recent Ngami Times:
Park fees set to rise?
It is believed the government is considering substantially raising national park fees to keep out “undesirable tourism activities.” This would, sources say, ensure the country's wildlife areas – such as the Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe National Park - did not attract too many self-drive tourists, illegal operators or mobile operators but rather adhere to the low volume, high value aspects of current national parks policy.

Yes, we are those ‘undesirables’ .

Our objectives remain the same; wilderness experience and as much wildlife as possible. And we wanted to add a different dimension to this trip so found somewhere we could go out with the Bushmen and learn more about them.

As for costings:
Car & tent + equipment rental 18 days: $US 1,600
Park, car & camping fees in Moremi (9 nights) $US 450
Other accommodation, mix of camping, guest house, hotel & lodge: (9 nights) $US 500
+ fuel, food & extras

We were lucky with camp reservations in Moremi, got 5 nights pre-booked from UK and another 4 when we arrived in Maun. We’d thought about camping on the pans but Nxai was booked out so in the end we were quite happy with the prospect of tootling round Moremi for 9 days. A reminder that you have to pay park fees in advance now, they will not accept money at the gates and will not let you through without having paid. But once in they are very flexible if you want to change sites – we had mainly South Gate bookings but spent most of our time in North Gate, Xakanaxa and Third Bridge

If we couldn’t have got any more reservations in Moremi we would have considered one of the Delta lodges. A few people have mentioned about turning up in Maun and seeing what was on offer at the Delta lodges – we found the following advertised – might give you an idea:

Kwando Safari camps April & May 2009
Nxai Pan Lodge, Tau Pan lodge & Kwara Camp & Lagoon camp: pula 1,600 pppn ($US225) (+flights)
Little Kwara & Lebala: pula 1,900 pppn ($US 267)

Kwando Safari camps June to October 2009
Nxai Pan Lodge, Tau Pan lodge & Kwara Camp & Lagoon camp, Little Kwara & Lebala: pula 2,100 pppn $US295

Mobile Safari: $US 275 pppd

Ker & Downey camps April, May, June / Nov, Dec 09
Okuti, Kanana, footsteps across the Delta : pula 1,875 pppn ($US265) (+ flights)


So, here’s a short account of the self-drive in Moremi since there are not so many self-drivers on the forum. I thought it would be most useful to point out differences between the May 09 trip and the August 08 trip, ( see ‘Affordable Botswana’ in trip reports http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...ug-sept-08.cfm )

I would say there were 2 big differences:

1. The sand & dust. In August/beginning Sept the tracks were very difficult and we got stuck in deep sand a couple of times and nearly stuck many times. The sky wasn’t very clear due to many bush fires in the region. We got hot and very dirty from the dusty, sandy roads – dust got into everything – clothes and food – and we never really felt clean until we left Moremi and had a few good soaks in the bath. But all routes were passable with care. In May this year we didn’t even have to take the tyres down for sand driving, the sand was much more compact and most of the ‘main’ routes could have been done with a saloon car – this was due to recent rain which compacted the sand and made the sand roads much easier. We were actually dreading a couple of the tracks we’d driven the year before and couldn’t believe they were so easy this time round. HOWEVER there was a lot more standing water and we had to go carefully through deep puddles and some minor routes through mopane woodland were just too difficult to negotiate because you couldn’t see if a hole contained roots or rocks which might damage your (rented!) vehicle. And most disappointing of all, many of the tracks around Khwai were impassable, so we missed seeing what was our favourite area last visit, but it just wasn’t worth getting stuck when we didn’t have to go that way. The day we tried (against the advice of the park officials) we couldn’t get past a truck which was stuck in the water blocking the track.

2. The new ablutions. The joy of hot water and a hot shower in clean ablution blocks! Not to be underestimated. They were extremely clean and well maintained when we were there but the baboons were doing their best to wreck them.

Otherwise the game viewing was very similar, although we were not so lucky with the leopards & cheetah this time, which makes us realize we’ve been very lucky previously, but in compensation we did have excellent sightings of wild dogs – on our ‘wish list’. We did have some good lion encounters though, a pride of 5 spending the night in the camp at Third Bridge was an experience, and the hyaenas were as troublesome as usual trying to eat the car tyres and pinch the camp chairs. One elephant wouldn’t let our neighbours out of the ablution block for an hour one night – every time they tried to leave he herded them back in, but I’m sure he had a huge grin on his face as he ambled past us – saw it as a very good game! I have to thank luangwablondes and canadian robin for the catapult anti-baboon suggestion – it really does work, just showing the baboon leader the catapult without even using it was enough to keep them away.

Also not much difference in temperature between May and August. We did have a couple of storms with spectacular lightning displays but only at night and we’d eaten and got cleared away by then. It made for some spectacular night viewing – seeing the huge shape of an elephant suddenly illuminated by lightning only metres from the tent was amazing – then dark would descend again and you’d have no idea where he was. Next day was fine and apart from some puddles the roads were clear. The weather in Botswana has been a talking point this year – the locals were stunned when it rained when we were there in May, and even more so when it rained heavily in June too.

If anyone wants more information about Moremi I’ll gladly answer questions.
Also if anyone needs a review of the following accommodation I can tell you my impressions too: Maun Lodge, Kalahari Bush breaks campsite (Namibia, near Gobabis), Tautona Lodge (near Ghanzi), Rivendell Guest House (Windhoek)

This is an informative website moremi lions which not only has excellent photos but gives a good idea of current conditions.

http://moremi.earth-touch.com/

Since they are based near Xakanaxa they often mention ‘our’ lions and it was nice to read someone else’s account of the period we were there, and specifically some of our ‘lion in camp’ incidents. At one time it was updated every day but recently it hasn’t been so regular, and there’s a lot about croc research at the moment but go back to May & June to see some fantastic lion photos.

Next: Grasslands Lodge, a favourite of Predator Biologist

thanks for the report and photos.

I just returned from Botswana in June, thou I didn't do a self drive.

But it was great to see your photos, I loved the ones of the giraffes, as you could really feel their movement.

Thanks for posting,

amy

Great report! Looking forward to the next chapter.

I am very curious about the information you provided on the last-minute booking options advertised in Maun. The Kwando deal, in particular, is very appealing. Where exactly did you see this advertised, and do you know if I would book this directly with Kwando's office in Maun, or through a travel agent's office?

Any additional details on this whole topic of booking a luxury safari upon arrival in Maun would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

Thanks!

Many thanks for your report, your basic "costings" is very useful and I wish more reports included it. I also find interesting the last minute bookings available in Maun. Those prices are like less than half rack, I think. Thanks again.

regards - tom

Anyone feel overcharged by those 'great' rates your safari planners got you?

Amy,
Thanks for your kind comments. I hadn't been on fodors for a while and was delighted to find your trip report which totally distracted me from writing mine! What a fantastic experience, I particularly remember you mentioning the gymnogene since I'd never heard of it before this trip and of course the meerkats - I was so envious that they came to you - we saw them on a visit from Planet Boabab but they weren't so habituated to humans and we had to admire them from a distance. So thanks for taking the time to write in such detail, I'm much lazier!

MisterAviator,
I saw the deal in the window of an agent in Maun ('Liquid Giraffe'), but I'm sure Kwando would have to match it if you went to their office directly. I tried to get more details but the girl responsible was on her lunch break and we didn't pursue it because we'd already got our park reservations by then. But I do think you need to be there to get the pula rates, we've tried and failed to get pula rates from outside Botswana. I haven't looked into the usual rates for these camps so I can't make a comparison myself, but tom (cary999) seems to think it's about half.

Here are the actual ads, with a couple more trips advertised (hope it's readable, only took the photo as a reminder for myself:

http://www.kodakgallery.co.uk/ShareL...localeid=en_GB

Working on the next chapter, will be done shortly.

<i>I'll</i> say you got lucky with the dog sightings! :D Wow, very nice. Loved your last report (and Canadian Robin's self-drive too)--it's great to get another.

tockoloshe,

Wow! Not only did you answer my question, but you had photos of the actual data. You are to be commended for your keen attention to detail. I am thinking of visiting Maun in September and would love to book my safari lodges on the spot to save some serious pula!

tockoloshe

Is your costing per person?

Great report and great info on the "specials" for the Kwando venues. That's almost 1/3 of the published rack!

I hope next year it's the same. I would definitely give it a try and gamble.

Again: Great report/info!

SV

Hi luangwablondes,
You're right, that wasn't clear, I should have specified that costs & fees are the total for 2 people.

Leely2,
Thanks - I'm looking forward to Canadian Robin's next self-drive report, they must be in East Africa now, I think.

Congratulations. Way to go. That was a very cost effective self drive. Who did you rent the 4x4 from?

I can't wait for the rest of your report! I'd love to do a self-drive in Botswana at some point....

The same prices are available from all operators, including Wilderness safaris. They even have a travel shop in the Maun office.

Again, 1/3 of the price.

Alrighty then! Anyone wanna go with me and take a chance on finding these decent rates and availability? ;)

Why do I have the feeling this thread might mysteriously disappear soon? ;)

cruisinred, maybe try and do your self-drive soon, they seem to want to force the self-drivers out in favour of the high spenders!

I have to give a recommendation to Grassland Lodge.
grasslandlodge.com/

I first read about it in Predator Biologist’s report a while ago, (Predator Biologist: Grassland Bushman Lodge report, Posted by: PredatorBiologist on May 13, 2008 I think this is the link).
http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...dge-report.cfm

He’s covered just about all aspects of what to expect and I endorse everything he says, so I won’t repeat it, and he can give info on the lodge whereas we camped. So this is my experience:

Grassland Bushman Lodge is west of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and about 60km east of Ghanzi, along a sandy track, not too difficult but quite slow, it took us longer than anticipated, also because of the many farm gates we had to open/close (stopped counting at 15). Tip – volunteer to be the driver or you’ll be the one hopping in and out of the car endlessly. Most guests arrive by plane.

The Lodge is owned by the de Graff family, and Neeltjie and her husband Tiaan manage it now. She speaks fluent Naro bushmen and is a licensed guide who worked in the Delta for many years at Ker and Downey camps.

We had a very warm welcome from Neeltjie, I know it’s a fairly common experience for self-drivers to be treated like a bad smell by some lodges– get ‘em out of sight quickly’ – but Neeltjie couldn’t have given us a warmer welcome. We had a drink and a chat at the lodge before she explained where to camp and what activities we could do. She completely understood that camping in the bush was to us a luxury we can’t do elsewhere, more of a luxury than staying in a comfortable lodge.

The campsite is well away from the lodge (about 3 kms) and we were the only ones there – just how we like it. We had a lone wildebeest sleeping near the tent, he snored more than my husband, but it was comforting in a strange way!. There were 2 toilets and 2 showers in the open but screened off, with another sink in the open. There was a donkey boiler for hot water but we didn’t use it (wood was supplied) because we found that the sun warmed the water in the pipes enough to have a shower with warm water. Being in the open the showers were frequented by many birds, so there were a lot of droppings, but they were otherwise clean. They also had visitors of other types – I found a puff adder in the toilet area one day (next to my foot), which was probably a good thing because it reminded us not to be complacent about wandering around the bush. After that incident we always took a large stick along with us to bang on the ground and on the sides of the shower so that any other occupants were forewarned! (hubby had a similar experience at Kazikiini camp near Moremi when he’d approached the open shower quietly and a squirrel shot out and used his leg as a springboard, accidentally giving him quite a scratch – moral of story, make your approach known to allow the wildlife to make an exit!)

We’d chosen Grasslands because we could join in the activities on offer at the lodge - I’d mentioned in previous posts that I was frustrated about finding a place where you didn’t have to pay an excessive amount of money for accommodation and still find activities to do. We are willing to spend what it takes to experience something special (like a flight over the Okavango) but do not want to spend our time in Africa cosseted in a lodge, we want the sounds & smells of the bush! Grasslands fits the bill perfectly. I’m not sure they can always accommodate campers on activities if they have a max number of guests, but it’s worth asking when you book. They certainly need to know in advance if you want to do the Bushmen activities because they have to track down their Bushmen first! (I’ll say Bushmen because we asked about the correct terminology and they themselves are not offended by that term)

As Predator Biologist said, you do not see a great deal on the game drives, but for us it was good to be driven around for a change. The San driver showed us various plants and animal tracks when things got a bit slow.

However the Bushmen activities exceeded expectations, and judging from others’ reports I think we got the best experience going! This is particularly why I wanted to write about Grasslands – it’s worth going for the Bushman experience alone, and of course it generates income for them.

Neeltjie took us to see them on 2 occasions – once to their small temporary settlement to see them playing traditional games and dancing, and a second afternoon to follow them around whilst they gathered food and explained – through Neeltjie – how they use certain plants, then made a fire and cooked various items of bush food for us. We were extremely lucky to have what seemed like the whole community with us, the kids were not at school (“When do they go to school?” “When the truck comes for them” ) and joined in enthusiastically. They were gathering some food ‘for real’, not just for show, in fact it got quite late but we couldn’t make for home until they’d found a particular plant they wanted that day!

Photos again:

http://www.kodakgallery.co.uk/ShareL...localeid=en_GB

I am VERY wary of so-called ‘cultural experiences’, and usually find even the idea of them excruciatingly embarrassing. This was something totally natural and you didn’t feel that you were intruding, on the contrary they were so happy to be able to show guests their traditional ways, and got terribly offended if we didn’t take photos. We were the only guests with Neeltjie (as translator) on this activity, so it was truly personal and intimate. It was also good to hear that it’s a good day’s entertainment for them too, they did it with such good humour and obvious enjoyment . We agreed that it was the highlight of this trip.

One little point, Grassland Lodge does not accept credit cards at the moment (their bank won't allow them to) but that may change soon.

Needless to say the whole trip was a fantastic experience, and we wouldn’t hesitate to return and do the whole thing over again (maybe minus close encounter with puff adder!)

If anyone would like any more info please feel free to ask.

Tockoloshe: Fabulous report! So glad that you enjoyed Grasslands and met Neeltjie, Tiaan, and the bushmen, on all accounts welcoming and wonderful people. Your photos are terrific and its nice for me to see many familiar faces and I couldn't agree more with your assessment of time spent with the bushmen. We can all learn a lot by returning to our original root and seeing how we have changed and what we have forgotten. My horse at Grasslands almost stepped on a puff adder and I saw a pair mating as well, glad your encounter went just as a reminder to be cautious. Camping alone out there must have been wonderful.

I really enjoyed your Moremi writings too, very interesting to compare the two seasons over a short period of time. I'm glad you relished them both. Also, fantastic bargains you uncovered in Maun for those who have time and adventure but need great values, wonderful to know there are options out there that can work, especially during high season when the savings are staggering.

Thanks for the report and terrific photos!

Hi tockoloshe
Just found your 2 trip reports (wanted to check out what upset the safaritalk crowd)- both a great read for the self-driver. Glad you enjoyed Grasslands, we visited the lodge last year and loved it, didn't even realise they had camping.
Can I ask a question about Moremi, you said about campsites "... But once in they are very flexible if you want to change sites" - how did this work, who did you ask about changing sites?
Thanks
Ted

Hi Ted

Great to hear you enjoyed Grassland lodge, haven't heard many reports about it.

About the camp sites ... when we arrived in Maun we had to go to the DWNP office to pay the park fees and try to get extra nights, which were mostly for South Gate. We asked about changing and they told us to ask at the campsite we wanted to stay at. So we would try to arrive early and ask the ranger if we could stay there instead of our allocated site - they were generally very accommodating and we ended up staying exactly where we wanted to stay. I think some people just turned up and camped in 'free' sites but we were uncomfortable about doing that without asking. We often found the un-numbered campsites nicer than the numbered sites, they were further from the ablutions, which I guess many people don't like, but we preferred not having passing 'traffic'. I'd better point out that this was not peak season, I'm not sure they would be so accommodating in the very busy periods.

One thing about South Gate - many people seem to think it's not a good game viewing area, but we've had great sightings near there, and the area around Xini Lagoon (about 16km north from South gate) is stunning - good lion, elephant, lechwe, croc, hippo, bird & lizard sightings and photo opps. The hyaenas in South Gate were brazen, one came and sat opposite us on the other side of the fire - stretched out like a domestic dog! His mates came along when we were tucked up in bed and tried to steal our camp chairs and eat the car tyres - shouting didn't do any good, but the camera flash scared them off (at this point we wondered if we should revise our idea of camping away from everyone else, we'd got what we thought was a lovely secluded spot surrounded by trees and out of sight of the other campers... but rather unnerving when surrounded by a pack of hyaenas, and a trip to the ablutions in the dark was out of the question!) One family camping with a small child were very scared by the hyaenas coming right up to their ground tent and peering through the mesh - they decided to get a roof top tent for the next trip.

Ooops, got a bit carried away, a bit more there than you asked for, but wanted to say that if you can't get bookings for anywhere other than South Gate it's still very worthwhile! (though not helpful if you're travelling up through to Chobe)

Hi tockoloshe
Always love to hear about your trips, more in line with our budget! I'll be traveling Windhoek to Maun - do you have any more information about Tautona Lodge in Ghanzi?
Thanks

Um, I would not have been so thrilled with the hyaenas either.

Somehow I had missed the Bushmen photos. They are beautiful--love the last one especially!

Hi Tockoloshe! Good to have you back on this forum. I was going to add to my post today, but it is so much more fun to read and respond to yours.

Oh dear! My husband and I have joined the ranks of the "undesirables" - I knew we would be found out evetually. Ah well! At least we have good company in you and your husband.

I loved your Moremi report and photos - they make me long to go back to Botswana. Hopefully, they won't ban self-drivers before we get there. Your photos are amazing. We have yet to see wild dogs, so I am green with envy. I loved the sunset photos over the marsh - did you take the boat trip at Xakanaxa? Where is the fancy bridge? - that's new! - I will miss those old bone rattlers! I laughed at the photo of your husband testing the depth of the water crossing - for pity's sake get the poor man a bigger/stronger stick next time. I am the nervous water-crosser in my family - my husband would have loved all of those water crossings. What a different experience it must have been not to get stuck in the sand. It sounds like going in May instead of August/Sept presented a very different experience. Great lion close-ups!

We could have used those ablutions/showers in Kenya and Tanzania! They were just finishing the buildings in Moremi and Nxai Pan when we were there.

I am amazed that Nxai Pan was fully booked - it was so empty when we were there in August 08. Mind you, they don't have very many campsites.

I fear Kgalagadi is becoming better known - friends just tried to book there with no luck - they are having to go to Etosha instead (not that there is anything wrong with Etosha).

How I wish we had known about Grassland in 2008. We stayed at Tautona Lodge in Ghanzi and Grassland would have been so much better. Your photos are amazing. I read PredatorBiologist's report about Grassland as well - it is now on my "must-see" list for our return trip to Botswana. Thanks for the tip re the gates - I'll make certain I'm driving! :-d

<red>Mongoose</red> - for a review and pictures of Tautona Lodge see page 3 of the following report.

http://bert-and-bin.smugmug.com/Trav...18318816_Pyvk6

Interesting what you say about South Gate - we loved the area around Xini Lagoon and wished we had spent at least one night at that campsite. We would definitely include it on a return visit. I am not certain why that campsite always seems to get poor reviews.

Glad to learn that the slingshot is still working! We took ours with us to Kenya and Tanzania and never used it - the baboons and monkeys in the campsites there were much more skittish - they would run if we even looked at them.

You mention that you have to book and pay for campsites in advance. How did you do that? email? telephone? through a local agent?

Enough questions! Thanks for a great report and the photos - I will show them to Robert tonight. Robin

Sorry Tokoloshe - ignore most of the questions - found the photo captions when I looked at the photos with Robert. Duh! I can't believe they rebuilt North Bridge! Half the fun was wondering if you were going to fall through and join the hippos!

Robert loved the Grassland photos and agreed we will have to go there next time. Robin

Thanks for your comment about the photos leely2, the San group were such a pleasure to meet!

Tautona Lodge
Robin, this is actually a bit wierd – I was looking at your report again about Tautona Lodge to see if I could add anything for Mongoose – and guess which cabin we stayed in - I thought it looked familiar! For mongoose I would just add that we thought it was OK value for an overnight motel-type stop (about 500pula if I remember well) – considering there isn’t a great deal of choice in the area. We hadn’t booked, just phoned from the main road where we saw their sign and phone number so didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t realise until afterwards that they had a campsite, we would probably have camped otherwise – it looked very nice and was in what they call their ‘game park’ so I’m sure there’d be something to see. I’ve noticed that many lodges have campsites but don’t seem to advertise them, there is nothing about it on the Tautona website – same for Grasslands Lodge. I must say the food was fine, but not memorable. What was nice was that we were the only tourists in there, the rest were local, and very friendly. What made an amusing evening was having the tourist board inspectors at the next table, one ‘traditionally built’ Motswana lady and her assistant. She spent the evening making loud comments about the quality (or not) of the meal and service to anyone who was within earshot – certainly not a ‘mystery shopper’! (“I will have to try a desert even if I don’t want one” – then demolishing the lot)

One thing we didn’t like about Tautona was that they had a captive cheetah which they fed at a certain time for the guests – after having spent so long in Moremi with the truly wild animals we felt very sorry to hear about it, and couldn’t summon up any enthusiasm at all to see it. The friendly gate guard asked us on our way out if we’d like to see it, so we asked why it was there, expecting to hear a line about ‘rehabilitation’ or ‘orphaned cub’ etc etc but he just honestly said – “It’s there for the tourists to see”. He also said we could see the lions for 100 pula – this was too much, and we left feeling very sad. I meant to write to the lodge to ask what they were breeding lions for but never got round to it, maybe I will now I’ve been reminded.

We looked at Edo’s and as you say they required a minimum two-night stay and for this trip just too expensive, but it does look very nice. However I can’t recommend Grasslands highly enough for hospitality and the bushman experience. It would be a long way down that 60km track for one night though, I wouldn’t say it was an overnight stop unless you were continuing on into the CKGR. We intended to go that way but were dissuaded by the lodge, they said that without a sat phone it was very risky because it was so little travelled and if you got into difficulties you could be days away from rescue. They told the tale of an Australian couple with 2 young children who were doing that route when their 4x4 caught fire (that problem of dry grass collecting under the car and igniting), they managed to save themselves but nothing else, not passports or anything. They were lucky that a vehicle came along a few hours later the same day and took them to Grasslands where they stayed until they could arrange for alternative transport, documents etc.

Yep that fancy bridge at North Gate takes all the fun out of the crossing! The showers are an improvement, though the old-timers seem to think it’s spoiling the rustic experience. There’s something to be said for that, I suppose, but if they provide facilities at all then they should be useable, I wouldn’t venture into the old shower at North Gate. It doesn’t worry me not having ablutions if there is no-one else around, I loved our portable shower we hung on a tree, but you do need some privacy to use it! At Grasslands we washed in the open because we were the only ones there and it was less worrisome than wondering if Mr Puffadder was going to make an appearance out of the plug-hole!

I think we were just unlucky not to get a site at Nxai pan, as you say there are very few sites and it only takes a large group to take over. Even with the new system DWNP are having the same problem as before with empty sites, the books say they are full but when you arrive they are empty. They are apparently being very strict about the ‘no booking no campsite’ policy, we heard that people had been turned away at Savuti without a booking, even though they’d have to drive in the dark to get out of the park. So now you can’t just pass Nxai, for example, and think about camping there if you didn’t pay the site and park fees beforehand in Maun, they are actually making people drive all the way back to Maun to pay . The bookings are still done the same way, in our case by phone (several calls to keep adding dates) – they then fax you a booking form and you fax back credit card payment of the 30pula per person per night camping fee. You then have to go to the parks office to pay the park entry fees, we went to the office in Maun when we arrived, and if you get to South Gate without having paid then too bad, they’ll turn you away. There’s more talk of putting the fees up next year to discourage self-drivers, they’ve already done it for some sites in CKGR and it’s putting a lot of campers off – especially South Africans.

But Robin, don’t let me stop you posting! There was already a comment somewhere on the forum about too much ‘private messaging’ but I hope the comments are useful.

mongoose - when are you off on your trip? Are you doing a self-drive?

Hi Tokoloshe! Odd that we should stay in the same cabin. Like you, we felt that Tautona Lodge was a convenient place to stay, but we wouldn't want to spend more than one night there, especially given the captive cheetahs, which I found very depressing. There wasn't a guard on the gate, either in the late afternoon when we arrived or when we left in the morning, so we were not invited to view the lions. I didn't even realize there were lions or that you could visit them. Like you, we proabaly would have declined anyway.

Odd TL doesn't mention the campsite on their website. I was astounded to learn that there was a website - it must be quite new. One of our greatest difficulties in organizing that 2008 trip was trying to reach that lodge.

Thank you for that tip regarding the road from the lodge to the CKGR - I will keep that in mind when planning our next trip. Although Safari Drive provides a satellite phone, I would rather not put us in the position of having to use it.

A puffadder in the ablution block would definitely have had me using our portable shower as well!

So, is the reason the books say the sites are full, when in fact they are empty, due to group bookings (mobile tented camps) - mobile companies that pay in advance to hold the campsites but then don't get the clients to fill them? Seems like an incredible waste, especially for those of us who can't get in because the sites are supposedly full.

Pity that they are discouraging self-drivers - who exactly are they hoping will use all of those lovely new campsites and ablution blocks?

Interesting that you made your bookings by telephone - we tried repeatedly from Canada for 2008 with no luck (always no answer or busy) and finally had to get Safari Drive (in the UK) to phone for us.

Back to my writing - have spent the morning at dim sum. Robin

robin & tock,
Thanks for the info on Tautona Lodge, in the meantime we're still looking at alternatives in the Ghanzi area, unless we decide to drive straight from Windhoek - Maun, think it can be done in one go.

tock,
We're doing a self-drive but not camping, at the moment the itinerary is Windhoek-Maun-Planet Boabab for pans & meerkats-Kasane for Chobe-Caprivi-then back either down the panhandle or through Rundu and back through Namibia. Your last report has come in very useful in the planning!

Hi Mongoose!
You could do the drive from Windhoek to Maun in a day but, although the highway is paved, it is a slow go - many sheep, goats, cows, people etc all over the road. Have a look at my report - I do describe the drive in reasonable detail. It would depend partly on how early you would want to be in Maun. We left Ghanzi as soon as breakfast was over - certainly before 8am and arrived in Maun at noon. My report would tell you how long the Windhoek to Ghanzi stretch took.

There was a new lodge being built in 2008 on the west side of Ghanzi as you came into town from Windhoek - unfortunately, there were no signs indicating the future name. Perhaps Tockoloshe saw it.
Robin

Will investigate further! Thanks Robin

Thanks for all clarifications on the parks booking system.

Don't worry about ‘private messaging’ comments, I for one find all this of interest even if I don't post, it's the sort of first hand information which is useful.

Hi again Mongoose!

I had a look at my Botswana trip report and it took us from 8:30am to 5:00pm to drive from Windhoek to Ghanzi, so going all the way to Maun would be a long day (mind you, Robert and I do take our time). Given all the donkeys and cows on the road, it is definitely not a drive you would want to complete or begin in the dark. Robin

Here is the link to the report (see pages 2 and 3 for a description on the drive):

http://bert-and-bin.smugmug.com/Trav...18318816_Pyvk6