cruisinred

I'm doing some 4x4/self-driving this fall in Botswana. I'd like to do a 4x4/off-road driving class before then. I've found a great driving school that can do a private custom class.
http://www.overlandexperts.com/index.html

The cost drops substaintially with more than 1 person. Would anyone in the New England/NY area be intersted in joining up to do a 1 day class in the next few months?

luangwablondes

I hope they have a big sandbox for you to practice in. Good idea to get some practice in.

Whats your route? And have you made reservations?

cruisinred

Hi Luangwa-

The course at the 4x4 school looks quite extensive, and the instructor actually used to live in Bots. I just wish I could find someone to defray the cost of the class.

As for the my planned itinerary....I'm not sure yet. A friend of mine from university recently moved to Gabarone. They have done some driving in Bots, but not a ton.

Do you have any suggestions for a 7-10 day itinerary (Aug or Sept) starting and ending in Gabs? How far in advance do you suggest we reserve campsites, etc?

Thanks for your feedback,
Cruisinred

atravelynn

Crusinred,
Is this class in anticipation of doing your own off-road driving in Africa?

luangwablondes

Cruisinred

You need to get moving on this. Aug and Sept are high season for getting campsites in the major parks. You may have a problem. You also need to reserve a vehicle for your adventure. I can help with this stuff, but I think ScubaTV is more current. As far as an Itinerary, what did you initially have in mind? Then we will see if we can fill in and connect the dots with what you would like to do and where you would like to go.



How many people?
What kind of itinerary do you envision?
All camping?
What parks?
Any upmarket stuff?
Whats your favorite wildlife.
Any hints to get proper help.

As far as a 1st 4x4 self drive, this is a good one.

scubatv

Some people have already had to change their plans because the camp sites have long ago filled up. If you are in Gaborone maybe you can work something out at the park office, or maybe some of the less popular camps are available. Either way, call today, you're starting late. South Gate in Moremi might be available or Linyanti in Chobe. Linyanti is a great camp, seldom visited and you'll get to try out your 4x4 skill on the deep sandy track out there. Anyway, take what they give you and work it out later at the park office in Maun or at the park gate and later at the camps. If space is available, they might let you in, otherwise, there are private lodging/camps sites outside the parks.

You might be able to rent a camper in Gaborone, but my first choice would be bushlore.com. I've tried three camper companies in Joberg and Bushlore.com is clearly the best, in a league of their own. Check out the self drive posts here in Fodors and a recent Botswana post at rec.travel.africa http://groups.google.com/group/rec.t...543ac42a986e65

Same as the parks, the camper rental companies sell out fast and bushlore.com faster than most. I like the Land Rover Defender (more money), but we have driving all over Bots in a Toyota Hilux camper without any problems at all.

cruisinred

Thanks luangwablondes and scubatv:

I've emailed my friends with your admonitions to get going with our plans. I hope to have our dates nailed down by next week and I'm sending some prelim inquires to bushlore and britz about availability.

I'm sure I'll be back in touch again soon with more questions for both of you!

Thanks
Cruisinred

amolkarnik

I did a 2 week self-drive safari in Bots last year.

Went on a days training course run by Land Rover in the UK (they're called LandRover Experience Centres). The course was great fun and very useful too for the trip. However the one important thing lacking in the UK was sand which you will come across a lot in Bots.

I would recommend that the training centre you select has the same make and model of 4*4 you plan to drive in Botswana. Make sure the course covers river crossings as well. Botswana has excessive rain last year and we crossed dozens of rivers.

cruisinred

Luangawablondes-

I have some more details about the proposed self drive trip I'm planning.
The trip will be apx. 8/9 days (give or take a day) and will start in Gabarone.
There will be 6 or 7 people in 2 vehicles. I've contacted bushlore and am considering the defender or the discovery (embarassing admission: I'm not all that comfortable driving a standard/stickshift, although I know how. Would it be a very bad idea to rent the LR Disovery, which is an automatic, but with triptronic transmission?)

Any suggestions for a 8-9 day itinerary starting in Gab, going up through the Kahlahari and then into the Moremi area, perhaps ending at Vic Falls (Bushlore can do pickup the vehicle there, for an extra fee). We'd like to spend 2 nights at a lux lodge in the delta area, the rest camping or in the rental cottage at some parks/camp grounds.

Thanks
Cruisinred

cruisinred

An important detail I forgot to mention: we're thinking of the end of Oct/beg of Nov. Do you think this will be too hot?

amolkarnik

My personal choice would be the Defender for a real 4*4 Africa experience and its ease of repairability.

That said the new Discovery is a fantastic and very capable vehicle, particularly if you arent very comfortable with manual transmission or dont want the challenge of playing with the diff-lock and low range gearbox. It is however prone to breakdowns, so ensure that the service back in the bush is up to a reasonable standard.

cruisinred

thanks amolkarnik
the defender definitely has more of the authentic, safari look to it, but I may have to go with the comfort of driving automatic.

bots

For Maun, and serounding areas,
Old Landcruiser 2F and a kidney belt.
Always spares and easy to fix .
Always seeing the new Land Rover
getting pulled out of the sand
by a old Landcruiser.

luangwablondes

For 1st timers, I don't like to have someone start in that sandbox in the kind of heat that is normal in Oct or Nov. By mid AM the sand heats up, the air pockets between the sand particles expand, causing the sand to be very difficult to drive in. I used to leave very early every AM from camps to avoid as many stuck drivers as I could on the way to the next camp, knowing otherwise, I must help them. No joke. They were usually in vehicles the size of Hiluxs. So you now have my standard warning.

If your instructor thinks you are qualified, I think you should rent a Defender-- with rooftop tents. 1)Its big enough to handle 3-4 people comfortably, supplies and all the junk each person brings 2)It has the horsepower to get you through just about anything that you will see on the normal tracks in the Kalahari NP, Moremi, Savute and Chobe.

So you will need to tough it out and learn to drive a stick. It isn't that difficult. See if you can rent a stick near home for a few weekends, and have a friend teach you if possible.

Lastly, you definitely want to rent a diesel. 1) fuel consumption is about 40% less, so you shouldn't need jerry cans. Normally Bushlore rents Defenders with Long range tanks, so that should be enough fuel between fuel stations. 2) Diesels have low end torque, meaning that when you are starting up in deep sand or just driving at a slow pace, it will have lots of power to do this easily.

I really doubt you would stay stuck after you had a driving course and rented a diesel Defender.

To enhance your trip, is there anyone in your group that knows how to use a Garmin GPS? Its not really needed, but you can comfortably plan your safari with everyone involved using their pcs at home and work(need to install the software), you can plan the route and get a consciensis before leaving on the safari, when you game drive, you can go down any track and know you can navigate back to camp no problem. Peace of mind and a great tool.

The alternative is during the planning stage, you use the Tracks4Africa roads and tracks found on Google Earth in the T4A layers section, and one person makees and mails place marks for common use on each pc. I'll start you out there.

For a short trip, like 8-9 days, I would normally recommend starting out at Maun, stock up on supplies here and I can tell you where and with place marks in GE, camp at 3rd Bridge, Xakanaxca about 2 nites, North Gate or Khwai Community Campsite, Savute at least 2 nites, Ihaha in Chobe, and then on to VF and leave the Defender there. This would allow plenty of time to drive between camps and allow time for game drives without driving like a mad person all the time or feeling rushed.

My opinion only.

cruisinred

Luangwa- Thanks sooo much for your learned, helpful advice.
About the stickshift thing: they don't even rent them in the US anymore, but I'll figure something out. I'd really like to rent the defender, so that will be my goal
I do know who to use a GPS as I do sailing in the Caribbean (kind of the nautical version of the 4x4 rental & self-drive), so I'll look into renting one for the Bots trip.

Thanks again

luangwablondes

Be sure to get a garmin gps that is map capable.

When you are ready to make a plan-- you can email me at luangwablondes at juno dot com

amolkarnik

I second that plan to carry a GPS. I has the main destinations I was visiting programmed in the receiver, so I had a general idea of the direction I needed to be heading towards.

It might also be a good idea to leave you GPS on, to record your progress and then use track-back to guide you back to the campsite at the end of the game drive. Its a lot of peace of mind especially as all tracks look the same to the untrained eye. Just remember to carry lots of spare batteries.

scubatv

Agree - with the “extra” people, you’ll be a lot more comfortable in a Defender – so little storage in the Hilux.

Remember, when learning the stick, you’ll be driving on the left side of the road, shifting the stick with your left hand. Think “center line” and kept it on your right.

GPS makes life so much easier – I would say an essential piece of equipment. We bought a Gamin E-Trex for $99 and use it with a laptop. Works great. Plug it into the cigarette lighter and the internal batteries turn on when the engine is off.

Note: The campers come with dual batteries, one to start the engine and another to run the fridge. The cigarette lighter draws from the starter battery and does not work when the engine is off.

So for charging batteries, or other stuff, you can get an inverter at Wal-Mart $40. (or other places) that has clamps, and an AC outlet, then connect the inverter to the marine battery under the passengers seat.

cruisinred

Another question for scubatv and/or luangwa-
If we were to go with the landrover discovery including a towable tent trailer (rented from bushlore) will it be OK/safe to leave the trailer in camp while we go out for a gamedrive?

luangwablondes

IF.., And I say IF I were to tow a trailer ( and I never have) , leave it in camp when I went on game drives, I would like to have one I can lock. And I would want to chain it to a tree as a precaution.

A lot of people leave their trailers in camp, so overall, it must be safe.