Botswana safari finalized
 

The camps have been provisionally booked for our late July 2007 safari. After a night at the Airport Southern Sun in JNB, we will be staying at the Ilala Lodge in Victoria Falls for 2 nights, then 3 nights each at of the following WS camps: Duma Tau, Chitabe, and Kwetsani. Thanks to everyone here who helped plan this safari.. (many you did not know you helped because a lot of my questions were answered by searching previous posts). And a special thanks to those who have written trip reports. They were especially helpful and I hope to return the favor. Also a special thanks to Julian who talked us into 3 nights per camp. I think we will be very glad we did that.

We were at first looking at early June dates but I was too late. The camps we wanted were already booked, and we would have had to go back to mid-May. I know lots of people go in May and see plenty of wildlife, but we didn't want to take the chance so we decided to bite the bullet and go during peak season.

I do have one question about the luggage. Since we are going with Wilderness Safaris, we have a 20 kg limit pp. Does it matter how many bags there are as long as they are soft and we are within the weight allowance? It looks like for the two of us we will have 2 duffels, 2 large camera bags, and a laptop case plus my purse (or whatever). And ladies, did you take a purse?

Again, thanks to everyone. I am so excited!!! I have dreamed about going on a safari for years but never imagined it would actually happen!

Sharon

Great camps and a great time of year and you will enjoy your 3 night stays.

The luggage seems pretty normal. I do not take a purse. Things that might go in a purse I put in a backpack.

I also wear a travel vest, only for the regular airlines, and that helps schlep my gear and personal items.

Hello,

Glad my 3-night recommendation was helpful - I'm sure you'll be wishing for four once you're there!

You can have two bags (soft-sided duffles) per person for your main luggage as long as you're within the weight limit. was the only person on my flights who had only one bag...the porters kept asking where the other one was, so obviously this is not the norm!

They recommend that you have only one carry-on bag as the planes are pretty cramped, but if your laptop bag and purse are small and your camera bags are a reasonable size (I took a Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Home) you should be fine.

Cheers,
Julian

slsmith:
We are going to the same three camps but managed to book from the 7th of June through the 14th and catch the price break. Unfortunatley we were not able to get 3 nights per camp. This was disappointing but we are going on to the Sabi Sands area from there for 3 nights so hope that makes up for it. It seems like such a long way off and I must be patient for 10 months. What am I going to do? I will definitely post my information upon our return so watch for it.

Lynn, a backpack is a great idea!

Julian, the one camera bag is 23x14x11 inches. The other is 20x12x9. They are soft-sided but heavily padded. Although we would rather carry them, I believe they could be stowed with the luggage if necessary... right? We can each pull out one of our cameras to carry with us and take pics during the flight.

Spiegel, I know 10 months seems like a long time but I really think it will go fast. I look forward to reading your trip report before we leave!

Wilderness/Sefofane often flies the Cessna 206 between Botswana camps. The luggage pod opening is 27" by 9.5". Although your larger camera bag is 11" high, perhaps you could remove some gear and get it to fit. Also, there is some space behind the back two seats where they might be able to stow it.
You can see photos of the plane and its luggage area on www.sefofane.com. The plane holds up to 5 passengers. As we were a group of 4 on our trip in February, we took up the whole plane, except when they flew with two pilots (training runs.) They may fly larger planes during high season, but I don't think the luggage compartment doors are much bigger on any of their aircraft. As for purses...nope! Whatever I needed, pursewise, went into my moneybelt or camera bag. Enjoy your trip!

Hello,

I think you should be fine if removing some gear means the bag will fit in the pod. If it comes on the plane with you, it will probably end up in the back as there is no real underseat or overhead storage, so take your aerial photography kit to your seat with you.

Cheers,
Julian