Recommendations for Botswana trip?

[Stephane Neron]

Hi,

We are planning a *4/5 wks trip to Botswana/Namibia next july/aug, a good part of which would include wildlife safari in a participation camping style. (we have to keep cost down to make it possible)

Being our first time in africa, We are trying to assess various safari offers and find outwhich locations are best for wildlife viewing and shooting. I would love to get a chane tosee/photograph cats particularly. For me photography will be a major part of the trip, although i do not expect to be able to afford a photography specific trip. (our overall budget for the land portion is about 5k$ per person)

Would anyone have recommendations (in order of precedence) on which areas would maximize chance of seing wildlife? (amongts Etosha, Moremi game reserve, Okavango delta, Chobe, savuti, central kalahari game reserve, etc...) I may not be able to visit all those locations, or could want to spend more time in one versus the other.

Any suggestions ?

Right now, we're looking at joining one of the budget camping safari tours out there, unless we have enough people to organise a custom trip.*
--
Steph

[Mark Hopgood]

We went this April/May and managed to see the big five. We had a private guide, it was someone we knew from a previous holiday in South America. Not cheap. We did however only go to the National Game reserves, none that were private.
For Botswana I would say Savuti, then Moremi, Chobe was also quite good. We certainly enjoyed Etosha and had the opportunity to see a couple of night water holes that are located at the accomodation sites. Due to the amount of water around, other than an extremely large herd of Zebra in Etosha we never saw large numbers of animals.

As for cost, after seeing how many people were jammed into a local viewing vehicle, I was happy to pay the extra. My main camera was a D700 with Nikon 200-400 with 1.4TC. I could never have used this setup packed in like a sardine. As for Namibia, if I went back I would hire my own vechicle and do it myself.

[Ken Watkins]

Stephane,

The cheapest way to undertake a reasonable cost trip would be to self-drive in paricular for Etosha, where anybody who employs a private guide or pays for a private lodge is wasting an awful lot of money. Windhoek is a major centre for hiring of pick up based campers at a reasonable price.
There are three main camps operated by NWR ( http://www.nwr.com.na/). Whilst these are no longer cheap they provide good bases for exploring the park the best is Okaujuejo, which has the benefit of having probably the finest waterhole in Africa, this is floodlit at night, if you do not see both Black & White Rhino you will be extremely unlucky. All roads are passable with a high clearance pick up a specialised 4x4 is not really needed. 4 nights at Okaukuejo and Namutoni shold provide you with an unforgetable experience! A really useful source of info for Namibia can be found at http://www.namibian.org/

Botswana is unfortunatly a totally different problem for self-driving, costs are increasing, services are decreasing and the roads in the parks just get worse and worse!

The Delta is much too expensive for what you get and unless the water levels drop by next year then there will not be much to see. We now always book a private camping safari which is generally around $300 per person per night which may seem expensive but is around a third of what you pay in a lodge. I would go for Savute the channel is now full and the animals are abundant, so the predators will follow.

I am off to Tanzania tomorrow, I hope you find what you need, if not send me a PM in around a month.

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

A friend of mine has just returned from from a photographic tour of the lakes in the the Rift Valley in the Congo and Tanzania and was very happy to return alive albeit with a couple of nasty tropical diseases.

To quote him, "next time I am taking 2 1DMKIVs, 2 5DMKIIs one AK47 and ten mercenaries, he had a ROUGH trip. :(

[Stephane Neron]

Really sorry to hear that... I certainly would not venture into the Congo republic...
Someone told me they would not even let you in...

Thanks a lot to everyone for their inputs... I have taken the advice about self driving Namibia, which really appeals to me as we like to do things to our on rythm. The one thing left is to find an inexpensive camping safari in Botswana that ideally has guides that know a bit about photography, so as to be patient enough to let you do your thing and at the right time. There seems to be couple options out there. I am current contacting various agencies to see what they hae to offer.

Steph

[Paul Taylor]

Steph... Ken W (and others) can tell you a lot more about Southern Africa than I can, but I would recommend you think about really skimping while you are self-driving (an easy way to do that is e.g. spend more time in Etosha, which is realtively cheap) and then (relatively) splurge on a comfortable private mobile safari at the end with a good guide and your own choice of pace and locations). Also, you could look into the possibility of driving as far as the Namibia/Botswana border (Caprivi Strip I think it is called) and returning the car there - will cost you a premium to do that but might be less than flights? You can then look at doing part of your Chobe exploration from teh Namibian side, which might be cheaper (used to be but couldn;t say it still is). Then just stay on the Botswana side for a particpation camping style trip into Chobe and Savuti or whatever (should be scheduled trips out of Kasane).

Just a suggestion but you might get more bang for your buck that way.

Another thing to consider is to self-drive through South Africa (rent from Uppington) and Namibia as there is a border crossing in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (as praised below by Morkel Erasmus and very inexpensive). Long drive from there to Etosha but you can save and still get some stunning wildlife viewing, with perhaps enough money left at the end for a week of private, non-participation mobile in Botswana. Ask Ken about that as I haven't done a mobile yet (to be rectified in a few weeks).

Hope that gives you some places outside of the box to start from. The Bradt Guide to Namibia is an essential if you are going to do it this way (also excellent for Botswana).

My plan* takes you through Kgalagadi, Etosha, Chobe River, Chobe National Park, Savuti and (for your private and maybe also your participatory) Moremi - others could tell you better if that is where you are best to visit at that time of year, but I suspect so, since on that budget you will not be able to visit the private reserves in Botswana.

* It is a plan, but I don't have enough time off work any more, and my wife has vetoed any more self-drive until I lean to drive a 4x4!

[Stephane Neron]

That's a good idea. a couple people suggested a similar approach. Chances are there will be only the two of us for sharing the cost of the car; what would be the smallest yet sturdy enough car to support a self drive to Etosha and up to Botswana border ? Will a regular car do ? I looked at Avis South Africa, they have cars such as the Corolla or something like the Toyota Verso, Or should we go at least for an SUV ? Smaller cars (ex Corolla) are about 500$/week, SUV-4x4s are 800-1000$/wk.

I just ordered the Bradt guides for Namibia and Botswana. I have the Lonely Planet which I usually love, but it's actually pretty slim on safari recommendations...

[Paul Taylor]

No answers for you? Okay, I'll try.... ;-)

The roads would a few years ago have been fine in a 2WD from Uppington, through Kgalagadi and up to and around Etosha at least, but you better check that is still the case- my sole experience is one self-drive trip around Namibia. If you are going to Kgalagadi, you have to book with the South African parks people and their web site has forums which were very useful for this kind of info when I visited in the past. Check out Morkel's thread. Better to get a car with some clearance though. We had a Corolla and it was scraping the ground in places, which isn't much fun. I am not sure from Etosha up to the Caprivi Strip, if you plan to go that far. If you are booking accommodation up that way you should be able to check with them - Namibia is used to having self-drive tourists. Another thing to do to save money is to hire one of the fully equipped vehicles with a roof tent. That way you only need to spend camping and park fees. There are lots of camp sites in South Africa in Namibia. A step too far for me, but many people swear by it.

After Lonely Planet the Bradt Guides for these countries will amaze you.

[BenBotha]

I have done at least 8 self drive safaris in Botswana. I also have done the Kgalagadi. My last Botswana trip was 8 weeks ago from Kgalagadi to Moremi via Central Kalahari. I am planning a Namibia trip next year-also self drive. A collegue has done soutern Namibia 6 weeks ago.

First-Namibia. this is according to my friend-The roads are mostly good-dirt roads. One can maintain speeds of 80 Km/h. The best option is to rent what we call a bakkie-or as you would say-a pickup. They are either 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive. The more expensive, but ultimately the cheapest is to hire a 4x4 pickup with roof tents. They are equiped for camping with chairs, fridge etc. you would be able to go to most of the wilderness areas and camp-4 wheel driving experience would help.

Places to visit in Namibia:
South-Sossus vlei, Luderitz, Namib desert, Kolmanskop, Fish river canion, Swakopmund.
North-Kaokoveld, Etosha, Pupa falls Caprivi.

The same vehicle could be utelised to drive to Botswana. Either via Caprivi in the north or via Gobabis to Ghanzi and then Maun. If you do the north first-go into Botswana close to Kasana and the Chobe park. (Border crossing a few kilos from Chobe entrance gate) Do Chobe first and then Savuti, and then Moremi. Camping in Savuti and Moremi has been privatised. On the border of Moremi-on the banks of the Kwai river-is a community owned camp but you have to be totally self sufficient when camping there. (thats where we camp) Remember, the camps in Botswana are not fenced and wild animals roam everywhere. If you want to do selfdrive in Botswana from Savuti to Moremi and several places in Moremi and Savuti, 4 wheel drive and low range are required.

If you come from the south of Botswana, you would go via Maun then Mormi, Savuti and Chobe. You could then drive from Chobe via Caprive, back to Namibia.

If you do the South African side-From Uppington to Kgalagadi, Southern Namibia, Northern Namibia, Botswana, start at Chobe, down to Savuti, Moremi, Maun, ? Central Kalahari and then back to South Africa.

I hope this helps.

Ben

[LouBuonomo]

We're going next July with Andy Biggs but that is a lodge Safari

Check out ChobeSafari.com lots of good info there on camp and driving safari's and Buddy the editor is always happy to answer questions.

Lou

[Morkel Erasmus]

sorry I only stumbled upon this thread now! :)

you've been given some great advice already...

as mentioned I can highly recommend the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, it's even cheaper than Etosha especially when camping...and you can work your way through it to the Botswana side if you want to.

check out http://www.sanparks.org for more info

even though I live closer by than you I still need to visit Etosha! :)

IMHO one of the best ways to experience Africa is to rough it camping and find your own way.

[Stephane Neron]

Thank you so much all for your responses.... They have been immensely helpful in planning this trip (I've been really busy lately have not had time to get back to it...)

We're pretty much decided to camp & Self-drive the Namibia portion (2 wks) with SafariDrive and then get a guide for an an extra wk in Botswana (I don't consider I have sufficient 4x4 driving skill to tackle Savuti roads on my own). Currently the most interesting options that fit into our budget is the 5days Photographic Workshop offered by Elephant Trails, along the Khwai River or Xakanaxa. (Maun to Maun) Have anyone heard or dealt with them before ? An other option would be a 8 nights trip from Maun to Vic Falls with Bush Ways, which is not a photography specific trip, but probably covers more habitats as it goes though Chobe as well.

Unless I'd be really missing out if I only stay in Moremi (does not appear to be the case...) , I'd prefer to hook on a safari catered for photographers, to ensure that we get the best light and are not rushed... Thoughts ?

This trip is getting really cool... :-)