Table of contents for Go! Botswana Guide 2020 in go!

NORTHERN CAPE Middelputs and McCarthy’s Rest are small border posts north-west of Kuruman. If you plan to enter Botswana through the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, you have to use the Two Rivers border post at Twee Rivieren. 1 Cullinan Guest Farm Next to the R380, about 17 km from McCarthy’s Rest border post. Three campsites with electricity: R120 per person. Four neat chalets: R300 per person per night. The chalets sleep 10 in total; they share a communal kitchen, dining area and bathrooms. Firewood available. GPS: S26.33888 E22.61430 082 491 6432 (Wilma-lé); “Cullinan Guest Farm” on Facebook 2 Van Zylsrus Hotel About 40 km from the Middelputs border post. Rooms R590 per person sharing with breakfast; R490 without breakfast. Schoolgoing kids: R200 per night with breakfast; R100 without. They serve excellent…

With three vehicles rigged to the max, we were ready for the highlight of our trip together: the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. With us were Steph’s parents, Jill and Phil, who had flown out from Australia to spend time with us. It was their first time in Africa and they were full of nervous anticipation. They had joined us in the Kruger Park, together with my uncle and namesake, Vic Ives Sr, who had driven from Cape Town. Steph and I were in our beloved 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser 105 series 4500 EFI (the thirsty one), which is the closest thing we have to a “home” these days. I’m still a South African citizen, but Steph is Australian and we work between there and New Zealand to save up money…

GHANZI This Kalahari town is the focal point of a lively farming community. Ghanzi is a good overnight stop on your way from Maun to Namibia (or the other way around), but thanks to the excellent guest farms you might end up staying longer. The area offers different landscapes and experiences to what you’ll find elsewhere in Botswana. 23 Kalahari Arms Hotel The hotel is in town. It has a restaurant, a swimming pool and camping facilities (although these were closed at the time of going to print). Hotel room P1 815 (R2 602) per night for two adults and two children sharing, or P2 275 (R3 262) for four adults sharing. Rates include breakfast. GPS: S21.69332 E21.64899 00 267 659 6298; reservations@kalahariarms.co.bw 24 Thakadu Bush Camp The turn-off from…

You turn off the main gravel road that runs through the Mahango sector of Bwabwata National Park, onto a narrower gravel road. Soon the road reaches the floodplain of the Kavango River. You might not be able to see the actual river yet, but a shallow pan of water has assembled here. You pull over and wind down your window to scan the area with your binoculars. Not that you need binos to see elephants – they’re right there, larger than life. In the background, giraffe necks stick out above the trees, swaying gently as they choose which twigs to nibble on. Your car engine is off and you’re suddenly attuned to the sounds of the bush. A loud snort, and a herd of impala scatters. But there’s no predator…

The adventure begins at Punda Maria rest camp in the Kruger Park and ends at the Giriyondo border post, just north of Letaba. In between, we’ll travel east out of the park, across the Limpopo River and through belts of savannah and woodland to the subtropical coastline at Inhassoro, a small fishing village opposite the northern tip of the Bazaruto Archipelago. There, we’ll laze on the beach, snorkel in the clear, warm water and do a day trip to the islands. Bazaruto is indeed spectacular, boasting various endemic butterflies, as well as samango monkeys and suni antelope. The protected reefs are also home to dolphins, endangered dugong, game fish, sea turtles and the largest fish in the world, the whale shark. Birdlife includes Madagascar squacco heron, narina trogon, Nyasa seedcracker,…

THE BIG ATTRACTIONS Mabuasehube and Kaa sections of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, and the adjacent concession areas around places like Zutshwa, Kaa and Khawa. PROMINENT TOWNS & CITIES Gaborone • Lobatse • Mochudi • Ramatlabama • Kanye • Molepolole • Jwaneng • Kang • Hukuntsi • Werda • Tshabong OFFICIAL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN BOTSWANA Kgalagadi • Kweneng • Southern • South-East • Kgatleng Access to a super reserve like the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a rare privilege. The idea of a park that spans borders is nothing new, but while they all look good on paper, they seldom work as well in practice. The Kgalagadi is the exception. If you enjoy comforts like fenced rest camps with restaurants and shops where you can buy an ice cream, the South African…

KGALAGADI TRANSFRONTIER PARK This park, which includes the popular Mabuasehube section, is a 4x4 destination for travellers who like their wilderness undiluted. You must be completely self-sufficient. 10 Campsites in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park How does it work? Like other parks in Botswana, the campsites are run by different concessions. Most of them are in Mabuasehube – the eastern section of the park. Mabuasehube and Mpayathutlwa are managed by the Inter-Tourism Group. The rest, including those in the Kaa section (in the northwestern corner of the park), are “public” camps, managed by the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks: Entrance Gate, Bosobogolo, Monamodi, Lesholoago, Khiding, Motopi, Sesatswe, Kaa, Swartpan, Gnus Gnus, Lang Rambuka, Polentswa and Rooiputs. What does “transfrontier” mean? You can enter the park from either South Africa or…

THE BIG ATTRACTIONS Chobe National Park • Moremi Game Reserve • Okavango Delta • Okavango Panhandle • Tsodilo Hills • Nxai Pan National Park PROMINENT TOWNS Kasane • Maun • Shakawe • Sehithwa • Pandamatenga OFFICIAL DISTRICTS OF NORTHERN BOTSWANA Ngamiland • Chobe In Northern Botswana, you’re never far from a wild animal. Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve aren’t fenced, and you might come across an elephant somewhere on the long tar road between Kasane and Nata. Most of Botswana is dry. In the north, two perennial rivers – the Okavango and the Chobe – ensure that the ecosystem is fed with water year-round, providing a habitat for hippos, crocodiles and water-loving antelope like lechwe. Always keep your eyes peeled for crocodiles whenever you’re near a water source…

OKAVANGO PANHANDLE The tar road that connects all these places needs a little TLC, but you can drive it in a 4x2. The panhandle is the best place to get a taste of the Okavango at budget prices, although there are also luxury options. 62 Xaro Lodge This luxury tented lodge just south of Shakawe is a birder’s dream. Rates start at US$305 (R5 031) per twin-sleeper tent, with breakfast. You’re transferred there by boat. 00 267 72 807 476; xaro-lodge.com 63 Shakawe River Lodge Close to Shakawe, this popular lodge and campsite also has a restaurant. There are 10 stands: If you want an unobstructed view of the river, book stand #1 or #2, both of which are higher up the bank. There are 10 chalets in riverine forest.…

Mosi-oa-Tunya certainly lived up to its name in 2020. In May, the Zambezi River rose, the smoke thundered and many rejoiced at the return of the water. Statistics released by the Zambezi River Authority showed that the flow at Victoria Falls was up 281 % from the same time the previous year (4 153 m³/s on 15 May 2020, compared to 1 089 m³/s on 15 May 2019). It’s relatively common for the Zambian side of the falls to be “dry” during the natural annual cycle. But don’t believe those alarmist Facebook posts you see sometimes, claiming that Victoria Falls has “dried up”. Fake news! The falls are a whopping 1,7 km wide, so while there might only be a trickle at the Zambian end of the falls during dry…

It might be a strange question, but we’ll ask it anyway: Which part of South Africa is the most like Botswana? We don’t have an Okavango Delta, that’s for sure, and even though the Kruger Park has many of the same animals, there’s no river in South Africa like the Chobe where you can watch big game from a boat. But if the coronavirus pandemic prevents you from visiting Botswana in 2021, where can you go for a taste of something similar? The Limpopo River is a good place to start: You have the presence of a mighty waterbody, and you can camp under big jackal-berry trees. Plus, if you’re in Limpopo province, any place with a baobab tree has a Botswanan feel to it. The other provinces next to…

In January 2019, we departed Cape Town on a six-month tour of southern Africa. The business world we’d inhabited for years faded in the rear-view mirror of our Landy. I’m a digital marketer and my husband Joubert is a civil engineer. It was time to reset our lives and we couldn’t think of a better place than the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. We’d booked a stay of 28 days in the park: two weeks on the South African side and two weeks on the wilder Botswanan side, where we’d never been before. We spent our first night away in the Cederberg, and our second in Upington. On day three we arrived at Twee Rivieren rest camp and we immediately experienced that feeling of freedom that you only get in the Kgalagadi.…

THE BIG ATTRACTIONS Tuli Block • Khama Rhino Sanctuary • Makgadikgadi Pans National Park • Kubu Island • Boteti River • Central Kalahari Game Reserve • Khutse Game Reserve • Guest farms in the Ghanzi district PROMINENT TOWNS Serowe • Palapye • Francistown • Letlhakane • Nata • Gweta • Ghanzi OFFICIAL DISTRICTS OF CENTRAL BOTSWANA Central • North-East • Ghanzi In Central Botswana, the landscape becomes vast. The Makgadikgadi Pans make for one of the country’s most unique sights. The pans stretch from east to west for almost 200 km, and from north to south for 100 km. Large parts of the pans are inaccessible except if you’re travelling in a 4x4. Even then, you should preferably have an experienced guide with you, especially if you are a first-time…

It’s a daydream most of us have at some point during a holiday in the bush. You start wondering: “How can I turn this khaki-clad lifestyle into a permanent gig? Maybe I could become a manager at a small lodge, or a field guide showing foreign guests around…” My favourite bush fantasy is to become a researcher. I could study leopards, spending my days tracking them through ancient hardwood forests. Or maybe I should study something more obscure but equally satisfying, like the nesting behaviour of ground hornbills. Whenever I see those vehicles – always turning onto a road where tourists aren’t allowed to go – with a sign on the back that reads, “Do Not Follow: Research Vehicle”, I go green with envy. Imagine being that cool person, driving…

THE BIG ATTRACTIONS Kavango River • Mahango Game Reserve • Bwabwata National Park • Mudumu National Park • Nkasa Rupara National Park • Kwando River • Zambezi River • Vic Falls PROMINENT TOWNS Divundu • Kongola • Katima Mulilo • Livingstone • Victoria Falls If you ignore the annoying bureaucracy of the border posts, you can almost consider northern Botswana and the adjacent parts of Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe to be one destination. This part of Africa is unique. As South Africans, we are privileged to have world-class destinations on our doorstep. Yes, it’s a long drive. If you travel from Gauteng, you have to put aside two days to get to the Zambezi Region in Namibia (formerly the Caprivi Strip), or to Vic Falls. From Cape Town, it’s a…

KAVANGO RIVER The major Namibian towns in this area – with fuel, shops and ATMs – are Divundu and Rundu. 121 Shamvura Camp The owners, Mark and Charlie Paxton, are very knowledgeable about the Kavango East region. Mark offers specialised birding tours in the area, and the river here offers great wildlife photo opportunities. Shamvura has one cottage, four tented units and six campsites. All units have power, as does the campsite. Rates from R200 p.p. for a normal stand; R230 p.p. for a private stand; R250 p.p. for a private stand with a kitchen. Tent unit R480 p.p. Two of the tent units sleep four people; two are twin-sleepers. Tree Top Cottage sleeps four and is equipped for self-catering: R580 p.p. GPS: S18.03507 E20.86079 00 264 81 241 7473;…

A traffic jam in Chobe National Park looks a little different to one on William Nicol Drive in Joburg! François Haasbroek photographed this scene south of Savuti rest camp. In the foreground, guide Phil van Wyk waits patiently in his Land Cruiser. When a buffalo bull is having a drink, you wait until he’s done! HOW? Nikon D610; Nikon 18 – 200 mm lens; shutter speed 1/320 second; aperture f5; ISO 100. SEE IT FOR YOURSELF! François travelled to Chobe with guides Douwe Vlok and Phil van Wyk from Bhejane 4x4 Adventures. Their next nine-day self-drive tour in this area departs on 21 February 2021 and costs R19 450 per person. bhejane.com…