Table of contents for Go! Botswana Guide 2023/24 in go!

Freedom. What does it mean to you? If you're reading this magazine, you know the freedom that travelling can bring. To wander distant roads in your own vehicle, pitch your tent in a campsite, light a fire and gaze at the stars. Therein lies a little freedom, even if it's only a temporary escape from things back home, office politics, the rising price of fuel… Botswana is a country where you can still experience freedom – the freedom of being human in the wilderness. It doesn't come cheap, because park and camping fees take a big bite out of your budget. But if you plan well, you can still have an affordable self-drive holiday in Botswana. The trick is to see your journey as a whole and not just focus…

Kubu Island appears like a mirage on the dreamscape of the Makgadikgadi Pans. Peering through the dust, I can see a string of baobabs on the horizon. Driving closer, I notice that this “island” is given form by a tangle of shrubs, trees and grass. Life exists here, in a place otherwise dominated by sky. We left Gaborone at 6 am this morning. It's nearly 5 pm now. I'm riding shotgun with Mark Jones, the tour leader on this 11-day adventure. Mark lives in Plettenberg Bay and uses lingo to match: “Lekker man”, “Proper nice” and “Well cool” are popular phrases in his repertoire. He sports about a dozen copper bangles (a guide thing) and complains about cold mornings while refusing to wear anything other than flip-flops. I'm spending the…

I wake up, press myself onto an elbow and look around. My guide, Letsaamang “Arnold” Kelaotswe, is blowing life into the fire. He takes a dry bit of elephant dung, pulls it apart and adds it as kindling. If this smoky, herby smell was a cologne, I'd wear it every day. I'm in paradise! I smile to myself, then notice that Arnold is wordlessly pointing at something: two giraffe on the other side of the water. It's early May, just before sunrise. There's a fresh bite in the air, but it will soon become another brilliant, warm Botswana winter's day. The giraffe pause their browsing to check me out, where I stir like a giant mopane worm in my bedroll. I met Arnold around midday yesterday, at the Daunara poling…

ACCOMMODATION 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 rates, although there are also more luxurious options. 71 Xaro Lodge This luxury tented lodge just south of Shakawe is a birder's dream. Rates start at US$390 (R7 410) for a twin-sleeper tent, with breakfast and dinner. You're transferred to the lodge by boat. 00 267 72 807 476 xaro-lodge.com 72 Shakawe River Lodge About 10 km from Shakawe, this popular lodge has a campsite and chalets in riverine forest. Camping P265 (R368) per adult; P135 (R188) per child aged 5 – 11; free for kids under 4. Chalet P2 690 (R3…

The road north to Kasane beyond Nata eventually becomes a monotonous blur. The bush seems endless on both sides of the car. Then, quite unexpectedly, you drive across a cattle grid south of Pandamatenga and the landscape changes. Fields of sorghum, sunflowers and other crops like soya beans stretch out like colourful, regimented carpets all the way to the pancake-flat horizon. Who are the people who farm here? I'm sure you've also asked yourself this question, but you probably kept going without stopping in the not-very-tidy town of Pandamatenga itself, which has very few calling cards beyond a fuel station. In 2022, I met Pandamatenga farmers Johan and Rentia Otto while they were on holiday along the Okavango Panhandle, and in May 2023 I paid them a visit at home.…

>1978 THE SAVUTI CHANNEL The Savuti Channel is, to me, the most exciting place in all of Chobe. It flows out of the Linyanti Swamp via the Zibadianja Lagoon and then follows a course of almost 100 km through a sea of Kalahari sand, which it has turned into a paradise of undulating woodland. Eventually – and it is slowgoing – the water empties into the 108 km² Savuti Marsh in the Mababe Depression. The marsh was once a wetland, but it has always been subject to the whims of the channel's flow. It remains largely grassland devoid of woody species like camel thorn trees. I first visited Savuti (also spelled Savute) back in 1978 and watched in amazement how the channel emptied its life-giving waters into the northern part…

Waves crash against cliffs while hippos and crocodiles are dotted up and down the lush shoreline. If I'd been alive 9 000 years ago, this is the scene that might have met me at Mosu, at the southern end of today's bone-dry Makgadikgadi Pans. Back then, a gigantic lake – three times the size of Lake Victoria, six times bigger than Lesotho! – would have stretched towards the north, where today only dust devils race across the void. Most tourists use the lodges in and around the town of Nata to stop overnight en route to Botswana's more famous wildlife attractions in the north, like Chobe National Park. But Nata, at the northern edge of Sowa Pan (the name for the eastern half of the Makgadikgadi Pans, also spelled Sua…

ACCOMMODATION SOUTHERN BOTSWANA SOUTH AFRICA 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: R150 per person. Four chalets: R400 per adult; R200 per child under 12. The chalets sleep 10 in total; they share a communal kitchen, dining area and bathrooms. Firewood is available. 082 491 6432 (Wilma-lé) wilmaleoost@gmail.com “Cullinan Guest Farm” on Facebook 2 Van Zylsrus Hotel In the town of Van Zylsrus, about 40 km from the Middelputs border post. They have big rooms, a good restaurant and a swimming pool.…

ACCOMMODATION NAMIBIA, ZAMBIA & ZIMBABWE KAVANGO RIVER The major Namibian towns in this area – with fuel, shops and ATMs – are Divundu and Rundu. 139 Taranga Safari Lodge On the B10, about 35 km west of Rundu. The campsites are on grass and each stand has a light, power point, tap and braai. Camping R300 per person. Tented chalet with en suite bathroom and private deck from R2 230 per person sharing DB&B. There's a restaurant and a floating river bar. Enquire about discounts for SADC residents. 00 264 81 718 1966 taranganamibia.com 140 Hakusembe River Lodge On the river, 16 km west of Rundu. Camping with private bathroom R295 per person. Chalet accommodation from R2 735 per person sharing B&B. Fishing R250 per person per hour. Sunset boat cruise…

COLUMN My grandfather, George Watson, was a prolific writer of letters, especially when he was courting my grandmother, Elizabeth Ralls, known as “Ray” to all her friends. Reading the newsy, passionate, and sometimes spicy letters he sent her, you get a real sense of Bechuanaland in the 1930s and an appreciation for dispatch-dependent romance. George was born in 1900 in the Bamangwato village of Old Palapye. Two years later, he moved with his parents and the rest of the settlement to Serowe, about 60 km away, when a new water source needed to be secured for the community. He was employed by the Bechuanaland government as a livestock inspector when he was a young man, and although he was based in Maun, his job required that he crisscross the country…

“Is there fuel at Gweta?” That's the number one question other tourists ask about this tiny stopover between Nata and Maun. The answer is often no, but by some stroke of luck, the pumps were working when I visited in May 2023. The filling station is right next to the A3 so you don't really see the town, which is just south of the road and hidden from view. If you turn in, you might be pleasantly surprised. With rangy makalani palm trees and a couple of cute shops, the town has some real character. Most times I'm one of those people who jets past Gweta towards other overnight spots further away. But not this time. I've booked a campsite for two nights at the popular Planet Baobab just east…

I first visited the Okavango in 2015 on assignment for DriveOut magazine. Our tour group spent our first two nights next to the parched Makgadikgadi Pans and travelled from there to the watery world of the delta. Just like that, I was immersed in the landscape I'd seen in so many documentary films! I was amazed by the trees and the abundance of animals. The delta is a true wilderness and it's a privilege to see it. These days, I accompany guests to the heart of the delta as a private guide for Black Jackal Travel. In the summer of 2022, I took these photos in Moremi and Linyanti. With thanks to Canon South Africa for the loan of cameras and lenses. Follow Evan on Instagram: @evannaude and @blackjackaltravel  DELTA…

TSHOOTSHA This small town, previously known as Kalkfontein, is just off the A2 in the Ghanzi district. 26 Jungle Light Rest Camp This camp on the outskirts of Tshootsha is also known as Riana's Campsite. It's right next to the A2. Camping costs P150 (R209) per person. En suite safari tent P660 (R917) per night for two people. Meals are available – book in advance. 00 267 76 549 800 (Riana, WhatsApp) 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. 27…

LIVINGSTONE This big town is Zambia's adventure tourism HQ. The Smoke that Thunders is so close you can hear it! 168 Jollyboys Backpackers & Camp Jollyboys is smack-dab in the centre of town, directly behind the Livingstone Museum. It's ideal for independent travellers, small groups and adventurous families. There's off-street parking, a swimming pool, bar, restaurant and selfcatering kitchen. Camping costs US$12 (R228) per person; dorm accommodation from US$20 (R380); three-sleeper room with shared ablutions US$63 (R1 197); double en suite room US$80 (R1 520) and four-sleeper en suite room US$90 (R1 710). 00 260 213 324 229 00 260 978 571 100 (WhatsApp) backpackzambia.com 169 Baobab Camp & Cottages This quirky spot is laid out around an old quarry, now filled with water. It's 5,7 km from the centre…