Namibia & Botswana - a 27 day self-drive safari trip report

[toine]

On 4/2/2019 at 10:15 AM, Atravelynn said:

Very clever linking of reports with a "cover sheet" but all within safaritalk.  You have made footprints in the sand into art!  The flamingos are art all by themselves--great shots.  I ended up in a sandstorm at Sossusveli too and it lasted for days.  Love the little desert creatures. p1.

 

How nice you had a cultural aspect to the trip too.  Good use of the rear view mirror. p2.

 

Tremendous waterhole action.  Frisky zebras abound.  I agree with you on those giraffes in lovely light as a fav.  The quality of light was present for your ele herds too.  Lion cubs at a waterhole are exciting but bat eared foxes are amazing. p3

 

You are really pick up steam on page 4 with such variety day and night.  Love that honey badger.  Aardwolf and sable!  Wish for cheetah and get 3!  Your backlit shots are dreamy.

 

Leopard and dogs on page 5!  You captured the delta really well.  I love the 4 squirrels in the tree.

 

Fantastic trip!

 

 

Thank you so much for your comments, @Atravelynn; it's great to hear what others consider as favourites or standing out. Sometimes when you look too often and too long to your own photos it becomes harder and harder to pick...   

[toine]

16 hours ago, DanielBme said:

Not sure how I missed this but just finally read your trip report.

 

I'm really floored!  I can't believe the amount of sightings you had!  Great trip report and really fantastic photos!  I'm returning to Namibia in less than 3 months time and  after seeing your photos I wish I had more time to spend in Etosha.  My luck was nowhere as good as yours in Etosha last time I was there.   

 

I'm wondering which you preferred, Botswana or Namibia?  Tough to answer isn't it?  I think I still preferred Botswana.  I'm now planning a return trip for about 25 days just in Botswana.  But it won't be for at least 2-3yrs from now.  Hopefully after this trip review I can talk Xelas into it

 

BTW I think that was the same Honey Badger I saw in Etosha...I too only got his butt lol

 

Hi @DanielBme, thanks for your feedback! As you probably noticed I put quite a bit of preparation into the trip, particularly as I really wanted to see cheetah and wild dogs, but also have a good spread of other wildlife. Trip reports from @xelas and a few others have been really helpful in my planning, pretty much to the daily routes and timing in for instance Etosha. Likewise in Botswana, where our route evolved very much around wild dogs, leopards and large herds of elephants. Lions you'll see anyway. 

Namibia or Botswana... Hmm... Indeed tough to answer. I am a biologist, specialised in ethology - animal behaviour. So for me wildlife really comes first and put me anywhere in Savuti, Khwai or Moremi for a month (or 3) and you won't hear me complain. A safari trip for me is also very much about sharing with others though and for my son and best mate I really wanted to bring a lot more diversity into the trip, hence the route we took. And they did enjoy..!

So I guess there you have my answer; it depends with whom I go. If I'd go alone or with like minded people I'd go to Botswana. I also love the basics of camping there and would love go even more wild / basic. Namibia's landscapes are something though...!  So, keep me in mind, as I'd be very interested joining for a 25 day trip to Botswana as well...!

I wish you good fun and a successful safari soon, back in Namibia. I'm going to Zambia in October, I simply somehow felt I had to. Kafue, Lower Zambezi and South Luangwa... Cheers!

[zimreef]

Just read this from start to finish - one of the best I’ve read without doubt. Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences and super photos with the rest of us. Whets the appetite hugely.

 

 

[JCC]

What a great read!  @toine thank you so much for sharing the photos and the excitement. I've been trying to talk my dh into a self driving trip from Kasane to Maun in Botswana. Thanks to @xelas's blog we have included 4 days of camping in the Mara Triangle into our Kenya 2020 itinerary. If we get through that, I think this TR will convince my dh to fulfil my wish to do a self drive camping trip from Kasane to Maun. So glad you had so many wonderful sightings and your perseverance paid off!

[xelas]

2 hours ago, JCC said:

Thanks to @xelas's blog we have included 4 days of camping in the Mara Triangle into our Kenya 2020 itinerary.

 

I do have several TRs on this forum, but (unfortunately for me ) none from Mara Triangle. Self-driving from Kasane to Maun will be an adventure for sure; but a beautiful one (if the weather will cooperate).

[JCC]

1 hour ago, xelas said:

 

I do have several TRs on this forum, but (unfortunately for me ) none from Mara Triangle. Self-driving from Kasane to Maun will be an adventure for sure; but a beautiful one (if the weather will cooperate).

@xelas I have just scratched the surface of the treasure trove of TRs on this forum, so I have not read all of yours here as yet, but I did read a blog, "https://safaribug.wordpress.com" in detail before discovering ST - is safaribug.wordpress yours? 

@xelas will definitely be taking your advice on doing the Kasane - Maun route when the weather should be good. 

[xelas]

4 hours ago, JCC said:

is safaribug.wordpress yours? 

Sadly, no. It belongs to our friends and compatriots from Slovenia. Jurij and his wife Mateja are travellers extraordinaire, taking the self-driving and camping trips two or three notches above what we are capable of doing. In future years I am looking forward to repeat some of their tracks, if possible. 

 

Edited June 11, 2019 by xelas

[JCC]

2 minutes ago, xelas said:

Sadly, no. It belongs to our friends and compatriots from Slovenia. Jurij and his wife Mateja are travellers extraordinaire, taking the self-driving and camping trips two or three notches above what we are capable of doing. In future years I am looking forward to repeat some of their tracks, if possible. 

 

Thanks for the reply @xelas I look forward to catching up on your TRs. Happy travels!  I am hoping to up my game gradually and am so grateful to @toine , Jurij and Mateja and the ST community for the inspiration and info 

[toine]

On 6/11/2019 at 5:04 PM, JCC said:

What a great read!  @toine thank you so much for sharing the photos and the excitement. I've been trying to talk my dh into a self driving trip from Kasane to Maun in Botswana. Thanks to @xelas's blog we have included 4 days of camping in the Mara Triangle into our Kenya 2020 itinerary. If we get through that, I think this TR will convince my dh to fulfil my wish to do a self drive camping trip from Kasane to Maun. So glad you had so many wonderful sightings and your perseverance paid off!

@JCC thanks! It's such a pleasure sharing on this forum..! It was my main source for planning as well. Kasane to Maun is really an awesome trip. We spend 8 days covering this, I'd recommend anyone considering this to add another few days. It's absolutely awesome. I'd add at least 1 more night in Savuti, 1 more night in Khwai and try to get 2 nights in Xakanaxa or Third Bridge, not because of the camps, but just location. North Gate is an excellent alternative though. I hope you'll convince your dh!

[JCC]

13 hours ago, toine said:

@JCC thanks! It's such a pleasure sharing on this forum..! It was my main source for planning as well. Kasane to Maun is really an awesome trip. We spend 8 days covering this, I'd recommend anyone considering this to add another few days. It's absolutely awesome. I'd add at least 1 more night in Savuti, 1 more night in Khwai and try to get 2 nights in Xakanaxa or Third Bridge, not because of the camps, but just location. North Gate is an excellent alternative though. I hope you'll convince your dh!

Thanks @toine Will definitely do if at all possible - and I put Magotho Camp on my radar, it was not on my Khwai short list. Your photos are mind blowing, both the use of sunlight and the animal portraits have me in awe. The animals seem so real, very warm and furry and not at all 2D. What an experience to share with your son!

[michael-ibk]

Wow @toine, I don´t know how I missed your report but I´m very glad it got a bump. Extraordinary sightings, you really saw "everything", and your photography is absolutely top notch, someting to aspire to. Especially love your backlit pictures, incredibly atmospheric, like the Elephants at Okaukuejo.

 

Some images and sightings that stuck out for me:

 

Dead Vlei and the Dunes. Presented in many reports here on Safaritalk, but you managed to give it a "fresh look", definitely among the very best photos of that place I´ve ever seen.

 

I also really love the Flamingos with the dunes in the background, such a cool contrast.

 

Never seen Bat-Eared Foxes drinking, and how lucky to even spot an Aardwolf, not to mention the Honey Badger. And then you even got Sable and Roan in Caprivi. Like I said - you saw everything.

 

Interesting to see the Lilac-Breasted Roller grapple a snake, didn´t even know they do that.

 

The Botswana part of your report resonated even more with me since I´ve just followed the very same route (Kasane, Savuti, Khwai, Moremi) this February. Interesting to compare the familiar places between Green and Dry Season. The two Lion males at Savuti - that´s one of the coolest Lion pictures I´ve seen for a while, excellent stuff. And very nice of the Leopard to turn up as a birthday present.

 

I´ve long wanted to see a Black Mamba, but wow, definitely not from that distance. Close call! And a threatening photo.

 

The Ele baby in the water is particularly endearing, you´ve got a really perfect Crimson-Breasted Shrike photo and I´m happy you found the Dogs in the end - I love them as well.

 

Thanks again for a really super trip report, please do one about Zambia as well. I´m sure you will have a great time there, and I look forward to reading about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[toine]

12 hours ago, JCC said:

Thanks @toine Will definitely do if at all possible - and I put Magotho Camp on my radar, it was not on my Khwai short list. Your photos are mind blowing, both the use of sunlight and the animal portraits have me in awe. The animals seem so real, very warm and furry and not at all 2D. What an experience to share with your son!

@JCC Magotho is a must, it was our favourite camp. The night-time sounds of the nearby hippos, roaring lions and campfire visits of some hyenas make for a truly wild experience :). Also the herds of elephants that came to drink from the river just east of the campsite were the largest I've ever seen, and they kept coming... Unbelievable.  Oh, and of course the fact that you can do night drives yourself, without guides...! All awesome. 

[toine]

10 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

Wow @toine, I don´t know how I missed your report but I´m very glad it got a bump. Extraordinary sightings, you really saw "everything", and your photography is absolutely top notch, someting to aspire to. Especially love your backlit pictures, incredibly atmospheric, like the Elephants at Okaukuejo.

 

Some images and sightings that stuck out for me:

 

Dead Vlei and the Dunes. Presented in many reports here on Safaritalk, but you managed to give it a "fresh look", definitely among the very best photos of that place I´ve ever seen.

 

I also really love the Flamingos with the dunes in the background, such a cool contrast.

 

Never seen Bat-Eared Foxes drinking, and how lucky to even spot an Aardwolf, not to mention the Honey Badger. And then you even got Sable and Roan in Caprivi. Like I said - you saw everything.

 

Interesting to see the Lilac-Breasted Roller grapple a snake, didn´t even know they do that.

 

The Botswana part of your report resonated even more with me since I´ve just followed the very same route (Kasane, Savuti, Khwai, Moremi) this February. Interesting to compare the familiar places between Green and Dry Season. The two Lion males at Savuti - that´s one of the coolest Lion pictures I´ve seen for a while, excellent stuff. And very nice of the Leopard to turn up as a birthday present.

 

I´ve long wanted to see a Black Mamba, but wow, definitely not from that distance. Close call! And a threatening photo.

 

The Ele baby in the water is particularly endearing, you´ve got a really perfect Crimson-Breasted Shrike photo and I´m happy you found the Dogs in the end - I love them as well.

 

Thanks again for a really super trip report, please do one about Zambia as well. I´m sure you will have a great time there, and I look forward to reading about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

@michael-ibk Hi Michael, thank you so much for your very kind words and compliments! I'm happy to hear you enjoyed. Thanks also for sharing what the highlights are for you, as I always love to hear what others think of photos. I find it often impossible to pick my favourites, and end up sharing a lot more than I wanted to... But I guess on this forum there is never such a thing as "too much"...  

I'm almost ready for Zambia and look forward sharing a report again!

[Robjwilli]

@toine what a great trip and thanks so much for sharing it with us!

 

I would love to do a trip similar to your Botswana section but not sure where to start- I’ll have to bookmark this and re-read it :-)  I’ve been to Kgalagadi and Etosha before but this looks like a bit of a step up!

[toine]

On 5/31/2020 at 7:37 PM, Robjwilli said:

@toine what a great trip and thanks so much for sharing it with us!

 

I would love to do a trip similar to your Botswana section but not sure where to start- I’ll have to bookmark this and re-read it :-)  I’ve been to Kgalagadi and Etosha before but this looks like a bit of a step up!

@Robjwilli thanks for enjoying it! Botswana was fairly straight forward, particularly also because there's not many camping options. You have to book early though, as for high season places fill up often a year in advance... Next time I'd not change anything, just spend longer at each campsite..!

[AKR1]

@toine

 

Finally got to read your fabulous report From over a year ago. You guys certainly had an amazing adventure. What a trip for your son. Your superb photography and excellent writing brought all this to life. For a self driver you are a match for experienced guides and obviously a good driver as well. Many of your humorous comments made me smile throughout this. I recall laughing so hard that I spilled my coffee a few days ago when I was savoring the magnificent frustrated lion pictures overlooking the mating pair where you had a caption under a particularly funny look on the lions face- “scent of a woman”. 
Thanks  very much for doing this. And I’m on to your Namibia report which so far is spectacular. 

[toine]

On 6/9/2020 at 11:39 PM, AKR1 said:

@toine

 

Finally got to read your fabulous report From over a year ago. You guys certainly had an amazing adventure. What a trip for your son. Your superb photography and excellent writing brought all this to life. For a self driver you are a match for experienced guides and obviously a good driver as well. Many of your humorous comments made me smile throughout this. I recall laughing so hard that I spilled my coffee a few days ago when I was savoring the magnificent frustrated lion pictures overlooking the mating pair where you had a caption under a particularly funny look on the lions face- “scent of a woman”. 
Thanks  very much for doing this. And I’m on to your Namibia report which so far is spectacular. 

Thanks @AKR1 ! Your satisfaction and the time you take to mentioned that is exactly why it's so rewarding to actually post these reports