Self-drive tripreport in Botswana, Moremi and Central Kalahari NP.

[JPS]

Self-drive tripreport in Botswana, Moremi and Central Kalahari NP.

 

 

Itenary;

 

• October 11, 2021            Chobe safari 
• October 12, 2021            Unit CV07 (QS-SAVUTI Savuti)
• October 13-16, 2021      Unit CV09 (QS-SAVUTI Savuti)
• October 16 to 19, 2021  Unit MK03 (QS-KHWAI Khwai)
• October 19 to 21, 2021  SOUTHGATE—MQ 3
• October 22 to 25, 2021  Third Bridge- camp 4
• October 25, 2021            Audi camp Maun
• October 26, 2021            CKSUN04
• October 27-28, 2021      CKPAS02

 

• Car rental, Bushlore landcruiser Crucam

 

Finally, it was time to travel to Botswana again and despite all the hassle with the corona testings and border crossings rules that changed on a daily basis, we decided to overcome those barriers and enjoy paradise again.

 

Traveling went smoothly under the circumstances, although we did get stuck on road tax payments at Martin's drift, there were massive rows of truck drivers queuing up and it took about 4 hours before we got past it.

Later we heard from other tourists that we could walk past the drivers, but that was not clear to us and we thought it was a cheeky thing to do so.

 

Exhausted we arrived at Kwa nokeng lodge  just in time for dinner, after dinner we enjoyed a well-deserved night's rest.

Kwa Nokeng lodge is an nice place for a stopover, but that’s about it, food is doable lodges were clean.

The next

 

The next day we drove from Kwa Nokeng lodge to elephant sands, this was a nice stopover and we camped among the wild elephants. The food was really tasty and we enjoyed the wild elephants that roam through the park to the waterhole with large herds. Very nice stopover, clean showers and toilets, good food, and it is fantastic waking up between the singing birds and elephants that are drinking during sunrise.

 

A downside was that a large group of tourists were quite noisy and a bit too enthusiastic for my experience, but that is a snapshot, and not much this camp can do about that.

 

 

 

For an impression of this camp, check;

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we woke up we drove on to senyanti camp where we camped and enjoyed amazing sunset and sunrise in the morning together with the wildlife which walked  through the camp we had a braai  for the first time again sine moths and enjoyed the waterhole at the camp.

 

 

 

Time to go to Kasane.

Today we went for a last relaxing night at Chobe safari lodge and enjoyed the river cruise and an excellent dinner.

 

 

 

Finally, it was time to head to Savuti, this was my third time and I hoped to see the famous lion marsh pride which we missed the previous visits.

Luckily we have seen them every single day of our four-day visit in Savuti, the third day they woke us up while killing an elephant.

For a detail movie:

 

 

 

 

 

What I did not like so much about the camp was the extremely busy and noisy campsites, most noises were generated by the staff this year, the loose sand is so deep and dusty that it is almost impossible to walk to the ablutions...maybe that is why there is so much poop and peeing around the camp? But ok I will keep on going if I manage to get a spot ;-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next 4 days we stayed at North camp along the Khwai river side. We had amazing sightings again at this prime location including a lioness killing a red reebuck, followed up by them killing a wrath hog, female leopard, wild dogs along the river and much more. A new one for me was a croq running away in front of our car.

 

We stayed at camp 3 at the riverside which is an amazing site with nice sun downers, we did had some noisy neighbors as at every sighting of the resident hyenas in the camp they were alarming a big air horn during the evening and shining their mega strong torches non-stopped….felt a bit like a live football game. Fortunately, after some hours they realized that this is maybe not the way how to handle resident hyena’s 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Khwai we headed to Maun to get some fresh groceries and extra fuel.

When we returned we stayed over at South gate camp and we mainly enjoyed the blackpools area were we had lions, wild dogs and the other common game. We enjoyed the birding in the camp as the resident hyenas. The camp was not organized, reserved camps were taken by others and it was kind of chaotic. We kept easy going and just moved over to another site as we did not want to into any frustrations during our holiday.

 

 

 

 

After South gate camp we went to third bridge and had some good days over there, we heard many lions but did not see any. Every day we enjoyed wild dogs and even had one dog who lost his pack which reunited after 2 days, this was fascinating to follow. We had Hippos, Elephant, wild dogs through our camp while we were there. We had camp 4 which is small but cozy. The camp was clean, well maintained and quiet.

 

For the wild dogs' story, please check this movie:

 

 

 

From Third bridge we went for one night to Audi camp where we enjoyed a good night rest in a tented camp at the river. Early in the morning we went to CKGR on our way to there we had a check for meat but we were prepared and no negative surprises  over there. We enjoyed Sunday pan where we had no mice eating our car cables, but the marketing works as the total pan was empty 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed CKGR, it was our first time but felt more wild and the animals were more skittish.

 

 

 

 

 

Our last say in Botswana was at Rhino Sanctuary camp, which is a nice place for a stop-over.

 

 

All in all, it was another fantastic trip to Botswana and definitely worth all the hassle with corona testing, vaccination, risk of flights etc., glad that we did not listen to our fears of cancellations and that we just went and enjoyed.

 

If you need any advice or questions regarding this trip, feel free to send a message and I will reply a soon as possible.

Edited August 27, 2022 by wilddog

[Africalover]

Thanks for sharing - will go to Botswana in October, self driving. Renting at Bushlore. 

Super nice images 😊👍

[JPS]

10 hours ago, Africalover said:

Thanks for sharing - will go to Botswana in October, self driving. Renting at Bushlore. 

Super nice images 😊👍

You are welcome, enjoy your trip.

 

Which parks will you visit?

[Paul B]

Outstanding trip report, pictures and videos, thanks so much for sharing!

[JPS]

23 hours ago, Paul B said:

Outstanding trip report, pictures and videos, thanks so much for sharing!

You are welcome Paul and thanks for your feedback.

[Africalover]

On 7/4/2022 at 6:50 AM, JPS said:

You are welcome, enjoy your trip.

 

Which parks will you visit?

We will be driving from JHB to KTP, Mabua, Moremi and Khwai, 3 weeks.

[Wildship]

Thanks for the report, going in 2023.

 

[Atravelynn]

So many great shots.  That ground hornbill and butterfly is a study in colors!

[JPS]

22 hours ago, Africalover said:

We will be driving from JHB to KTP, Mabua, Moremi and Khwai, 3 weeks.

Sounds good, looking forward to your experiences.

[JPS]

22 hours ago, Wildship said:

Thanks for the report, going in 2023.

 

Sounds good, which period?

[JPS]

20 hours ago, Atravelynn said:

So many great shots.  That ground hornbill and butterfly is a study in colors!

Thanks, I think that the butterfly are leftovers from a lilac-breasted roller

[Atravelynn]

10 hours ago, JPS said:

Thanks, I think that the butterfly are leftovers from a lilac-breasted roller

Yes it is, I went back to look.  You did get a live roller amongst your shots.

[Wildship]

Last two weeks of September.

[JPS]

2 hours ago, Wildship said:

Last two weeks of September.

That's a very nice period, enjoy!

[vikramghanekar]

Wow!

What an adventure! Fantastic photos and videos.

I don't have the confidence of doing a self drive through Botswana. I hope I will be able to get a bit more courageous in future and go for it. May be start with Kruger or Namibia as an easier self drive destination and then graduate to Botswana.

Regards

Vikram

 

 

[JPS]

9 hours ago, vikramghanekar said:

Wow!

What an adventure! Fantastic photos and videos.

I don't have the confidence of doing a self drive through Botswana. I hope I will be able to get a bit more courageous in future and go for it. May be start with Kruger or Namibia as an easier self drive destination and then graduate to Botswana.

Regards

Vikram

 

 

 

 

Fear is our biggest enemy, so go, you will really enjoy it. But starting first with Kruger or Namibia as an easier self drive destination and then to graduate to Botswana is also a wise decision. And.....kruger and Namibia are amazing as well ;-), returning to Kruger in September. This was in July 2021....not bad at all ;-)

 

Edited July 20, 2022 by JPS

[TravelMore]

Great report and pics, thanks for sharing!