Have just returned from a memorable trip to Botswana – Johannesburg, Moremi, Chobe and back through the Delta Pan Handle from 17 August to 4 September – 18 days. Below is a short trip report that might be useful to people traveling this route in the near future. We were traveling in a Fortuner with a RTT From South Africa From Maun to Kasane we were joined by a Hilux Double Cab with Ground Tent from Mkushi, Zambia Both well kitted out for camping

1. Day 1: Khama Rhino Sanctuary

• Straight through via Stockpoort – easy border

• Booked into the A Frame – very disappointing – the same concerns raised from our stay there 18 months prior have not been addressed with the shower having no water pressure and no power plugs for the fridge

2. Day 2: Crocodile Camp in Maun – great camp, well managed, grass, each site with own ablutions, wifi in the camps site – just a bit close to the road with traffic, dogs, roosters and donkeys

• Recommend the Delta Meat Deli at Riley’s Garage for your meat and biltong – really good meat packed and frozen as you want

• There are two Spars that sell everything you need

• Delta early Morning Flight a must – very little water with all the animals along the streams – you need your passports

3. Day 3 and 4: Xakanaxa

• Road from Maun to South Gate not too good for an arterial road. South Gate to Xakanaxa a good road. 5 Hours

• At South Gate useful Moremi and Chobe Maps available for purchase

• Great Camp (No 1) with shade, good ablutions and hot water

• Drove to Third Bridge via a dry Jesse’s Pool - the riverine forests were great. Required HL for sand. Shop at Third Bridge. Do not park under the Sausage Trees

• Time spent at Paradise Pools was the highlight – really amazing with water all round and birds and Lechwe all around you. A good place for a sundowner

4. Day 5 and 6: Kwai

• Easy road – 5 Hours with stops for game viewing. Hippo Pools a real good stop for a leisurely lunch with birds, elephants, hippos, and lots of buck. Also an elevated hide

• Camp Site no 8 was great with lots of shade, with baboons and monkeys and with hippos next door. Good ablutions with hot water

• 11pm the lions walked through camp trapping some visitors in the ablutions. Visited in camp by an elephant, a honey badger and a spotted hyena that nearly helped him/herself to the steak on the braai

• The drive along the river was exquisite full of animals and birds – all you need to do is stay in the loop around camp the whole time – a good place to pitch the awning and 2 chairs with coffee and rusks

• Two cheetahs overlooking the river was a plus 5. Day 7 and 8: Linyanti

• Long days travel. People at the gate indicated 4 hours but we had prepared for 10 following the Community Blogs – in the end 7.7 Hours

• Kwai to Savute was fine making good time – very sandy requiring HL 3rd gear

• Used the Marsh Road up to Savute – Very sandy but an experience due to the dry, dry pan

• Savute to Linyanti on the sand road was interesting and challenging. At one stretch 9 km of real sand. The Fortuner got stuck due to the extra fuel tank lowering the spare wheel which acted as a plough. Removed the spare wheel, put it on the Hilux roof rack, and proceeded in HL 2nd Gear – this stretch proved the ability of the two

vehicles. If you get stuck the second vehicle will not be able to recover you due to the sand. I would suggest that people do not take the sand road and rather the long route via Ghoha Gate

• Nice Camp (No 1) with shade and a view over the water but ablutions a problem – no hot water from the geysers in the showers which they are working on by plumbing into the old ablution boilers

• Namibian telephone roaming available

• Across the Chobe River is Namibia – fires all over

• Limited game viewing road in their concession with hyena spoor in the camp the next day.

• Baboon raided the next-door camp whilst they were on a game drive 6. Day 9 and 10: Ihaha

• Sandy Road (HL 3rd Gear) with 35km Tar – 7 Hours

• Camp Site 8 not preferable – no shade and in the middle of the traffic. Ablutions shared with bats with good hot water

• Namibian telephone roaming available

• Lioness and 2 cubs walked through the camp the night before and leopard and hyena spoor noted the first night. Also two honey badgers in the camp that needed chasing.

• Generally good game drives along the river front – mixture of game and cattle on the Namibian side

• Lioness and 3 cubs took down a cow and her calf from across the river – easy pickings

• Across the Chobe river is Namibia – fishermen in mokoros are netting and there is a concern about theft – police and parks board patrol the campsite from 6pm to 6am

7. Day 11: Senyati Safari Camp 27 km outside of Kasane

• Beautiful River Drive to Serondela Picnic Spot and then Sandy road to the tar which is 20 km from Kasane – 3 hours with game viewing

• Serondela Picnic Spot disappointing with no ablutions and evidence of people using the bush

• Nice Camp with own ablutions – bar overlooking a lit waterhole, elephants all night and wifi in the evening – limited reception.

• Chobe Safari Lodge afternoon river cruise well worth it – great guides and you see tonnes of elephants, buffalo, hippo and all the other animals and birds. You need your passports. Be aware that if your Park Permit is valid on the day, you join the cruise you should get a P65 discount per person

8. General Maun to Kasane

• Hilux returned to Zambia

• 690 Km of very sandy roads but not a real problem

• Fortuner 6.2 km/L Fuel Consumption

• Hilux 7.7km/L fuel Consumption – not sure why this is so much better than the Fortuner

• Diesel is available at Linyanti if you in trouble at P400 for 20 L

• Wood available to purchase at all sites 9. Day 12 and 13: Malyo Wilderness Camp in Namibia

• Generally Tar all the way with a shortcut of good gravel

• Stopped at the Katimo Molilo Shoprite – a real pleasure with everything you need.

• The Shoprite Manager assisted us to find a well-stocked pharmacy behind his shop

• Malyo is a gem – stayed in Safari Tent No 2 with own ablutions, in the shade and 10m from the river. Campsites beautiful with clean ablutions

• River is very low so boating is limited with concerns that hippo are a danger.

• Visited the Mudumu National Park – not much there

• Visited Bwabwata National Park. The Horseshoe Bend in the river is a must – An elevated Hide gives views of elephants in their numbers coming to drink and play in the mud. The 15 km road to this spot is very sandy and quite challenging but really worth a visit

10. Day 14: Shakawe River Lodge back in Botswana

• All Tar Road with a border – on the Botswana side we were relieved of 4 tomatoes and 2 potatoes??? Onions and corn no problems

• Stopped at Ngepi for a G&T – really quirky, beautiful lawns, well managed and worth a future stay

• Camp No 4 at Shakawe well sited but with local fishermen on the other side of the fence making life difficult. Cut the stay short and moved to Drotsky’s Log Cabins

• River Boat Cruises – well worth it to see the Pels Fishing Owl and African Skimmers

• Visited Tsolido Hils – be aware that the walks are 2.5 hours – do not attempt this in the middle of the day

• Not much shopping at Shakawe but water available at a water bottling business.

• Beware of a small Petrol Station in Town with Shell fuel – not sure about the cleanliness of the fuel. There is a larger Shell station – better give it a miss

11. Day 15: Drotsky’s Log Cabins

• Camp Site No 3 well secluded, with shade, between the ablutions and the Bar. Very well managed with green lawns and trees

• There was also a Pels Fishing Owl in one of the camp sites

• The Lodge is 2km away along a beautiful wooded path. Wifi at the lodge 12. Day 16: Sehithwa: Monlek Guest House

• Tar road full of pot holes but not too bad – have seen worse

• Stopped at the Guest House and decided to push on to Maun – not really appropriate

• Restocked in Maun and moved on to Drifters 30 km out of town on the road to Serowe. On the Botete Rivir – a real birders paradise. Stayed in a Safari Tent overlooking the river – would recommend after a stint of camping

13. Dy 17: Khama

• 23 km out of Letlekane the Fortuner died. Two ladies in a FJ Cruiser on their way to Gaborone came to our assistance with fuel and we got towed to the Engen at Letlekane by Markus and Margaret Kruger from Natal – really, really appreciate everyone’s assistance. The Engen Station Manager was very helpful in organising a mechanic to assist in replacing a blocked Fuel Filter – he maintained that blocked fuel filters is a regular occurrence in that area. Not sure if this was from dirty fuel in Linyanti or Shakawe? Luckily, we had a spare fuel filter and was on the way again

• Happy that we got Chalet A which was great 14. Day 18: Johannesburg via Martins Drift – straight through

Some Points on the overall trip

1. 18 days was a good trip – happy to get home for a decent shower/bath and bed 2. 4,400 km with 520 L Fuel 3. RTT is not that bad – will do it all over again 4. We reduced our equipment from the last trip but will reduce it again for the next trip 5. A drawer system is a saving grace 6. Organised packing and living out the car is key – know where everything is all the time 7. Credit Card accepted at 90% of places 8. Lots of Hire Vehicles with foreign visitors

9. If you get into trouble on the roads help will be at hand – other travellers/campers do stop to assist

10. Whilst you can generally get fuel at reputable service stations beware of the smaller ones – carry a spare fuel filter and know how to change it!

11. You can buy everything you want in Botswana – no need to cart it all the way from SA 12. Drinking water available at all towns 13. Wood available at all camps 14. Do not underestimate your fuel consumption between Maun and Kasane – I budgeted on 7

km/L and used 8.5 km/L (11.7 L/100km) over 4,400km. 15. Starting to think about the next trip!!!!

Starting at South Gate

Flight over the Delta – Dry but well worth it

Xakanaxa Camp Site No. 1

The Forest at an empty Jesses Pool

Paradise Pools – an experience

Shade at Kwai Camp Site No. 8

Mopani Lined avenue to Mobabe Gate

Savute Marsh Road – dry!

Stuck on the Savute/Linyante Sand Road – a challenging 9km experience of deep sand

Linyanti Camp Site No. 1 – great shade overlooking the river

Road to Ngoma Gate – typical of most of the roads

Also to Ngoma Gate

Namibian Rump Steak at Ihaha

Ihaha Camp Site No. 8 – no shade

Buffalo viewed from the Chobe Boat Cruise

Malyo Safari Tent No. 2 – great position and shade

Shakawe River Lodge Camp Site No. 4

Drotskys Log Cabins Camp Site No. 3 – really at peace with narture