4×4 camper adventure in Botswana

After arrival at Johannesburg airport you will be transferred to the Outlook Lodge for an overnight stay. You stay here based on bed and breakfast.

After breakfast, take the transfer back to the airport and pick up your 4×4 camper. We recommend that you rent a Landcruiser, since you cover great distances in the national parks of Botswana, a great adventure! Click here to view our extensive range. There is a considerable drive on the schedule, so we recommend that you arrive early (between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.) at the rental station.

After all the paperwork has been arranged and you have all the instructions (take your time for this!), You can start your extremely adventurous holiday. Make sure you have done all the shopping before you drive into a park, and don’t forget to bring extra water.

There is relatively much rain, which means that the park is quite overgrown. All large animals are present; elephants, many black and white rhinos, leopard, buffalo, lions, cheetah, wild dogs (reintroduced) and brown hyena. The best known are the Tuli elephants who were released here in 1999. Marakele has one of the largest Cape Vulture colonies in the world (around 800 breeding pairs).

The Bontle Camp site where you will spend your first night immediately gives you an ‘out of Africa’ experience! Located at the end of a narrow, winding path towards the Waterberg mountain pass, you will experience your first unforgettable camping experience. The camp is not fenced, so the animals can come to graze in the camp site, if that is not a separate experience! To admire many animals, you can also sit at the watering place for a while.

Year after year, Botswana is the country in southern Africa that has the fastest growing economy. The government of Botswana has recognized that mass tourism would not do the country any good. She has, therefore, rarely issued expensive concessions in areas that are attractive to tourists. These provide a lot of income for the country, good employment opportunities and a not too large flow of tourists. So that makes it all extra special to be able to drive around in your own accommodation and admire the beautiful nature.

The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust is a project that was established in 1992 to protect the white rhinos in this area so that the population can be increased by reproduction. The facilities at the Mokongwa Camp are a short distance from the entrance gate and are also accessible without four-wheel drive.

Your next adventure will take you to the Makgadikgadi Pans. Make sure you leave early today because you have a long drive ahead.

The Makgadikgadi Pan is a huge so-called “salt pan” in the north-east of Botswana. This salt pan was created because the large Makgadikgadi lake, with an original surface area as large as Switzerland, completely dried up thousands of years ago. Makgadikgadi pan is one of the largest in the world, the area actually consists of a number of separate pans (Sua / Suwa, Ntwetwe and Nxai) of which Sua is the largest. The pans are vast dry plains with a kind of salt crust as the top layer. Grasses, acacias and the occasional beautiful thick Baobab grow on the edges of the pans. The Makgadikgadi and Nxai pans together form the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pan National Park.

All roads in the park are unpaved and only accessible with a 4 × 4 powered vehicle! Your Landcruiser will come in handy here. Always make sure you have enough water, food, a good map of the area (signage is missing) and fuel when you enter the park.

The next night you will camp at Khumaga Campsite.

Are you ready for another interesting ride today after which you can relax in The Old Bridge Backpackers. Your camping place for the next three nights is located on the banks of the Thamalakane River in Maun. This river comes from the Okavango Delta and the catchment basin for the excess water in the delta.

It is not difficult to find your way in Maun. The masts at the airport are often a good landmark. The airport is in the center of the town.

Maun is the gateway to the Okavango Delta. You can book various activities / excursions to the delta at your campsite. For example, take a trip by mokoro, a traditional canoe, a boat trip, a guided walk or take a wonderful flight over the delta!

In Maun there is also an office of the Widllife Office where you will have to pay your entrance fees before traveling to the Moremi National Park. At the parks themselves it is no longer possible to pay. Also make sure you purchase all supplies here, because nothing is available in the parks themselves (from fuel to drinking water and food). Furthermore, there is nothing to get along the way, apart from basic necessities in the village of Khwai, just outside North Gate. This store is not always well supplied; therefore prefer to take everything from Maun.

The Khwai Campsite has 10 places within the park. There are beautiful trees on the campsite, but it is better not to park your camper here. Baboons and other monkeys like the fruits of the trees but also cause falling fruit. Baboons love food and are cheeky enough to pick up the sandwiches from your table.

From Khwai you can take a look at Khwai Village, even if you don’t need anything. You can then try to follow a path along the river (north) east towards Machaba. Here the road eventually ends, but you have plenty of opportunity for game. Westwards south of the river towards Xakanaxa the route goes to Dombo Hippo Pools where there is a viewing hut with toilet facilities. The Khwai Hippo Pool is located at North Gate.

Together with Hwange, Etosha and Kruger, Chobe National Park is one of the large, well-known nature reserves of southern Africa. The park is located in the north of Botswana, on the river of the same name. The largely flat surface of Chobe covers around 12,000 km². However, the park is not fenced, so the area in which the game can move is many times larger. Animals migrate freely between Chobe, Moremi, Hwange (Zimbabwe) and the nature reserves in the Caprivi Strip (Namibia).

Describing Savute is not easy. The southern part of Chobe National Park around the Savute Channel evokes many different reactions among visitors, with the vastness of the landscape, the sweltering heat and the search for wildlife leading to exuberant enthusiasm or disappointment. Savute has become especially famous for a number of documentaries broadcast on National Geographic. The unique images of lions that hunt elephants have put the park on the map for good. Only in parks where it can be extremely dry will lions start the hunt for elephants. And Savute is indeed dry, very dry indeed.

The gateway to Chobe National Park is the Sidudu Gate at Kasane on the north side of the park. At the entrance you will receive a ticket with the roads. It is best to stay as close to the river as possible to hit wildlife. Along the river are some picnic areas where you are allowed to leave the car, such as Serondela. The park is open daily between sunrise and sunset. At Ngoma Bridge is also the office of the Botswana Parks Board. As you are heading to Savute in the Greater Chobe National Park, you must report here to show your reservation. After the barrier you turn immediately left to follow the road towards the community villages of Muchenje and Seriba. The road winds through Chobe Forest largely along the river and partly consists of (bad) gravel and deep sand (this is where your high Landcruiser comes in very handy!).

The wilderness experience can be of exceptional quality. Even more than in other parks, water is scarce within Savute. Savute is also known as the area where lion and elephant regularly compete with each other. That is very special because both animals normally leave each other alone. The elephant is too big and dangerous for the lions, but due to the drought, different rules apply in Savute.

Driving within Savute is not easy. The paths are of thick and loose sand, while other paths have a clay-like surface that can cause major problems, especially during the rainy season. A 4×4 camper is of course necessary.

Furthermore, there is nothing to get within the park. There is no fuel between Kasane and Maun. You must therefore bring sufficient jerry cans with diesel or gasoline from Maun, as well as a number of jerry cans for water. Fortunately, water is available at the campsite in Savute. Your reservation entitles you to be in the park from 11 a.m. until 11 a.m. the following morning. If you leave the park later, you will have to pay an extra day at the entrance (around USD 20 per person).

In addition to elephants, you will certainly see hippos and crocodiles. But also impala, zebras, giraffe, kudu and with a bit of luck you can see lions and leopards here.

Ihaha Camping is the only official camping site along the Chobe River, accessible to tourists. The campsite was rebuilt in the beginning of the 21st century to replace the old Serondela campsite and has showers with toilets and washbasins.

You will now want to see water again and no problem you will experience that! You can also ‘taste’ Zambia so you have a lot to see and experience again.

Livingstone is the place where the Victoria Falls fall down into the Zambezi River. The falls are in fact flanked by two places; Livingstone in Zambia on the west side and the village of Victoria Falls on the east side in Zimbabwe.

The Zambezi Waterfront Lodge is 4 km from the Victoria Falls near Siloka Island. Here you have all modern facilities and also a beautiful swimming pool, shop, bar and restaurant. You will park your camper under the trees in the ‘adventure village’ of the resort. You will stay here one night. If you prefer to stay here longer, ask us about the extra price. You can also end your journey in Livingstone (or Kasane) and fly back from here. Ask us about the possibilities!

The small town of Nata that you drive to today is located at the intersection between the road from Maun to Kasane and Francistown. It is a connecting place where you can refuel, eat and possibly spend the night. Nata is 190 km from Francistown and 300 km from both Kasane and Maun. In the area you will mainly find cattle farms. However, it is also situated in a beautiful landscape, making it an interesting stopping place. In the immediate vicinity is the Nata Sanctuary where you can find 165 bird species including flamingos and pelicans.

Adjacent to the Limpopo province of South Africa lies the Tuli Block with a landscape that is different from other parks in Botswana. Tuli Block is called the ‘Hardeveld’ because of the rock formations and dry river beds. The so-called Tuli elephant lives in this park, a type of elephant that differs from the African elephant. You will also find hunters such as lions, leopards, cheetah and hyeana. Giraffes, goats and zebras will also be available. Various Private Game Reserves are located in the Tuli Block, such as Tuli Lodge and Mashatu.

A long drive back to Johannesburg today. If you have booked KLM’s evening flight, this is not a problem. If you fly back to Amsterdam during the day, it is very wise to book an extra night in Johannesburg.