Canadian Robin,

Thanks a lot for sharing ...... wonderful website and very nice reading along with the pictures.

Regards
Hari

I had a wonderful time reading your report and viewing your photos. We were in Botswana (Chobe and the Delta) in late August, but stayed at Muchenje and Mapula. It was just great to read your perspective!

Thanks Wakeham! Have you posted so that I may enjoy your perspective?

Excellent Robin! The pictures and the story are great. Too funny you had Robert go back across the river just so you can get pictures of the crossing!
Thanks for posting!

Thanks Matnitskym! At the time, I didn't realize the risk involved. It wasn't until later that day that we met the German couple who had ruined their car at that same crossing. Yikes!!

Haven’t been here for a little while and look what I’ve been missing! Been looking forward to seeing your photos, Robin, it all reads very well together with the report – I’ve just been through it very quickly now and will read it all through again at my leisure!

It certainly does give everyone an idea of what to expect. I love seeing the non-wildlife shots, you have captured the essence of your trip with your pictures as well as your words – I wish I had taken more photos of local life. It’s ridiculous, but I’m getting so envious reading about your trip and what you saw even though we did much the same route, I keep thinking “How did we miss seeing that???” – silly isn’t it? We’ll have to go and do it all again now. You’ve got me reaching for the map to follow your loops and detours.

I’m still surprised at the amount of water you encountered at that crossing, we didn’t go through anything like that. Funny, my husband thinks he’s the only one who has to do things like that twice/three times so I can get a photo!

Unlucky with the baboons at Ihaha, we certainly didn’t see the troop of 30+, just the one, which was relatively well-behaved. The honey badger was some compensation. Hope campsite #6 was better. Waiting to hear more ...

Favourite photo (so far): Sunset on the road to Third Bridge (elephant) – very atmospheric. I’ve just been to the Wildlife photographer of the Year exhibition in London today and I can honestly say that a photo like this stands up to some of the photos in the competition – maybe also because it takes me back to those spectacular sunsets ..... (sigh)

What about trip reports for the Kgalagadi and Namibia too, please?

And can we see details of your finalised itinerary for Kenya & Tanzania next year?

Thanks again for sharing the trip with us.

It's true - you can miss so much in just a few days away from this forum, can't you?

Funny - I was feeling envious of your trip - how did we miss those leopards and cheetahs in Moremi?

The baboons on site 6 were better - more to follow shortly!

The ellie at sunset is one of Robert's favourite - I believe he is using it as his screen-saver at the moment.

I will eventually (probably after Christmas!) be doing trip reports for the SA and Namibia part of our journey. I started with Botswana so that I could get the report to Safari Drive for their website. So much to do...

The itinerary is posted on this forum under "Input needed - Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania itinerary" - we have pretty much decided to drop the Rwanda part of the trip - it was going to cost almost CDN$10,000 (with Nairobi-Kigali flights, the tour and the permits) - a lot of money for 2 hours with the gorillas. We decided we could see a lot of southern Africa on another trip for that amount. So - we will fly into Nairobi and start the self-drive to Maasai Mara.

Glad your enjoying the site. I am looking forward to reading more on yours. Robin

Robin,

Thanks for posting your photos and report. I'm glad you found SmugMug easy to use.

I have looked through almost all of the photos, but haven't done all the reading yet so I'm sorry if you answered this question, but...how did you use the toilet in the middle of the night if you needed to??

A self-drive looks and sounds wonderful, but I'd be a little concerned about that. Also, it looks like you stayed at campgrounds? I didn't see any other people around....were there actual camp sites?

The photos are incredible and they have certainly made me wan to go check out Botswana!

-Carrie

Hi Carrie! If we had to get up in the night, we just stayed very near the 4x4 and we scanned the area before going out with our floodlight.

We were in national park campsgrounds but the sites are well spaced. We certainly never felt that we were alone - just nicely on our own - if that makes sense!

I'll pass your photo comment on to my husband - he takes most of the photos - I keep the journal! Robin

More great photos & commentary. I love the sunrise photos – how did you get the wildlife to pause just in the right place for you? Robert has caught some of the birds in movement particularly well, the colours of the fish eagle with the tiger fish really shine out. Did you mention anywhere what camera he uses? As for the 3 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' baboons ... cute? I don't think so, they look like the little devils they are with those red shiny eyes.

The village tour looks good, I am usually a bit reticent to do these ‘cultural’ visits, in case they are intrusive, but you seem to have been warmly welcomed.

Since you had the best room on the houseboat (belated Happy Anniversary!), were your houseboat companions happy with their rooms, I’m assuming they must have been a bit smaller?

Keeping an eye out for the next installment. I think you keep adding bits to the first part too (the map is good) so I'll be reading it through again to make sure I don't miss any juicy bits.

Robert uses a Nikon D80 - he has a birthday coming up and I think a new (telephoto) lens is in order!

Robert does seem to have good luck with sunrise pictures - perhaps we are up so early that the wildlife just isn't moving too quickly at that hour!

I usually hesitate with village tours as well. I find them very awkward. I suspect the advantage of this tour was that not many tourists make it to this village - it is in the middle of nowhere and only accessible by boat. We were as much a novelty to them as they were to us. It was great - a highlight of the trip.

I felt a tad guilty about the bigger room on the houseboat. Somehow it seemed disrespectful to our shipmates, who were all older than us. There were a couple of comments when we boarded, but all in good fun! All the rooms were lovely, which helped.

Yes, I do keep sneaking things into the pages that I have already completed. I keep thinking of things that I have overlooked - like the map. Duh! I am almost done - just a couple of more days - we leave for Canada via Livingstone.

After Christmas, I will start the SA and Namibia reports. Robin

You have the field guide for self drive here.

Beautiful sunsets and the Chobe River always comes through with an elephant herd. Lots of nice people shots and the ground hornbill and lilac breasted roller were good bird pics. I liked the fighting giraffes. Standing on top of the landrover must have produced some good sightings.

Thanks Lynn! The photo credits go to my husband - he takes most of the pictures. The giraffe necking was one of our most memorable breakfasts.

I am embarassed to say that it took us a few days to think of climbing up on the roof of the 4x4 to have a look around. Duh! That's how we spotted the leopard.

The trip report and photos are now complete! Robin

Wonderful photos, great captions/explanations. Thanks for sharing these!

Glad you got up there in time for the leopard. Forgot to mention, it's nice to see a Fish Eagle with a fish.

Me too! I thought Robert was kidding when he called down to say he had spotted a leopard.

We cheated a bit with the fish eagle - with the Ichobezi staff feeding the fish to the birds! Robin

Hi Robin,

I finished reading your trip report and it makes me want to go on a self-drive! Awesome!

Just wondering, do you think someone would realistically be able to do this type of trip alone? I don't even know if the company accommodates single travelers, but I thought I'd ask your opinion before I make any inquiries.

Oh, and I don't have any experience "off-road" driving except the beach, but I would look into a training class...and I do drive a stick-shift now so I'm already ahead there (although if I have to shift with my left hand, that could be interesting).

Carrie

Hi Carrie! I certainly wouldn't have wanted to do it on my own - I needed the reassurance of knowing that Robert could drive me out in an emergency and vice versa. Mind you, we are probably considerbaly older than you! Also, it would have been far more tiring not to have someone to share the workload (setting up, cooking, packing up etc) with. It would certainly be possible - I can't think of anything that one person couldn't do on their own - but probably not a good idea. If you were to get stuck in deep sand - and lots of people do - it would be difficult to get yourself out. Robin

Robin, thank you for your opinion. I think my problem comes in when I think of sharing that little tent with someone - even if I knew them well (none of my friends or family would do this in any case).

The worst experience of my recent safari was the person I went with and I refuse to let that happen again. Darn, it's hard to be alone in your 30s...especially if you like these types of trips ;-{

Carrie

Carrie, totally agree. I have one friend who loves safari, and she is a great travel buddy but is a bit of a worrier. She would never, ever sign on for self-drive without several nervous breakdowns. And that's without me mentioning the possibility of automobile breakdowns.

It's a tough situation you're in - I don't know what to suggest. Maybe someone on this forum will have an idea. I am lucky to have a husband/travel companion who shares my passion for these trips! Robin

Robin, maybe you or tockoloshe hit this point somewhere and I've forgotten, but what did you or your husband do if nature called after you were tucked in for the night up in the little rooftop tent?

I'm actually not too worried about the possibility of break-downs...I'm pretty independent and capable of taking care of things (I've changed tires, etc.). What would worry me more is basic safety (not from animals necessarily but from people) and also the sand mentioned...I don't know what I would do if I got stuck and couldn't get out (although, I guess that's why you have the phone, right?). Robin, if your husband got stuck in the sand, how would you help him? would you try and push?

Other than those concerns, I actually think it might be very nice to be out there alone - time to think and do your own thing on your own schedule and just enjoy it all without someone else there to drive you crazy.

Leely2, at least you have someone who is pretty compatible for regular safari-type trips. I do agree that the self-drive type trip wouldn't be for a worrier. That's why no one I know could do the self-drive

Carrie

canadian,
I so enjoyed your photos and commentary. What a wonderful trip.
Beautiful to look at and so informative.
Give your DH a pat on the back for us and tell him well done.

Robin,
Will read through your report thoroughly now with the map for reference and hold you to your promise of the next one!

Carrie,
I too think it's a difficult trip to do on your own, though I am loathe to say it, being quite independent myself. I can empathise with the idea of spending time on your own, that bit I could see myself doing, but the practicalities are quite daunting. Even if you can deal with a mechanical breakdown it’s better to have back-up, even if it’s just someone to keep an eye out for wildlife. And 2 heads are better than one when it comes to problem-solving – shall we get stuck crossing that bit of river or that one?? When we got stuck in sand it took both of us some heavy work to dig ourselves out – of course the problem would be the same for 1 or 2 people, if you’re stuck you’re stuck, and would have to wait and hope for help, but two of you can at least keep each other’s spirit up! (we didn’t have a phone so made sure we had sufficient supplies for several days in case such a thing happened). If you’re alone doing all the driving it’s difficult to drive and look out for animals, you’d miss a lot if you’re driving without a ‘spotter’. As Robin said, setting up camp could be done by one person, but sharing the workload halves the time it takes. As for sharing a tent, you can get a Toyota double-cab (like ours) with 2 tents on top, only canvas between you but you’d have your own private space.

Leely,
I often had to answer the call of nature in the night, the more I told myself not to the more I would need to! The advice is not to leave the tent after dark but it’s not always possible! We were usually a long way from the ablutions (when there were any) so had to use the ‘bush toilet’. We found that it was best to make some noise rather than try to do it quietly, that way you don’t surprise anything lurking around, and if you make a noise then animals will look in your direction, so you can shine a torch around and look for shining eyes looking back at you! And be as quick as you can! Could be a bit of a problem on the more crowded campsites, when a vigilant camper might shine his torch in your direction thinking you are a pachyderm on the rampage...! Apologies to readers of a more delicate disposition.

Carrie:
I agree with Tockoloshe - one of us would watch for wildlife while the other digs. If it came to pushing, I would have Robert push while I steered!! Also the "two heads are better than one" is so true - we debated water, bridge and mud crossings amongst other things. I also find that I don't have as much opportunity to enjoy the scenery and game viewing when I am driving - too busy watching the road, even when crawling along. It is nice to be able to share the driving. Tockoloshe's idea of two tents might be a good compromise - I know that Safari Drive only puts one tent on the roof of their vehicles - if there are 3 or 4 people, they provide a ground tent.

Leely:
We tried to avoid getting up at night but that wine at dinner...lethal! When I did get up, we would check the area with our floodlight and then - as Tockoloshe said - skip the ablution block and stay near the 4x4.

Cybor:
Thank you! I will pass your message on to Robert.
Robin

I didn't know that they had models with two tents...hummm...now to find someone who isn't a worrier! Luckily I have a couple years to try and find someone since I'm going to Europe in 2009 (planned before I did my safari otherwise the self-drive may have bumped Italy).

Robin, did you like the time of year that you went on this trip or, now that you're back, would you have chosen a different month to travel?

Carrie

We tend to go to southern Africa in the dry season, when the animals congregate around the waterholes, making viewing easier. However, at that time, it is very dry and dusty and the landscape is a tad brown. The nights can also be quite cool if you are camping. Sometime, I would love to view southern Africa's game parks in the green season. Robin

Thank you so much. I have found my trip to Botswana with your help. I so do not want the "luxury" version. How exciting. I am encouraged.

Glad to be of help! I have just returned (Oct/Nov 2011) from my second self-drive through Botswana - I will be posting photos and a report shortly. CR

Hi Robin,

I am so thrilled to have found your Smugmug postings, they have been so helpful and informative! Thank you for posting such great photos and practical information.

I am hoping you can help me with an issue. We are planning a trip, October 2012, the same time as your last trip.

Due to a tight schedule (Americans with little vacation time!) we would like to drive from Kasane to Maun in one day. Do you think this is possible, taking the route through the National Parks?

Many people suggest we take the road via Nata, but I would much rather take the more scenic route through the parks. We will be driving a Toyota Hilux 4X4, 2 of us in one vehicle, neither very mechanically inclined. The vehicle does have an extra fuel tank and 2 spare tires, etc.

I have asked the advice of our vehicle rental company, based in Swakopmund, Namibia, but they always say they will get back to me, and they never do.

I am hoping you can provide me some insight since you did the same route at the same time of the year recently.

Thank you for any advice you can provide.

Kind Regards,
Jim

Hi Jim
It is not worth the attempt.I drove it once, from Kasane to Maun. Left before the sun was up and arrived at about 9PM. I have driven this many times before and didn't need a map. I would not advise anyone to do this. Without a doubt, keep to the highways and go via Nata. It will still take you most of the day.

Thanks Luangwablondes,

It was not what I wanted to hear, as I was looking forward to driving thru the parks, but the more I have read, the more I realized doing this in one day was not practical, so we will take the highway via Nata. Thanks for the advice.

We will be purchasing Tracks4Africa, but as we have not purchased it yet I have been relying on Google Maps, which, at least in this case, appear to be very inaccurate! Google Maps indicated the drive to be 5 hours! I am hoping that will not turn out to be the case for the rest of the itinerary I have planned.

We will be leaving Kasane on the 21st and need to arrive in Swakopmund no later than the 24th. I know it will involve a lot of driving, but I am hoping our previous 10 days from Swakopmund to Kasane will have been pretty easy, to make up for the “mad rush” of the last few days.

I wish we had more time!

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, I appreciate the advice.