Botswana: Overland Botswana and The Border Crossing from Sth Africa
Border Crossing from Sth Africa to Botswana:
The border crossing is simple and easy.
Had our passport stamped out of SA then moved on to the Botswana control point.
At immigration entry form is completed and we asked for 60 days.
How much alcohol? ....2 bottles red wine...OK
No vehicle check for us.
Further down the road a veterinary stop.
Northern Botswana has had or does have Foot and Mouth so there are many road checks as you cross the country.
Red meat you cannot carry North to South, or West to East but it would seem that at some check points regardless of direction they ask.
Some going South you just drive through 
others you are stopped ???
The vehicle also has to drive through a solution and your shoes both those you are wearing and others, are requested to dip in the soda solution.
Vehicle Import and 3rd Party Insurance:
The carnet is not stamped as it covers all the Sth African Union of Sth Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho.
We paid BWP330 for Road Tax Insurance (about A$ 40 ) for the 60 days
We exited Botswana into Sth Africa in the Trans Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park at Nassob. Here there is no border control facilities and thus the Passports needed to be stamped into SA only at Two Rivers. We could then proceed to Mata Mata to exit SA and into Namibia.
Travel in Botswana:
The main roads are excellent and well signposted in English.
Those in the parks sometimes severely corrugated and they twist and turn through the thorn bushes. If you are at all concerned about you paint work then think again, or take some preventative measurers.
Most will polish out.
Drivers are generally good, we saw no accidents.
At 4 way stop signs the first to stop is the first to go.
Driving at night is not advisable because of the wildlife.
I would suggest a good pair of shoes with a strong sole. The thorns and prickles here will pierce anything. I have even seen then sticking out of the vehicle tyres they are so strong.
Camping & Park Entry:
We safely free camped a number of times, on remote bush tracks and a couple of times in rest areas on major roads.
Park Entry and Camping in the major parks can be a sting.
Chobe, Savuri and Moremi budget on about A$75-100 (US$50 for camping/night + park entry for you and the vehicle)
If the vehicle has international registration it’s more and if it is over 3500Kg and over 7000Kg it is more again!
Just on the northern side of Moremi is the Kwai River. There is a great drive along the river that personally we believe is better than Moremi itself. There is also a vast choice of camping along the river, some with amenities, some with nothing. We stayed at Zanaksiae Cost: BWP 220 each ( A$26 EACH) right on the river, with elephants and hippos at our door step.
However despite the cost, the animals you see in the above three far outweigh the cost and also far better than even Kruger can offer.
Elephants in Camp....WOW....where else!
In those 2 parks and along the Kwai River we saw hundreds of Elephants, Hippos, Giraffes, Impala, etc and good sightings of Lion and Leopard.
Sometimes other places surprise us. A not so good looking camping spot even without any facilities can be far more expensive than another with everything to offer ???
Kubo Island @ A$60/night - Nice place with the Boabab trees, but no facilities - nothing !
Elephant Sands - Up market establishment with everything and lots of elephants - VERY CLOSE- BWP 186 (A$ 20)
Chobe Safari Lodge Camp in Kasane. Up market. Cost: BWP 95/person (A$11/person)
Savuti Camp in Chobe Nat Park Camping Cost: US$50 (A$ 70) PER PERSON !
Note locals are A$12 and Sth Africans A$25/person
Park Entry: BWP120/person/day ( A$15) + vehicle BWP50/day ( A$6 )
Most other private camping places were around A$20 - 25 /night
Booking for National Parks.
We were told if you do not book you will not get into the parks. Also you will not be allowed access for more than a day trip if you do not have confirmed camp bookings.
Many sites are booked out up to 18 months ahead!
Because our itinerary is always flexible we could not book however only once did we miss camp accommodation in a national park. At that particular site the attendant at the gate did not even look she just said FULL , yet we know many people do book and for many reasons just do not turn up. If you are not booking it would be best to keep away from the Sth African school holidays and perhaps the European vacation times.
Food:
Spar and Choppies supermarkets are in most larger towns and offer a good selection of everything. I estimate the prices are slightly less than half of in Australia and about 10% less than South Africa.
Fuel:
At PWB 7.25/litre (A$0.90) it is less than Sth Africa.
Both 500 and 50 PPM Diesel is available.
Engen normally has only 500PPM and Shell & Caltex 50PPM.
More than twice we found service stations had run out of Diesel but in another servo in town it was available.
Water:
Available from some camp grounds, service stations, occasionally the town bore.
Internet:
We purchased an ‘Orange’ SIM card for data only, for BWP160 ( A$16) 1 month with 800MB of Data.
However Orange will not share via hotspot with anything Apple.
Hence I had to purchase a Mascom SIM card also for the same price to achieve internet for my Apple Computer via my Apple phone. Price was the same as was coverage.
We were surprised that coverage was available in most small villages and about 5kms either side.
For our actual Travel Diary through Botswana see: GoannaTracks Botswana
Return to: DIY Kit For Overland Travel