Our Route through Botswana………
GENERAL
Park Fees and Tariffs
The Botswana Parks Board has recently increased the park
fees and tariffs dramatically. The new
tariff structure came into effect from 1 April 2000 and is as follows:
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Park/Reserve Entry Fees (Privately Organized Tours) per person per day (Pula) |
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Citizens |
Residents |
Non-Residents |
|
18 years and over |
10-00 |
30-00 |
120-00 |
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8 –17 years |
5-00 |
15-00 |
60-00 |
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Under 8 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
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Park/Reserve Entry Fees (Tours through Botswana registered and licensed tour operators, lodges and hotels) per person per day (Pula) |
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Citizens |
Residents |
Non Residents |
|
18 years and over |
10-00 |
30-00 |
70-00 |
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8-17 years |
5-00 |
15-00 |
35-00 |
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Under 8 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
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Camping Fees per person per day (Pula) |
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Citizens |
Residents |
Non-Residents |
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18 years and over |
5-00 |
20-00 |
30-00 |
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8-17 years |
2-50 |
10-00 |
15-00 |
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Under 8 |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Fees for Motor Vehicles – Private
motor vehicles under 3500kg, per day (Pula)
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Botswana Registered – 10-00 |
Foreign Registered 50-00 |
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The new tariffs represent an increase of more than double the old tariffs and visiting the Botswana Parks has now become a very costly business. Spending a night at the Nxai Pan or Ihaha will now cost you 270-00 pula per person per day (120 x 2 + 30) and an additional 50 pula per day for the vehicle. Bearing in mind that the pula is stronger than the rand, visiting the Botswana Parks has become out of reach for most South African tourists. In addition, under the old system, if you left the park by 10 am you did not have to pay park entrance fees for that day. Under the new system however you have to pay park entrance fees for each day spent in the Park irrespective of whether you arrive late in the afternoon or leave early in the morning. Paying heavy park entrance fees would not be such a problem if you felt that you were getting value for your money. Unfortunately, however, we found that the park officials, particularly at Chobe, were unhelpful and generally disinterested. We were for instance, not given any information about the appalling state of the roads between the Chobe gate and Savuti. In addition, we were made to feel guilty for interrupting the 5-odd wardens playing cards in the park offices to make enquiries about game sightings etc. We also found the roads in an abysmal condition (although this was largely due to the heavy rains in the area) and the facilities at the campsites to be dirty and in need of maintenance.
Our general impression was that the new park tariff structure was aimed directly at milking tourists for additional revenue and it left a rather bad taste! We had thought that we would over night at the Nxai Pan on our way up to Chobe as this seemed, to us, to be a perfect place to break our journey from Maun to Kasane. However, once we discovered that a night at the Nxai Pan was going to cost us over 600 pula (almost R1000-00) and we only arrived there at 6pm in the evening and were planning to leave for Chobe the next morning – it was just not worth our while and we had to cancel our night there! A real pity, as I am sure that this will be the approach of many tourists in our position.
Booking for the Botswana Parks
Bookings for the Botswana Parks must be done centrally through the reservations office in Maun at the following address:
Parks and Reservations Office, Department of
Wildlife and National Parks, P O Box 20364, Maun, Tel: 66 1265 and Fax:
66 1264
We tried on more than one occasion to get through to the Maun
office but to no avail. The phone was constantly engaged. When we arrived in Maun and went to
the office the mystery of the engaged phone was revealed – the parks officials
lounge around the office and make a constant stream of personal and social
calls. We would recommend trying to book your stay in the Botswana Parks by
fax!
Unfortunately there are very few campsites in each of the parks. At Ihaha in Chobe, for instance, there are only 8 campsites. It is therefore necessary to book your campsites well in advance! We were lucky to find a booking at Chobe and it was only because there had been so many cancellations due to the floods.
Moremi
We visited Botswana in early April and when we arrived we discovered that Moremi was closed. The recent heavy rain had meant that the roads were in a dismal condition and a couple of vehicles had got stuck. The Parks Board was not able to tell us when Moremi was expected to reopen. In addition, the road between Moremi and Savuti via the Mbabe Depression was also closed.
We were advised that we could camp at Ihaha, which is
situated on the Chobe River and has replaced the old Serondela which
has been closed, and at Savuti. We
booked a night at Ihaha and planned to travel to Savuti,
overnight there and return the next day.
We had not bargained on the absolutely terrible condition of the roads between
Ihaha and Savuti. Traveling to Savuti
we followed the road to the Ngoma gate and then out of the park via Mabele,
Kavimba and Kachehabwe to Savuti. This road is covered in very thick sand
punctuated with corrugations and traveling along it is incredibly slow and
grinding. The trip took us most of the
day to complete. The roads surrounding Savuti
had been badly flooded and there was still a lot of water lying in puddles
on the road. In addition, the roads
were exceptionally muddy. After
spending a night at Savuti we headed back to Ihaha via Zweitse
Pan and Nogatsaa Camp. Well, if we had thought that the other route
to Savuti was bad the drive back to Ihaha was a nightmare. The road was non-existent and in many places
passed directly through the pans. Aside
from the water on the road much of the road had been washed away and there were
huge muddy dongas and potholes. At some places the track was so unused and
covered with long grass that we were sure that we had strayed off the main
route and had to navigate our way back by using our GPS. The drive of about 160 km’s took us between
8 and 9 hours to complete! The only
other vehicle we saw the whole day was a rental 4x4 that had taken on water and
had sunk in the pan! The driver and
passengers of the vehicle had been forced to abandon all their gear and their
vehicle and walk back to Savuti (a distance of about 50km’s). We later
heard that Savuti had been closed a couple of days after we had left Chobe. Our vehicle managed the trip relatively
unscathed but did suffer a bent track rod which we had to repair in Ihaha (by
heating it over a fire and banging it back in to shape) We would recommend a
careful check on conditions and all the roads in the park before attempting the
drive to Savuti. The distance
between Savuti and Ihaha is also too much to do comfortable in
one day. If you intend to travel this route we would recommend staying at least
two days at Savuti. Of course,
once Moremi has reopened the traditional route will be available again –
that is to travel to Savuti from Moremi via the Mbabe
Depression and then on to Ihaha.
From Gantsi we headed north to Maun. The route passes through D’kar and Toteng and is tarred for a portion of the way. We were told that the whole route should be tarred before the end of the year. The dirt road was however in relatively good condition.
There are a variety of accommodation options in Maun, ranging from the popular campsites to hotels. We stayed at Audi Camp which would appear to be the most popular of the campsites and is located on the Thamalakane River, 12 km’s outside Maun on the Shorobe Road and route to the Moremi gate. Camping at Audi Camp costs 20-00 pula per person per night and there are rustic ablutions. There is also a restaurant which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, a bar and a swimming pool which is popular with the locals in the evenings. Tented accommodation is also available and it is also possible to rent tents, sleeping bags, mattresses, pots, tables and camping stools. Audi Camp is also able to arrange a variety of excursions including drive or fly-in mokoro safaris. The camp is a good option as it is safe and secure, there is good shade and it provides a good spot to stay over before heading into the delta. For more info email Audi Camp at audicamp@info.bw.Tel 66 0599 / 663005 Fax 660581
The best value is
the trendy Bull and Bush Bar and Restaurant which is situated
opposite the Maun airport and offers great pizzas and burgers. Also try the Power Station or
the restaurants at the various camps on the outskirts of town.
The Okovango river is described as “the river which never
finds the sea” and it disappears into a 15 000 sq km maze of lagoons, channels
and islands. It’s the largest inland delta in the word and abounds with bird life
and other wildlife. The best way to
explore the delta is on a mokoro, a wooden dugout that is pushed along by a
guide through the shallow waters.
Other options
If you don’t want
to spend 2 or 3 days on a mokoro, another option available is for you to fly
out to one of the islands in the Southern or Eastern Delta and to camp out
there for a couple of days. From one
of the island camps you will then be able to do short half day or day trips
out into the Delta on a mokoro. Probably
the best option is Gunn’s Camp situated on the Boro River,
overlooking Chief’s Island and bordering on the Moremi
Reserve. Here you can camp at Gunn’s Bush Camp for US$15-00
per person per night. You have to fly out to Gunn’s so make sure you budget
for the price of the flight (about US$130-00 per person).You may also want
to hire your tents, cooking gear etc at Gunn’s when you get there so that
you do not exceed the 10kg weight limit for the flight. Gunn’s Bush Camp
has hot showers, flush toilets, a restaurant and bar and from here you can
hire a mokoro for about US$70-00 per day.
There is a range of luxury accommodation available at Gunn’s starting
from about US$295-00 per person per night.
Remember that if you are going to be traveling in to the area of the
Delta that forms part of the Moremi Reserve you will need to pay park entrance
fees. Contact Gunn’s at Private Bag 33,
Maun, Botswana. Tel: 267 660 023;
Fax 267 660 040; email gunnscamp@info.bw.
From Nata we headed north to Kasane – once again the road is tarred and in good condition but there is no petrol or diesel between Nata and Kasane – a distance of about 300km.Keep your eyes open while driving along this route – we saw lots and lots of elephants!
- Chobe
is associated with a whole host of urban legends. Two that you will hear
over and over are the ones about the drunk student sleeping outside of his
tent who had his face munched by a hyena and the one about the woman who
tried to bath in the Chobe River and was taken by a crocodile! The
truth is there are lots of crocs, hippos, lions and hyenas around so be
careful! Don’t swim and don’t sleep out of your tent.
- You cannot take firewood into Chobe. There is also none for sale. You therefore have to collect your own firewood which involves driving through the park and should you see a piece of suitable wood, stopping, avoiding elephants and lions and putting the log on your roof! Dangerous at best. You really do need a fire at night in Chobe to keep the animals away.
- You cannot venture into Chobe without a 4x4 vehicle – the roads are pretty rough and cannot be attempted in a 2x4.
- Baboons are a huge problem in Chobe. In fact, the old Serondela camp has been totally overrun by baboons. On our second night in Ihaha we were visited by a troupe of baboons who thought it was great fun to jump on our roof rack etc. On a serious note, make sure that everything is baboon proof before going to bed!
- Make
sure that you have a basic repair kit before entering Chobe as the
roads are pretty bad. You will have to deal with thick sand, water,
corrugations, dongas and potholes.
- We
found that our radiator got filled up with grass seeds and mud – we would
recommend that you fit a mesh netting in front of the radiator to catch as
much of the much as possible.
- Make
sure that you have a fire extinguisher on board – that works! We saw more
than one burned out car and were advised that grass seeds can get caught
near the exhaust. They apparently start smouldering and can cause the
vehicle to catch a light.
- There
is no diesel or petrol available in the Park so make sure that you are
carrying enough diesel or petrol to get you in and out (taking into
consideration your game driving).
- The maximum speed limit in the park is
40km per hour.
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