BootsnAll Travel Community

I'll be embarking on my first visit to Africa this summer and am looking for advice/suggestions. Here's our preliminary route: (1) Victoria Falls, (2) Shesheke (to meet a friend), (3) Chobe, (4) Moremi/Maun, (5) Swakopmud (via Windhoek), (6) Sossosvlei, (7)Fly out of Windhoek.

-We have about 2.5 - 3 weeks to travel. We're allotting about 3 days in Chobe and 3 days in Moremi. Does this seem like an appropriate amount of time? Other suggestions?

-Is it feasible to drive from Katima Mulilo to Maun via Chobe and Moremi?

-What is the possibility of renting a vehicle in Livingstone and dropping it off in Windhoek? Has anyone encountered problems crossing borders with a rented vehicle?

Any other comments or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks

I have no experience with taking cars across borders in Southern Africa, but my guess would be that that doing so with a rental car will involve more paperwork than you'll appreciate.

My suggestion is to fly in to Windhoek, rent a car there and do a loop to the places you mention and return the car in Windhoek and fly out of there again. It may even be your only option. But you'll have to get in touch with a rental company and ask them about it.

IF you do this, I would suggest not going to Chobe, but instead drive from Windhoek to Etosha National Park, which is likely to offer a more interesting safari experience. This cannot be guaranteed. The most fascinating encounters with animals can happen anywhere, even outside national parks, but on average, your chances of something extraordinary will be better in Etosha.

From Etosha you can drive on the Caprivi Strip in northern Namibia almost all the way to Victoria Falls. I don't know this, but you MAY be better off leaving the car in Botswana for a few days while you go and see the Falls. Getting transportation there should not be hard, and certainly not expensive. As you know, Zimbabwe is falling apart. You do NOT want to run out of petrol there, as refueling may simply not be an option. And IF the car is stolen there, it's gone. So I suppose insurance may be rather costly.

Then you can drive via Nata and the salt plains to Maun, and get on an Okavango tour. If you pay enough, you can do that comfortably. The cheapest options, basically going in dugout canoes and sleeping in tents, can be incredibly hot. Either way, it's an experience you will remember for a long time.

Finally, driving through the high desert back to Maun is an easy drive. You can fit Swakopmund either in the beginning or the end of your trip.

Incidentally, I've done the Vic Falls - Chobe - Maun - Okavango - Windhoek trip in a semi-organized way. If you'd like to read about it, head for http://bjornfree.com/ and make your way towards the Africa pages. More specifically, you can get a PDF from the Africa chapter of a book I've written, at http://bjornfree.com/PDF_Africa.html

Good luck, and happy trails!

Bjørn

I think Chobe is more interesting than Etosha. Because there is Chobe River, you can see a lot hippos frolicking in the water. While in Etosha, it is mostly waterhole and I do not recall seeing any hippos.

From Chobe, it is a short drive to Kasane. From Kasane, you can take a ferry crossing into Zambia. After entering Zambia, you are only 80 kilo away from Livingstone, which is the base for Victoria Falls sightseeing. In this case, you can bypass Zimbabwe completely and not worry about all those hassles (Well, I know I shouldn't suggest that since Zimbabweans in Victoria Fall Town really need tourist money to support them, but...). Zambia tourist infrastructure traditionally is not as good as Zimbabwe, but they have been picking up a lot in the past few years. And yes, you can take your car with you on the ferry and you cab get entry visa for $25 (as of May 2007) at the border.