Zambia and Botswana

General Travel Information

How to use the guide :: Fly-in tips :: Driving :: Border Crossings :: Road Blocks :: Car hire :: Prices :: Malaria :: Time of year :: What to pack :: What to leave unopened :: Currency :: Telephones :: Contacting places in the guide :: Mobile/Cell phones :: Tipping

Top tips: Zambia :: Botswana

Although there are only seven entries in Zambia and Botswana in this book, they are perhaps the most redolent of what GG is all about. Both countries are littered with lodges but very few of them are independently run… or have that extra character and charm that make a stay so much more than a few animal sightings. This is always down to the management and ownership and I think you will agree, if you do decide to set off on an African adventure in these regions, that you are better off with seven great places than a choice of 60 whose blessings are mixed. Honeymooners take note!

The trail to these new properties was mainly blazed by Sarah Campbell-Pitt on an extended few months of 4x4 adventuring around Southern Africa. Lots of vital extra input for entries has also been provided by Tracy Woodland and Karoline Hanks.

I was contacted by Sarah on her return, still buzzing with all the amazing places she had experienced, and keen to see if GG were going to extend into that area. One conversation was enough for me to offer her the chance to do it herself and she is now the GG editor for the area. If you have any suggestions for next time in any Southern African countries apart for Namibia and South Africa do please send us an email at simon@greenwoodguides.com.

The following introduction to this new area is by Sarah herself.

How to use the guide

Almost all the places that we have featured are owned and run by hosts with a deep knowledge of their area. They are for the most part ‘old Africa hands’, able to bring their wealth of experience to any stay.

There are many ways to approach a visit to these areas. You might choose to jump onto a plane for a long weekend at Victoria Falls or dive into a full 2-week fly-in visit staying with just one of the places featured (that offer lots of variety of accommodation and activities to keep you busy) e.g., South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi, Okavango Delta. Many travellers go for this option as it often comes with the bonus of better rates for a week period than on a nightly rate. Many places also offer specialist safari activities lasting from a few days to over a week: canoe & walking safaris in Zambia or mountain-biking in Botswana. Another option is to fly to a few different places set in a variety of regions, ideally spending 2 to 3 nights at each. With short light aircraft hops you can easily switch between countries.

Another great way of getting to see the ‘connecting parts’ between lodges is to jump behind the wheel of a car and drive yourself. There are a range of places you can reach by normal saloon car (including northern Zambia) and in some instances where roads become too rough you can leave your vehicle at a safe place and be transferred into different areas – the Tuli Block in Botswana for example.

If you want to venture away from the main national network of roads onto secondary dust roads, the vehicle of choice is a 4x4. Before even thinking of embarking on a 4x4 trip make sure you’ve read the section on driving tips! Whilst some of the places featured more commonly have guests arrive by air (due to their remote location) it is possible to drive to almost all of them if you have the experience. You can embark on a few weeks’ trip using the places in the guide as all your stopping points or, as we did, intersperse nights of ‘camping in the wild’ with nights of great comfort. Trust me, when you have had a few dust-covered September days in Savuti and Chobe you’ll never be so grateful to have someone else do the cooking, laundry, guiding and above all a heavenly bed to flop into.

Fly-in tips

If at any stage on the trip you are likely to transfer on a small light aircraft ensure that you use soft duffel bags not exceeding 12kg per person as hard cases don’t fit into the small spaces available for luggage on these planes (or onto the game drive vehicles used for transfers). Light aircraft transfers can usually be arranged by the lodge you are visiting. As you head into the skies make sure you have a camera ready – a flight over somewhere like the Okavango Delta is a spectacular experience on its own!

Driving

Vehicle Requirements

Each country has slightly different vehicle entry requirements. The easiest way of getting the most up-to-date information is from Automobile Association (AA) outlets in South Africa who have details for all Southern African countries. They are able to print out a listing of each country’s requirements. If you are hiring a vehicle the hire company should assist you with the correct paperwork (particularly for any border crossings) and extra items such as warning triangles, reflectors etc.

Choice of Vehicle & Driving Tips

Botswana and Zambia both have a main network of roads suitable for saloon cars. Conditions of these roads can vary from excellent smooth rides to sections of lumpy pot-holed surprises which with a keen eye are possible to navigate. Plan to do all driving during the day and aim to get to your destination in the early afternoon leaving a few hours of daylight for any unforeseen adventures like taking a wrong turn. All agree that driving at night is hazardous and should be avoided. The other standard piece of advice is: never pass a petrol station that has fuel without filling up. Taking this advice to heart meant that when a temporary fuel shortage took place in Zambia we had sufficient fuel for our journey when many were left high and dry. Doubly satisfying!

When the tar gives way to dust so too should a saloon car be exchanged for a reliable 4x4. Many marked ‘dust roads’ are nothing more than bush tracks that are kept open by the passage of vehicles and haven’t seen a grader in their life.

In Botswana and Zambia dirt roads or bush tracks can be challenging and require real off-road driving skills and experience to handle (especially in the wet season when many become impassable). If you have some experience it is well worth brushing up your skills on an advanced 4x4 course in South Africa before leaving on your travels.

It is also vital not to underestimate the length of time it can take to travel a section of these remote dust roads. A particularly memorable 170km stretch of bush track was a bone-rattling adventurous two-day journey! Do your research before setting off; a great place for first-hand information are the lodges you are visiting who will have up-to-date intelligence on the local road conditions. The dry season is by far the easiest time of year to get around in a 4x4.

It’s important to have someone who’s mechanically-minded on your trip and able to do repairs along the way as help can be a few hours or days away. Make sure you have the right tools and spare parts and our absolutely top piece of advice is to take a few rolls of duct tape – it’s amazing what you can fix with this (we ‘taped’ our suspension together along a stretch of road till we found an obliging mechanic who could make a more lasting repair!).

All this said if you have the off-road driving experience, a reliable well kitted-out 4x4, you’ve done your research, got a good GPS, maps, proper supplies of food and water and an excellent sense of adventure there truly is no better way to get the dust of this part of Africa between your toes.

Border crossings

The best advice we were given for border crossings was ‘expect them to take a day and when it takes an hour you’ll be delighted!’ After all our experience in this area we absolutely agree that it’s impossible to judge how long it will take so build extra time into your schedule. Some border points are small and efficient, like the crossing from South Africa into the Tuli Block in Botswana; whilst others are used by long lines of trucks and can take hours – such as Kazungula border into Zambia. Border operating hours are usually strictly enforced; keep this in mind as you travel or you could land up spending the night at a border post waiting for it to open.

Road-blocks (common in Zambia)

We approached our first roadblock with some trepidation having heard tales of ‘officials asking for bribes’. To our joy were only met with the customary vehicle paper questions, big smiles and lots of “how are you enjoying Zambia so far?” Within no time at all we were used to the roadblocks on entering and leaving each town. Best advice we can give - have all your car papers organised ready to present, make sure the vehicle has all the extra ‘bits’ required in different countries - in Zambia you need two warning triangles in the vehicle and reflectors on the front and back, turn off the radio, take off your sunglasses, roll down the window and be ready to give a big cheery smile. Most importantly remain patient and remember to keep your sense of humour and enjoy the range of experiences that these different countries provide!

Car hire

It is possible to hire a vehicle relatively easily in all three countries from major towns/ cities, but which type will depend on the kind of trip you have planned. If you are planning to stick to the main network of tarred roads then a saloon car with high clearance works well. It is vital to do your homework and get as much information as possible about the company and their reputation with vehicles to avoid operators with ‘dodgy’ cars that are bound to break down in the middle of nowhere. 4x4 hire vehicles need to be properly kitted-out which means long range fuel tanks, extra jerry cans, water tank, recovery equipment, spare tyres etc. Some companies offer a ‘back-up’ service so if you break down help is available, a really advisable feature if you’re on a three-week trip and can’t afford to spend two weeks trying to get a spare part! There are also some good companies in South Africa that provide competitive rates for hiring 4x4s.

Prices

Accommodation rates in the three countries is on average higher than South Africa and Namibia. What you pay for is the opportunity to stay in remote, often quite inaccessible corners of wilderness, which means that behind the scenes lodges face real logistical challenges. Some get supplies by plane, others are only able to operate for part of the year and have to re-build camps each season, which all adds to the costs.

Malaria

Malaria occurs throughout the region and it is absolutely essential to take preventative steps throughout the year including taking anti-malarial prophylactics and reducing your exposure to being bitten through use of repellents, wearing long sleeves and trousers in the evening and sleeping under a mosquito net. Always seek the advice of a doctor (travel clinics often provide the most up to date information) to make sure you’re taking the most appropriate medication for the region and yourself. A top tip is to go on the medication a few weeks before you leave home to check how you react to the drugs – many have side effects and it’s better to find out at home rather than in the middle of your dream lodge experience (like I did a few years ago!) so you can change to one that works better for you if necessary. It’s also important to find out what immunisations /vaccinations you might need for each country and leave time to have them done before you leave. Some of the jabs left me feeling like I had flu for a few days, so I would advise getting them done in plenty of time.

Time of year

The climate falls into two distinctive periods across the three countries. May – November is the dry season where game is plentiful with cooler temperatures in June - August (remember to bring a very warm jacket) and much hotter temperatures from September – November. Top temperatures in October in Zambia’s valleys and in Botswana can reach over 40° but the game concentrations around rivers and waterholes provide amazing spectacles that make all the extra sweating worth it. Dec – April is the rainy season (can be hot and sticky) but provides a completely different experience, brilliant for those who have done a few trips into game areas and are looking for something new. Some lodges in Zambia close during this period as roads become impassable quagmires. The lodges that remain open offer different experiences and some offer good ‘green season’ rates!

What to pack

All the places mentioned in the book suggest a similar list of ‘what to take’ which includes: sun things (sun block, hats, sunglasses), game-viewing things (cameras, film, batteries, binoculars for each person) what to wear (comfy walking shoes, in summer lightweight clothes, swimming costume and waterproof for downpours, in winter light clothing for daytime and very warm jacket for evening time) and toiletries (including personal medication). A torch is an absolute must, particularly for those needing to take a trip to the ‘facilities’ at night and wanting to avoid stepping on anything that might have scuttled into your room.

What to leave unopened

Those very tempting duty free perfumes are best left sealed and well wrapped up as African bugs seem to be highly attracted to them and if you’re floating in perfume you’ll probably soon have a swarm of mosquitoes and flies buzzing for your attention.

Currency

All the places featured in the guide use US dollars to give their rates and if you are going on a fly-in type of trip you can get away with just carrying US dollars. If you are driving you will need to have a combination of US dollars and local currency as many places only accept their currency for fuel and supplies.

Top tip for taking in US dollars – only take small denominations $1, $5, $10, $20 bills as many places do not accept larger denominations because of counterfeit $50 and $100 bills. They also are not able to accept old US$ bills – the way to identify these was pointed out by a helpful shop assistant “Old $ bills have ‘small heads’ and new $ bills have ‘big heads’ so make sure you have ‘big headed’ bills!”

Telephones

To dial the following countries from the UK or South Africa use these codes:

Botswana - 00267
Zambia - 00260

Contacting places in the guide

If the telephone number does not work try again later or in a day or two’s time as it can sometimes be difficult to get calls through; storms in the summer months can cause problems with the lines. Not all places mentioned in the guide have telephones as they are located in very remote places and some of them only have email. Remember to take a list of phone numbers and emails along just in case you need to get hold of them during your trip. If you need to send an email you will find that all major towns have some kind of internet café.

Mobile phones

The words ‘great in towns, non-existent in the country’ spring to mind when describing the mobile coverage in the three countries. It is possible to get mobile signal in main towns but this tends to evaporate often within a few kilometres of the town. If you are planning to do a 4x4 expedition onto dust roads it is well worth considering hiring or buying a satellite phone. Whilst it might set you back a bit of money in emergency situations it literally can be your lifeline as many places are so remote that you might not meet anyone else for days.

Tipping

At a lodge a good tip would be in the region of $5 per person per day to put into the ‘camp staff box’ and $5 per day for a guide. You only need to tip your guide at the end of your stay and not after each game drive!

Zambia top tips

Visas

South Africans do not need visas to visit Zambia but visitors from the UK do. We were able to get visas at the border; however it is worth checking latest information with a Zambian embassy as part of the planning of your trip. If you plan to obtain your visa on entering the country the first place you are staying at in the country should organise a ‘visa waiver letter’ meaning you won’t have to pay for the visa. It’s important to discuss this with the first place you are staying in good time so they can send a letter to notify officials at the border post where you enter the country. I recommend arriving with some extra US dollars in your pocket as you can never guarantee whether the ‘waiver’ will be granted or not.

Departure tax

Make sure you have extra dollars left to pay the departure tax at the airport on local (approx US$8) and international flights (approx US$25). These have to be paid in cash so don’t be tempted to spend that last $30 on a curio on your way to the airport like a member of my family did!

Local community involvement

Almost all the places featured in the guide also have on-going links with communities in their local areas. Many play key roles in supporting schools, community projects and actively encourage guests to meet the community and visit the projects. With the rural nature of many of these places staff are drawn from the local area and the experience of going to visit is less of a ‘tourist trap’ and a more genuine opportunity to get to meet more Zambian people and well worth doing. Many of these projects are great examples of how tourism, conservation and community projects can work hand in hand for the benefit of all.

Empty bottles

Now this is a small thing that caught me off-guard. Lusaka was a few hours back and we were ready for our first stop of the day in a small town. I was dying for a cooling fizzy drink. However I had forgotten one important thing – to bring an empty bottle with me. If you don’t have an empty bottle to return many rural shops won’t sell you a full bottle – so remember to buy a few in major towns if you plan on any roadside sodas.

Branches on the road

In Botswana this could mean that a herd of elephants had just dropped a branch they were munching on whilst crossing the road. If you see it on a main road in Zambia it’s more likely to indicate a broken-down vehicle ahead. If you see branches on the road its worth slowing down just in case you meet a pulled-over truck round the next corner.

Botswana - few things to know

Veterinary Fences

In Botswana you’ll also be stopped on a drive across the country at veterinary fence control points. These fences are part of the tapestry of Botswana controlling movement of cattle and wild animal populations and the spread of foot and mouth disease. It’s important to seek local current advice on what restrictions are in place regarding transportation of meat through the country when you visit or you could find yourself having to give up your braai packs from you cooler box at the control points!

Donkeys & wildlife

As Botswana still has areas of unfenced wilderness its important to keep your eyes peeled for animals crossing the roads – both wild and domestic. One morning we met elephants crossing the national road and later the same day in the town of Maun discovered that donkeys really do own the streets.