Botswana from Johannesburg: a road trip, wild camping, and wildlife spotting!

Welcome to the Stockpoort Border! A border crossing? Indeed! This small farming settlement can hardly be called a village, but it is ideally located just 500 metres from the border with Botswana! The perfect place to break up the drive! It’s about a 5-hour journey.

Off to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, about a 3-hour drive from the Stockpoort Border. The Khama Rhino Sanctuary in Serowe covers around 8,585 hectares and is home to both white and black rhinos, along with over 30 other species and a variety of birdlife. Enjoy a game drive through the area as you travel from waterhole to waterhole. There are plenty of interesting activities to book at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, including rhino tracking, giraffe tracking, nature walks, and guided game drives.

Today, the journey continues to the largest and most remote reserve in southern Africa, an area larger than the Netherlands: Central Kalahari Game Reserve! Here, you'll find a vast diversity of landscapes, views, and wildlife, including many oryx and other animals. The Kalahari Desert is known for its vastness and dryness, which is where the name 'the great thirst' comes from. During the rainy season, when the Okavango River floods, large herds of springbok, elephants, buffaloes, and wildebeest gather by the water. You can also find meerkats, brown hyenas, and Africa’s big cats, such as cheetahs, leopards, and the famous black-maned Kalahari lions.

You'll drive on to the Makgadikgadi National Park. Here, you'll feel truly alone in the world, surrounded by kilometres of nothing but open plains and wildlife. With some luck, you might spot cheetahs, foxes, or hyenas. A sunset from a remote camping spot is unforgettable, just like the world-famous salt pans. Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pan National Park form an expansive area full of baobab trees. Visit the nearby Nata Bird Sanctuary for flamingos and pelicans. And don't forget to meet the famous Timon, one of the meerkats that have become accustomed to human company!

Maun, Botswana’s safari capital, is the third largest city in Botswana, located along the Thamalakane River and at the heart of Ngamiland. Maun is practically the only sign of civilisation around the various safari parks of Botswana. So, make sure to take the opportunity to fill up the car’s petrol tank and stock up at the supermarket. Put your feet up at your accommodation or at one of the charming restaurants and bars in Maun. Our favourite: the Okavango Craft Brewery!

Explore the magical Okavango Delta, one of the most visited destinations in Southern Africa, but not easily accessible due to the many rivers, lakes, and marshes. The constantly changing water levels make accessibility challenging, meaning a boat trip or flight is essential for a spectacular experience. The Mokoro trip offers the ultimate Botswanan experience, drifting through the delta in search of wildlife, with stops for lunch, game walks, and refreshing dips. Enjoy sunsets reflecting on the still water and overnight on an island, deep in the bush, for a true off-the-beaten-track adventure under the starry sky.

Moremi Game Reserve, one of the best game areas in Botswana, thanks to the Okavango Delta reaching the interior here. The park offers a diverse landscape with streams, lakes, mopane forests, lagoons, and acacia woodlands. Elephants are abundant here; you sometimes have to manoeuvre around them! The water also attracts an abundance of birds. Lions, hyenas, wild dogs, and even leopards can be spotted here. With wildlife freely roaming near the campsites, you truly feel one with nature. This is adventurous, off-the-beaten-track, and unforgettable – an experience that showcases the wilderness of Botswana at its best.

Welcome to Chobe National Park, where adventure awaits on challenging routes that take you deeper into the wilderness. Prepare for encounters with Africa's diverse wildlife, from elephants to rare wild dogs. The park, bordering the Okavango Delta, is home to large herds of elephants along the Chobe Riverfront and offers floodplain grasslands that attract birds and migrating zebras. Lions, antelope, and hippos inhabit the forests and lagoons around Linyanti Marsh. Explore the untouched nature and dirt trails, and be prepared for encounters with animals as you navigate through water, pits, and mud. Chobe National Park offers an unforgettable safari experience in the heart of Africa.

Kasane is located near Africa's '4 corners', where Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia meet. Because Kasane is right next to the Chobe River, there are plenty of opportunities (such as from the lodge) to spot wildlife enjoying the refreshing waters of the river. Elephants (lots and lots of elephants), buffaloes, and hippos are frequent visitors, cooling off and recharging. Kasane is the perfect base for going on safari in Chobe National Park and for visiting the Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls is the widest waterfall in Africa, with a water curtain spanning over 1,700 meters wide and 100 meters high, and approximately 500 million litres of water falling over the rock face every minute. Explorer David Livingstone described the falls as: "such lovely scenes must have been admired by the angels as they flew." Victoria Falls is compact enough to walk around, making it an ideal base for travellers wishing to explore this seventh wonder of the world! Stroll along all the viewpoints of the falls and feel the mist from every direction. Make sure your camera is well-protected, as you will definitely get wet from the power of these falls!

Today, you'll drive for about 4 hours from Kasane to the small village of Nata. It's the perfect spot to visit the Nata Bird Sanctuary. Around Elephant Sands, you'll find a massive population of elephants! Due to the area's dryness and the borehole at Elephant Sands, you'll see herds of elephants drinking throughout the day.

After a long drive of about 7 hours, you'll reach the Tuli Block, Botswana's best-kept secret. This private game reserve is an alliance of various concessions and is one of the largest in Southern Africa. Located in the east of Botswana along the Limpopo River, it borders South Africa and Zimbabwe. The landscape is rocky, with impressive rock formations and gorges, surrounded by large, ancient trees and inselbergs. Here, you'll find the largest elephant population on private land, around 1,200 strong, which has earned the area the name "Land of Giants." Explore the beautiful surroundings, diverse birdlife, and other wildlife!

Prepare for a long drive of about 7 hours to Johannesburg! You'll leave the private game reserve Tuli Block behind and head to the trendy Jozi, as the locals call it.

Back in Johannesburg. Everything comes to an end, including this beautiful adventure through Botswana. Fully rested, you pack your bags to catch the flight home. With a healthy glow on your cheeks, you board the plane, and with your eyes closed and your seat reclined, you drift off, reminiscing about the amazing adventures you've had. Full of inspiration and an overdose of beautiful memories, you open the front door. Welcome home! One adventure over, but richer in experiences. Thank you for booking with Charlie's Travels!