Family Trip to Bots North April 2019

[Pierre Brink]

Good Morning All,

I am starting to plan a Bots family trip for next year. Please feel free to comment on anything, so:

Who:
Me, Wife, Boy (6) and Girl (4).
Will be joined by other family groups in 4x4 vehicles.

How:
Rented D/Cab 4 x 4 with trailer (Want to pick up from Johannesburg Airport - Any suggestions please)

Where:
Mostly camping but the camps must at a minimum have reasonable ablution facilities.

Trip:
(My in-laws farm close to Machaneng so I plan to start the rip from there.)

Itinerary:
15/04/19 - Machaneng to Tiaans's Camp/Anywhere else close by with chalets
16/04/19 - Tiaan's Camp to Third Bridge Camp
17/04/19 - Third Bridge Camp
18/04/19 - Third Bridge Camp to Khwai Community Campsite
19/04/19 - Khwai Community Campsite to Savuti Campsite
20/04/19 - Savuti Campsite to Muchenje Campsite
21/04/19 - Muchenje Campsite to a Kasane Lodge (Unknown advice appreciated)
22/04/19 - Kasane Lodge
23/04/19 - Kasane Lodge to Elephant Sands Lodge
24/04/19 - Elephant Sands Lodge to Machaneng

Constraints:
Small Children and mildly camping averse spouse.
Budget - Anything within reason is ok.

Other:
Would prefer to see water.
Please feel free to change dates, routes and campsites the only fixed bits are Machaneng and 15 to 24 April 2019.
Please also advise on the easiest way to book this from Qatar.

ANY advice will be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Pierre

[lekhubu943]

You are trying to do too much, you are moving camp everyday. A mildly camping averse spouse will soon turn into a very camping averse one. If you want to see water, just focus on Moremi, but remember April can be extremely wet and muddy depending on rainfall.

You will have to take malaria prophylaxis. If you are not comfortable to give that your kids (they are old enough) then look at a different area like KTP and Mabua rather.

For bookings try Maille, NDM Bots: http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/.../75098-NDMBots

[Groenman]

Hi,

You will get many suggestions, but here is mine:

1. Look at Bushlore for the rental. Not the cheapest, but fairly priced and their cars are in good condition. They do Airport transfers as well.

• Add a night in Maun between Tiaan's Camp and Third Bridge. (Consider a flight over the Delta - worth it and not that expensive - we used Mack Air). In Maun, we enjoyed our stay in the en-suite safari tents at Audi Camp
• I would spend two nights at Savuti
• Senyati is a nice place just outside Kasane to stay. Look at their website, really special if you like elephants
• Senyati also has a shuttle for day trips to Vic Falls
• In Kasane, we used Kalahari Tours for a sunset cruise on the Chobe (which is an absolute must!). They were well-priced.
• Kasane to Elephant Sands is a short trip.
• On the way back past Nata, pop in at the Nata Bird Sanctuary as well for a nice view of the flooded pans

To save time (to perhaps add a night at Maun and Savuti) would suggest skipping Elephant Sands as a last stop - you can easily drive from Senyati back to Machaneng in one day.

We booked through Botswana Footprints. They charged a flat fee of BWP 500 for the booking. Everything was well arranged. Tara has since left them, so not sure how they are currently.

Others have also used NDM Bots

Both are commercial members on this site.

[Duncs]

Hi there,

Note that if your spouse is really camping averse, there is a tented camp option at 3rd bridge campsite, although it is a bit more expensive at about $100 per adult, although kids are free.

Regards

[PAT n WOLF]

I would spend two nights at 3rd Bridge as you booked, and either compromise on Savuti's one night and spend two nights at Khwai or Vice vesa. If she is camping averse, there are options at Third bridge (Tented accommodation) and in Khwai, there is Khwai Guesthouse which is around $120.00 but very nice.