Camping in Botswana: these are our experiences!

Camping in Botswana has been one of the most intense and adventurous journeys for us in southern Africa. We discovered the wilderness and wildlife in Moremi and Chobe on our camping trip and experienced the indescribable. As the camps in Botswana are not fenced, all wild animals can pass through the campsites and stay there. Absolutely anything can happen! In this article we write about our experiences of camping in Botswana.

Campsites and facilities

In Botswana there are many different campsites. Some of them are in particularly attractive locations as they are directly inside the protected areas. We stayed at several such campsites in the Moremi Game Reserve and in Chobe National Park. Camping in Botswana is something very special because the campsites are not fenced. That creates a sense of excitement and the odd crazy experience. You can find out more about this in the next section.

The campsites in Botswana are relatively simply equipped. The facilities usually include a wash block with toilets and showers. In some camps there is running water only at certain times of day. There was even one time when a pump did not work and we had no water in the wash block for a whole day. Our vehicle was equipped with a water tank so we could always wash our hands. The individual campsites – the pitches where we stayed – are usually very large and often at some distance from the neighbouring pitch.

At every campsite we had a fire pit, a tap and a rubbish bin, which was emptied regularly by the campsite staff. The staff, by the way, live near the camps.

The camps in Moremi and Chobe are run by the companies SKL Groups and Xomae Group. You can book the campsites yourself through these two operators. The booking procedure is sometimes a bit confusing and cumbersome. We’ll soon be adding a separate article with our tips on how you can book your camps yourself.

We have already put together our own information about the camps in Ghanzi (El-Fari Bushcamp) and Maun (Audi Camp).

This is what happens when camping in Botswana

Absolutely anything can happen when camping in Botswana. “Make a big fire because of the wildlife!” – this was the advice the campsite staff gave us. Okay, our tension before the first evening in the wilderness went up a notch at that moment. It did not get any better when we had to sign a waiver confirming that we were staying here at our own risk. In other words, if we get eaten, it’s our own fault.

So on the first evening we climb into the safe roof tent shortly after darkness falls – just after six in the evening. Yes, you heard right! In May it gets dark in Botswana shortly after six. It does not take long that evening before we hear a recurring cracking sound in our immediate vicinity. After what feels like an eternity of having no idea what kind of animal might be standing in the bush, we can make out an elephant in the beam of our torch. An elephant that is coming straight towards us. We hold our breath in excitement as it stands right in front of the tent and finally walks on. The next day we examine its footprints, which run one metre past our tent. That was an indescribably wonderful experience!

We have elephant visitors quite a few more times on our Botswana self-drive trip. At every campsite in the protected areas these large animals come by. Not always so close, but they regularly cross the camps.

Setting up your campsite to be as safe as possible

So that we could sit by the fire a bit longer in the evenings even after dark, we always set up our camp according to the same principle. In front of the fire pit we parked the car in such a way that there was space for the chairs and table between the vehicle and the fire.

We always left the Land Cruiser doors open so that we could jump in quickly in an emergency. Sometimes the door was wide open, sometimes we just left it ajar.

So that we could see an animal approaching from the left or right behind the car as early as possible, we hung lamps on both sides of the vehicle to illuminate the surroundings a little. We can recommend this camp light without reservation. It served us well in Botswana. The lamp can be charged via a USB port and has different brightness levels. In our upcoming packing list we’ll go into the advantages again in more detail.

Our 5 essentials for camping in Botswana

For Botswana we wrote ourselves a fairly extensive packing list. Besides warm and summery clothes the equipment in particular played a major role. We kept asking ourselves what the truly essential things on our trip actually were. These items were indispensable for us:

• Pee bottle
• Head torch
• Matches / lighter
• Binoculars
• Pocket knife

The first item is not something you casually chat about. And we can hardly believe ourselves that we are writing about a pee bottle. But just the feeling of having it with you and not having to nip into the nearest bush at night for a wee brings huge peace of mind. Sure, a real adventurer would most likely solve the problem differently. We prefer to travel the world as scaredy-cats :-).

Did you know that you can also find us on YouTube? You can watch our vlogs from Botswana there.

Do you still have questions or suggestions about camping in Botswana? Feel free to write to us in the comments and tell us what is on your mind! We look forward to hearing from you!