Botswana? Namibia? Travel advice pls.

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thatsnotmypuppy

War Child
Joined
Dec 17, 2004
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I'm heading to South Africa in a few weeks for 8 days or so. I only actually have a day or so worth of work to do in Jo'burg and feel the urge to travel further afield. One idea was heading south to Cape Town - on the other hand since I need to be in Jo'burg, I thought I might head up north - to Gaborone and then onto the Okavango Delta. Or perhaps Namibia. Maybe just the Kruger National Park. I dont want to go further afield due to time restarints - but I feel with 5 or so spare days I reckon I can pretty comprehensively check out one particular place.

I dont know how many GB'ers have been to Sub-Saharan Africa (Obviously Mo and - shudder - maybe James) but any ideas? I am really hung up on the idea of Botswana as I am a huge fan of the 'No1 Ladies Detective Agency' books and also really want to see the Okavango. Then again Namibia has always fascinated me.

Then again I could see Lesotho and Swaziland - maybe into south Mozambique and back.

So consider this - 5 days, not wanting to fly any further than 2 hours from Jo'burg and I'm fairly adventurous. I guess I don't want to spending a fortune either.

Ideas?
 
Have you been to Cape Town before? If not, you might want to reconsider your decision to head up north!
 
I've been to Cape Town a few times - not for 5 years or so. I thought of visiting Durban but I wouldn't mind going somewhere still relatively close - just... different.

I am leaning towards Botswana or even Mozambique.
 
I see. In that case, head north of the highveld by all means! I know I'm very biased, but I always tell people that Cape Town is the one place they have to visit before they die. :wink: Durban's not up to much. You'd be better off going to the Drakensburg or something if you decided to stay in SA for the remainder of your time there.

I've never been to Botswana before, but I can certainly vouch for Namibia's beauty. We went on a 4x4 trip in the Kalahari a few years back with some friends, and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I'm sure there must be groups around there that will take tourists on similar expeditions. I've also heard that the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana is supposed to be quite good, so that might make a nice alternative to the Kruger Park.
 
I have not been to Botswana, but my uncle who lives in Namibia routinely takes people there if they are the sort who really love wildlife. So if you fall into that category, go.

I'd personally go to Namibia.
 
I've only ever been to east Africa, but Namibia is tops on my most wanted list. I've talked to a few people who have been all over the world and Namibia seems to always rate very close to the top of their lists. I guess it depends on distance and time though.
 
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