Wild Frontiers

Flight Information

There are no direct flights to Maun, Botswana’s capital city, from the UK. The most common route is via Johannesburg with any of British Airways, Virgin or South African Airways which takes around 16 hours.

Useful Tips

• If visiting the Delta take plenty of mosquito repellent

• Travel to the Okavango in the season from December-March. It receives less than a third of the rain than the Kruger and it's nearly half price

• Don't forget your binoculars - the birding on the Delta is some of the finest in Africa

• See up to 25,000 Zebra migrate through the Makgadikgadi in November

• Be aware of the baggage restriction for aircraft transfers

Recommended Reading

If you want to read up on your destination we recommend a variety of guidebooks such as Bradt Travel Guide, Odyssey Guides, The Rough Guide and Footprint Guides. All these publications have good general information as well as more specific country information that will help orientate you in the areas you visit.

Good books and maps of Botswana are available at Stanfords in Covent Garden, London or online at www.stanfords.co.uk

Relevant Reading:
A good place to start is the much-lauded The Number One Ladies Detective Agency series, by Alexander Macall Smith.

Botswana Time, by Will Randall is an excellent insight into the country as seen through the eyes of a happy-go-lucky teacher from the UK.

On history there is Diamonds, Dispossession and Democracy in Botswana, by Kenneth Good and for wildlife there is Botswana: Photo Safari Companion, by Alain Pons & Christine Baillet and Africa's Top Wildlife Countries, by Mark W. Nolting.

When To Go

This is complicated as Botswana has a variable climate depending on where you are and weather patterns across Africa are becoming increasingly unpredictable. It is not uncommon to see downpours in the middle of deserts and damaging droughts when rains should be falling.

Generally speaking, the rains come between December and March, when the average daytime temperatures hover at about 30°c. Some days will be bright and sunny, some will have afternoon thunderstorms, and some will just be grey. The birding is particularly excellent.

April and May are generally lovely, with the sky clear and the landscape green. Night temperatures start to drop during these months. Places in and around the Okavango tend to have less extreme, more moderate temperatures than the drier areas of the Kalahari.

From June to August the night-time temperatures in desert areas can be close to freezing, but it warms up rapidly during the day, when the sky is usually clear and blue. It's now very much 'peak season' for most safari areas, particularly in the Okavango Delta which is in full flood from June - September.

This continues into September and October, when temperatures climb again, drying the landscapes and concentrating the game even more. This is the best time for big game safaris with wildlife congregating around the diminishing available water sources " although October can feel very hot, with maximum temperatures sometimes approaching 40°C.

November is difficult to predict, as it can sometimes be a continuation of October's heat, but sometimes it's cooled by the first rains.

Packing List

Below is a list of general items you might take with you on a Wild Frontiers trip to Botswana. With your booking confirmation you will receive a packing list specific to your tour, so please treat this as a general guideline only.

Luggage:
It is best to use a soft bag - rucksack/hold-all/duffel bag - so it can be transported and stored more easily.
On all our trips a small daypack is practical for keeping general items (e.g. camera, books, wallets etc.) at hand when your main pack is out of reach. It is also handy for day trips and excursions.

Clothing:
Please remember that with light aircraft and helicopter transfers there is a restriction of 12kg. Excess baggage can be left at our agent’s office in Maun. We find on it is easiest to use a soft bag - rucksack/hold-all/duffel bag - as it can be transported and stored more easily.

On all our trips a small daypack is practical for keeping general items (e.g. camera, books, wallets etc.) at hand when your main pack is out of reach. It is also handy for day trips and excursions.

Clothing:
In general you should bring clothes you feel comfortable with. However, all clothing should be neutral, khaki or bush coloured if game viewing.
Therefore as a guide we suggest a packing list like this:
• 4 x Light cotton shirts or T-shirts, short sleeved and long
• 3 x T-shirts
• 2 x Lightweight jumpers or sweatshirts
• A warm jacket
• Rainproof jacket
• 2 x Pairs of cotton trousers
• Sun hat
• Swim suit or trunks
• Shorts " for the midday break
• Pair of sandals, trainers or pumps

Equipment:
The following is useful extra equipment for your trip:
• Travel towel, travel soap and toiletries
• Torch (LED head-torch keeps your hands free)
• Pair of good quality sunglasses
• Plug adapter

Personal First Aid Kit:
While we do carry a large medical kit on all our group tours, we would advise that you take some of the basics with you. This should include:
• Any prescription medication required (please inform the tour leader at your pre-departure meeting about these)
• Antibacterial dry hand wash
• Painkillers: paracetamol & ibuprofen
• Rehydration salts (Gastrolyte)
• Malaria Tablets
• Travel motion-sickness tablets if required (e.g. natural ginger tablets)
• Diarrhoea remedies
• Antihistamines
• Cold/flu decongestants
• Mosquito Repellent
• Insect bite cream
• Laxatives
• Plasters/Bandage/Steri-Strips/Blister pads
• Sunscreen (30+ factor)
• Moisturiser/after sun cream/lip balm
• Contact lenses and solution if required
• Tweezers
(A kit with most of this in is available at www.nomadtravel.co.uk)

Optional Extras:
• Ear plugs (if sharing a room / camping)
• Alarm clock
• 3-4 plastic carrier bags are very useful for dirty washing, dirty shoes and rubbish
• Binoculars
• Small packs of tissues
• Money belt or secure pouch for money and passport etc.
• Eye patches if light affects your sleep
• Sewing kit/scissors
• Writing materials
• Spare batteries/camera memory cards
• Swiss Army knife
NB: If you wear glasses, it is advisable to bring a spare pair since opticians are rare. If you wear contact lenses you may find that climatic changes and dust can create visual irritation, therefore, it is advisable to bring a pair of glasses.

You might be tempted to buy a few souvenirs here and there, so leave a little room for those extra purchases!!

Hand Luggage:
Although it is very rare that luggage goes missing on flights, it has been known to happen and so it’s a good idea to carry a spare top, toothbrush, wash kit, underwear and any other essentials in your hand luggage so that you can at least freshen up while waiting for your bags to catch you up. If you wear your sturdy shoes/boots it will also reduce weight in your luggage and keep them safe.

Practical Information

Time:
Botswana is 2hrs ahead of GMT.
A useful website to check the time zone differences is www.worldtimezone.com

Food and Alcohol:
Most of the food in Botswana comes in the safari camps and is very similar to what you would eat in South Africa. They enjoy their meat, especially beef and goat, although vegetarians and those with other specific dietary needs can be catered for with advance notice. Millet and sorghum porridge are staples while other specialities include Morama (an underground tuber), Morogo (wild spinach), Kalahari truffle, all sorts of beans, and Mopane worms " grubs, which are served boiled, deep-fried or cooked.

Alcohol is available throughout the country.

Electricity:
Those bringing video & cameras that require battery chargers should also bring a two-pin, continental style adapter. In most hotels you can charge from the mains using a travel adaptor plug.

Money:
In Botswana the unit of currency is the Pula.
To check out the latest exchange rate for the places that you are visiting you can go to www.oanda.com
A few points to help you plan:
• Payments are mainly made in cash.
• Increasingly more shops and hotels will accept credit card payments, though a cash advance is unlikely.
• You can easily exchange Euros, US Dollars and UK Sterling cash.
• ATM machines are available in the larger towns but best not to be relied upon.
• If using ATM machines, be sure to notify your bank before you travel.

Language & Religion:
The official language is English although Setswana is widely spoken across the country. Setswana has important prefixes which relate to various concepts. ‘Bo’ refers to the country and with the largest tribe in the country being the Tswana people the country name became Botswana. The people as a whole are Batswana, ‘Ba’ referring to the people.

70% of the country identifies them self with Christianity. There are a minority of Muslims in the country but about 20% of the population declare no religion.

Cultural Sensitivity:
At Wild Frontiers we are very aware of the ethical impact tourism can have on ancient cultures. We realise that taking a group of tourists through such a region can have a negative impact on the lives of those who live there and on all our tours we therefore go to great lengths to minimise the negative and accentuate the positive…after all, there are also many good things that the tourist can bring.

To help this process we ask that our clients do not hand out pens or sweets to children. As one sign in Egypt emphatically put it, ‘Please don't make beggars out of our children!' No matter how well intentioned, in our opinion the dolling out of free gifts fosters a ‘beggar mentality' that is ultimately extremely destructive to a society. In addition we do not condone giving out money to beggars or ‘students'.

However, we also realise that we are exceptionally privileged to be travelling in areas where most of the people have far less than us and that the desire to ‘help' can be very powerful. As a result we ask that you refer to your trip dossier for information on the Wild Frontiers Foundation which supports specific projects in the areas where we travel.

Photography:
Please remember, we are guests in the countries through which we travel and we may sometimes inadvertently cause offence by taking photographs without first asking permission.

Also many countries have very strict rules about taking photos of army, police or any official personnel; restrictions apply at borders, bridges and any government building. Please exercise care in this regard as the penalty may be to have your film and/or camera confiscated.