Traveling to Namibia through Botswana

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Crazy thing is that in almost ANY country, you will find an SA expat community.

will agree there, met quite a few of the Expats from SA in Ra'ananafontein as its locally known, due to all the South africans living there.

although they pale in comparison the the Americans or the Russians living in Israel,

but NAM, its just a flat desert, miles and miles of flat empty desert with nothing to see, almost like Death valley only less famous.

why would anybody choose to drive their vehicle there? I mean apart from the cities and maybe the coast,
nothing remotely interesting besides the snakes and scorpions that hide under every bush.

Id use this opportunity to catch a flight, will be much happier stepping off the plane to some form of civilization

 

[labratza]

Collogue did the drive a while ago. he went to Swakopmund

To Nam he went though SA stopping to see some family.

back he went though Bots.

what I remember from advice he was given from the Nam national (company has a Nam office as well)
when driving back though Bots, make sure to not get a speeding ticket. you have to pay the fine on the spot, and in many places there is no cell reception that forces you to drive a long way to either get signal or draw cash.

Be careful with Petrol tank management, large long sections without a place to get petrol. so always be prepared to travel at least 200km more than you think. dont say I can make the next station that is 200km away with my tank because you might get there and they dont have petrol and you need to travel an extra 200km.

if you get a fine in Bots you cannot enter SA util you pay the fine and you have to pay it in the province where you got the fine. so it could happen that you need to drive back 800km to pay a fine before you can leave Bots. This happened to the one guy who works at my company in July last year.

those are the big talking points when people discuss going to Nam in my office, and all of them are about Botswana....

Thanks for the heads up will make sure to stick to speed limits then in that case. we are going from SA to Bots to Nabs.

 

[labratza]

Just fly? And hire an AVIS car? The above sounds very stressful

Wife wants the experience of driving through the countries

 

[labratza]

There is quiet a lot you need to fill in if you really want to be prepared:

1. Where are you going in those countries?
2. What type of vehicle are you taking?
3. How long would you be there?
4. Does your insurer (incl.health) cover those countries?

It can be as easy as getting your password stamped, but then you might have a terrible experience simply because you were unprepared after the border.

1) we still need to plan that and sort the stops out but we
2)Nissan Navara 4x4 so we should be fine i think?
3)the total travel time between the 2 is 2 weeks
4)Discovery covers and so does our insurance already confirmed that

 

[labratza]

I think you may have to pay a levy at the border of Botswana of P160 or 180.
IIRC, we had to pay some sort of tax on entry and they don't accept ZAR or cards.
We crossed at Tlokweng coming via Madikwe.

The most scenic and adventurous, to cross back into SWA may be at Ngoma bridge, upto Katima, through the Caprivi, onto Rundu, then head back down to Grootfontein and back up toward Oshivelo.

Whats your travel plan for interest sake?

We plan on getting some currency exchange before we go just in case for emergencies

What I am trying to figure out. AA has this Carnet de Passag. Do we have to get that or is it just something that AA is trying to sell?

 

[labratza]

Certified copy of your car's registration papers. Also, a letter from the financial institution permitting you to leave South Africa with the car if the car is financed and still being paid off.
ZA sticker on the back of the car.

Got the cross border paperwork from MFC already so thats not an issue.

I will have the sticker handy just in case they do ask for it

 

[flarkit]

Do NOT travel at night , we made that mistake , there are dead black cows on the roads at night ,especially about an hour before the Botswana/ Nam border.

you wont see them until its too late , 5 series bmw front end was gone ,
not sure what those cows are made of but im pretty sure they feed them concrete.

donkeys, cows ...its basically a zoo highway

We did the Bots-Nam trip some years ago and the Botswana part was offputting, because of the animals in the road. Aside from the speed limit being 80km/h.

I swore I'd never drive through Botswana to get to Nam again. I'm sure the country has its own allure, but not as a thoroughfare to Namibia, IMO.

 

[neoprema]

Wife wants the experience of driving through the countries

I would tell her she can have the experience of flying through the countries
Or she is welcome to stay home lol. Of course I don’t have one so this is hypothetical

 

[chrisc]

No visa for entry to Botswana. I thought Botswana immigration officer was a bit strange. She asked me why I have a UK passport and my wife has a SA passport. I told her I was born there and she had to go and ask someone, as if she did not know what to do. When she got back after 5 mins I asked her if this was her first day on the job. There was no reaction

No payment either

 

[TEXTILE GUY]

We plan on getting some currency exchange before we go just in case for emergencies

What I am trying to figure out. AA has this Carnet de Passag. Do we have to get that or is it just something that AA is trying to sell?

AFAIK its not required.

 

[PaulNOTsaul]

1) we still need to plan that and sort the stops out but we
2)Nissan Navara 4x4 so we should be fine i think?
3)the total travel time between the 2 is 2 weeks
4)Discovery covers and so does our insurance already confirmed that

Thanks, but it's still not much. In any event, I will assume you would traveling mainly on tar only roads, because if you not only traveling on tar roads members would need more info.

Shooting from the hip, here my 10 suggestions:

1. Always carry extra fuel, this is Africa
2. Carry cash, this is Africa (the safest part though)
3. If you over landing have the proper equipment fridge, fill up on your air con gas (Navara is over 10yrs old)
4. Always prepare your accomodation in more ways than one
5. You will pay fuel tax and RAF on your reserve fuel, not 100% likely at Namibian borders but possible on BW borders buy at border on your return to SA.
6. Consume your dairy and meat products before crossing the border. Also don't have excess alcohol and tobacco you want to avoid the taxes on that
7. If your Nissan Navara is financed you must have a letter from the bank
8. Carry atleast two extra spare wheels for Namibia and always repair/replace at the first available opportunity. This is even true when travelling solely on tarred roads.
9. Avoid driving at night in Botswana, there is a lot of bovine roaming a around. If you crossing the BW-NAM border up north watch out for the drivers.
10. ALWAYS ASK AND LISTEN TO THE ADVISE FROM LODGE/ACCOMODATIONS & ALSO BORDER GUARDS. Don't be too lax on security at the Namib borders when returning to SA.

There is 1000 other points I could put up, but there is not that much detail on your travel itinerary.

Most of all, ENJOY YOURSELF! Which shouldn't be hard at all.

PM me If you need contacts of lodges/accomodations and persons what would be helpful to you.

 

[labratza]

Thanks, but it's still not much. In any event, I will assume you would traveling mainly on tar only roads, because if you not only traveling on tar roads members would need more info.

Shooting from the hip, here my 10 suggestions:

1. Always carry extra fuel, this is Africa
2. Carry cash, this is Africa (the safest part though)
3. If you over landing have the proper equipment fridge, fill up on your air con gas (Navara is over 10yrs old)
4. Always prepare your accomodation in more ways than one
5. You will pay fuel tax and RAF on your reserve fuel, not 100% likely at Namibian borders but possible on BW borders buy at border on your return to SA.
6. Consume your dairy and meat products before crossing the border. Also don't have excess alcohol and tobacco you want to avoid the taxes on that
7. If your Nissan Navara is financed you must have a letter from the bank
8. Carry atleast two extra spare wheels for Namibia and always repair/replace at the first available opportunity. This is even true when travelling solely on tarred roads.
9. Avoid driving at night in Botswana, there is a lot of bovine roaming a around. If you crossing the BW-NAM border up north watch out for the drivers.
10. ALWAYS ASK AND LISTEN TO THE ADVISE FROM LODGE/ACCOMODATIONS & ALSO BORDER GUARDS. Don't be too lax on security at the Namib borders when returning to SA.

There is 1000 other points I could put up, but there is not that much detail on your travel itinerary.

Most of all, ENJOY YOURSELF! Which shouldn't be hard at all.

PM me If you need contacts of lodges/accomodations and persons what would be helpful to you.

Thanks for the info it is greatly apprciated

Going to do some currency exchange closer to the time but also scared of carrying to much cash(foreign Currency)

We wont be doing any overlanding at all. will be staying in lodges.air bnb's
Got letter from bank already made sure of that
We were not planning on taking any meat across as we were aware that there is restrictions
A/C works 100% at moment but regassing might not be a bad idea. I got the 2019 Navara


Wife has this adea of swingging it as we go along but that kind of freaks me out a crap load. I would rather be prepared than something random pops up

Your points are all valid and make 100% sense

Will DM you closer to end of Feb when we start making our accomodation bookings for suggestions. Our only need in accomodation is A/C and Wifi as see mobile data is crap expensive in both Bots and Namibia. so will only have mobile data for Maps and the odd whatsapp that might have to deal with. And if I need to hand some support over Teamviewer

 

[bwana]

Certified copy of your car's registration papers. Also, a letter from the financial institution permitting you to leave South Africa with the car if the car is financed and still being paid off.
ZA sticker on the back of the car.

My kid is driving to Namibia next month in a car registered in my name. Do they need some sort of authorisation from me in addition to the certified copy of the registration?

 

[geezer]

My kid is driving to Namibia next month in a car registered in my name. Do they need some sort of authorisation from me in addition to the certified copy of the registration?

According to Google:

“Required Documents and Preparation:

• Letter of Authority: A letter signed by the registered owner, or by the bank if financed, giving you permission to take the car across the border.
• Affidavit: A police-certified affidavit confirming the owner’s consent, often required to avoid issues.
• Vehicle Papers: A certified copy of the registration or vehicle license papers.
• Driver Identification: A valid driver’s license and passport.
• Insurance: Proof of insurance that covers cross-border travel, or purchase temporary insurance at the border.
• ZA Sticker: A compulsory sticker displayed on the rear of the vehicle.”

 

[bwana]

According to Google:

“Required Documents and Preparation:

• Letter of Authority: A letter signed by the registered owner, or by the bank if financed, giving you permission to take the car across the border.
• Affidavit: A police-certified affidavit confirming the owner’s consent, often required to avoid issues.
• Vehicle Papers: A certified copy of the registration or vehicle license papers.
• Driver Identification: A valid driver’s license and passport.
• Insurance: Proof of insurance that covers cross-border travel, or purchase temporary insurance at the border.
• ZA Sticker: A compulsory sticker displayed on the rear of the vehicle.”

Thanks - I got similar results when I googled but I thought you might have some personal knowledge.

 

[geezer]

Thanks - I got similar results when I googled but I thought you might have some personal knowledge.

Unfortunately no personal knowledge, but an ex-colleague. His two sons went on a Botswana and Namibia trip with his VW Amarok kitted for camping. If I remember correctly, the only challenge they had was at one of the border crossings when they had to pay for some kind of permit, they only accepted cash.

They planned to only use cards and keep the cash for emergencies, but had to delve into their cash reserves to pay before allowed to cross.

That was the gist of it, some information may not be entirely accurate, it was a few years ago.

 

[bwana]

Unfortunately no personal knowledge, but an ex-colleague. His two sons went on a Botswana and Namibia trip with his VW Amarok kitted for camping. If I remember correctly, the only challenge they had was at one of the border crossings when they had to pay for some kind of permit, they only accepted cash.

They planned to only use cards and keep the cash for emergencies, but had to delve into their cash reserves to pay before allowed to cross.

That was the gist of it, some information may not be entirely accurate, it was a few years ago.

Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated.