DAY 9
Kasane
Today you return to Botswana via the Ngoma border post, with views of baobabs and the Chobe floodplain where elephants often graze. Drive through Chobe National Park to Kasane, your base for the next three nights.
See page 77 for places to stay.
DAY 10 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Never seen Vic Falls? Now’s your chance. You can drive there yourself, but it can cost up to R800 to cross the border with your vehicle. Rather leave your car in Kasane and go with one of the tour operators in town. Someone else will do the driving and the border crossing will be easier.
It only makes sense to drive yourself if you want to spend more time at the waterfall and surrounds. Turn to page 92 for more info about Vic Falls and Livingstone on the other side of the waterfall in Zambia (page 102).
DAY 11 Chobe
Today is your big Chobe day. Enter the park at sunrise (in your own vehicle or on a guided game drive) and explore the route along the riverfront. When it starts to heat up and the animals are less active, return to town for lunch. After a nap it’s time for one of the highlights of your holiday: A sunset cruise on the Chobe River. When you’re watching an elephant from a few metres away you’ll sit back with a smile – this was so worth it!
DAY 12 Nata
From Kasane, drive south. You might see herds of elephants at the side of the road. Sua Pan, the eastern half of the Makgadikgadi pan system, is near Nata. When there’s water, you’ll see hundreds of waterbirds. When the pan is dry, it feels like Etosha. Enjoy the open plains and the stillness; tomorrow is the long drive back home…
TAKE NOTE
You can drive the Great Northern Loop anti-clockwise, starting at Nata. See go! #104 for a similar 14- day travel plan in Botswana.