Jeremy Instone, from Woking in the UK, says he used to have mundane holidays but the travel bug bit about ten years ago and since then he has been to a range of exciting destinations. He first travelled to Botswana and Namibia in 2015.
“I had an extended holiday and hopped around from place to place with the help of Rhino Africa’s guidance. I had asked for a holiday based almost entirely around photography and the strong factor that I did not want to put up or take down my own tent.
“After my 2015 experience, I decided that I would go again and definitely with Rhino Africa. I originally thought I’d return three to four years after my first trip. A few months later I reckoned I might struggle to do this after I retired so I’d better do it again quick,” so 2016 saw Jeremy pack his bags for Africa again. Picking a couple of locations that to him, as a photographer, hit all the right buttons as well as the level of comfort and food that he was looking for.
The different camps I visited during my Botswana-Namibia trip
Pom Pom Camp – Okavango Delta – Botswana
“Using Johannesburg as a jumping off point, I took a short flight to Maun in Botswana. After passing immigration, my pilot was waiting to meet me and other travellers to fly us up into the Delta. There are no in-flight movies on these flights, but some stunning views of the landscape.
“I spent six very entertaining days at Pom Pom Camp. It’s a small camp so almost all the meals are communal where you can compare sightings of the day. A mixture of land-based safaris, mokoro rides and motorboat trips gave us a great feel of the variety of wildlife from kingfishers and crocodile to lions, cheetahs and leopards.
“This leopard cub sat on a termite mound waiting for its mom. This was a perfect example of how safaris work. We sat and watched it for about 15 minutes. No other group saw it and despite an extensive search three days later, even to the extent of racing away from our coffee and tea break after our guide heard promising noises, we made no other sightings that week.
“During the stay, I was lucky enough to see three different lion groups. Two males whose territory we were in, a female and her 2.5-year-old cub who hadn’t been chased off and a family of two females each of whom had two cubs.
From Botswana to Namibia
“I took the short hop from Pom Pom airstrip back down to Maun and flew onwards to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. I picked up my rental car at the airport and spent an overnight stay in Windhoek before the drive to Etosha. That was a good idea as the road north is fast and unlit. I completed this in one drive, but last year stopped in a number of different and photogenic locations such as Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and Swakopmund.
Andersson’s Camp
“On this occasion, I stayed in a camp at the entrance to Etosha called Andersson’s. The camp, accommodation, food and wine were great. They have their own waterhole, which, although not littered with animals, gets a suitable mix such as kudu, giraffe and lions to keep it interesting. Note that Etosha and camps inside the park shut at sunset so you do need to be out of Etosha by this time. If you want to see animals at one of the bigger waterholes in the park in the evening you need to stay at one of the campsites inside the park.”
Andersson’s Camp is in the Ongava reserve, which has lions and rhino and you can book both afternoon and evening game drives. I visited two waterholes. Okaukeujo, the first camp which is easy to reach as the roads are tarmac from the gate to the camp and Hilali which is another 60km from Okaukeujo. The first camp is quite crowded with tourists but has regular herds of animals visiting that come down a slope from the north. If you visit, move around as far as possible towards the viewing stand, as the light from that direction is considerably better.
“Rietfontein waterhole, 60km on, is also well worth a visit if you up are to the long drive over unmade roads. The wildlife there is stunning in terms of numbers.”
“Go visit and have a great holiday. I’m looking forward to going in 2-3 years time but Rhino Africa has already said they look forward to seeing me next year. What a conundrum.”
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