June 29, 2019. We are setting foot in Botswana for the very first time. More than a year and a half since our first contact with Tawana Self Drive for this trip.

Julie and Vincent are waiting for us as planned at the exit of Kasane airport.

Our first kilometers to the hostel were already a safari: antelopes, warthogs, monkeys… As soon as the suitcases are put down, the briefing for the car begins.

Thank you Sami for all these details!

The night falls, refueling at the spar, dinner at the Coffe & Curry and going to sleep, the adventure starts early tomorrow morning. During our three weeks, the 4×4 will be our “home sweet home”, becoming more and more dusty but still strong and welcoming after dark. We drove through Nxai Pan and Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Central Kalahari Game Reserve before reaching Maun for refueling and a good night’s sleep at Discovery B & B. Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe National Park will be our playground for the second part of the trip.

Watching the African wildlife at close range without a mass of tourists around is a privilege still accessible in Botswana. All the camps were great, and our favorite remains Piper in the Kalahari, where we could feel alone in the world and this was our first encounter with big cats.

We have seen many things, but it’s still a small part of what this region has to offer, it will be the occasion of another trip without any doubt.

We really appreciated the professionalism, the availability and the kindness of Julie and Vincent and we can only recommend Tawana Self Drive for that kind of a trip!

More pics from Nicolas? Check out his 500px and Facebook pages!