Moderator: volvite
Rooftop tents are the pits. There are better versions of them, but rental agencies will not fork out the extra money for them. I also hate the fact that you can not pitch your tent and then go for a drive with these things. It's like being a tortoise. That is the reason I prefer to tow my offroad caravan.NVSteve wrote:Another long road trip on foreign soil is behind me. Took the girlfriend and another friend of ours to Namibia for a bit over 3 weeks and ~4000km of driving mostly dirt roads. Rented a Toyota Hilux with 2 rooftop tents. I brought along an old ground tent for my own personal use that I gave away at the end of the trip. I have to say, after dealing with those rooftop tents each day for 3+ weeks, I can say without a doubt that I hate them. I originally thought they were a great idea, but the construction on them is simply piss-poor, so much so that I had to make a number of repairs throughout the trip.
And definitely Africa, although the roads here are supposed to be the best on the continent
Planning on making a return visit at some point, mostly to see everything we didn't have time to see, spend a bit more time in one of the national parks, and venture into a bit of Botswana.
I agree, lots of good looking sites to see in Botswana. I fully expect to cross over and see Kgalagadi for sure the next time. I'd also really like to see Okavango, but every single time I've googled camping, it pulls up lodges and "camps" that aren't what I am looking for. Way too expensive. Any idea if they have places in the delta for people to actually camp? Like in their own tent for a minimal cost like in Namibia? I will certainly let you know when we make it over there again. It would be great to hang out with someone who actually lives in Africa, as opposed to all the overseas tourists.Lord Farquaad wrote:Botswana has some awesome semi-desert areas, salt pans (Makgadigadi Pans) and then the Okavango Delta.
I am currently in Botswana for work and use every opportunity to go explore. Kubu Island is one of my favorites. If you come over again, drop me a line. Maybe we can hook up somewhere. Botswana and Namibia are only a day or two's drive.
Excellent, thanks for the links! Yes, that's the type of campsite I am looking for.Lord Farquaad wrote: Anyway, as for bookings and advice on Botswana, no one better that Tara Fory from Botswana Footprints.
You talking about campsites like this? This one is Khumaga just south of the Delta.
These are from Tsaa in the Delta. It is currently closed, but will be open in the next few months. It is my absolute favorite. In the middle of nowhere. We saw 3 of the big 5 without even leaving camp. 2 Elephant bulls came to visit every afternoon, walking right past our caravan.
Pleasure. What you are looking for in campsites are what is called "Community Campsites". They are not owned and managed by the Parks Boards, but by the communities on whose land they are. That means you don't have to pay an overhead to the Parks Board in the form of park fees. It does however mean you pay a daily entrance fee if you want to visit the park, which is not a bad thing.NVSteve wrote: Excellent, thanks for the links! Yes, that's the type of campsite I am looking for.
I used a Nikon D750 for the first half of the trip, before it was stolen. Fortunately, one of the girls with me was using a Nikon D5500, which I ended up using for myself the rest of the trip. I used a Nikon 24-120/f4 (stolen with the camera), Tamron 70-200/f2.8 and the fantastic Nikon 200-500/f5.6.Touchdown wrote:NVSteve - Those are some amazing pics of Africa!
The clarity on the photos is stunning.
What camera / lens combo did you use?
BTW - I've heard some bad reports about the rooftop tents as well. Just bought a tent-cot which is better in soooo many ways!