NVSteve wrote:
Excellent, thanks for the links! Yes, that's the type of campsite I am looking for.
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.
None of the parks in Botswana are fenced, apart from Khama Rhino Sanctuary. With the poaching of rhino in Africa, it is necessary to protect them at all cost. Almost all of Botswana's rhino have been relocated to this reserve and is heavily guarded. So, if you stay in a community campsite like Tsaa, Dijara etc, there are no fences between the campsite and the main parks like Moremi etc. That means animals are free to travel wherever they want, including into your campsite. You don't necessarily have to visit the official game parks to see the Big 4. They are all over.
The only fences in Botswana are veterinary fences. These crisscross Botswana longitudinal and latitudinal. There are gates on these fences, which, if you are not a main road, you are required to close behind you. On the main roads they are manned at checkpoints. The reason for these is to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease from buffalo to cattle, and also to help contain an outbreak in cattle.
The Botswana people are heavily dependent on their cattle, and an outbreak and spread could decimate the livelihood of these sustenance farmers. So, you are allowed to take fresh meat from South to North, and West to East, but not the other way around. Your vehicle will be checked at these checkpoints, and your shoes and vehicle tyres treated to prevent the spread of the disease.