Campsites In And Around Kasane
Chobe Big 5 Campsite
Kasane is a bit of a gateway, sitting as it does at the junction of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe . It is also the 3rd or 4th biggest town in Botswana and houses the entrance to Chobe Game Reserve and the riverfront. If you are travelling Botswana you will find yourself in this scruffy but oddly welcoming town sometime. It is mostly based around one main street, lined with lodges, shops and shacks. Rough and ready half finished shacks and kiosks are side by side with some of the more familiar bigger brands, Nandos, Shoprite, Pep, Choppies. Most items can be purchased here and there is an excellent car repair man in Mario's Garage in Kazangula
The roads are congested with safari vehicles and everyone and his dog are advertising game trips, boat trips and visits to Vic falls. 10 km down the road the little centre of Kazengula hosts some of the small businesses and garages and hundreds of trucks wind in queues down the road, waiting for the border. Apparently they may wait over a week, and they often sleep in the cabs of their trucks, encouraging mobile services for food and drink, and goodness knows what else, along the line. Much of the delay comes from the ferry to Zambia which is small and slow and, combined with their paperwork, makes processing very protracted. Zambia has been the preferred route north for a long time because of the long standing problems in Zimbabwe. They have been building a bridge for the last couple of years and it should be finished soon. Maybe that will ease congestion but I would not count on it.
There are a wealth of places to stay in Kasane and we stayed in three campsites ion this trip.
Chobe Safari Lodge is a fancy lodge right on the edge of Chobe park. It is huge with many types of accommodation. Camping is on a first come, first served, basis but the sites are not great. Next to the river in a sort of loose terrace the sites are tiny, some seem almost too small for a single car, and packed together. Shade is patchy. There is electricity and a fire pit squashed next to the car. Ablutions are quite good. Wifi was best inside the main lodge. Warthogs and bushbuck wander through the camp. You have the use of the lodge facilities, pool, bar and restaurant but the prices are high end. They run river trips from the lodge and there is a spa if that floats your boat. We were not overly impressed for our needs but it was one of the cheaper sites, P100 ppn and its a scenic place for sundowners overlooking the river.
Chobe Big 5 Lodge is another rather fancy lodge all the way down the other end on the river by the Zambian border ferry in Kazengula. There is a massive campsite under acacia trees just inside the entrance, so its in the back of the lodge with no view. The sites are spacious with individual ablution huts per site. In winter there will be no shade when the trees lose their leaves, and the ground is bare dirt, giving it a rather stark appearance. The WIFI in the campsite was excellent, probably the best we have had in Botswana so far! The main lodge overlooks the river with bar, restaurant and dining area but it looked in need of a bit of care and refurbishment, broken sunloungers and a rather murky pool. It is also one of the more expensive places at P200 ppn. We chose it because of the proximity to a garage which was repairing the Beast. We were told, rather grimly, that people are not infrequently killed by elephants on the 1km stretch between the lodge and the main road! Take that as you wish!
Senyati Camp is an old favourite of ours, a bit out of the way as it is on the other side of the airport in the Chobe Forest Reserve. It is sort of midway between Kasane and Kazengula and quite close to the Chobe Game Reserve entrance gate but it is well outside town and the road there can be challenging 4x4 driving in certain seasons. The camp has chalets and campsites, The camps are spacious and set among Zambezi Teak trees in a shady pleasant environment. There are individual ablutions with a washing area and shaded verandah for each camp. All the camps face down towards a waterhole which is in front of their thatched bar. This is the main attraction of Senyati as the camp is situated overlooking Hunters Road and in the elephant corridor. Animals, especially elephants, often in big numbers, visit the waterhole quite regularly. You can sit on a mishmash of comfy chairs under the bar and watch the wildlife. There is also a sunken hide from the bar to the waterhole which gives a unique perspective, especially for photographing elephants. We have had amazing elephant sightings here but also some visits where it was less impressive, mainly because, at certain seasons, the elephants only come at night, and this makes shooting challenging. Use of the hide and bar comes with the camp and fully justifies the price tag of P200 ppn. There is a small shop for drinks and ice but no restaurant as such. The Wifi is rather weak and only available at the bar between 5 and 9 in the evenings, but if you are gazing at a herd of 200 elephants who needs Wifi anyway!
There are many other camp spots in, and around, Kasane. 2 other lodges bear a mention. Thebe and Kubu Lodges both have good reputations among campers for shaded, grassed riverside stands. We stayed in one of them many years ago and a safari guide we met this year recommended them as his preferred spots when overnighting in Kasane, but we have no other current information to add to that. Next time I would try them above Chobe Safari Lodge or Big 5 Chobe Lodge.
The roads are congested with safari vehicles and everyone and his dog are advertising game trips, boat trips and visits to Vic falls. 10 km down the road the little centre of Kazengula hosts some of the small businesses and garages and hundreds of trucks wind in queues down the road, waiting for the border. Apparently they may wait over a week, and they often sleep in the cabs of their trucks, encouraging mobile services for food and drink, and goodness knows what else, along the line. Much of the delay comes from the ferry to Zambia which is small and slow and, combined with their paperwork, makes processing very protracted. Zambia has been the preferred route north for a long time because of the long standing problems in Zimbabwe. They have been building a bridge for the last couple of years and it should be finished soon. Maybe that will ease congestion but I would not count on it.
There are a wealth of places to stay in Kasane and we stayed in three campsites ion this trip.
Chobe Safari Lodge is a fancy lodge right on the edge of Chobe park. It is huge with many types of accommodation. Camping is on a first come, first served, basis but the sites are not great. Next to the river in a sort of loose terrace the sites are tiny, some seem almost too small for a single car, and packed together. Shade is patchy. There is electricity and a fire pit squashed next to the car. Ablutions are quite good. Wifi was best inside the main lodge. Warthogs and bushbuck wander through the camp. You have the use of the lodge facilities, pool, bar and restaurant but the prices are high end. They run river trips from the lodge and there is a spa if that floats your boat. We were not overly impressed for our needs but it was one of the cheaper sites, P100 ppn and its a scenic place for sundowners overlooking the river.
Chobe Big 5 Lodge is another rather fancy lodge all the way down the other end on the river by the Zambian border ferry in Kazengula. There is a massive campsite under acacia trees just inside the entrance, so its in the back of the lodge with no view. The sites are spacious with individual ablution huts per site. In winter there will be no shade when the trees lose their leaves, and the ground is bare dirt, giving it a rather stark appearance. The WIFI in the campsite was excellent, probably the best we have had in Botswana so far! The main lodge overlooks the river with bar, restaurant and dining area but it looked in need of a bit of care and refurbishment, broken sunloungers and a rather murky pool. It is also one of the more expensive places at P200 ppn. We chose it because of the proximity to a garage which was repairing the Beast. We were told, rather grimly, that people are not infrequently killed by elephants on the 1km stretch between the lodge and the main road! Take that as you wish!
Senyati Camp is an old favourite of ours, a bit out of the way as it is on the other side of the airport in the Chobe Forest Reserve. It is sort of midway between Kasane and Kazengula and quite close to the Chobe Game Reserve entrance gate but it is well outside town and the road there can be challenging 4x4 driving in certain seasons. The camp has chalets and campsites, The camps are spacious and set among Zambezi Teak trees in a shady pleasant environment. There are individual ablutions with a washing area and shaded verandah for each camp. All the camps face down towards a waterhole which is in front of their thatched bar. This is the main attraction of Senyati as the camp is situated overlooking Hunters Road and in the elephant corridor. Animals, especially elephants, often in big numbers, visit the waterhole quite regularly. You can sit on a mishmash of comfy chairs under the bar and watch the wildlife. There is also a sunken hide from the bar to the waterhole which gives a unique perspective, especially for photographing elephants. We have had amazing elephant sightings here but also some visits where it was less impressive, mainly because, at certain seasons, the elephants only come at night, and this makes shooting challenging. Use of the hide and bar comes with the camp and fully justifies the price tag of P200 ppn. There is a small shop for drinks and ice but no restaurant as such. The Wifi is rather weak and only available at the bar between 5 and 9 in the evenings, but if you are gazing at a herd of 200 elephants who needs Wifi anyway!
There are many other camp spots in, and around, Kasane. 2 other lodges bear a mention. Thebe and Kubu Lodges both have good reputations among campers for shaded, grassed riverside stands. We stayed in one of them many years ago and a safari guide we met this year recommended them as his preferred spots when overnighting in Kasane, but we have no other current information to add to that. Next time I would try them above Chobe Safari Lodge or Big 5 Chobe Lodge.
Sinyati Waterhole
Sinyati Bar And Enterance To Hide