Esigodini to Botswana, March 2022

After an enjoyable stay with Kirsty’s parents we head out on the next leg of our Southern Africa journey. The plan is, from Zimbabwe, to traverse Botswana taking in some of the sights along the way. We’re aiming for the adventures and landscapes of Namibia on the distant west coast of Southern Africa. The plan is to spend about a month in Namibia and a few weeks in Botswana on this leg of the trip.

Our first stop is the city of Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) to get our covid tests. Botswana has only a few days ago removed the need for a covid test but Zimbabwe requires a covid test to leave the country. The definition of fully vaccinated, with or without a booster, world wide is a little nebulous but we had a booster each in South Africa and so are all caught up there for Botswana.

A few places we found during our many visits that you might find of use in Bulawayo:

• Zonkisizwe Shopping Centre – This shopping centre has pretty much everything you would need for basics including a great butchery called Blue Bulls, a reasonably priced liquor store and two grocery stores. This shopping centre can be found on Hillside road in between 23rd and 16th Avenues.
• Cake Fairy – The best take-away cappuccino in Bulawayo and potentially the best pies in the World. All at a reasonable price. Ask for the pies with meat and potato in them, I think they were called savoury pies but they were all good. The pies run out quickly! They also have any baking ingredients you might need. They can be found on Robert Mugabe Way in between 13th and 14th Avenues.
• Haefelis – A very old Bulawayo meeting spot with cheap and cheerful sit-down dishes as well as a significant selection of freshly baked take-away cakes and pastries that do well on a budget. They can be found on Fife Street in between 10th and 11th Avenues. Don’t forget to pay the car parking official $1 for parking receipt!

Now early in 2022, Zimbabwe has just recently opened all land borders. The only land borders that travellers could cross in the year long Covid border lock-downs were the Zambia/Zimbabwe border at Victoria Falls and the Botswana/Zimbabwe border at Kazungula both of these high up in the north-west of the country. Only non-Zimbabweans were allowed to cross for touristic purposes when the few land borders were open. Zimbabweans could not get out.

So we’re excited now to be able to cross into Botswana at Plumtree further down south. We want to see some more of Botswana during the traverse rather than popping in, and then out again into the Namibian Caprivi Strip up North. The weather is not yet dry enough to travel the Moremi road in between Kasane and Maun. A future trip for certain.

We arrive at the border after an uneventful trip listening to music and a global arms trade discussion with Andrew Feinstein. Apparently banks and western economies make billions of dollars on the death of their poorer fellow countrymen and others. Who knew! Join the military my son.

Zim border crossing easy enough with only an unmonitored box for deposit of expensive covid tests. Some Zim borders will enter your vehicle directly into the computer system and others will use a physical card system. Sometimes you are added to the computer system even if you’re on the physical card system. Officials often assume you’re not in the computer system on leaving so you have to stand at the counter and ask to have your vehicle logged out before leaving the building to make sure no issues hit you if ever coming back in to Zimbabwe.

The Botswana side is smooth and easy. Vaccination cards are checked and we are waved on from the medical office to immigration and customs. Kirsty manages the carnet stamping at customs and we note that we were now in the SACU (Southern African Customs Union) meaning that the vehicle is stamped in for Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho and is apparently good for twelve months, much longer than our respective visas. We will not need to stamp the carnet again until leaving the customs union. 

Note: Other travellers may however want to consider still stamping the carnet in between the penultimate and final SACU countries if shipping the vehicle out of the final SACU country. I believe (unverified) that it might make some paperwork at shipping time easier.

Wayhaaayy! And we’re off. Heading in the general direction of the legendary Okavango Delta!