Kasane to Johannesburg / Pretoria transportation options

We looked at many options to get from Kasane to Joburg. There is apparently a long distance bus from Lusaka to Joburg operated by Zambia Botswana Bus Company and others that we could have joined in nearby Kasungula that I had read about before we came, but neither the Kasane tourist office nor the Chobe Safari Lodge front desk had a phone number or schedule.



Karen at Kasane Computers told us about a newly initiated flight by Air Botswana from Kasane to Joburg which sounded attractive but we knew we would have to pay freight for our heavy bags on top of the flight price, so we ruled that one out.



One of the security guards said their was a hitching spot near the Engen petrol station in Kasungula used by hitchers trying to reach Nata and Francistown.




One of the most attractive options we explored was a weekly Saturday an empty tour van with trailer transfer done from Victoria Falls to Joburg by a company we found on the internet called Livingstone Trails. http://www.livingstonetrails.co.za/Transfers/index.html



Though we asked Livingstone Trails in an email if they would pick us up in Kasane they did not ever really say they would. We called them from Kasane Computers and they said they would, but that they did not have a trip that Saturday, so we would have had to stay another week and we were anxious to get on with our plans for our Kruger self drive safari. Livingstone Trails said they stopped in Palapye for the night and accomodation in a tent was included in the price of the transfer, which was around $100 US per person.





We spur of the moment decided to try to take local transportation and do the transfer ourselves.



The mini bus charged us extra for the seats our luggage took up, but we made it fairly comfortabley and safely to Francistown and with the help of the driver and others got loaded on the the bus headed for Gaborone.



Camp Itumela in Palaypye, Botswana
We got off in Palapye not knowing exacly where to a camp was. A taxi driver took us to a couple of guesthouses but none allowed camping. He said there was a camp about 10k's from the bus station and took us there for a big fee but we were glad to pay it, as it was getting dark.



We arrived at the welcoming Camp Itumela, which turned out to be the one used by Livingstone Trails. We stayed an extra night, walked accross the tracks to the shopping center and bought food to cook, used their internet, enjoyed their bar. (Interesting note: a few days later in the Joburg airport where we went to rent a car, we overheard a man ask for pula at the forex. They had none, we had some, and learned he was taking his group of overlanders to Camp Itumela !)



Met a Zimbawean hauling a boat who agreed to take us on to Gabarone the next morning if we could be ready at 4 am. We were and he did.



He dropped us a service station and the workers got us a taxi who took us to the long distance stop. The bus would not leave until later that day, and it was get us into Pretoria at night. He then tooks us to the mini bus stand and we got the bus we need. Though we again had to pay extra for seats to hold our luggage, and we chose our seats poorly and we suffered for it, we got to Pretoria around rush hour.








The driver got us to the stop that left for Kempton Park where Shoestrings Airport Lodge backpackers is, and after a few full ones passed us up the local rank manager got us on the next one. For a few more rand, the driver took us directly on to Shoestrings!