Entered from Zambia at Kazungula Bridge Border, straight into Chobe National Park — the first stop of the Botswana leg.
Part of the Makgadikgadi salt pans — self-camping en route to Maun, measured by documented stops from the trip's own video log rather than confirmed nights.
The Okavango Delta, and the last stop before exiting to Namibia via Mamuno on 21 Aug — 9 confirmed days in Botswana total, per the trip's own "9 Days in Botswana" playlist.
May–October is dry season — wildlife concentrates around the remaining waterholes, making Chobe and the Okavango Delta far more rewarding than during the wet months. This trip ran mid-August, right in that window.
Chobe National Park first — big-game territory right at the Zambia border. Then on toward Nata: a first attempt at canoeing on the Nata River, a camp night at Eselbe (canoe, camping, and — for whatever reason — vegetable biryani over the fire), and the Sua Pan itself, part of the vast Makgadikgadi salt pan system. This stretch also happened to be where the YouTube channel crossed 1,000 subscribers.
First proper self-camping experience, at African Bush Lovers camp between Nata and Maun. From Maun: a scenic helicopter flight over the Okavango Delta, a sunset cruise on the Thamalakane River, and more camp-cook-dine evenings — including meeting a group of travelers from Miami along the way.
Before settling on the Kazungula → Mamuno route, a couple of alternatives were considered and dropped: a guesthouse booked (then cancelled, same day) in Katima Mulilo, Namibia's Zambezi panhandle, along with an inquiry about bus service from there toward Windhoek — the route wasn't available. Also looked into a self-drive 4x4 rental (Savanna Car Hire, Toyota Hilux Double Cab) for the region, but no vehicles were available at the time.
That the government website was the obstacle, and a government employee was the fix. The evisa.gov.bw portal itself failed to register for days, then threw a date-of-birth error after payment — the kind of bureaucratic dead-end that usually means giving up and trying a workaround. Instead, one immigration officer, Moitshepi Amos Gile, just answered every follow-up email personally until it worked. The broken system and the helpful person behind it were the same institution — worth remembering before writing off a country's bureaucracy based on its website alone.
The e-visa saga here resolved with confirmation that entry was allowed through any port (Gaborone, Maun, or Kazungula) on the same visa — worth checking explicitly rather than assuming your route is locked in by your visa type.
The Katima Mulilo guesthouse was cancelled for free, same day — a real save, since plans changed within hours of booking it.
If a self-drive overland route is part of your plan, book weeks ahead rather than assuming availability closer to the date.