you turn up at maun airport and your a tourist, they stamp your passport with 30, 60 or 90 days, thats your visa

well if its that simple then im leaving tomorrow :}

was asking because theres a list of countrys whose nationals require a visa to visit Botswana, Pakistan is one of them :D


Machuu99,

depends on which country you are from, usually its about 3 months max. but you can apply for an extension once your there

check botswana visa requirements, travel visas for botswana

to get the best amount of time in maun which is 90 days, say your wanting to travel round the country, say your staying at the okovango river lodge and going to drive up to Kasane, travel to gabs and around the delta etc...

.......................and get nude in engen while stocking up on snacks after a blinder!!!!!

Return ticket
 

I'm Canadian. Thanks for all the answers. I know this topic has been discussed in this thread, but is the return ticket (feak) to J-burg a real necessity?

Exemption
 

Nah.....you can rather have the return to Cape Town......but I believe the Canadians are exempt from having a return ticket.....apparently the crocs love canadians.:8
..
I think most foreign nationals have to have either a return ticket out of the country or a means to leave when their time is up..

Exactly the same reasons as the States and Canada have.

Goffel...reclining in the sun on the beach...how I hate my job..:E

so who else is going there? can we have a roll call, maybe we all can hook up at Johannesburg and go in together :)

^^ I'm going. I'm arriving in Johannesburg on the 10th, but already booked my flight to Gaborone for the next morning.

Is there anybody out there that has gone to Maun from the USA? Could you make yourself known so I can bounce some stuff off you via PM? One thing I'd like to know is should I renew my FAA medical before I leave, or will that not even matter? My 2nd class downgrades to a 3rd class at the end of January.

Also, which are the "best" operators in Maun? In other words, whick of the six operators should I be trying to get on with first? Are they all pretty much the same? I'm kinda wanting to fly the caravan right off the bat if at all possible.

I'll be looking into going a year from now. Might swing by Maun shortly after New Year's this year to check it out...have some family in SA, so it would be stupid not to use the opportunity ;)

nbv4

i dont plan on staying in jo'brg, thats the cheapest route to maun for me lol. BUT planning to get the SA visa as well before leaving.

The Thread Continueth
 

Well - this thread seems to have hit a bit of a niche. I'm a little surprised (and concerned) to see it still going!

Anyway... I QUIT MY JOB! No more serving trout after Sunday (Hoorah!) I guess I should probably change my username or something. I still hadn't actually decided whether to definitely go before Saturday, but having just received more desert equipment than the whole British Army owns (and that probably isn't even a joke) for my 21st, I probably should....

Another vid (suspiciously similar to the other one & alot longer): YouTube - Sefofane Life

Woof_etc: THANKYOU! I have been looking everywhere for insurance. Nobody does it for commercial pilots in Botswana seemingly. They probably saw the Facebook group.

One question for anyone that might know the answer: Assuming I get a job (I am hoping someone will hire a former waiter who hasn't flown in four months and that looks twelve)... would it be possible to come back for a couple of weeks for Christmas while waiting for the visa stuff to come through? I tried asking the companies but they merely ignore my messages. I feel so neglected! :{

T-minus less than two weeks........ (probably)....

Waiterpilot,
this thread was well started from you, this is why it is still going. I'm sure that with your precise attitude you'll score soon a job. Before going for interviews with operators make sure that you don't smell anymre like a trout. Happy landings mate:ok:

I'm going too mate
 

not in two weeks but somtime in August-September 2009.
when I started to search for some jobs around here did not know that maun is the place for me, but now I definitely know that I must get there.

I exchanged some mails with guys at Sefofone and Mack, and yepp they convinced me...

Waiterpilot:
just for my own cheklist: what kind of survival gear did you package? tent and stuff. PM me please

just for my own cheklist: what kind of survival gear did you package? tent and stuff. PM me please

i'd like to see you lsit as well lol, although i have most stuff ready i just want to make sure i havnt left out anything

A tin of hairspray works well to keep the hoop snakes at bay.

My grandpapa says hair spray is not good for Botswana brown bear when it gets in to the tent with you at night......

http://www.kadaitcha.com/wp-content/.../dropbear1.jpg

A tin of hairspray works well to keep the hoop snakes at bay.
 

got that on the chklst!

My grandpapa says hair spray is not good for Botswana brown bear...
 

depends, if its a female brown bear maybe I can figure out something.

Yes well the pilots who come to Botswana from Oz and NZ know that this animal is very dangerous when arousaled up.

hungarian guys ain't afraid of nothing – not even our own politicians :ugh:

Not this Hungarian who had the hair spray perhaps?

"Oozing charm from every pore/ He oiled his way across the floor/ Never have I seen a ruder pest/ than that hairy hound from Budapest."


(My Fair Lady)

the one u mention was probably a cheater, if he were from budapest he'd never get into this kinda sh*t :=

Further questionage. I apologise.
 

Greasy Hungarians aside, I can assure you I am not some sort of guru who knows exactly what to take in terms of survival gear (although I wouldn't describe it as survival gear.... it's Maun; it has a Spar!) I didn't even buy the stuff - it arrived in variously themed attractive gift bags from relations who didn't really know what to get me for my birthday!

Saying that, some of my family are in the RAF/Army and have been in certain countries where it is a little hot quite recently (guess where!). They got me some 12 hour DEET cream stuff to keep the insects off/get the smell of trout off me, a pegless clothes line thing, a small LED keyring torch, and a small travel alarm clock. And some cufflinks, but I don't think that was for Botswana. Other stuff I might be taking will be my swiss army knife, and a water bottle thing. I was already taking hairspry because I want to look fabulous.

Can you buy tents in Maun? (as in the crappy kind you see in the rain around British seaside resorts, not the luxurious dome variety)? It seems ridiculous to be carting a tent across the other side of the world.

Csaand007: How did you manage to get Mack Air to reply to you emails?! I got nothing and yet was so sickly sweet and grovely! I tried two different addresss.

I would also like to echo Mr. nbv4's questions regarding medicals; my class 1 expires in December but don't want to a) spend many pounds or b) have delicate pieces of my anatomy in a strangers grasp for no reason. Especially if he has cold hands. From what I gather your Botswana exam is enough to cover you for the Botswana license but don't know 100%. I cannot emphasise enough I want to be molested as few times as possible over the coming weeks.

That is all for now. I'm sure more questions will pop into my head though. Again if anyone knows the answer to my Christmas question I will be very pleased.

i'd recommend renewing you medical before going, you know just to be on the safe side. you know how CAA can be, they WANT to make our lives miserable :}. my license expires this month, so will be flying the checks soon, medical is good till june :ok:

oh and i was looking at camp Audi, turns you you can rent one of their tents, but will cost a little double if you take you own tent. tent is going to be an issue for me as well. this sort of stuff isnt big in pakistan, going to have to borrow one from the army lol

hey everyone, interesting thread, i havent managed to read through all of it though. are the chances really good of getting a job just taking that risk and rocking up there with the amount of pilots that probably do the same thing, it would be a waste to get over there and not find a job ...
i have my cpl test in another couple of weeks, ive got 250 hours 100 command and my multi engine command instrument rating, anyone think that chances of getting a job would be high ?
cheers

i'd say its 50-50...but i dont want any regrets later like ""if i had went, i might have landed a job"". phantoms and tomcats a gone, eagles are going. i'll be damned if i die without doing bush flying in africa and alaska/canada :}:}.

plus, look on the brighter side, its going to be one hell of a trip

yeh i guess, it will be one hell of a trip BUT at the same time, i don't want to sell myself short of cash and then return to australia jobless and no money! i am fresh off my training so the funds are minimal lol
but im gunna do it, cos im an adventure freak and it will be fun, any others going in the next month or so ? im leaving 27th december.

man you guys are lucky that you dont need a visa. not only do i neeed a visa for botswana, i also need a damn transit visa for south africa :ugh:. i'll probably leave on the 25th dec if the visa isnt delayed

you want to know what the ticket is costing me? 126000/- pakistani rupees. sure it makes US$1536, but i earn RUPESS not dollars lol.

lol u leaving on christmas day ! 12500 thats sounds like a lot, the airfare is going to cost me about 2000 australian dollars, but i'm trying to find one cheaper.
yeh we are lucky we don't need a visa, crazy you need a transit visa as well. sounds like we will be arriving round the same time, might see you round maun then, i'm going to stay at the audi camp, as they all do i guess lol

woah i misread that 126.000 lol insane mate

lol happens

hey any of you guys in SA willing to send me letter that'll help me get the visa :}

tents in Maun
 

Hello
I think you should bring your tent if it fits alright in your suitcase, is not really easy to find tents here. Audi camp its about 30 pula per night if you bring your own tent. By the way, its a bit far away from the airpot, you are gonna have to take a combi wichi is 3 pula. Taxi will be at least 30 pula.
Do bring whatever gear you may think its necessary, but is not that uncivilized here, youll find almost everything you need.
If you have more questions tell me, particularly if they are about what to bring and where to go when you get here, i jut arrived here 8 days ago, and my main source of information of Maun was through this thread.
Take care.

Good luck buddy, hope to hear some more of you. How you proceed, what are your impressions. And stuff...
We're curios here like children with Grimm

It's been a few years since I lived there so things might have changed but there was a bush gear/souvenir shop just past Riley's garage. I'm sure they sold tents. Might work out cheaper than paying excess baggage and also avoids the hassle of having to carry your own through X amount of airports.

Yup. Leave more room in your luggage for hair spray.:}

ok what is with you guys and hair spray :\

hair spray
 

1. you'll always look fabulous (see waiterpilot)
2. you'll be able to fight against some voodoo snakes that come out in the night from the dreams of :mad: (fierce stuff)

soo, hairspray is mandatory (few bottles)

oh boy, another item to the list :}:}

It's the only effective deterrent against hoop snakes. Stiffens them up so they can't get their tails in their mouths, forming a hoop so they can roll after you.

hairspray
 

also stiffens the huge maneater spiders, then u can just place them in a box and sell them as souvenirs for tourists, eh? :ok:

OR spring load them and send them to you friends on their birthdays :E:E