Film fixer in Botswana — Filming permits and locations A delta in the desert, and the time to film it

I offer full fixer and production services in Botswana, home of the Okavango, the Chobe River and the Kalahari. It has one of the more formal filming permit processes in the region, and it rewards the productions that start early.

Film permitFilming Approval Panel
Lead timeAt least a month
ParksSupplementary permit
Pairs withVictoria Falls, Hwange

At a glance — Botswana

The short answer

Filming in Botswana needs a filming permit from the government, reviewed by a Filming Approval Panel and backed by a signed agreement, applied for at least a month ahead. National parks and game reserves need a supplementary permit on top.

Services: Full fixer and production service in Botswana: permits, locations, crew, transport, accommodation and logistics
Filming permit: Environment and tourism ministry, reviewed by a Filming Approval Panel
Lead time: Apply at least a month ahead; do not travel before it is issued
Agreement: A memorandum of agreement with the government before the permit is issued
National parks: Supplementary permit from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks
Drones: Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana, plus park consent
Pairs with: Victoria Falls and Hwange, both close to Kasane

Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Field figures are indicative and confirmed at recce. Rules and lead times change, and I check them for every production.

Botswana

The country — Water in the Kalahari

Why crews film in Botswana

Botswana is mostly Kalahari sand, and that is what makes its water so extraordinary. The Okavango River runs into the desert and spreads into the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the great wildlife spectacles on earth. Its floods arrive months after the rains, in the dry winter, when animals come in from the drylands to meet them.

In the north, the Chobe River draws some of the largest elephant herds in Africa, a short drive from Victoria Falls. To the south and east lie the salt pans of Makgadikgadi and the open country of the Central Kalahari. Low-impact, high-value tourism keeps much of it quiet, which suits a camera.

Permission — Who signs

Filming permits in Botswana

Foreign productions apply for a filming permit to the environment and tourism ministry, whose Filming Approval Panel reviews each application. Successful applicants sign a memorandum of agreement with the government before the permit is issued. Apply at least a month before the shoot, and do not fly crew in until the permit is in hand.

Filming inside national parks and game reserves needs a supplementary permit from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, which follows the main permit and carries its own fees. The non-resident filming fee is significant, so it belongs in the budget from the first draft. I quote it per production.

Drones need authorisation from the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana as well as the consent of the park or concession. Many private concessions in the Delta have their own rules on flying, filming and vehicles, and they are often the more flexible places to work.

Locations — Where to point the camera

Filming locations in Botswana

The places that come up in briefs again and again, and what each one gives you.

Okavango Delta

Channels and islands

Mokoro, boat and aerial work across a flooded maze of channels. Highest water roughly June to August.

Chobe

Elephants on the river

The Chobe riverfront near Kasane, best from a boat in the dry season.

Makgadikgadi

Salt pans

Flat white horizons, meerkats and, after good rains, flamingos and the zebra migration.

Central Kalahari

Open desert

Remote, self-sufficient filming with long sightlines and very few vehicles.

Moremi

Inside the Delta

The game reserve on the Delta’s eastern side, where land and water meet.

Tsodilo Hills

Rock art

A UNESCO World Heritage Site with thousands of rock paintings in the far north-west.

From Zimbabwe — Kasane and Kazungula

Combining Botswana with a Zimbabwe shoot

Kasane, the gateway to Chobe, is about an hour from Victoria Falls by road through the Kazungula border. That puts the Chobe River, the falls and Hwange in easy reach of each other, and the four-corner area where Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia meet is one of the most efficient regional shoots there is.

Botswana works with ATA carnets, which keeps the kit simple at that border. The permit is the long pole: start Botswana’s application before anything else in the schedule. See filming at Victoria Falls and filming in Hwange.

Questions — Asked most often

What producers ask first

Short answers to the questions that arrive in nearly every brief. For anything specific to your production, ask me directly.

Do you offer fixer services in Botswana?

Yes. I offer the same fixer and production service in Botswana as in Zimbabwe: filming permits and accreditation, location scouting, local crew, transport, accommodation and on-the-ground logistics, for film, documentary, news and commercial crews. You can hire me for a shoot in Botswana alone, or as part of a route across several countries.

Do you need a permit to film in Botswana?

Yes. Foreign productions need a filming permit reviewed by the Filming Approval Panel, and a signed memorandum of agreement with the government. National parks and game reserves need a supplementary permit.

How long does a Botswana filming permit take?

Apply at least a month before the shoot, and do not travel until it has been issued. Park permits follow the main permit.

Can you fly a drone in Botswana?

Only with authorisation from the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana and the consent of the park or concession you are flying over.

When is the best time to film in the Okavango Delta?

The floods peak roughly June to August, in the dry season, when wildlife gathers on the islands and channels. The green season from December to March is lush but wetter and harder to move around in.

Field notes — Plan the route

Pair it with

Distances in Zimbabwe are long, so the locations you put together matter as much as the ones you pick. These sit well alongside this one.

Next — Your project

Send the brief and the dates

Tell me what you want to shoot here and when. You will get a straight answer on the permissions, the timing and the cost before you book anything.

Request a quote Regional shoots