I put over 10,000 kilometers on my rental car in less than a month, driving the near-empty highways of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. Although I have never been to the deserts of the American west, these places probably look very similar. Namibia is especially desolate. At times you can drive for 30 minutes before passing another car coming in the other direction. Most roads are nicely paved and police are seemingly nonexistent - a speed demon's dream. Unfortunately I had a little subcompact Ford and not a Ferrari. Botswana and South Africa are harder to speed through. South Africa is filled with corrupt cops who will pull you over for the simple reason that your out-of-state license plate pegs you as a likely tourist, and then offer a choice: a lengthy visit to the local station to run a check on your foreign driver license, or a quick and easy bribe. Botswana, along with Namibia, is one of only ten countries with less than three people per square kilometer, but speeding is ill-advised. It is filled with animals, domesticated and wild (they have a particularly big elephant problem) that like to hang out on the roads. And the cops there can be a pain (see my story under Zimbabwe).