Our family is traveling from Paris to Kasane, Botswana, with a connection in Johannesburg. The first flight is AirFrance and the second flight is Airlink, and I've been told that there in no interline agreement between them. If I book these flights separately, it's my understanding that we'll have to collect our luggage at baggage claim in Johannesburg and then go back through security to catch our connection to Botswana.

Is there any way to avoid having to do this? Our hosts in Botswana have suggested that perhaps a third party travel agent might be able to book these flights "on the same ticket" (I'm sure that's not the correct terminology so please forgive me) so that the baggage connection is more seamless in Johannesburg. Has anyone done this? Or given that we've got almost 4 hours connection time in Johannesburg, does it add a wrinkle we simply don't need?

Many thanks in advance for any advice.