This 3 Part information series on Botswana was taken from your best source for African Travel tours and safaris. African Travel Gateway
MAJOR TOWNS AND CITIES GABARONE & DISTRICT
The capital of Botswana, Gaborone is named after Chief Gaborone, who led his tribe to this area from the Magaliesberg round about 1880. Ten years later Cecil John Rhodes chose this little settlement as the site of a colonial fort, where, it is said, the abortive Jameson Raid into South Africa was planned. Still little more than an administrative village when Botswana began to move towards independence in the early sixties, it was chosen as the site for the new capital due to its strategic location, the availability of a reliable water supply and it’s proximity to the cross-continental railway line. Fevered construction began in 1964, and in 1966 the Republic of Botswana achieved full independence under Sir Seretse Khama. At the time of independence, Botswana was counted among the ten poorest nations on earth. The discovery of the country’s diamond wealth came within five years, and turned Botswana into one of the richest countries in Africa and the third largest producer of diamonds in the world. It also provided a growth rate and economic buoyancy unparalleled in Africa. Being young and brash, a well-laid-out city of cinderblock suburbs, Gaborone has all the facilities of any modern capital city. There is a range of hotels, and a choice of cinemas and casinos. Restaurants are numerous and varied, night clubs often host live music by local artists. The National Museum is situated near the centre of town and houses important collections of traditional crafts and southern African fine art. It is also the home of the Botswana Society which has a rich tradition of researching Botswana’s pre-history and from whom you can obtain information about various interesting aspects of the country, like the Aha Hills, Drotsky’s caves and so on. There is an international airport on the outskirts of the city. One of the city’s more striking buildings is Orapa House at the intersection of Mandela Drive and Khama Crescent. This building has floors specially designed to make maximum use of daylight without direct sunlight for the purpose of sorting and grading Botswana’s fabulous diamond wealth. On the edge of the city, set among hills and dense bush, is the city’s main water source, Gaborone Dam. A popular local resort, it is available for non-motorised water-sport , but a Water Utilities Corporation permit is needed. Bass, bream and barbel tempt the avid fishermen in summer, and the Gaborone Yacht Club has it’s own swimming pool – not a bad idea since the dam not only has the occasional crocodile that escapes translocation, but bilharzia as well. A little downstream on the Notwane River and still within the confines of the city lies the Gaborone Game Reserve. This reserve has been in existence since 1988, and due to it’s proximity to the city, is Botswana’s third busiest game reserve. Well-maintained roads give easy access to viewing of wildebeest, eland, zebra, gemsbok, rhino and kudu among others. A detailed map is available at the entrance gate. There are two picnic sites and a game hide. Bird watching along the river is particularly rewarding. The Reserve is on the western outskirts of Gaborone, and is open from six thirty in the morning to six thirty in the evening. MAUN Maun, a dusty little frontier town now bursting at the seams, is the springboard into the 15 000 square kilometres of delta and the airport is one of the busiest in Africa. Taking both international flights and the incessant stream of light aircraft that service the myriad camps within the delta, there is a take-off or landing roughly every three minutes. Road access is by four-wheel drive only, but one can hire guides and boats, either motor-driven or the locally owned and poled mokoro dug-out canoes. Walking is permitted, but it is wisest not to enter the delta unaccompanied. Most visitors rely on one or other of the many tour operators in Maun. Safari companies offer fly-in, fly-out all-inclusive trips, but are expensive – however, if cost is not a factor, these private camps are an exquisite blend of rustic forest charm and pampered luxury. MAJOR NATIONAL PARKS / GAME RESERVES / AREAS OF INTEREST Despite the fact that two thirds of this land is dry dusty desert much of it has been allocated to National Parks and Game Reserves. The country can be divided into 5 natural areas which are: The Kalahari; The Okavango & Moremi; The Tuli Block; The Chobe-Savuti-Linyanti area and The Makgadikgadi Pans THE KALAHARI The Kalahari is spoken of as a desert, but very little of it is. The famous red-brown sands have been blown back and forth over the African landscape since Gondwana days. Most is now anchored by vegetation. In moister areas, like Angola and Zambia, the sand-cap is covered by lush miombo woodland. With a lower rainfall, Botswana’s Kalahari provides wide sun-drenched areas of sweeping grassland and dusty scrub which offers occasionally spectacular game viewing. Within Botswana, the Kalahari referred to is the central and south-western half of the country; the arid flat landscape home of the gemsbok and the Bushman. A vital feature of the Kalahari is the pans. Ephemeral shallow natural ponds of rainwater the pans of the Kalahari play a critically important role in this arid environment. Usually areas of smooth saline clay which lines a shallow depression, often firm enough to take the weight of a vehicle, and upon which, generally, nothing will grow, pans can vary in size from a few hundred metres to several square kilometres in extent. Often a pan will act as a drainage basin for quite a considerable area. This water may remain for several months, providing an oasis for animal life. Wildlife in semi-arid regions has long since adapted to survival without a permanent water supply. Antelope such as eland, gemsbok, springbok, hartebeest, steenbok and duiker can manage without large quantities of water, as can giraffe, kudu and warthog. The same is true of creatures such as hyena, jackal, bat-eared fox and a host of smaller animals. So game is seldom seen drinking from pans, and besides, the water is often saline. It is not water that draws game to the pans; it is the salts in the clay and the greater variety of vegetation available. There is a greater diversity of plant species within a one kilometre radius of a pan than there is in any other similar region of the Kalahari, so they are a rich food resource. The Kalahari, especially in the western regions of Botswana, is remote and harsh, but unspoilt. It is four-wheel drive country, devoid of infrastructures such as surfaced roads, piped water, and convenience stores. Even firewood needs to be on your list of essentials to carry with you. Summers are blisteringly hot, winters warm to cool with bitterly cold nights. This is not an area for easy-option tourism. It’s the double-rugged stuff beloved of seasoned campers, 4X4 experts and wilderness devotees. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve Proclaimed in 1961 this is one of the few reserves in the world that was created for the preservation and protection of people rather than animals. Being almost 52 000 km’ in extent, this vast area has no standing water and, until relatively recently, no tracks. Now open to the public, the area was originally set aside as a region where the San or Bushman could continue their traditional way of life. Today the reserve maintains two airstrips and 15 unserviced campsites, and permanent waterholes at Piper’s Pan and Sunday Pan ensure good game viewing almost throughout the year, but particularly in the dry winter months. The reserve contains large herds of blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, eland, gemsbok and springbok. Lion, cheetah, leopard, wild dog and both spotted and brown hyena are often seen. Roads are little more than tracks and there are no facilities of any kind. Self-sufficiency in these regions includes carrying your own firewood. Only parties with the right equipment, vehicles, experience and attitude should contemplate a visit to the reserve. However, various mobile tour operators will include a safari into this area if you so wish. It is believed that the San or Bushman are probably descendants of the original inhabitants of most of east, central and southern Africa. In the last thousand years or so they have been absorbed, moved aside or annihilated by almost every other race group with whom they came into contact. Fragmentary groups of Bushman and intermarried relatives survive only in Botswana, Namibia and Angola. However, the dilemma of maintaining an ancient hunter-gatherers lifestyle is insoluble. While the older generation may well wish to preserve traditions, this not necessarily the choice of the youngsters who wish to be a part of modern life, with all it’s advantages and hardships. Essentially, every person is entitled to freedom of choice. The Mabuasehube Game Reserve About 1 800 square kilometres of unfenced harsh Kalahari grass and scrub, Mabuasehube backs onto the far larger and inaccessible Gemsbok National Park. Roads are often sandy and corrugated, and can only be negotiated by four-wheel drive. It is recommended that you report your route to the police station at Tshabong in the south or Ganzi in the north, and travel in a convoy of at least two vehicles. The park has no facilities, and visitors must be entirely self-sufficient. There are six major pans and many smaller ones within this stark but serene reserve. Some are said to be the most beautiful of all Botswana’s pans. The simple beauty of the stark landscape, the dramatic variation of colour-tones as the light changes and the often abundant game make the difficult trip worth it. There is a network of dust roads lacing through the reserve and centred on the pans, but bear in mind that the nearest food and fuel supplies are at Tshabong, 110 kilometres away. In an emergency, borehole water can be obtained from the game scout camp, but cannot be relied upon. West of the totally undeveloped Gemsbok National Park the Nossob River marks the border of South Africa, and is the eastern boundary of South Africa’s Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. Only the bed of the river marks the boundary, and animals can pass unhindered from one park to the other. Together these two parks, sometimes referred to as an International Peace Park, form an area larger than the better known Kruger National Park, but being arid, inhospitable and for the most part inaccessible, it attracts a fraction of the visitors. No formal tracks are laid out on the Botswana side, and there is no official entry point into South Africa from the Botswana park. The South African portion has a formal road system and three camps with accommodation. The Gemsbok National Park is a recognised birding spot for raptors, some 50 being on record. This is the most arid of the Kalahari region and conditions are closer to real desert. Here you will see the iron oxide-tinted ” red” dunes. The best time to visit is in late summer and towards the end of the rainy season, roughly March to May, however game can be seen at any time of the year. As the most arid corner of the Kalahari, summers are very hot (September to February) with temperatures going up to 45°C. Winter months from June to August are comfortable during the day, but the temperature can drop below zero at night The Khutse Game Reserve Khutse Game Reserve abuts the southern boundary of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Set in typical pan country of undulating savannah, most of the larger arid-adapted herbivores can be found, together with the common predators, lions, leopards and cheetahs. Duiker and steenbok are as common as the ostrich. Many smaller species abound, like Cape fox, bat-eared fox, ground squirrel, jackal, porcupine, yellow mongoose and suricate. There are more than 60 pans and game is usually seen in or near them, but it is seasonal and difficult to predict. Khutse has interesting birds associated with arid areas, such as kori bustard, three species of coursers, two of sandgrouse and several larks. Being closer to Gaborone than other parks or reserves, Khutse is a popular weekend destination for local visitors. There are four unserviced camping sites, and camping elsewhere in the reserve is not allowed. As usual in the Kalahari the visitor must be totally self contained, independent and responsible. There is only a single road into the reserve. The Mokolodi Nature Reserve Officially opened in 1994, the Mokolodi Nature Reserve is 14 kilometres south of Gaborone on the main road to Lobatse. Created by the Mokolodi Wildlife Foundation, a non-profit organisation aiming towards conservation and education, the 6 300 acre reserve is stocked with a various species of game indigenous to south-east Botswana. These include mountain reedbuck and antelope of various kinds, zebra, gemsbok, giraffe, brown hyena and warthog. Mokolodi is home to over a third of Botswana’s white rhino population and is engaged in a breeding programme. The second prong of the Foundation’s drive is catered to in the Education Centre. Accommodating up to 80 children at a time, environmental educators use the facilities and the “outdoor classroom” to instil in children for around Botswana a love of nature and an understanding of the importance of conservation. Self-drive and guided tours are available. For the more athletic and adventurous, guided walks are available with one of the rangers. The reserve is open daily from dawn to dusk and a small entrance fee is charged for individuals and for vehicles. Five thatched and fully equipped, self-catering chalets can be hired for longer stays THE CHOBE, LINYANTI & SAVUTI AREA Chobe National Park Situated in the northernmost corner of Botswana, the Chobe region fills the squat triangle made by the meeting of the Namibian, Zambian and Zimbabwean borders with those of Botswana. The Chobe National Park is at the heart of the complex. A vast reserve of about 12 000 square kilometres, it is for the most part flat and sparsely wooded, but certainly not devoid of interest. Chobe is said to contain the highest concentration of elephants in the world, with an estimated winter population of around 25 000. That’s more than two per square kilometre. A tourist’s delight, this has placed massive pressure on the natural resources of the area, and elephant damage is particularly noticeable in the narrow band of riverine forest along the grass covered flood plains of the Chobe River. There are a number of natural pans in the park, but they are dry for most of the year, and the only surface water during the dry season is provided by the Chobe and Linyanti Rivers in the north and north-west, and by pumped waterholes at Savuti, Nogatsaa and Tshinga and Ngwezuma dam. There are a few other pans that hold water for part of the dry season, particularly in the north-east. Large areas of the park are covered by mopane and mixed woodland, including kiaat and Zambezi teak. There are belts of acacia savannah, particularly in the south. The woodlands are interspersed with extensive areas of grassland. The wildlife viewing is renowned, and makes this area a prime tourist destination. The annual zebra migration is a special feature of the area, but the visitor may see a wide range of antelope including sable, roan, oribi, reedbuck, and the strikingly colourful Chobe bushbuck which has much stronger white markings than those found further south. Small herds of lechwe can be found on the grassy floodplains, and this is the only area south of the Zambezi River where puku can be seen. Giraffe and warthog are common, and lion occur throughout the area but are most frequently seen around Savuti. Bird watching is very rewarding, there being over 350 species recorded in the area, and in the vicinity of the Chobe and Linyanti Rivers visitors can watch saddle-billed storks, long-toed plovers, pink-backed pelicans, African skimmers, Bradfield’s hornbills and the jewel-like carmine bee-eaters. Heuglin’s robin is a delight to hear in the early morning Much of the Chobe District is taken up with either the National Park or forest reserves, and so the population density is low. At the far north-eastern extremity of the park the town of Kasane is the hub. It lies at the junction of four major trunk roads which give tarmac access to Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe as well as southwards to Nata and Francistown. There are excellent hotels and lodges around Kasane that cater for all budgets. An international airport allows access to the whole region. One of the advantages to Kasane’s central location is that it takes only about an hour to drive to Zimbabwe’s magnificent Victoria Falls. The road system off the main routes is best explored in a four-wheel drive, although most of the roads along the Chobe river-front can be traversed by an ordinary car. The three principle game viewing areas are the river-front (from Kasane through Serondela, where there is a public campsite, to Ngoma Bridge); the headwaters of the Ngwezumba River with its mixture of woodlands, pans and grassland centred on Nogatsaa and Tjinga Pans; and finally, Savuti and Mababe. The most accessible part of the Chobe National Park for visitors is the river-front, the entrance to which is just a few kilometres from Kasane. While winter is the best time to spot wildlife at close range, animals are tantalisingly mobile throughout the year – what may be seen on the river-front in June will not be the same as in January. The best times for game drives are in the early morning and after 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The afternoon drives are best from the western side keeping the setting sun behind you as you return towards Kasane. There is very good viewing from about 6 kilometres west of Serondela right to Kasane. In the late winter evenings vast numbers of elephant come down to drink and it is possible to see more than a thousand in two hours. Botswana’s successful conservation of elephants has resulted in their numbers escalating. Widespread destruction of riverine woodland is occurring along the Chobe River. Consequently the question of management of the herds has become an important issue. Fundamental questions are whether or not management of the population is yet necessary and, if it is, how it is to be effected. Protected and subjected to limited poaching pressure, the national herd is increasing at its maximum biological rate of some 7% per annum. This means an increase of around 2 800 elephants every year. Whilst elephant are not being seriously poached at present, the same cannot be said for rhino. Botswana has the dubious distinction of being the only country in southern Africa to have it’s rhino population brought to extinction twice. Botswana’s emergence as an international tourist destination has its roots in trophy hunting in the mid twentieth century that brought in increasing numbers of foreign visitors who began to create an awareness of the country’s rich wildlife. Trophy hunting anywhere today is an expensive business and despite being something of a sport-hunters mecca, Botswana is no exception. Hunters should bear in mind that although the Chobe area boasts the famous “Big Five”, rhino are protected and a ban presently exists on the hunting of elephant. The Kasane area also offers goodsport- fishing, and fishing safaris or the hire of boats and tackle can be arranged by any of the lodges. The Savuti Regarded by many as the prime wildlife viewing area, Savuti is in the western section of the park, and is renowned for great concentrations of both elephants and lions. Wild dog, cheetah and leopard are also often sighted. Situated at the head of the Mababe Depression, once a great lake, and held in the arm of the Magwikhwe Sand Ridge, the Savuti Marsh is anything but wet. This is the culmination of the Savuti Channel, a spillway for overflow from the Linyanti and Chobe floodwaters and very occasionally the Okavango spills a little floodwater into the Channel. Flowing in Livingstone’s time, the channel was dry in 1880, and remained dry for about seventy years. It flooded again in 1957, and the giant skeletons of drowned trees still mark the extent of the deluge. The channel flowed perennially – except for 1966 – until 1981 when it stopped, probably due to tectonic action. Savuti Marsh has been dry for 18 years. Treeless, the grassy plain of the marsh stretches to the horizon – a magnet for game. The annual zebra migration from Mababe to the south is one of the more dramatic spectacles of this area. A variety of safari operators provide tours of Savuti, and these are often added to a tour of the Okavango. There is a public campsite and two tented camps which are perched on the banks of the Savuti Channel, the latter offer luxury tented accommodation. The Linyanti When the Okavango experiences exceptional flooding, the Selinda Spillway feeds water into the Linyanti River, linking the Chobe and the Okavango systems. In this time the flood plains around the Linyanti resemble those of the Okavango, with meandering waterways through papyrus beds and a maze of little islands. Wild date palms and tall riverine trees line the flow, which ultimately links up with the Chobe and then the Zambezi. Wildlife includes crocodile, hippo, and a host of fish species; wild dog, lion, elephant, lechwe, sable, impala and so on. There are over 300 species of birds in the area, including the white pelican, scarlet-chested sunbird and tinkling cisticola. Near the airstrip at Linyanti is the only known colony of carmine bee-eaters nesting on flat land. Between the north-western point of the Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta are three private tourism concession areas run by safari operators. The Selinda Reserve one such, and has two luxury tented camps and a small private lodge in the Chobe National Park. Canoeing and walking trails can be tailor made to the visitor.
