This 3 Part information series on Botswana was taken from your best source for African Travel tours and safaris. African Travel Gateway
GEOGRAPHY
The official figure as per the preliminaries of the National Census held in 2000 is 1 678 891. Average population density 2,5 people per square kilometre. Botswana’s reputation as a wildlife destination is well justified, and in addition it contains three spectacular scenic attractions, the Okavango delta, the Makgadigkadi salt pans and Tsodilo Hills.
The Okavango is regarded as one of the world’s most spectacular inland deltas, a lush cross between a great sprawling oasis and a swamp, teeming with birds and wildlife. In contrast the Makgadikgadi is one of the biggest salt pans anywhere – horizon to horizon a vast unbroken disc of pewter coloured sand, seemingly barren and featureless, shimmering with atmospheric tension. Even more remote, Tsodilo Hills guards one of the greatest concentrations of rockart in the world, some huge and obvious, others tiny, delicate and almost secretive.
Much of the country is covered with ancient windblown Kalahari sands and the fossilised remains of a former desert. Landlocked, and roughly central to the southern African sub-continent, Botswana extends through nine degrees of latitude. These factors tend toward considerable variation in climate, but a low average rainfall. A very flat country with hilly areas along the Limpopo valley in the east, Botswana is semi-arid with rainfall figures of between 600 mm in the north to 200 mm in the south-west. Temperatures can be quite extreme – small quantities of water may freeze overnight in winter (June, July) while in October and November day temperatures can reach 40°C or more.
Since evaporation exceeds rainfall every month of the year, and there are no perennial rivers in Botswana, apart from the Kavango River, which vanishes into the sands of the Okavango Delta, water is a scarcity and a preoccupation. The local currency is named after rain (Pula), and a considerable quantity of fossil water is siphoned from boreholes to supply both the diamond industry and cattle herds. Constant thought is given to the possible use of the water of the Delta to relieve the chronic problem, and various failed schemes have been attempted. Hopefully international tourism will continue to provide sufficient financial rewards to undermine any further attempts to canalise or abstract the life-blood of this unique system.
HISTORY
Original inhabitants were the Bushmen who from the 18 century were pushed into the central Kahalari by expansions of Tswana, Ndebele and the Afrikaner. In 1885 Britain made it a protectorate, Bechuanaland, to keep it from German Expansion in Namibia. The protectorate was badly administrated and remained one of the poorest countries in the world with cattle ranching its main income provider. One year after gaining independence the worlds second largest diamond pipe was discovered in Orapa. It now provides 70% of export earnings and Botswana has one of the fastest growing economies.
ECONOMY
Given its area (just under 600 000 square kilometres) and a relatively small population of about 1.5 million, Botswana has an average of three people per square kilometre, but the cattle density of the country is considerably higher. One of the richest per capita countries in Africa, much of its wealth comes from diamond mines with beef production as the second most important income generator. However, wildlife and tourism are high earners for the country, and roughly 20% of the land is designated as protected wildlife areas.
As a change from all the usual African curios, often manufactured in Taiwan, one of this country’s specialities are its basketry. An integral part of the Botswana tradition, baskets have been made for hundreds of years. Superbly woven from the fibres of young malala or ilala palms (Hypenae sp.) and dyed with a variety of root and leaf extracts, the baskets have traditional styles and designs. Some are so closely woven as to be watertight and were originally made to store beer, others were intended for grain storage or for portage or winnowing.
Now recognised internationally as works of art, the baskets have patterns woven into them with intriguing names, such as “running ostrich”, “face of the zebra” and “bull’s urine trail”. It is not uncommon for special technical and design skills to be associated with a given family or community.
CLIMATE
The seasons in Botswana are somewhat irregular. Rains generally start around October or November, and can persist till March or April, but there may be long dry spells within that time. Rain tends to fall in short, sometimes-violent thundershowers, and generally the greatest amount falls in December, January and February. The best time to visit Botswana is April to October when the days are sunny and not too hot. Evening temperatures drop sharply. During the summer months of November to April, temperatures can rise to over 40ºC and there are often thunderstorms in the early afternoons and evenings. At night the temperatures usually drop to around 20 – 25ºC. May to October are the winter months and temperatures can reach about 20 C during the day but can drop to as low as 5 C at night. Days normally remain dry, sunny, cool and warm. The winter period ensures a thinning of the vegetation, and this coupled with the need for animals to concentrate on perennial water points makes game viewing easier. The flooding of the Okavango Delta is usually at its height in August. Below is a simple table depicting the average temperatures and rainfall data for Northern Botswana
RAINFALL (mm). This varies according to the year and where you are.
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Range 101 101 51 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 76
TEMPERATURE (ºC) – These are the average lows and highs
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MIN 19 19 18 15 10 06 06 09 14 19 20 20
MAX 33 32 32 30 28 25 26 27 34 38 40 35
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