Lonely Planet - Destination: Botswana

BOTSWANA

Botswana is an African success story. A long-neglected British protectorate, Botswana achieved its independence in 1966 and immediately thereafter, in a mad stroke of luck, discovered three of the world's richest diamond mines. Today the country enjoys a relatively enlightened government, and its health, educational and economic standards are rivalled on the African continent only by South Africa's.

Beyond the narrow eastern corridor where the majority of population is concentrated, Botswana is a largely roadless wilderness of savannas, deserts, wetlands and salt pans. To ensure the country's natural assets are preserved, Botswana's government has embraced a policy of courting only high-cost, low-impact tourism. Skinflints and softies beware: this is a destination for the intrepid, well-heeled traveller.

Map of Botswana (15K)

Facts at a Glance
Environment
History
Economy
Culture
Events
Facts for the Traveller
Money & Costs
When to Go

Attractions
Off the Beaten Track
Activities
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Recommended Reading
Lonely Planet Guides
Travellers' Reports on Botswana
On-line Info

Facts at a Glance

Full country name: Republic of Botswana
Area: 581,700 sq km (226,900 sq mi)
Population: 1.4 million
Capital city: Gaborone (population 150,000)
People: Tswana (60%), Kalanga, San, Mbukushu, Yei, Herero
Languages: Setswana, Sekalanga, English
Religion: Ancestor worship, Christian
Government: Constitutional democracy
President: Festus Mogae

Environment

Smack in the centre of southern Africa, landlocked Botswana extends over 1100km (680mi) from north to south and 960km (595mi) from east to west, occupying an area about the same size as France or a little smaller than Texas. It's bounded on the south by South Africa, which lies across the Limpopo and Molopo Rivers. In the north-east is Zimbabwe, while Namibia wraps around the country's western and northern frontiers. At Kazungula in Botswana's far north, four countries - Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia - meet at a single point midstream in the Zambezi River. Botswana's landscape is almost uniformly flat - the semi-arid Kalahari covers nearly 85% of the country, including the entire central and south-western regions. In the north-west, the Okavango River flows in from Namibia and soaks into the sands, creating 15,000 sq km (5850 sq mi) of convoluted channels and islands that comprise the Okavango Delta.

Botswana's dry lands boast more than 70 species of snakes, including three species of spitting cobra. Poisonous boomslangs (Afrikaans for tree snake) and vine snakes are common in the Okavango, but they generally don't bother humans. Although this part of southern Africa offers an adequate sampling of LBJs ('little brown jobs'), it is also home to an array of colourful and exotic birdlife. Among them are the dandified crowned crane; the grey lourie, with its sulky 'go-away' call; the stunning lilac-breasted roller; and the dour secretary bird, which trounces snakes by hopping up and down on them like a secretary banging on a typewriter. Botswana's wonderful national parks and reserves are home to an amazing variety of wildlife, including elephant, cheetah, hunting dog, leopard, hyena, giraffe, hippopotamus and zebra.

Most of Botswana is covered by savanna - either acacia or low thorn scrub. The country's only deciduous mopane forests are in the north-east - there are stands of commercial timber as well as both mongonga and marula trees, whose edible nuts once served as staple foods for the San. The soft wood of the marula is used in local crafts, and its fruit goes into a local beer.

Although it straddles the Tropic of Capricorn, Botswana experiences extremes in temperature. Days are normally clear, warm and sunny, but nights range from cool to bitterly cold. In the Kalahari, subfreezing nighttime temperatures are normal in June and July; where there's enough humidity, frosts are common. Botswana is primarily a dry country, but a summer rainy season lasts roughly from November to March. From late May to August, rain is rare anywhere in the country.

History

The San people (Bushmen) are believed to have inhabited Botswana for at least 30,000 years. They were followed by the pastoral Khoi-Khoi (Hottentots) and later by Bantu groups, who migrated from the north-western and eastern regions of Africa sometime during the 1st or 2nd century AD and settled along the Chobe River. Different Bantu groups, including the Tswana, lived relatively amicably in small groupings across the Kalahari until the 18th century. Disputes were solved through fragmentation: the dissatisfied party simply gathered together and tramped off to establish another domain elsewhere.

By 1800, all suitable grazing lands around the fringes of the Kalahari had been settled by pastoralists, and peaceful fragmentation was no longer a feasible solution to disputes. Furthermore, Europeans had arrived in the Cape and were expanding northward, and aggression after the 1818 amalgamation of the Zulu tribes in South Africa made the scattered Tswana villages highly vulnerable. In response, the Tswana regrouped and their society became highly structured. Each Tswana nation was ruled by a hereditary monarch, and the king's subjects lived in centralised towns and satellite villages.

The orderliness and structure of the town-based Tswana society impressed the Christian missionaries, who began to arrive in the early 1800s. None managed to convert great numbers of Tswana, though they did manage to advise the locals, sometimes wrongly, in their dealings with the Europeans that followed. Meanwhile, the Boers began their Great Trek over the Vaal, crossing into Tswana and Zulu territory and attempting to impose white rule on the inhabitants. Many Tswana went into service on Boer farms, but the association was rarely happy and often marred by rebellion and violence. By 1877, animosity had escalated to such a level that the British finally stepped in to annex the Transvaal, thereby launching the first Boer War. The Boers dawdled after the Pretoria Convention of 1881 but moved back into Tswana lands in 1882, prompting the Tswana to again ask for British protection.

The British stepped in but didn't dance to the Tswana tune. Lands south of the Molopo River became the British crown colony of Bechuanaland, while the area north became the British protectorate of Bechuanaland (which is now Botswana). Apart from a few years when it seemed Britain was going to cede control of Bechuanaland to Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company, Britain maintained control of Bechuanaland until 1966. Nationalism built during the 1950s and '60s, and as early as 1955 it had become apparent that Britain was preparing to release its grip. Following the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, the Bechuanaland People's Party was formed with independence as its aim. General elections were held in 1965, and Seretse Khama was elected president. On 30 September 1966 the Republic of Botswana gained independence.

Botswana was economically transformed by the discovery of diamonds near Orapa in 1967. Although most of the population remains in the low income bracket, this mineral wealth has provided the country with enormous foreign currency reserves, pushing the pula to its position as Africa's strongest currency. Botswana's government is regarded as pragmatic and pro-western, although there are concerns about the country's increasing military expenditures. Currently, Botswana's biggest problems are unemployment, urban drift and a rocketing birth rate.

Economic Profile

GDP: US$4.3 billion
GDP per head: US$3130
Inflation: 10%
Major industries: Mining (diamonds, copper, nickel), agriculture, forestry
Major trading partners: Switzerland, UK, South Africa

Culture

Botswana's early tribal religions were primarily cults in which ancestors directed family matters from their underworld domain and were contactable only through the heads of family groups. Religious rites included male and female initiation ceremonies and rain-making rituals. Polygamy was practised, and a man's estate was inherited by the children of his head wife. San folklore is rich with supernatural explanations of natural events, orchestrated by N!odima, the good guy, and Gcawama, the mischievous trickster. Missionaries dislodged nearly all the traditional practices, and Christianity is currently the prevailing belief system in Botswana. English is the official language of Botswana, but the most common language is Setswana, a Bantu language understood by over 90% of the population.

The original Botswana artists were everyday craftspeople who injected individual aesthetics into utilitarian implements such as pottery, fabrics and tools. Botswana's baskets are exquisite, employing designs with such evocative names as Tears of the Giraffe, Urine Trail of the Bull and Forehead of the Zebra. Because indigenous languages have only been written since the coming of the Christian missionaries, Botswana doesn't have much of a literary tradition. All that survives of the ancient myths and praise poetry of the native peoples has been handed down orally and only recently transcribed. Botswana's most famous modern literary figure was South African-born Bessie Head, who settled in Serowe and wrote of the harshness and beauty of village life.

San art

Historically, men were responsible for tending the herds and subsisted primarily on meat and milk, while women were left to gather and eat wild fruits and vegetables. Nowadays, millet and sorghum porridge form the centre of most Botswana meals, but these are rapidly being replaced by imported maize mealies. People in remote areas supplement their diets with morama, an immense underground tuber, and an edible fungus known as the Kalahari truffle. You may also encounter dishes including the mopane worm, a caterpillar-like grub that can be cooked in hot ash, boiled in salt water or dried and deep-fried. Traditional drinks include palm wine, a less than legal, extremely potent swill, and kgadi, made from distilled brown sugar or fungus. Legal home brews include bojalwa, an inexpensive sprouted sorghum beer.

Events

Botswanans enjoy public holidays on New Year's Day and the day after, at Easter, on Ascension Day (in April or May) and get a two day sleep in around President's Day in July. Independence Day is celebrated on 30 September and the day following, and there are three public holidays over Christmas: Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the day after Boxing Day, on 25, 26 and 27 December, respectively.

Facts for the Traveller

Visas: No visa is required for visits of up to 90 days for citizens of most Commonwealth countries, most European countries, Israel, South Africa and the USA.
Health risks: Malaria
Time: GMT/UTC plus two hours
Electricity: 220V, 50Hz
Weights & measures: Metric (see conversion table)
Tourism: About 728,000 visitors per year

Money & Costs

Currency: pula

see Botswana money

Relative costs:

Budget room: US$15-40
Moderate hotel: US$40-60
Top-end hotel: US$60-120
Budget meal: US$2-5
Moderate restaurant meal: US$5-10
Top-end restaurant meal: US$10 and upwards

With hopes of preserving the country's natural assets while deriving the benefits of tourism, the government has instituted a policy of courting only high-cost, low-volume tourism. Finding budget accommodation and transport can be so difficult that the best of Botswana is practically inaccessible to the shoestring traveller. Even mid-range budgets will be stretched. There are a few inexpensive campsites and some reasonably priced trips through the country's main tourist draw, the Okavango Delta. If you eschew the national parks (and you'd be mad to), self-cater and camp out, you can probably get by on US$30 a day. A more realistic budget, including a wildlife tour or two, will start at around US$75 a day and only go upwards. Double that figure at least for high-end safaris.

Full banking services are available in major towns, and there's no trouble exchanging travellers' cheques. In remote towns and villages where there are no established banks, travelling banks are available weekly or monthly. These rural banking services may change foreign travellers' cheques but are unlikely to deal with cash. To exchange money at a roving bank, it's vital that you queue early and set aside the entire morning for the task. Most major credit cards are accepted at tourist hotels and restaurants in the larger cities and towns.

While tipping isn't exactly required, it's now expected in many tourist hotels and restaurants. However, it is recommended that you tip only for exceptional service. In most places a service charge is added as a matter of course, so if you feel the urge to augment that, about 10% should suffice. Taxi drivers generally aren't tipped.

When to Go

Winter (May through August) is a good time to visit Botswana, as the days are generally pleasant and the wildlife never wanders far from water sources. Bear in mind, however, that this is also the time of European, North American and South African school holidays, so things can get a bit crowded. In general, June, early July and mid to late September are the least crowded times to visit. Summer isn't the best time to hit the back roads, enjoy wildlife viewing or explore the Okavango, as prolonged rains may render sandy roads uncrossable and animals disperse when water is abundant.

Attractions

Gaborone

It's pushing the definition to label Gaborone an attraction, but as you'll probably have to pass through here on your way to someplace more attractive, it's worth knowing a little about Botswana's capital. The first thing to know is that it's not somewhere you'll want to linger - distances in Gaborone are long and uninteresting, there's heavy traffic, no footpaths and the city is a mess of suburbs and highrises. And as there's no central business district, the action tends to gravitate to suburban malls. If Los Angeles without the glitz sounds like your cup of tea, visit Gaborone.

Gaborone's premier attraction is the National Museum & Art Gallery, offering the usual collection of historic artefacts and stuffed animals. The museum's displays of San culture thoroughly cover the desert dwellers, while other ethnographic installations provide background on Botswana's diverse cultural groups. The small national gallery is a repository for both traditional and modern African and European pieces, including some San artwork.

The Gaborone Game Reserve is designed for those who want a safari to go. About a kilometre outside Gaborone, the reserve is really just a bunch of antelopes and a white rhino in a cage. If you'd rather do your range roving au naturel, you can take a horseback safari into the scrubby bush north-west of Gaborone. There are quite a few places to stay in Gaborone, but there's no budget options. Gaborone lies midway along Botswana's south-eastern border with South Africa.

Okavango Delta

Described as 'the river which never finds the sea', the Okavango disappears into a 15,000 sq km (5850 sq mi) maze of lagoons, channels and islands in north-western Botswana. It's the largest inland delta in the world, and it teems with wildlife. Most obvious are the birds - thousands upon thousands of them - but there are also elephant, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe, hippo and kudu. In the centre of the delta, the Moremi Wildlife Reserve totals around 3000 sq km (1170 sq mi) and is officially cordoned off for wildlife preservation. Outside of Moremi you won't see much in the way of wildlife, but there are fewer tourists and the landscape is no less lovely. See Moremi Wildlife Reserve in the itinerary

About 60km (40mi) south-east of Moremi, Maun is the administrative centre of the delta and home to the main airstrip. The cheapest area to visit is the Eastern Delta, as there aren't as many controls on operators here, and most of the guides and boat pilots are unlicensed freelancers.

If you want to stay where the wild things are, a number of campsites are available in Moremi. Don't camp outside them, or you may end up a midnight snack for a lion. There are also plenty of camps and lodges elsewhere in the delta and in Maun. If you're booked at one of these, transport to Okavango is usually organised by the camp. Otherwise, you can fly or bus from Gaborone - about 600km (400mi) south-east of Maun - and join a safari once you get there. The best way to see the delta is by mokoro (dugout canoe), which are generally poled through the waterways by experienced guides. The most agreeable time to visit is July to September, when water levels are high and the weather is dry.

Chobe National Park

Chobe covers 11,000 sq km (4300 sq mi) and has a greater variety of wildlife than anywhere else in Botswana. Kasane, at the northern tip of the park, is the park's gateway and its administrative centre. The town itself doesn't offer much to see, but it's a good place to base yourself for quick visits to the park, and it's also where you'll arrive if you fly into Chobe.

For those in a hurry, the most popular recreation is a cruise or drive along the riverfront, where the bulk of the park's animals congregate. Elephants - around 73,000 of them, in herds of up to 500 - are the main attraction, and the most memorable thing about a visit to the riverfront is seeing just how much damage a herd can do. The place looks like it's been bombed. Here, you also have an excellent chance of spotting lion, cheetah, hippo, buffalo, giraffe, antelope, jackal, warthog, hyena, crocodile, otter, zebra and any number of species of bird.
See Chobe on the itinerary

The Mababe Depression - a remnant of a large lake that once covered northern Botswana - is home to the park's next big attraction, the Savuti Marshes. Savuti presents an intensely flat, harsh landscape, but you'll be overwhelmed by the amount of wildlife, particularly elephant. Lions, wild dogs and hyena prowl through immense herds of impala, wildebeest, buffalo and zebra, while antelopes are present in numbers you won't see anywhere else. Ngwezumba doesn't have the hordes of animals you'll see at the riverfront or Savuti, but the area's clay pans and mopane forests do support buffalo, elephant and some antelope species, including the rare oribi.

At the upper end of Chobe, Kasane is also the northernmost point of the country, about 800km (500mi) north of Gaborone. You can fly to Kasane from Maun, Gaborone or Victoria Falls, and buses run to Kasane from Nata, about 250km (150mi) to the south. Once there, you'll need a high-clearance 4WD to get around most areas. There are camps and lodges throughout the park.

Serowe

With a population of around 90,000, sprawling Serowe, in eastern Botswana, is the country's largest village. It has been the capital of the Ngwato people since King Khama moved here in 1902. Serowe is also home to the Botswana Brigades, a movement that, since 1965, has brought vocational education to the most remote parts of the country.

The Khama III Memorial Museum tells the story of the Khama family, the chiefs of the Ngwato people. Leapeetswe Khama donated his home, the Red House, for the museum premises. Displays include the personal effects of King Khama III and his descendants, as well as artefacts illustrating the history of Serowe. There is also a growing natural history display, featuring a large collection of African insects and a display on snakes of the region.

For more Khamabilia, visit the Royal Cemetery on a hill in the centre of the village. As well as the grave of Khama III and his family, you can see the ruins of an 11th century village. About 20km (13mi) north-west of Serowe, the Khama Rhino Sanctuary is a safe house for 7 of Botswana's 16 remaining rhino. Serowe has a few decent hotels. To get there by public transport, you have to get to Palapye (there are buses and a train from Gaborone) and then catch one of the local buses running to Serowe. Serowe is about 250km (150mi) from the capital.

Off the Beaten Track

Tsodilo Hills

Like Australia's Uluru, these lonely chunks of rock rise abruptly from a rippled, ocean-like expanse of desert. They are imbued with myth, legend and spiritual significance for both the Makoko and Dzucwa San, who see the hills as the site of creation itself. Laurens van der Post immortalised Tsodilo as the Slippery Hills - when he visited here his cameras jammed, his tape recorders stopped working and he was attacked by swarms of bees, apparently because he had offended the spirits of Tsodilo.

Female Hill, Tsodilo (24K)

Tsodilo has been inhabited by ancestors of the San for up to 35,000 years, and the site has over 3500 rock paintings. These minimalist representations of animals, people and geomorphic designs may have been intended as little more than doodles, but it's more tempting to envision a succession of ancient Michelangelos straining upwards to produce masterly works. The majority are executed in ochres or whites and were probably produced by the San and later the Bantu people. Among the most interesting paintings are a zebra, a whale, a penguin, a family of rhino and a dancing crowd of sexually excited men.

There are no shops or services in the San or Mbukushu village, but you can camp around the base of the hills, and there's water available from a bore well. A visitors' centre and campsites with facilities are being built. The hills are in the north-west of the country, about 800km (500mi) from Gaborone, and you can fly here or drive - the road is excruciating but unforgettable.

Makgadikgadi & Nxai Pan National Park

Established at the same time, these two areas about 100km (60mi) east of Maun effectively operate as one national park. The southern area, Makgadikgadi Game Reserve, is a 4000 sq km (1600 sq mi) tract of pans, grasslands and beautiful savanna. Wildlife is plentiful, though not as dense as at Chobe. There are antelope, lion, hyena, cheetah, and hippo, as well as a stunning array of birds, but no elephant or buffalo. There's a campsite at the park with a toilet, cold shower and drinking water. You'll need a 4WD to get there.

Enlarge picture

See Makgadikgadi on the Karibu Itinerary

The northern part of the park, Nxai Pan, takes in another 4000 sq km (1600 sq mi). The southern part of Nxai Pan is a complex of mini salt pans. This is one of the few areas in Botswana that's more interesting during the rainy season - when huge herds hit Nxai's grassy pans. The numbers can be staggering; wildebeest, zebra and gemsbok appear in their thousands, along with large herds of other antelope and giraffe. Lion, hyena and wild dog come to take advantage of the expanded menu, and this is also one of the few places you'll see bat-eared fox. In the south of Nxai Pan, Baines' Baobabs comprise a hardy clump of large baobab trees, rendered immortal in 1862 by painter Thomas Baines, a member of Livingstone's expedition. If you've seen a copy of the painting, you'll notice that only one branch has fallen off in the last 100 years. There are no facilities at Nxai Pan's campsites, and you'll need a 4WD to get here. The park is about 500km (310mi) north of Gaborone.

Gcwihaba Caverns

Also known as Drotsky's Cave, this cavern system and its stalagmites and stalactites, which reach heights and lengths of up to 10m (33ft), were formed by water seeping through and dissolving the dolomite rock. The dripping water deposited minerals and built up the cavern decorations from the ceiling and floor. The !Kung people first showed these caves to a European, Martinus Drotsky, in the mid 1930s. Buried treasure from the late 19th century is said to be hidden somewhere in the caves.

There are two entrances to the caves but no guides, no lighting and no indication of which route to take. With absolutely no natural light sneaking in, spelunkers must carry several strong torches (flashlights) as well as emergency light sources. There are some particularly scary bits along the route, including scrambles down steep precipices. However, most of the route is a fairly easy walk through large rooms and passages with lots of enticing side passages. The cave also supports a population of bats, including the large Commerson's leaf-nosed bat. The area around the caves has some pleasant spots for camping, but there are no facilities. There's no public transport to Gcwihaba, and you'll need a 4WD with long-range petrol tanks and water reserves to make it there safely. Gcwihaba is about 650km (400mi) north-west of Gaborone, near the northern Namibian border.

Gemsbok National Park

In Botswana's remote south-western corner lies the immense 11,000 sq km (4300 sq mi) Gemsbok National Park. In the west, it abuts South Africa's Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, and together they make up one of the world's largest and most pristine wilderness regions. This is the one area of Botswana where you can see the stereotypical shifting sand dunes of the Kalahari.

The park's namesake gemsbok (a type of antelope) is best observed between March and early May, when the rains have brought a splash of green to the overwhelmingly red landscape. At these times, springbok, eland, red hartebeest and blue wildebeest may also be seen in large numbers. During the rest of the year, you'll be lucky to see anything at all.

You can only get into Gemsbok from South Africa - you need to enter South Africa at Bokspits, at the south-westernmost corner of Botswana, and then cross back into Botswana over the dry Nossob River. Bokspits is about 600km (375mi) south-west of Gaborone and is best reached by 4WD. There are campsites on both the South African and the Botswanan side of the river.
See our safari bus arriving at the Kalahari-Gemsbok Park campsite
Read about Kalahari-Gemsbok Park in the itinerary.

Activities

Safari means 'we go' in Swahili, and nearly everyone who visits southern Africa plans on at least one 'go', as there's no better way to experience the region's spectacular wildlife. Usually, visitors do their spotting from a swanky 4WD, but it's also possible to do it on horseback rides. Most trips through the Okavango Delta include some hiking on the palm islands, and the Tsodilo Hills are particularly attractive for bushwalking. You can also go fishing in the Okavango.

Getting There & Away

Although international flights arrive in Gaborone courtesy of several African and British airlines, it's usually cheaper to do your long-haul flying to Harare (Zimbabwe), Windhoek (Namibia) or Johannesburg (South Africa), then travel overland. You can enter overland from all of Botswana's neighbours, though you'll have to put your car tyres and your shoes through cattle-dip (to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease) before Botswana will let you in. The Trans-Namib bus runs between Ghanzi and Gobabis (Namibia). Minibuses run between Gaborone and Johannesburg. Buses to Zimbabwe include the Gaborone to Francistown, Bulawayo and Harare service and the Kasane to Victoria Falls service. The bus line between Livingstone (Zambia), Victoria Falls and Windhoek passes through Kasane. To get to Zambia otherwise, you need to catch the Kazungula ferry over the Zambezi River.

Getting Around

Flights are scheduled regularly between all the major towns, but fares are expensive. Botswana has six major bus routes and a good train line running through Francistown, Gaborone and Lobatse with service that's reliable and inexpensive. Overall, however, Botswana's public transport is a joke, and - though it's never entirely safe - this is one country where you really will be better off hitchhiking. The practice of hitching is so institutionalised that it carries a set charge - about US$0.05 per 10 km (6mi). If you're hitching the back roads, make sure you've got camping gear and enough food and water to keep you going for several days of waiting.

Lonely Planet Guides

Travellers' Reports

Click here for the latest (but unverified) travellers' reports on Botswana

On-line Info

Take the subWWWay to Botswana

Botswana - Namibia - Zimbabwe

contents - new - itinerary - namibia - bungi - falls - animals - lp - tribal - money - links

< HOME >