77 © Lonely Planet Publications Planet Lonely ©

dankie 267 (How are you?); (How are % : Okavango Delta, Chobe 1.61 million 1.61 million English, Setswana Dumela? Pula (P) Pula 582,000 sq km Capital: Country code for: Famous the KalahariNational Park, Languages: Money: Phrases: Population: Area: (thank you)

„ „ „ „ „ „ „ FAST FACTS FACTS FAST „

Landlocked from north 1100km Botswana extends east to west, to south and 960km from supply, water Because the Okavango a year-round provide Delta and the Chobe River Botswana is an African success story. After achieving democratic rule in 1966, three of the in 1966, three democratic rule achieving success story. After African Botswana is an Today, the within its borders. discovered formations were world’s richest diamond-bearing which, with care, of economic stability, education and health country enjoys a high standard Its modern in sub-Saharan is unequalled elsewhere Africa. Africa, the exception of South country for the intrepid a belies the factof Botswana remains that much however, veneer, wilderness of vast spaces roadless largely This wealthy) traveller. (not to mention relatively lots of cash to enjoy it to its fullest. all else, time, effort and, above requires of the country is covered Most making as , France or Texas. it roughly the same size thrive of deciduous forest savanna grassland, although small areas with scrub brush and wildlife, with free-ranging vast open savannas teeming With border. near the Zimbabwean of your dreams. Botswana is truly the Africa Reserve Game and in the Moremi present mammal species are nearly all Southern African herds of however, National Park, In the Makgadikgadi & in . annually in search of permanent mammals migrate other hoofed and wildebeest, and stable food supplies. water B o t s w a n a lonelyplanet.com

76 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA

ITINERARIES 78 HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS „ „ „ „ „ „

paintings atTsodilo Hills. the ‘WildernessLouvre’ of ancientSan itional dugoutcanoe. watery expanses inamokoro watery expanses Delta Okavango Five atBotswana’spremier park. safari 4WD campingexpedition. instinctsona the limitsof yoursurvival is the Days Three track thebeaten Off complex. dotted salt-pan inthisbaobab- andwildebeests ( p100 Pans &NxaiPan NationalPark) Followtheherdsof migrating Makgadikgadi Reserve Game Kalahari Central Chobe NationalPark want to focus. Choose want tofocus.Choose have onlyafew days,thisiswhere you’ll and organise a mokoro trip through the and organise amokorotripthrough Panhandle Okavango

time), they won’t take youtothe mostinterestingtime), they won’ttake of thecountry. parts and Australasia, andalthoughbuses trains are quite economical (US$1perhourofjourney flights, meals,alcohol andself-catering prices are America comparable tothoseinEurope, North rarely findanythingforlessthan US$300foradouble. Hotels, camping, car hire, domestic air Delta andChobeNationalPark exclusive –are hauntsofthewealthy,andyou’ll forthemostpart you maywanttothinktwicebefore visiting. Safarilodges–especiallythoseinthe Okavango a dayortwoatMoremi orChobeNational Park, GameReserve ora4WDtrip throughtheKalahari, Travelling cheaplyinBotswanaisn’timpossible,butifyou can’taffordaflightintotheOkavango, TRAVEL TIPS „ „ „ „ „ LONELY INDEX PLANET „ „ „ „ „ MUCH? HOW

Snack Souvenir T-shirt Bottle ofbeer 1L ofbottledwater 1L ofpetrol Night inabudgethotel Foreign newspaper Stalk ofsugarcane Ostrich egg-shellbracelet mokorotrip One-day BOTSWANA •• Highlights BOTSWANA ••Highlights Okavango Delta Okavango US$1-2 Botswana’s touristhighlight US$0.75 ( p106 the ) Glidethrough US$1

( p117 ) Wander through through Wander ( p117) US$5-10

( p116 ) asyourbase 11) pt h Big the Spot ( p101) $0.25 US$0.50-1 US$1.65 ( p106 ), andifyou US$66 Maun US$24.75 $5 ( p106 ) orthe

19) Test ( p119) , atrad-

mid-September. Insummer(OctobertoApril), mid-Julyand can bebusy,especiallybetween South Africanschool holidays,sosomeareas – North Americanand–mostimportantly Thisisalsothetimeof European, mer season. are more predictable thaninthewetter sum- wanders farfromwater sourcessosightings aresunny, andnights cooltocold.Wildlife never to August),daysare normallyclear,warmand perature andweather. Inthewinter (late May Botswana experiencesextremes inbothtem- itstraddlestheTropicofAlthough Capricorn, CLIMATE &WHENTOGO see see p37 . including Botswana’sprecolonial history, history of thewholeSouthern Africanregion, accountofFor adetailed thepre-colonial HISTORY the climate inSouthernAfrica. common. See p742 formore informationon heat; daytimetemperatures of over 40°Care of humidityandthemoststifling thehighest Thisisalsothetime roadsimpassable. sandy wildlife ishardertospotandrainscanrender

„ „

in the in Moremi andChobe;camphike theboxed (see Delta text, p112 ); safari of thecountry:doamokorotripin thebest reputable companyandsee safari money), youcanhire a a4WDoruse One Month boat) alongthewildlife-rich waterfront. rugged interior of (or thepark, orcruise periences. Eithergooverland the through ( p101 ), oneof ex- theworld’stopsafari through with asafari One Week trip through trip through wetlands, followedbyawildlife-viewing furthest reaches of the Okavango Panhandle; andexplore the Tsodilo Hills Tsodilo Hills Combine your visit to the delta Combine yourvisittothedelta With amonth(andlotsof Reserve Game Moremi ( p117 onthe ); cruise Kalahari Kalahari Chobe NationalPark lonelyplanet.com ( p118). ( p114). lonelyplanet.com ernment for protection fromtheBoers. chiefs petitioned theBritish gov-the Batswana Following heavy human andterritorial losses, andheavy-handed oppression ensued. South AfricanRepublic andaperiodof rebel- undertheruleofBatswana theso-callednew vention of 1852.Thiseffectively placedthe ratified bytheBritishin Sand River Con- own free state rulingtheTransvaal –amove uptheir set theBoers Dutch andPortuguese, themselves anddisplacing localvillagers. Zulu territory, outnewfarmsfor staking Trek acrosstheVaal River and intoBatswana outontheGreat set about20,000Boers Cape, In 1836,feeling pressured bytheBritishin Boers&theBritish The Buitepos Mamuno N AMIB (298km) To Windhoek BOTSWANA Rundu ὈὈ ὈὈ Bent on establishing tradelinks withthe onestablishing Bent

Okavango

Wilderness Nossob Rv Nossob Kgalakgadi Charles Hill Trail A NGOL Nxainxai Tropic ofCapricorn River Aha Hills Nossob Wilderness Kaa Mabuasehube- Mohembo Public Bokspits Kgalagadi Gcwihaba (Two Rivers Tsodilo Caverns Shakawe Trail Nxamaseri Hills Hukuntsi BOTSWANA ••History Section) Ngamiland TP

Molopo Access D'kar Nokaneng Gumare Sepupa

Ὀ ὈὈ ὄὄὄὈὈ ὄ ὈὈὈ ὄ

ὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅ Trans-Kalahari Hwy Trans-Kalahari Ghanzi

Tshabong

Track Panhandle Okavango Tshane Mabuasehube River The Etshas ὅ Okavango Section Kang Delta Tsau Sehithwa ὅὅ Werda Maun Chiefs Island Khakea Toteng Moremi Kongola A FRIC ὅ ὅ ὅ GR S OUTH Savuti Ὀ ὄὄὄὈ ὄὄὈ ὄὈ Ὀ

Central Kalahari Chobe Shorobe To Kimberley (136km) Khutse Kachikau Gabane ὅὅ ὅὅ Jwaneng GR GR

Rv Katima Mulilo Makgadikgadi & Chobe Vryburg NP Mokolodi Nxai Pans Depression Rakops Mababe Ngoma Bridge Kasane NR NP Molepolole Kanye Lethlakane Letlhakeng Thamaga Gweta Kazungula GABORONE Ntwetwe Boers onceagainlookedBoers northwards into managed to subduethetowns of Taung and In1882, theBoers into the Molopo Basin. territory andpushedBatswana westwards allegiancetotheBritishCrown. Boer withdrew fromtheTransvaalinexchange for Pretoria Convention of 1881,whentheBritish War.Anglo-Boer Thewarcontinueduntilthe nexed theTransvaal –thereby thefirst starting gerous thattheBritishconcededandan- level hadescalatedagainst theBoers tosuch adan- in thedispute. animosity By1877,however, ability. Instead, itoffered toactasarbitrator on andsupportacountryof dubiousprofit- in SouthernAfricaandwasnohurrytotake Pan Pandamatenga Orapa With theBritish outof theirway,the Britain, though, already though, Britain, haditshandsfull Sanctuary Khama Rhino ὄ ὄ ὄ Nata Ramatlabama Kopong Sowa (Sua)Pan Z AMBI Mafikeng WR TP NR NP GR LEGEND Sanctuary Shoshong Lobatse Thabatshukudu Nata Victoria Falls Ramotswa Mahalapye

Island

Kubu Zambezi Odi Wildlife Reserve Transfrontier Park Nature Reserve National Park Game Reserve Tlokweng Mochudi Zeerust Serowe Z IMBAWE Hwange

Limpopo River Serule River Shashe Sherwood Rustenburg Palapye 0 0 Kariba Lake Phikwe Selebi- Plumtree Ramokgwebana North-East Tuli Game Reserve Bulawayo

Groblersbrug BlockTuli Martin's Drift Johannesburg Bobonong

PRETORIA Shashe Zanzibar Baines Drift (Pietersburg) Polokwane Pont Drift Gwanda Kwe Beitbridge 120 miles Gweru Ermelo 200 km

79 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA Society (LMS) whointurn tookthematter delegation turnedtotheLondon Missionary and wentonholiday. berlain thenconveniently forgot thematter work thingsoutamongthemselves. Cham- directly and Rhodes themtocontact advised Chamberlain action, ColonialMinister Joseph Insteadcontrol of of Bechuanaland. taking British parliamentforcontinuedgovernment toEnglandappeal directlysailed tothe sympathetic missionary, WCWilloughby, accompanied bya IIIandSebele, Khama pirations, three chiefs, Bathoen, Batswana ofexpense colonialadministration. to theBSAC andrelieve themselves of the transfer Protectorate theentire Bechuanaland hopedto turned ablindeyeastheyeventually contracts astreaties. Fortheirpart,theBritish tracts of landfromlocalchiefs bypassingoff large whofraudulentlyobtained lous Rhodes, system waseasilyexploited bytheunscrupu- newlandfortheCrown.The order tocolonise privately in sions thatcompaniescouldobtain thesystemto dothisthrough of landconces- deposits justwaitingtobeexploited. He aimed other Africancountrieshadsimilarmineral ley, SouthAfrica,andhewasconvincedthat the diamond-miningindustryinKimber- John Rhodes. nessman Cecil Company (BSAC), ownedbymillionaire busi- under theauspicesof theBritish SouthAfrica Africa cameintheformof aprivate venture BritishexpansioninSouthern lonial expense, themofTo alleviate theheavy burdenof co- JohnRhodes Cecil Bechuanaland. allies, knownastheBritishCrownColonyof proclaimed aprotectorate over theirTswana petitions forprotection. Andin1885they attheBatswana tolookseriously ish started (Zimbabwe),theBrit- mineral-rich Rhodesia them off fromtheirexpansionistdreams into allianceacross the Kalahari,Boer cutting the 1890s. in (modern-day )bytheGermans This wastheannexationof South WestAfrica that wastochange regional politicsradically. much furtherifitwasn’tforasignificantevent of Stellaland andGoshen.Theymayhave gone Mafikeng andproclaimedthemtherepublics 80 By 1889 Rhodes already hadahandinBy 1889Rhodes With thepotential threat of aGerman- Naturally, Rhodes wasimmovable,Naturally, Rhodes sothe as- Realising theimplicationsof Rhodes’ BOTSWANA •• History BOTSWANA ••History through Bechuanaland to Rhodesia, anda toRhodesia, Bechuanaland through ence. theconstruction of However, arailway joyed aninitialdegree of economic independ- en- farming landandminerals,Bechuanaland the Europeansstreaming of northinsearch andRhodesia. of Bechuanaland with provisions forthefuture incorporation Colony,Transvaalandthe Free State – Cape South Africawascreated, the comprisingNatal, overcome in1902,and1910theUnionof declared were warontheTransvaal.TheBoers consolidate and theSouthernAfricanstates haddecideditwastimeto By 1899,Britain Colonial Years construction of arailwaylinetoRhodesia. known astheTuliBlock)toBSAC forthe ing onlyasmallstripof the southeast(now ced- British administrationof Bechuanaland, the chiefs. Chamberlain agreed tocontinue that thegovernment wasforcedtoconcede public pressure hadmounted tosuch alevel When Chamberlainreturned fromholiday, rather thanthecontroversial Rhodes. Cecil Crown should beadministering theempire, The Britishpublicingeneral felt thatthe andhisentourage. ChristianKhama devoutly LMS andotherChristiangroupsbacked the the would allowalcohol inBechuanaland, reserves, five farm blockswith whitereserves, settler ‘tribal’ largelyinto eight self-administering control. Sotheterritory remained divided grounds thattheywould onlyenhancecolonial disputed byleadingTswana chiefs, onthe were these and miningdevelopment, hotly reform administrationorinitiate agricultural Even whenthere were moves inthe1930sto the territory were kept toabare minimum. ment andadministrative within development the newUnionof SouthAfrica. Hence invest- until itcouldbehandedover or toRhodesia the protectorate asatemporary expedient, patterns and erodedthechiefs’use powers. accelerated thebreakdown of traditionalland- population wasabroadatanyonetime. This in mines;asmany25%of Botswana’smale South Africatolookforworkonfarmsand to to payBritish manyBatswana taxes, sent cash toraise of andtheneed series droughts new economicvulnerability,combinedwitha in the1890s,destroyedtransittrade. This outbreakserious of foot-and-mouthdisease to theBritishpublic.Fearing thattheBSAC The Britishgovernment continuedtoregard oxen cattle,draught By selling andgrainto lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com in December 2006,butthegovernment theirreturn appears tobeobstructing totheCKGR. ofBotswanaruledinfavour oftheSan (CKGR). Court The GameReserve High the Central Kalahari fortherestitutioncampaign ofBotswana’s First oftheirland rightsin (FPK) Peoples oftheKalahari attention, increasingly sonowthat and landasothertribeshave done. has madeitexceedinglydifficultforthemtoorganise pressure groupstodefend theirrights franchised anddispossessed.What’smore, inthemodernworldtheirdisparate socialstructure havecombined withmodernpoliciesonwildlife seentheSanincreasingly conservation, disen- asmany200,000indigenouspeople.that lasted Suchterritorial 200yearsandkilled disputes, colonists whoarrived inthemid-17thcentury.The earlyBoershatchedanextermination campaign source ofbitter betweenthetwogroups. conflict Itwasatrend widelyaccelerated byEuropean over 1000sqkm)wasutterly atoddswiththesettledworldoffarmersandsoonbecamea aroseoverconflict theland.The nomadiclifestyle San’swide-ranging, (someterritories extended ful tribeswithbigherdsoflivestock andfarmingambitionsmoved intothearea aninevitable that theyneededfortheirdailyexistence theycarriedwiththem. group consensus. Withnoanimals,cropsorpossessionstheSanwere highlymobile. Everything over thecountry.They hadnochiefs orhierarchyofleadership,anddecisionswere reached by these groupscampedtogetheratseasonalwater holes;theninthewetseasonthey’dscatter between 25and35people)withinwell-definedterritories. oftheyear Duringthedriestparts Traditionally, theSanwere nomadichunter-gatherers whotravelled insmallfamily bands(usually The Past THE SAN (Working Group for Indigenous Minorities of Southern Africa; www.san.org.za) ofSouthernAfrica; GroupforIndigenousMinorities (Working don’t bodewell.Butthegroundswellof protest generated bygrass-rootsorganisations like to thenew. in the21stcenturyishowtopreserve oldcultures andtraditionswhileacceptingadapting whateverThe outlookfortheSanpeopleisuncertain, happens. Oneof Africa’s greatest dilemmas The Future with theremainder scattered throughoutSouthAfrica, Angola,ZimbabweandZambia. and !xobeingthelargest groups)and35%inNamibia(theNaro,!Xukwe, Hei//komandJu/hoansi), ties, barely thesearound60%live inBotswana(the!Kung,G//ana,G/wi 55,000individualsintotal.Of interbreeding, BotswanaandNamibiaare privilegedtoretain theremnants oftheirSancommuni- mostotherAfricanUnlike countries,where theSanhave perishedordisappeared throughwarand The Present version ofmodernisationifitmeansgiving uptheirancestrallandsandtraditions. modernisation are theirbuzz-words. The troubleis,manySanactively reject thegovernment’s ‘Relocation ofBasarwa’onthegovernment website, www.gov.bw). Development, educationand ment maintainsthattheirrelocation policieshave theSan’sbestinterests (seethesection atheart attention tothecloseculturaltiesthatbind theSantotheirancestralland’.The Botswanagovern- UN’s Committee Discrimination,whoadvisedthem‘topayparticular ontheEliminationofRacial March 2006thisresettlement programmeearnedthegovernment astinging reprimand fromthe political hot-potato thattheBotswanagovernment currently faces(seetheboxed text, p119 ). In It’sthebiggestlands tonewgovernment settlementssuchasNewXade inthecentralKalahari. modern African oftheirlifestyle. societyandthepracticality western Namibia,asdebate Botswanaandnortheastern ragesaroundthemastotheir‘place’in in squalid,handout-dependent andalcohol-plaguedsettlementscentred aroundboreholes in Initially, theSan’ssocialflexibilityenabledthemtoevadeconquestandcontrol.Butaspower- Historical precedentsHistorical Native like Americans,theInnuofCanada andAustralian Aboriginals certainly Today, theSanare unequivocallyimpoverished. Manywork Nearly allofBotswana’sandNamibia’sSanhave nowbeenrelocated fromtheirancestral BOTSWANA ••TheSan Survival International Survival

(www.survival-international.org) on farmsandcatt isgainingever more international le-posts orlanguish le-posts hasjoinedthe WIMSA

81 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA was Botswana’s economic dependenceon Thereason, ofAfrica and Rhodesia. course, the endof hispresidency) towardsSouth (atleastuntil near a strictlyneutral stance over landheldbywhite ranchers andadopted pendence. He guaranteed continuedfreehold itsfirstBotswana through 14years of inde- Botswana –wasgranted fullindependence. 1966, thecountry–nowcalledRepublic of elections were heldin1965.On30September waselectedKhama president whengeneral peaceful planforatransfer of power,and nonracial constitution. (ie fromMafikeng toGaborone)andanew for thetransfer of intoBotswana thecapital TheBDPalsocalled traditional Batswana. IIof and such theBangwaketse, asBathoen ence, drawingonsupportfromlocalchiefs BDP formulated aschedule forindepend- DemocraticPartyBechuanaland (BDP).The Ketumile ‘Quett’Masire formedthemoderate Its immediate goalwasindependence. People’sform theBechuanaland Party (BPP). ateacherwith KTMotsete, fromMalawi, to ated withthe Pan-Africanist Congress, joined Philip Matante, aJohannesburg preacher affili- of theAfricanNationalCongress (ANC),and 1960, SouthAfricanrefugees Mpho Motsamai ence. Following theSharpeville Massacre in surface andpromote theideaof independ- politicalpartiesstarted to and ’60sBatswana the1950s andthroughout political agitation tion wasenforcedinSouthAfrica. a British womanatatimewhenracialsegrega- ment which marriage objected to toSeretse’s theSouthAfricangovern-order toappease secret documentshave sincerevealed, wasin Ngwato andexiledhimforsixyears. This,as of fromthechieftainship Khama the Seretse the Empire, theBritishgovernment banned political controversy andacross inBritain thatcaused became clearin1950.Inacase interests of SouthAfricaduringthisperiod The extent of Botswana’ssubordinationtothe Independence mained where itwasuntil1964. the protectorates’ border inSouthAfrica,re- Mafikeng, which wasactuallysituated outside lands. Similarly,theadministrative capital, the remainder classifiedas‘crown’(iestate) 82 Such meddlingonlyincreased growing With a steady hand, Seretse Khama steered Khama With asteady hand,Seretse The Britishgratefully accepted theBDP’s andKanye Khama farmer In 1962,Seretse BOTSWANA •• History BOTSWANA ••History an impressive record. doinghisownshopping. Allinall,itis seen the current president, Festus Mogae,hasbeen selves mansionsandhelicopters, andeven cabinet ministers have notawardedthem- grown faster thananyotherinworld.Yet From 1966to2005,Botswana’seconomyhas and foreign investment welcomed. hasbeen allowedtogrow Private businesshasbeen into infrastructure, educationandhealth. Diamonddollars havewisely. ploughed been managed thecountry’sdiamondwindfall follow pro-Western policies. his predecessor, andcontinuedtocautiously (1980–98), followedthepathlaiddownby Masire, aspresident Khama whosucceeded Botswana parliament.SirKetumile ‘Quett’ majorityues tocommandasubstantial inthe DemocraticParty,the Bechuanaland contin- Botswana DemocraticParty (BDP),formerly after Zimbabwean independence),buthis diedin1980(notlong Khama Sir Seretse Modern Politics international circles. and officially disapproved of apartheidin to exchange ambassadors withSouthAfrica refusedmond mines.Nevertheless, Khama where worked manyBatswana inthedia- ported the majority ofand theirfoodstuffs the gianttosouth,fromwhere theyim- Community (SADC), whose function itis Community (SADC),whose to formthe SouthernAfrican Development to aregional playerof able somesubstance, the countryfroma poor,provincial backwater ducer of gem-quality stonesandcatapulting making Botswanatheworld’sleading pro- in1977andJwaneng1982, at Letlhakane at Orapa. Twoothermajor minesfollowed the jackpotwithdiscovery of diamonds politics. continental country playednoroleineitherregional or paved road.Hardly surprisingthenthatthe entire country there wasonlyone12km-long students enrolledinuniversity. Andinthe pleted primary school andfewer than100 less than2%of thepopulationhaving com- Educational facilitieswere minimal,with belowUS$200. a shockingGDPpercapita as oneof theworld’spoorest countrieswith Following independence,Botswanaranked Diamond Dementia Over thelast35years theBDPhaveOver also Then, in1967,Botswanaeffectively won lonelyplanet.com the Botswana government islookingatableak and withalifespan estimated atonly35years, region. to coordinate thedisparate economiesof the lonelyplanet.com confidence inthemselves, theirgovernment themproudandlendsa tion –does they avoided theworst aspectsof colonisa- ofa series manoeuvres clever thatmeant their government andcountry.Theirhistory– national identityandanimpressive beliefin ful, the haveBatswana aningrainedfeeling of resourceful andrespect-Proud, conservative, NationalPsyche The THE CULTURE benefit of Botswana’. erals anywhere, theywillbeminedforthe conclusively. Should thestatediscover min- maytakedevelopment place…Icannotsay for Wildlife ‘That &Tourismin2002,stated, PelonomiIn herevidence, Venson, Minister the wayforaDebswanaminingconcession. ernment isthattheSanwere resettled tofree p119 ). Oneof theallegations againstthegov- government hasproved theboxed (see text, the First Peoples of theKalahari againstthe by brought contentious, asthecourtcase ing of tobecomeincreasingly diamondsisset streams. themin- Withdiminishing reserves future iftheyfailtofindalternative revenue But thediamondboonalsohasitsdarkside president ofBotswana. in theRoyalCemetery inSerowe. son,Ian,is stillchiefoftheBangwatoandcurrently His vice held untilhisdeath 14yearslater. ofreconciliation, Inafinalact Sir Seretse was buried Khama tually, Seretse andbecamethecountry’sfirstpresident, was knighted a posthe forhisefforts, with hisEnglishwife. when herenounced hisclaimtotheBangwato throne,thathewaspermitted toreturn toSerowe Seretse wasstillbeingdetainedinBritain though,anditwasn’tuntil1956,a changeofheart. breakdowns inBangwatotribalstructure prompted Tshekedi toreturn toSerowe in1952with Seretse over hisuncle, forcingTshekedi togatherhisfollowersandsettleelsewhere. Subsequent from theprotectorate bytheBritish,whoassured himthathe’dbebetter offinLondon. stripped hisnephewofinheritance. Seretse wasexiledfromSerowebyBangwatoleaders,and awifetake fromaBatswanaroyalfamily.Indignantatsuchbreach oftribalcustom,Tshekedi Williams, whilestudyinglawinLondon.As aroyal,Seretse wasexpected –andrequired –to left hisstudiesinSouthAfrica toreturn toSerowe. was onlyfouryearsold,thejobofregent wenttohis21-year-old uncle,Tshekedi who Khama, whodiedonlytwoyearslater.Sekgoma, heir tothethrone,Seretse Becausethenext Khama, When Bangwatochief( MOVERS &SHAKERS: SERETSE KHAMA While inSerowe,Seretse andhiswife begancampaigningforBotswana’sindependence. Even- However, Tshekedi losthisregency whenanoverwhelming majority oftheBangwatobacked dynastyoccurredUproar intheKhama in1948whenSeretse marriedan Englishwoman,Ruth BOTSWANA ••TheCulture kgosi in Setswana) Khama IIIdiedin1923,hewassucceededbyhisson, inSetswana)Khama at 1,640,000people,afigure thattakes into Botswana’s populationin2006wasestimated Population other familymembers. leaving children behind tobecared forby cities toworkinmore lucrative jobs, usually more asmenandwomenmigrate vital to life increase thissupportisbecomingever work. As thepaceanddemandsof modern family generally makes foraninclusive net- the emotionalframeworkof theextended going andunhurriedapproach tolife, and responsibilities have theBatswana aneasy- core. Butdespite someheavyweight social cial structure mores withsomestiff atits of mutualrespect) create awell-definedso- canbeairedgrievances inanatmosphere nated placeineach meeting village where the traditionof the religious beliefs, traditionalgender rolesand glue. Respectforone’selders,etal firmlyheld Traditional culture alsoactsasasortof soci- Daily Life and infrastructure. for significantinvestment ineducation,health incredible diamondwealth,which hasallowed progress byBotswana’s facilitated hasbeen rica. Admittedly thisfaithingovernment and and thefuture thatisrare inpost-colonialAf- kgotla (aspeciallydesig-

83 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA tradition. What survives of theancientmyths tradition. Whatsurvives sionaries, Botswanalacksan extensive literary ten sincethecomingof theChristianmis- As indigenous languages have writ- onlybeen Literature work inSouthernAfrica. of thefinestandmostmeticulouslyexecuted weavings The result andtapestries. issome adapted tolocalinterpretation, particularlyin form of art,someof which wasintegrated and from tradition.Europeansintroduced anew decorated withmeaningfuldesignsderived ments. Baskets, pottery, fabricsandtoolswere of life imple- Batswana in theirutilitarian convey individuality,aestheticsandaspects artistsmanaged toThe originalBatswana &Crafts Arts ARTS spiral outof control. Zimbabweans, thesituationisthreatening to of withtheplight empathise most Batswana althoughgoing hyperinflation.However, the valueof theZimbabwean dollarisunder- working abroad, especiallyconsideringthat onremittances fromfamilymembers survive Furthermore, manyZimbabwean families lack of employment. opportunitiesforstable Zimbabwe wasthe their motivationforfleeing immigrantsclaimedthat When interviewed, repatriated fromBotswanain2005alone. illegal immigrantswere apprehended and of Immigration,over 25,000Zimbabwean According toBotswana’sDepartmentrise. ofinto Botswanainsearch workisonthe the volumeof illegalimmigrantscrossing Zimbabweinrecentthat sweptthrough years, Due tothepoliticalandeconomicinstability Immigration &Emigration 27years. further by2010toadevastating of age andthisisexpected todecrease even Instead, today’sfigure isadepressing 33years be around74years, onaparwiththeUSA. AIDS life inBotswanawouldnow expectancy thatwithoutthescourgeand it’sthought of ence (1966)toabout70years bythemid-1990s, soared from 49years atthetimeof independ- lifeestimated expectancy at –0.04%.Officially, 2006 theannualpopulationgrowthrate was has droppedfrom3.5%toabout 2.3%andin Since theearly1990s,annualbirthrate rates ofhighest HIVinfection intheworld. account thefactthatBotswanahasoneof the 84 BOTSWANA •• Arts BOTSWANA ••Arts level sand-filledlevel basincharacterised byscrub- tion of 1000mandconsistsof avastandnearly sizeasKenyait aboutthesame orFrance. south and960kmfromeasttowest,making Botswana extends 1100kmfromnorthto With anarea of 582,000sqkm,landlocked Land The ENVIRONMENT elsewhere. triates andapologistsfromSouthAfrica with thecountry’sgrowingnumberof expa- in aremote village, and Rush, which includethenovel national literature are theworks of Norman thology of shortstories.Head diedin1988. The Collectorof Treasures; The Cardinals, Clouds Gather, Serowe –Village of the Rain Wind, scape. Her mostwidelyread worksinclude of Africanvillage life andtheBot swanan land- works thatreflected theharshness andbeauty village andwrote Khama’s of Seretse Serowe Head,figure inSir wasBessie whosettled and onlyrecently written down. handeddownorally other groupshasbeen ofand poetry theSan,Tswana, Herero and River provide anincongruous water supplyin trees.sausage such asacacia,jackalberry, leadwoodand papyrus andwater liliesaswell aslarger trees and swampvegetation, which includes reeds, the northwestare characterised byriverbank der. TheOkavango and Linyantiwetlandsof teak) thrive ontheZimbabweanbor-Zambezi areas of deciduous forest and (mopane,msasa small brush andsavanna grassland,although Most of thecountryiscovered withscrub Wildlife of theMakgadikgadi Pans. In thenortheastare thegreat claydeserts salty whichDelta, covers anarea of 15,000sqkm. formingtheOkavangosoaks intothesands, Okavango River flowsinfromNamibiaand southwestern regions. Inthe northwestthe of Botswana, includingtheentire centraland valleys,coversits andlong,sandy nearly 85% of expanse wind-blown depos- semi-arid sand covered savanna. TheKalahari (Kgalagadi),a Because theOkavango andtheChobe Delta Because Most of thecountryliesatanaverage eleva- Welcome recent additionstoBotswana’s Botswana’s mostfamousmodernliterary

Maru, A Bewitched Crossroad

A Question of Power, Whites, thelastisanan- lonelyplanet.com which deals Mating,

When Rain and set

pp88-9; through the through PO Box20364,Boseja,Maun) tion. ChobeNational Park parts of ChobeNationalPark andtheLinyanti dogs, are present inMoremi GameReserve, ities aspukus,red andwild lechwes, sitatungas African mammalspecies,includingsuch rar- drysavanna, nearlyallSouthern the otherwise lonelyplanet.com fax 6251623) available fromthe 12.45pm &1.45-4.30pmMon-Fri) Cres, Gaborone; 131, GovernmentEnclave,Khama ofWildlife&NationalParks Department of office the thereservation visit. Contact person uptooneyearprioryour intended tional parksbypost,phone;fax,email orin thewilderness4WDtracks(see to use p118 ). residents payUS$6tocampplusUS$37perday pays US$4perdaytoentereveryone andnon- pay US$2/1).AtKgalagadiTransfrontierPark, pay US$6/4perdaytoenter/camp andcitizens discounts(residentssubstantial of Botswana dren andBotswanaresidents andcitizensget registered vehicles payUS$10/2perday.Chil- per person forcamping;foreign/Botswana- participants,plusUS$5.50(P33) safari licensed (P133/79) perdayforindividualtravellers/ frontier Park) fornonresidents are US$22/13 private reserves. from several national park,butratheriscobbledtogether isnota TuliGameReserve The North-East National Park andMoremi GameReserve. National Park), Makgadikgadi &NxaiPan Park andSouthAfrica’sKalahari-Gemsbok former Mabuasehube-Gemsbok National tier Park (anamalgamationof Botswana’s KgalagadiTransfron- Game Reserve, Khutse ChobeNationalPark, lahari GameReserve, few amenities. sions, there’s nexttonoinfrastructure and they dosupportafew private conces- safari nature stillreigns supreme, andalthough wildest, characterised byopenspaceswhere Botswana’s national parksare amongAfrica’s National Parks the summerlushness of theNxaiPan region. winter range ontheMakgadikgadi plainsand other hoofed mammalsmigrate their between National Park, herdsof zebrasand wildebeests, Marshes. IntheMakgadikgadi &NxaiPan You canbookaccommodationinthena- Fees forparks(exceptKgalagadiTrans- Ka-The major parksincludetheCentral % 318 0774;fax0775;[email protected]; POBox . Maun office Maun BOTSWANA ••Food&Drink Kasane office Kasane , besidethepolice sta-

( % . Youcanalsobook

bookings are also 686 1265;fax1264;

( % (DWNP; Map (DWNP; Map

h 625 0235; 7.30am- Botswana has no great national cuisine to knock Botswana hasnogreat nationalcuisine toknock eatingoutisn’tparticularly exciting– Although Food FOOD &DRINK do totravel responsibly inBotswana. ators, ruralpeopleandconservationists. ranchers, engineers, developers, touroper- the cruxof thegovernment, adebate between straining resources at andplacing thedelta tourism –particularlyaroundMaun –are tion growth,mininginterests andincreased farmland. Nowadays,pressure frompopula- form northwestern Botswanaintolush, green Okavango asasourceof Delta water totrans- and developerssettlers have eyeingthe been time of thefirst Europeancolonists,both with theranchers. the fences, andthegovernment tends toside ranchersstandably have reacted positively to exported mustbedisease-free, sounder- beef of wealthandamajor exportindustry,but all ranchingcontinue todecline. isasource Cattle andzebras) giraffes (particularly wildebeests, ecosystems, andmigratorywildlife numbers protection, theydon’tconstitute independent asidelargeBotswana hasset areas forwildlife routes.sources alongage-old While seasonal other wildanimalsfrommigratingtowater and domesticbovine species,butalsoprevent fences notonlyprevent wild between contact fromspeciestoandthe ispassed disease proven ithasn’tbeen However, disease. thatthe cattle andthwartthespread of foot-and-mouth herdsfromdomesticfree-range wild buffalo fences were first erected in1954tosegregate cross someof thecountry’swildestterrain. The ofa series high-tensile steelwire barriers that officially calledthe‘veterinary cordonfence’ – fence’,its 3000kmof ‘buffalo 1.5m-high challenges. Themainonerevolves around ecological faceseveral and pristine,itdoes While much of Botswana islargely wideopen Environmental Issues booking. ceived withinonemonthoryouforfeit the Botswana pulaorbycredit cardmustbere- or nonresidents of Botswana. Payment in ers andwhethertheyare citizens,residents and departure, numberof thetotal camp- park, thecampingground,dates of arrival See See p26 forinformationonwhatyoucan Botswana alsohaswater issues.Fromthe When booking,includethenameof the

85 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA light St Louis Special Light lager StLouisSpecial Light (you can’t light a varietyof tea, coffee andsoft drinks. in themajor citiesandtowns.You’llalso find South Africaare soldincasks insupermarkets A range of 100%naturalfruitjuicesfrom Drinks produce andotherstaples. formal markets where you’llfindinexpensive Francis town andMaun dohave growing in- in neighbouring countries,butGaborone, with thefingers. withsomesortof meatrelish andeatenserved (maize porridge). Allof are these typically lar imported (sorghum porridge), ortheincreasingly popu- swana mealsare greasy fried snacksare thenorm. little menuvariation:chicken, chips, and beef options.Insmallertowns,expect and Italian and Maun, Indian,French you’llfindChinese, really on,butinGaborone,Francistown caught Vegetarian and international cuisineshaven’t updecent,ifunimaginative, fare. mally serve nor-ings amongthebestinAfrica. Restaurants willfindthepick- your socksoff –self-caterers 86 Botswana’s maindomestic dropisthevery Open markets aren’t asprevalent here as Forming thebasisof mosttraditionalBat- areas, peoplestillsupplementtheirdietswiththeseitems. plantisthe Ausefuldesert on meatandmilk,whilewomenwere lefttogatherandeatwildfruitsvegetables. Inremote edibles toaugmenttheirstaplefoods. whichdishedupadiverse arrayofwildarrived, tothedesert, peopleherdedanimalsandlooked most peoplegettheirfoodfromagriculture butbefore orthesupermarket, SouthAfrican imports sorghum, milletandmaize; whiletheHerero subsisted soured Nowadays, onthickened, milk. Traditionally, theTswana staplewasbeef,theYei ate mainly dependedonfish,andtheKalanga TRADITIONAL FOODSINBOTSWANA or eaten raw. Alternatively, they’re boiledinsaltwater ordriedinthesuntobelater deep-friedinfat,roasted habitants ofmopanetrees, are normallygutted inhotashforabout15minutes. andcooked their eggs,smallmammalsandreptiles andeven anteggs. Mopaneworms,caterpillar-like in- been astapleforsomeSangroups. protein-rich mongongonut,similartothecashew,iseaten raworroasted, andhashistorically bush itselfproducesasmallshrivelled berry,usedlocallytomake their presence isrevealed soilaroundthebushafter storms. by ringsofcracked electrical The trufflesare thoughttobetheeggsoflightningbirdbecause Kalahari ogy, theseso-called marula fruit,plums,berries,tubersandroots,tsamamelons,wildcucumbershoney. the an immenseunderground tuberthatcontainsliquidandisasourceofwater. Above ground, Historically, BatswanamenwereHistorically, responsible forfishingortending theherds,andlived mainly Traditional people – mainly the San – still gather wild animal products, suchasbirdsandTraditional people–mainlytheSanstillgatherwildanimalproducts, A fungusthatgrowsonthe GABORONE morama grows leguminous pods that contain edible beans. Other desert delectables include delectables growsleguminouspodsthatcontainediblebeans. desert Other mielies mabele (maize)and (sorghum) or Grewia flavia mielie pap bogobe bushisrelated totheEuropean truffle. InSanmythol-

alcoholic drinks are lessthanlegal,including coolers. Someof themore populartraditional Namibia), aswellagrowingrange of spirit (from Lager LionandWindhoek find Castle, tofeel it).You’llalso drink itfastenough of entry. However, Gaborone serves as a con- of Gaborone serves entry.However, asthe principalport Okavango serves Delta, Maun ( p106 ), located on thebanksof the flying intoBotswana, thebustlingtownof definition. Formost international travellers from growingpains,drabness andalackof is littlemore thanaramblingvillage suffering (normally affectionately shortened toGabs), Botswana’s diminutive capital, Gaborone pop 250,000 GABORONE thickened sourmilk. from andnonintoxicatingfruit; light cially; awinemadefromfermented marula thatisalsobrewedsorghum beer commer- common ries orfungus.Otherhomebrews includethe from adistilledbrew of brownsugarand ber- Anotheris distilled palmsap. mokolane wine,apotent swillmadefrom mielies bojalwa, orsorghum mash;and kgadi aninexpensive, sprouted wine. The nutritiousand lonelyplanet.com mageu, kgadi, morama, madila, made made

a HISTORY HISTORY before headingouttothenationalparks. from SouthAfrica,andit’sagoodsupplystop venient gateway tooverland travellers arriving lonelyplanet.com Gaborone Private Hospital Private Gaborone HospitalDental Clinic Gaborone Services Medical Hardware Building.hour) IntheGaborone AccessPoint Internet Sakeng Cresta President Hotel. Internet Aim Access Internet Police Fire Opposite theCresta President Hotel. PoliceStation Central Ambulance Emergency Bookshop Kingston’s Books Exclusive Bookshops INFORMATION restaurants. vide thewidestrange of retail outletsand andRiverwalkKgale Centre Malls pro- localneighbourhoods, theenormous serve shopping centresmain mall.Whileseveral clave Cres, alongKhama attheheadof the concentrated aroundtheGovernment En- Most government are ministriesandoffices onitsshoppingmalls. and theactionfocuses one lacksanyreal centralbusinessdistrict, itnowhasadistinctskyline,Gabor-Although ORIENTATION the fastest-growing citiesinSouthernAfrica. six timesthat,andGaboroneisnowamongst thepopulationwas 20,000. By1990,however, envisagednever apopulationof more than to theDepartmentof Public Works,which ofthe task designingthenewcitywasassigned the future of capital independentBotswana, wasdesignated as for anearlyTlokwachief) In 1964,whenthevillage of Gaborone (named Botswana andtheregion. array ofnovels,postcards,booksandmapsabout Segoditshane Way) For anything more serious, headto Way)Foranything more serious, Segoditshane of the Gaborone Private Hospital. Private of theGaborone nonfiction and travelbooks. nonfiction recommended bookshophasawiderangeofliterature, ( % ( % 998) 999) ( % (Botswana Rd; per hr US$3) Next to the (BotswanaRd;perhrUS$3)Next 997) (Riverwalk Mall) Thisreader- Mall) (Riverwalk GABORONE••History (Broadhurst Mall) Hasahuge (BroadhurstMall) ( % 355 1161;BotswanaRd) ( % (The Mall; US$3per Mall; (The 360 1999; ( % 395 3777) Part 395 3777)Part 1km eastof Broadhurst, isaccessibleonlyby road fromBroadhurst Mall. there located isalso apostoffice acrossthe greatly improvedoverrecent years. Mall; BankBldg,the 2ndfl,StandardChartered .bw/tourism; train station. opposite Broadhurst Mall. opposite BroadhurstMall. this considerablymore modern, butexpensive,hospital, a groupand arrange a tour. and aren’t putoff byred you canmuster tape, diamond mineat Jwaneng.Ifyouhave time grading diamonds fromtheworld’slargest of –forthepurpose sorting andsunlight make of –withoutdirect use naturaldaylight Cres) Khama diately River. southof theSegoditshane Access isfromLimpopoDr;turneast imme- is hometoavarietyof grazers andbrowsers. private vehicle (nobikes or motorcycles), and sion US$0.25,pluspervehicleUS$0.50; and culturalexhibits. African andEuropeanart,ethnographic hunting techniques, traditional andmodern ing displaysonSancrafts,material culture and wildlifestuffed and culturalartefacts, includ- 9am-5pmSat&Sun) 6pm Tue-Fri, Independence Ave; Bag0014;admissionfree; Private The SIGHTS ofWildlife&NationalParks Department Tourism of Department Information Tourist In additiontothe Post deChange Edcom Bureau Barclays Bank but charge upto2.75%commission. atbetter rates than thebanks, quick service few bureaux dechange aroundthecityoffer ties andATMs, andoffer cashadvances.The have Banks foreign-exchangeBarclays facili- Major branches of Chartered Standard and Money national parks and reserves runbytheDWNP.national parksandreserves see offices(theotherisinMaun; tion booking p107 ) for Oneofthetwoaccommoda- & 1.45-4.30pmMon-Fri) Cres, Gaborone; Khama % The Orapa House 318 0774;[email protected]; GovernmentEnclave, h National Museum & Art Gallery &Art National Museum Gaborone Game Reserve Game Gaborone 7.30am-12.30pm & 1.45-4.30pm Mon-Fri) Has 7.30am-12.30pm &1.45-4.30pmMon-Fri) , ownedbyDebswana,isdesignedto ( %

( % 355 3411; Khama Cres) 355 3411;Khama h 395 1131; cnr Nelson Mandela Dr& 395 1131;cnrNelsonMandela central postoffice ( reservations 7.30am-12.45pm reservations % ( % 355 3024;www.gov isarepository of 361 1123)Nearthe (

h % 6.30am-6.30pm) 358 4492;admis-

( %

(The Mall) (The (DWNP; 397 4616; h 87 9am-

, , BOTSWANA BOTSWANA ὈὈ ὈὈ

BOTSWANA 88 To GrandPalmHotel Molepolole (50km) Thamaga (48km); (23km); Kolobeng(33km); Casino Resort(5km);Gabane 4 6 1 3 2 5 GABORONE

GABORONE State Department ofSurveys&Mapping.. South RingLodge...... Planet Lodge...... Lolwapa Lodge...... Gaborone SunHotel&Casino...... Gaborone Hotel...... Cresta PresidentHotel...... Cresta Lodge...... Brackendene Lodge...... Boiketlo Lodge...... Orapa House...... National Museum&ArtGallery.... Zimbabwean HighCommission.... Zambian HighCommission...... US Embassy...... Standard CharteredBank...... (see10) Standard CharteredBankATM..... Sakeng InternetAccessPoint...... Namibian HighCommission...... Gaborone PrivateHospital...... Gaborone HospitalDentalClinic..(see15) Gaborone Club...... French Embassy...... Exclusive Books...... (see41) Edcom BureaudeChange...... (DWNP)...... Department ofWildlife&NationalParks Department ofTourism...... Office...... Department ofImmigrationHead Central PostOffice...... Central PoliceStation...... Council...... British HighCommission& Botswana Telecom...... Barclays Bank...... Angolan Embassy...... Aim Internet...... INFORMATION SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES State 3

House House

ABCD 4 Dr

Park Dr 8 11 24 Khama Cres 5

Queen's Rd 400m 0.2miles 0 0 Kutlwano Cl

Botswana Rd

The Mall

18 Khwai Rd Khwai 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Selemela 45 27 B1 D5 D4 E4 E3 B4 B1 C6 B2 A2 C4 C1 C4 B1 C4 B1 B1 C5 E1 F4 B1 C4 C4 B1 B1 A2 A2 C3 A1 A1 A1 B1 34 To KgaleCentreMall(500m);

7 Pillane St Pillane

6 Mokolodi Nature

17 1 Mt Kgale(6km); Train Station Reserve (13km)

Robinson Rd Robinson Molepolole Rd Molepolole 10 13 25

20 44 Lobatse Rd Rd Tati 28 Market Stalls

Macheng Rd

43

Independence Ave Independence Pula Station 46 16

12 Pula 22

Mmaraka Eastern Commercial St Circle Market

9 Circle Stalls

Rd 21 Old Lobatse Rd 19 To GaboroneDam (1km);

23 Nelson Mandela Dr

Rd

Embassy

Sekgwa Seboni Khama Waterfront (1km) Dr 2 33 35

ὈὈ ὈὈ Cres Francistown Rd 26 Lobatse Rd President's Dr House Independence State

Madibeng

Kaunda Rd Kaunda Selemela Kubu Rd Kubu

The Mall Badiri Samora Machel Dr Babusi Allison Cres Ave

Botswana Rd

Queens Rd See Enlargement 37 Independence

Bontleng

40 38

Ave Broadhurst Dr Broadhurst lonelyplanet.com

Show Grounds Segoditshane Botswelelo Gaborone Francistown (425km) Sir SeretseKhama Airport (11km);

To Broadhurst 42 Nyerere Dr Nyerere Mall (400m); International Broadhurst Dilalelo

32

Phologolo North Ring Rd Ring North

31 South Ring Rd Ring South River

Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com of Botswana Way Hospital Mosque University

Mophato Stadium (250m) Way Segoditshane

Golf Course 36

Gaborone 30 Dr Nyerere To National

15

Metsemasweu Rd Metsemasweu Mobutu Dr Mobutu Notwane Rd Embassy (500m); Mochudi (32km) 29 To German EF

Tlokweng Rd 39 Jawara Rd Jawara GABORONE••Activities Village African Mall...... Taxi Stand...... Taxi Stand...... Intercape Mainliner...... (see18) Combi Stand...... (see46) Bus Station...... Air Botswana...... TRANSPORT South RingMall...... Riverwalk Mall...... Nyere ShoppingCentre...... Centre...... Maru-a-Pula (NoMathatha) Jewel ofAfrica...... (see37) Craft Workshop...... Botswana Craft...... (see27) SHOPPING Keg &Zebra...... (see41) Bull &BushPubXXXEnt...... (see33) Alliance Française...... ENTERTAINMENT Terrace Restaurant...... (see27) Milano's Chicken&Pizza...... (see42) Maharaja Restaurant...... King's Takeaway...... Fishmonger...... (see 41) Equatorial Cafe...... (see41) Bull &BushPub...... 25º East...... (see41) EATING Boitshoko Stadium National 1km 0.5miles 0 0

Maratadiba Rd Limpopo Dr Limpopo 41 To LonakaInn(1.3km); Shashe Rd

Mohatha Rd Border(2km) South African Ngotwane 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 To Gaborone

Sefoke Rd GR (100m) C4 B1 B4 B1 D5 F5 D2 D1 D4 E4 C2 B1 C2 E2 River

14

4 6 1 3 2 5 Okwa Rd Okwa Show GroundsinMay. Show Grounds,inAugust. March orthefirstweekofApril. March thelastweekof daysduring and isheldannuallyforseven festival inBotswana, arts Festival isthelargestperforming feature full kitchens. do to becentrally located, thehouses though main buildingis a goodchoice ifyouwant of thanan organised lodge. smallhouses The building, theBrackendene ismore acollection recently renovated roomslocated inthemain s/d fromUS$24/45; the BotswanaPostbuilding. it canbefoundoppositepoorly signed,though are drawbacks.Boiketloable security serious is located, grungyroomsand question- though able hotel intownisdirtcheap andcentrally shared bathroomUS$18/30; ( p93). is atthenearbyMokolodiNature Reserve The best campingintheGaboronearea Budget SLEEPING TradeFairInternational Industry &Technology Fair Traditional DanceCompetition Festival Maitisong a numberof localfestivals andevents: swana Advertiser and inthe‘What’sOn’columnof the vertised inlocalEnglish-language newspapers are events aboutthese ad- Details the capital. (see p125 ) are forcelebrationin alwayscause Day President’s The nationalholidaysof FESTIVALS &EVENTS English-language newspapers. inthelocal usually advertised andpublicised at 4pmonSaturdaysandSundays,are casional international game. Matches start aswelltheoc- countrywide SuperLeague teams inthe plays hosttomatches between Stadium able forrental attheproshop.The are anextraUS$3/6,andequipmentisavail- costs US$10perday.Green fees for9/18holes of theswimmingpool,bars andrestaurants, Temporary membership, which includesuse Golf Course Visitors are welcomeatthe18-hole ACTIVITIES o Lodge Boiketlo

( % Brackendene Lodge Brackendene

( % 395 3449; Notwane Rd; tickets fromUS$1) 395 3449;NotwaneRd;tickets and pa 361 2262;ChumaDr;

( Established in 1987, the Maitisong Established in1987,theMaitisong . Gaboronealsoplayshostto % Botswana/Independence Day 355 2347; Khama Cres; s/d with 355 2347;Khama Although thereAlthough are afew ) Also held at the Gaborone AlsoheldattheGaborone p Held at the Gaborone HeldattheGaborone ) Sir Seretse Khama Day Khama Sir Seretse The mostafford- LateMarch. ( % 361 2886;Tati Rd; h closed Mon) Gaborone Gaborone National Bot- 89

.

,

BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA much justifies theheavy pricetag. dab inthemiddleof theMall, which pretty first luxuryhotel inthecityislocated smack- 90 pas 2999; www.grandpalm.bw; Molepolole Rd;dfromUS$120; sprawl. rest outside theurban in athree-star setting choice ifyou’re lookingforaquietnight’s tractively landscapedCresta Lodge isagood Located 2kmoutsidethecitycentre, theat- Dr;s/dUS$119/139 .com; SamoraMachel and golfcourse. on-site restaurants, acasino, swimmingpool especially sinceguestscantake advantage of its upmarket rivals.Still,it’snotabadchoice, doned GaboroneSunfailstocompete with highbrow aban- atmosphere, theseemingly luxury dUS$115/140; ChumaDr;standard/ .suninternational.com/resorts/gaborone/; s/dUS$107/133; pitality.com; TheMall; Hotel President Cresta Top End andair-con. TV prisingly quietandwellfurnished withcable Theroomsareand trainstations. large, sur- but it’sconveniently located nexttothebus winanyawardsforbeauty, complex willnever .bw; s/dUS$45/60; available toguests. according tosize,andkitchen facilitiesare stereos, air-con andfridges. Roomsare priced which offers attractive roomsfeaturing TVs, city centre bringsyoutothisrelaxed lodge, from US$36/43; parts). these byamassivehighlighted bathtub(ararityin Ring Mall). Splurge forthe‘suite’, which is convenient nexttotheSouth location(right US$42/47; Rd; s/dwithshared bathroomUS$30/35,s/dUS$37/42,suite the university. noisy roadandconvenient tonothingexcept furnished. character, carpeted roomsare cleanandwell basicanddecidedlylackinginAlthough with shared bathroomUS$27/34,s/dUS$36/45; Lolwapa Lodge Midrange Gaborone Sun Hotel &Casino SunHotel Gaborone o Lodge South Ring o Lodge Cresta Planet Lodge GABORONE ••Eating pa ) Located 5kmwest of thecity centre, Gaborone Hotel Hotel Gaborone Grand Palm Hotel Casino Resort Resort Casino Grand Palm Hotel

Unfortunately, Lolwapaisona pa

pa )

Shabby roomsare bythe offset ( ( ( % % % pas

367 5375;www.cresta-hospitality 390 3295; 514 South Ring Rd;s/d 390 3295;514SouthRing ) 318 4865;2873MobutuDr;s/d (

% A shortwalkfromthe ) ( Thislarge andmodern % 318 5550; 3487 South Ring 318 5550;3487SouthRing ( % 355 3631;www.cresta-hos Onceknownforits ) 362 2777;gabhot@info

( % pas ; 355 1111;www pas pa ( % The ) 361 ) )

best espressos in town are served here,best espressos along intownare served 10) There’s alsoanoutletatBroadhurst Mall. is yourtopspotfor,well,chicken andpizza. US$4-7) breakfasts andhomemadepastas. charming inhealthy littlecaféspecialises fasts, vegetarian fare andcoffee specialities. Woolworth’s isrenowned foritsheartybreak- popularexpathangoutabovedeservedly mealsUS$4-6; (Broadhurst Mall; noto it’s hardtosay inspired mainsare probably asafer bet,though restaurant ontheedge of theKalahari. Asian- it,thereIf youcanbelieve isinfactasushi and snackstohungryoffice workers. upinexpensive burgers,favourite serves chips have Theyeven sandwiches. real bagels. with fruitsmoothies,falafel andgourmet Cafe Equatorial EATING it’s theswishestaccommodationintown. casino, cinemaandspa. but You’llpaytostay, a mini-citycomplete withrestaurants, bars, a Vegas–inspiredthis Las resort complexboasts ental cuisineand afewental localspecialities. dishes including curries,grilled meats,contin- below. TheTerrace upavarietyof serves the passingMall scenespot forsurveying dent Hotel, thiseclecticrestaurant isa good mains US$6-10) ocean is,you’re goingtoenjoythefishhere. as youdon’tthinkabout where thenearest on thetube. worthwatchingalways somesportingevent buzzing withactivity,andyoucanbetthere’s gardenis of theoutdoorbeer night theweek, its thicksteaks andcoldbeers. Onanygiven buttheBull&Busheveryone, isrenowned for alike. There’s somethingonthemenufor is popularwithexpats,touristsandlocals for relief frompapandstew. vegetarian options)isperfect ifyou’re looking the large of selection Indiandishes (including US$4-8) This long-standing Gaboroneinstitution Thislong-standing o Fishmonger o Restaurant Maharaja &Pizza Chicken Milano’s Prego Caffe o Takeaway King’s 25º East The‘stylish’ décoris abitdated, though Thispopularchain of restaurants Italian

Terrace Restaurant Bull &BushPub (Riverwalk Mall; sushiUS$2-4,mainsUS$5-10) Mall; (Riverwalk Kgotla Restaurant &CoffeeShop Kgotla Restaurant Ontheterrace of theCresta Presi- Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com

(Riverwalk Mall; mainsUS$5-10) Mall; (Riverwalk (Riverwalk Mall; mainsfromUS$2) Mall; (Riverwalk (Broadhurst Mall; mainsUS$4-6) (Broadhurst Mall; (The Mall; mealsUS$2-4) Mall; (The ( nigiri-zushi % ( % h 393 1870; Seboni Rd;mains 393 1870;Seboni

(South Ring Mall; mains Mall; (South Ring ( % 397 5070;mainsUS$5- closed Monday) lonelyplanet.com 395 3631; The Mall; 395 3631;TheMall; . Thislocal So long This This The including weavings fromOodiandpottery ditional souvenirs fromallover thecountry, Botswana’s largest tra- craftemporiumsells There’s of agood selection coldbeers ontap, isalsothecentretaurant forexpatnightlife. occasionally hostslive performances. and iftheconversation islacking,youcan Bull &BushPub ENTERTAINMENT lonelyplanet.com from Francistown (US$100), Maun (US$155) operates to and scheduled domesticflights ( 14km fromthecentre of town, International Khama Airport, From SirSeretse Air THERE& AWAY GETTING ‘Broadhurst Route 3’combi. Sunday of each month.Toget there take the to afleamarket onthemorningof thelast craftsandsouvenirs,sells and alsoplayshost Estate) hurst Industrial are reasonable (andfixed). ismadeinBotswana,priceshereeverything not assorted Africanknick-knacks.Although sketches,range shawls of andother carvings, Mall) fixed. ficient atbargaining, fear not – pricesare from GabaneandThamaga. Ifyou’re de- % African Malls. (No Mathatha), Nyerere Shopping and Centre Mall andtheincreasingly Maru-a-Pula seedy tions includeBroadhurst/Kagiso the Centre, op- and theenormousKgaleCentre. Lesser malls, headedupbythelovely Riverwalk Mall ofFor shoppers, Gaboroneisaseries shopping SHOPPING quently screens classic films. youth. lar withmiddle-classBatswana Features allsortsof musicalactsandispopu- had here of mostnights theweek. there’s though along jamsessions, funtobe sing- packs inthecrowdsforitsSunday-night sports telecasts onsatellite TV. always turnyourattention totheinternational % Craft Workshop Craft ofAfrica Jewel Botswanacraft Alliance Française Nightspark Waterfront &Zebra Keg 362 4471; 390 5500;BotswanaInsurance CompanyHouse,TheMall) Thisattractive shopoffers aneclectic The Mall

(Broadhurst Mall; weekend admissionUS$2) weekend (Broadhurst Mall;

(Gaborone Dam) (Gaborone (Riverwalk Mall) (Riverwalk

(

( % GABORONE••Entertainment

%

Thissmallcomplexof shops ( (www.botswanacraft.bw; (www.botswanacraft.bw; %

% ( % 397 5070) 361 4359; [email protected]; African 361 4359;[email protected];African 355 6364; 5648 Nakedi Rd,Broad- 355 6364;5648Nakedi 355 3577; 395 1650;Pudulogo Way) Southof thecity,it Thispopularbar This popularres- Airport Airport Air Botswana % Warehouse 361 2209) Fre-

per person tothecentre. The only reliable US$4 andUS$10 find one, you’llpaybetween Taxis rarely turnupattheairport;ifyou do To/From theAirport AROUND GETTING contact able fromGaborone. Forcurrent information, avail-morning, withonlyeconomy-class seats (US$1,1½hours) early inthe ues toLobatse contin- Francistown, theovernight service 8¼hours).sleeper/US$5/20/25, Comingfrom 9pm (economy/1st-class sleeper/2nd-class athours). traindepartsnightly Thenight at 10am(club/economyclassUS$4/8,6½ The daytraindepartsforFrancistowndaily Train Maunonward liftstoNata, andKasane. US$6 toFrancistown,where youcanlookfor space willstopforpassengers. Planonaround towaveneed downavehicle –anyonewith spot atthenorthernendof town.There’s no city loopandget hitching off atthestandard bus fromanyshopping centre alongthemain To hitch north,catch theBroadhurst 4mini- Hitching formation, see p128 ). besideTheMall.petrol station Formore in- (US$25, 6½hours) runsfromtheKuduShell leave whenfull. fixeding toroughly schedules andminibuses change inFrancis operate accord- town. Buses hour) andMolepolole(US$1.25,onehour). (US$1, onehour),Thamaga(US$0.80, Manyana (US$0.80,1½hours), Mochudi two hours), Jwaneng(US$4,three hours), toKanye (US$1.50, also offers localservices main busterminal. Themainbusterminal (US$4,five hours) departfromthe Serowe three hours), Palapye (US$4,fourhours) and (US$1.50, 1½hours), Mahalapye (US$2.50, hours), Ghanzi(US$10,11hours), Lobatse (US$6,six (US$5, sixhours), Selebi-Phikwe burg hours), Francistown (US$12,seven toJohannes- andminibuses Intercity buses Bus to/from Gaborone,see p127 . an agent forotherregional airlines. as and Kasane alsoserves (US$155).Theoffice For informationabout international flights The Intercape Mainliner toJohannesburg To reach Maun orKasane, to you’llneed Botswana Railways

( % 395 1401) .

91 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA is afriendly,Swedish-run ranch specialising a range of locallymadeweavings, tapestries, mid-1500s, as evidenced byruined stonewalls mid-1500s, asevidenced villages, bythe Kwenainthe was first settled Mochudi, oneof Botswana’s mostfascinating Mochudi hitch thefinal7kmtoworkshop. Junction; fromhere, you’llprobably have to minibus fromGaboroneandget at Odi off bedspreads andcushions. Take anorthbound 10am-4.30pm Sat&Sun) Odi Weavers best knownforitsinternationally acclaimed This smallvillage (pronounced Odi and followthesigns. towards Molepolole,thenheadtoKopong costs US$20.Take theroadfromGaborone private bathroomsintherusticguesthouse US$5 perperson, whiledoubleroomswith costs and tranquilaccommodation.Camping italsooffersin horse riding,though cheap Country HorseSafaris Kopong AROUND GABORONE per triparoundthecity. fares (negotiable)are generally US$3toUS$5 swana Rd.Ifyoumanage toget aholdof one, either infrontof oronBot- thetrainstation streets lookingforfares, andmostare parked ficult tocomebyinGabs.Very few the cruise their bluenumberplates, are surprisinglydif- Taxis, which canalsobeeasilyidentifiedby Taxi major roadsorfromthecombistand. spectively. Combiscanbehailedeitheralong are ontheTlokwengandKgaleroutes, re- Riverwalk Mall which andtheKgaleCentre, the mainshoppingcentres exceptthenew all stop’.Themaincitylooppasses ‘bus/taxi onlyatdesignateddrop off lay-bys marked routes andcostUS$0.50.Theypickup blue numberplates, circulate accordingtoset Packed white combis,recognisable bytheir Combis you’ll have topayabout US$8. thedrivernonguests maytalk intoalift,but end hotels fortheirguests.Ifthere’s space, operatedthe courtesy bythetop- minibuses theairportandtownistransport between 92 GABORONE •• Around Gaborone GABORONE ••AroundGaborone

( % 339 2268; , which produces and sells , which producesandsells

( % 721 34567;Lentsweletau Rd) h 8am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 8am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, Oo -dee) is-dee)

well-decorated rooms. Camping isalsospo- well-decorated rooms.Camping The tongue-twistingnameof thishillsidevil- Molepolole one hour). the mainbusterminal inGaborone(US$0.80, booked runfrequently inadvance. Buses from of creations forgoodprices.Tours mustbe awiderange ies inthe1970sandnowsells community project wasstarted bymissionar- also calledThamagaPottery. Thisnonprofit ( Thamaga ishometothe butunexcitingvillageThe delightful of Thamaga historic village centre. justbeforeand thenright intothe thehospital, turn east;after 6km,turnleftattheT-junction when full.Bycar,headnorthtoPilaneand mud-walled architecture. preciating thevarietyof designsinthetown’s it’sworthspendinganhourap- the museum, village anditsKgatlahistory.After visiting one of Botswana’sbest,withdisplaysonthe 2-5pmSat&Sun) Mon-Fri, 8920; admissionfree, donationssuggested; style northward-trekking Dutch– TheCape Boers. forcedfromtheirlandsbywho hadbeen in thehills.In1871cameKgatlapeople, serves upclassy meals. serves restaurantradically possible andtheattached Rd;s/dUS$37/48) Gaborone facility. which isBotswana’sonlydiamond-cutting Namder DiamondFactory the cave death. wouldbring aboutaspeedy warnings fromlocalshamans thattoapproach despite dire the Thamagaroad)andsurvived, the Kobokwe Cave (5kmfromtownalong was accomplishedafter Livingstonevisited managedever toconvert toChristianity.This the onlyperson themissionaryLivingstone orabilia. It’s reputed was thatChiefSechele historic photosandDavid Livingstonemem- and features traditionalhousing,paintings, Rd; 0917; Gaborone attraction, the shortened to‘Moleps’.Themainsensibly lage (pronounced 4pm Sat) % Mafenya-Thala Hotel Mafenya-Thala Buses toMochudi departfromGaborone Buses You mayalsowanttovisitthe 499 9220;MolepololeRd;toursUS$0.50; Phuthadikobo Museum Phuthadikobo , is housed in the 1902 police station inthe1902policestation , ishoused h Kgosi Sechele 1Museum Kgosi Sechele 9am-noon & 2-4pm Tue-Fri, 11am- 9am-noon &2-4pmTue-Fri, mo , established in1976,is , established offers and comfortable (

% -lay-po- ( % 595 0522;[email protected];

592 0815;ThamagaRd) ( Botswelelo Centre % lonelyplanet.com lo 577 7238;fax574 -lay) isoften h h Schacter & Schacter 8am-5pm) 8am-5pm

( % 592 , ,

at Mokolodiare andwellgroomed, secluded www.mokolodi.com; The ‘sleeping giant’,MtKgale,overlooksThe ‘sleeping Gab- Kgale Mt terminal inGaborone (US$1,1½hours). lonelyplanet.com tal oftal peopleis hometothe theBangwaketse ofBuilt around thebase Kanye Hill,the capi- Kanye for fourpeople). fers fromthecitycentre/airport (US$28/44 entrance. Youcanalsophoneaheadfortrans- turn-off. Fromthere, it’sa1.5kmwalktothe a bustoLobatse-bound combitothe signed south of Gaborone. Bypublictransport,take a nominalcharge. to thecampsite andaccommodationareas for If youdon’thave candrive avehicle, you staff Advancebookingsarereserve. recommended. A-frames also 3-person instyle,theretoilets. Ifyouwanttosafari are bush showers (withsteaming hotwater) and and feature braai(barbecue)pitsandthatched to thepopularelephantbaths (US$3). (US$24)andavisit ting (US$48),horse safaris pet- (US$12), rhino tracking(US$80), other activitiesonoffer includingguidedwalks cost US$28perperson. There isanumberof wildlifedriving, two-hourdayornight drives US$4 pervehicle perday.Ifyou’re notself- entry fees are US$2perperson perdayand well asover 300different speciesof birds.Park leopards, honeybadgers, jackalsandhyenas,as alsoprotects afewreserve retired , impalas, waterbucks andklipspringers. The zebras, baboons,warthogs,hippos,kudus, elephants, in 1991,andishometogiraffes, This 3000hectare private Reserve Nature Mokolodi alone orcarryanythingof value. Due torecent nottowalk robberies,it’swise whitewashed stonesthatleadtothesummit. ashallowgullytothetrailoftrack through Cross thewhite concrete stileandfollowthe ellite Mall). dish,justbeyondtheKgaleCentre road tothecarpark(opposite anobvioussat- busorheadoutalongthenewLobatse Lobatse viewoverfor asweeping Take thecapital. any orone, andyoucaneasilyhike tothesummit Minibuses runfrequentlyMinibuses fromthemainbus The entrance to the reserve islocated 12km The entrancetothereserve Though pricey,the Though

(US$198) h chalets situated in the middleof the EASTERN BOTSWANA EASTERN ••Serowe 7.30am-6pm)

(US$120) camp sites reserve was established wasestablished and8-person (2 peopleUS$24)

( % 316 1955;

0519; admissionfree butdonationswelcome; visiting the and of littleinterest totravellers, it’sworth this area tobesensitive, sovisitors to need thatpolice consider advised wato totem. Be duiker (asmallantelope), which isthe Bang- III;thelatterKhama ismarked byabronze theboxed (see Khama text,Seretse p83 ) and Royal Cemetery of Thathaganyana Hillwhere you’llfindthe towards Orapa. from thecentralshopping area ontheroad isabout800m history.Themuseum Serowe’s ants aswellvariousartefacts illustrating ofeffects IIIandhisdescend- ChiefKhama includesthepersonal family. Themuseum 1985 andoutlinesthehistoryof theKhama 10am-4.30pmSat) Tue-Fri, Village of the Rain Wind of herworks,includingrenowned sie Head, whoincludedthevillage inseveral bySouthAfricanwriter Bes- immortalised waslater of base ThathaganyanaHill.Serowe the ruinsof an11th-centuryvillage atthe on inPhalatswe,wato capital andbuiltSerowe IIIabandonedIn 1902,ChiefKhama theBang- SEROWE to theheavily nationalparks. trafficked asarefreshing alternative thatserve reserves gion isalsohometoanumberof private game centres are of littleinterest totourists,there- themajorityAlthough of population these farmingandranching.primarily onseasonal there are anumberof large townsthat subsist the borders withSouthAfricaandZimbabwe, to agriculture Along andhumanhabitation. granite-strewn scrubland thatisamenable BotswanaislargelyEastern of comprised BOTSWANA EASTERN shopping centre. is1.5kmwestofThe busstation themain Kanye viaThamaga(US$1.50, twohours). regularlyBuses travel Gaboroneand between an early18th-centurystone-walledvillage. will take youto face fromtheeastern endof Kanye Gorge the 1880s.Ashort, 1.5kmwalkalongthecliff the townoncehidduringaNdebeleraidin Gorge Kanye Before leavingBefore town,hike uptothetop Although themoderntowncentreAlthough isdrab , where theentire population of Khama III Memorial Museum IIIMemorial Khama , which contains thegrave, which contains of Sir Kanye Ruins Kanye , which wasopenedin . , theremains of h Serowe – 8am-5pm (

%

463 93 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA ὄ ὄ

BOTSWANA slopes of ThathaganyanaHill,andboasts bus, disembark at the turn-off to Serowe just toSerowe attheturn-off bus, disembark tively, fromGabs catch aFrancistown-bound (US$4, fourhours) hour. aboutevery Alterna- shopping area ontheroad toOrapa. in town.Tshwaragano islocated above the restaurant isusually themosthoppingplace greats viewsof bar- thetown.Theattached ( thepolicestation. the buildingshouses kgotla untilyoureachthe Dennispetrolstation the To reach followtheroadopposite thestation, inthebarrackshouse. from thepolicestation permission aguide) (andpossiblyobtain seek 94 Shoshong % (99km) To Orapa Tlalamabele Mmamabula Mogorosi Dukwe EASTERN BOTSWANA Hills Orapa (117km) To Letlhakane(88km); To Gaborone(106km) Sanctuary Buses travel between Serowe andGaborone travelBuses Serowe between The smallbutquaint Artesia 463 0377;s/dUS$26/30; Khama Moijabana Rhino Mosolotsane Dinokwe EASTERN BOTSWANA •• Sanctuary Rhino BOTSWANAEASTERN ••Khama Tlhabala andthesurroundingbarracks;oneof Dibete Mmashoro Victoria Falls(449km) Shoshong Kasane (377km); To Nata(47km); See Makgadikgadi& Kalamare Parks Map(p98) Nxai PansNational Maun (391km); N Ὀ

g Mosetse o Mabeleapudi tw a Serowe n Paje e Dovedale River Mahalapye Lose Palapye Morupule Tewane

Buffels Drift Makwate Matlabas Tutume L Motloutse im Serule

Shakwe River p

o Foley Parr's Halt

p Tswapong p o A R 7 Hills i Shashe

v Dam

Tshwaragano Hotel e ) r isbuiltonthe Sefare Mmadinare Tonotha Shashe Machaneng Ellisras Francistown

Mogapi

Mogapinyana Tati Maunatlala

River Ramokgwebana

M g

o o l

R Lotsane

i v e Sefophe

r Mo Plumtree Selebi-Phikwe

tlou Sherwood

S OUTHAFRIC Ingwezi Ri

Madzilobge Rv Ingwizi

Martin's Drift ver t

s Dam e Groblersbrug

ὈὈ Tuli Block ὈὈ Ri

ver

Z IMBAWE

Shashani

Simukwe To Bulawayo Lepokole

River vehicle US$3; 0713; fax463 5808;[email protected]; perpersonUS$2, 4300-hectare banded together the in 1989 toestablish tions inBotswana, theresidents of Serowe In response todeclining rhinoceros popula- RHINOSANCTUARY KHAMA remains empty. area, nearby whilethemammothbusstation ines furniture shop inthecentralshopping leavecombis andtaxis fromaspotnearEller- Sanctuary).Mostbuses, Rhino the Khama bytheentranceto full (thiscombipasses Thune Hills (39km)

also departforOrapa(US$7,4hours) when Combis andshared combi toSerowe. taxis north of Palapye, andcatch ashared or taxi Saambou River

Tsetsebjwe

Mathathane Zanzibar

Bobonong Tim

River anda

Mawana 11 River N Molalatau Matlhabaneng

To Bulawayo NR Shashe Gubajango Drift Baines

(48km) h Mashatu Ὀ Chavezi Lentswe leMuriti Reserve

Game

Platjanbridge Tali

8am-6.30pm) River River

Lodge Khama Rhino Sanctuary Rhino Khama River North-East TuliGR Tuli Circle (Pietersburg) Polokwane 50miles 80km 0 0 Gwanda Alldays Pont Drift

Brak Motloutse Ruins Soloman's Wall&

. Today, the sanctu-

Insiza

Umzingwani River River

Limpopo NR GR LEGEND River

lonelyplanet.com

Mwenezi A Sand River Sand 9

(Louis Trichardt) N Nature Reserve Game Reserve 1 River Bubiana

A River 6 Makhado

Messina River Beitbridge

( % 463 facilities andprivate bathrooms.Ifyoudon’t Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com St; perhrUS$2; access. affes, wildebeests, impalas,kudus,elands, wildebeests, affes, isalsohometozebras,gir-The sanctuary one blackrhino currently reside inKhama. population of rhinos–thirty-twowhite and ary protects thecountry’slastremaining lonelyplanet.com Copy Shop and foreign exchange facilities. Blue Jacket St,amongother banks,have ATMs along andFirst NationalBanks The Barclays Information Victoria Falls. on thewayto/fromKasane, Maun Nata, or (andoftenit’s auseful stopover necessary) shopping, is knownprimarilyforitswholesale thesecond-largestAlthough cityinBotswana pop 95,000 FRANCISTOWN information onhithinginBotswana). is nothardtoreach p131for byhitching (see any busorcombiheadingtowardsOrapa,and isaccessibleby Khama northwest of Serowe). left attheunsignedT-junction about5km ontheroadtoOrapa(turn 26km fromSerowe charge. site andaccommodation areas foranominal have candrive avehicle, youtothecamp staff 6-person ortwo,rustic4-personnight hot showers. Ifyou’re lookingtosplurge fora pits are adjacenttocleantoiletsandsteaming can alsobearranged. person) andrhinotracking(US$20peradult) up tofourpeople. Nature walks(US$8per drives costUS$55/80,andcanaccommodate wildlife two-hourday/night not self-driving, day andUS$3pervehicle perday.Ifyou’re firewood. basic nonperishablefoods,colddrinksand mapsof aswell useful thesanctuary sells in anyweather. attheentrance Theoffice reach thecampsite andaccommodationareas allvehicles However, can the rainyseason. 4WDvehiclesson, though are in necessary normally accessibleby2WDinthedrysea- species of birds. ostriches, ,leopardsandover 230 The entrance gate to the sanctuary isaboutThe entrancegate tothesanctuary Shady Park entryfees are US$2perperson per areThe mainroadswithinthesanctuary ( camp sites A-frames % h 241 0177; Northgate Centre, Blue Jacket Centre, BlueJacket 241 0177;Northgate 8am-8pm) For internetandemail EASTERN BOTSWANA EASTERN ••Francistown

(US$85)

(per personUS$9) have basickitchen chalets withbraai (US$50)

and in thecitycentre. roomsbecome Standard This isanexcellentchoice ifyouwanttostay buy campinggear. % on thesquash andtennis courts. inspired rooms,and unwindinthecasino or and formality,you’ll revel inthe colonial- But, ifyou’reence isbitstuffy. fanof luxury the overall rating,though boasts a4-star ambi- pas & DocMorganAve; s/dwithbreakfast from US$132/166; St -hospitality.com; Thapamaroundabout,cnrBlue Jacket afridge andahotplate. cable TV, something specialwhenyouadd air-con, can get noisyifthere are alotof guests. tunately, it’slocated outinthesuburbs,and cheap ifyou’re pula. countingevery Unfor- it’scertainly units isuninspiring,though p you’re just lookingforaplacetocrash. of it’s perfectly if itsrival,though acceptable Hotel, thisnewerplacelacksthecharacter other sideof theTati River fromtheMarang per personUS$5,s/dfromUS$70/85; Hotel isabout 3.5kmalongMatsiloje Rd. From theCresta Thapamaroundabout, Marang excellent choice, regardless of yourbudget. andrelaxedsetting ambiencemake thisan favouritestanding amongtravellers. Theserene of theTati River, theMarang Hotel isalong- US$80/95; Rd; campingperpersonUS$5,2-personrondavelUS$40,s/d Hotel Marang Sleeping exhibitions. culture andhistory,aswellvisitingart canteen. Displaysincludelocalandregional which includesaprisonandpolice Camp, ina100-year-oldIt’s housed Government donations suggested; 3088; [email protected]; Rd;admissionfree but offNewMaun and historical The mainsite of touristinterest isthecultural Sights Post office Polina Laundromat Police Nyangabgwe Hospital Store Ebrahim Cresta Thapama Lodge Thapama Cresta Grand Lodge GuestHouse Satellite Lodge Tati River 997) ) Thiswalledcompoundof motel-style ( % ps (Blue Jacket St) (BlueJacket 241 2221,emergency ) Francistown’s mostupmarket hotel

( ( % %

) Superbly situated on the banks Superblysituated onthebanks ( Supa-Ngwao Museum % h 241 3991; [email protected]; Matsiloje 241 3991;[email protected]; Matsiloje

241 4762;FrancisAve) Theplaceto (Blue Jacket St) (BlueJacket ( % 241 2300;s/dUS$35/40; 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pmSat). 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, ( % 240 6000;[email protected]; camping

( %

( 241 1000,emergency % % 241 4665;s/dUS$28/36; 241 3872;www.cresta ps 999; Haskins St) 999; Haskins

( % ) Onthe pa /fax 240 95

) BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA the Whistle Stop.Ifyou’re notan earlyriser, withaheartybreakfastyour day right from local shop. enjoy thecosyatmosphere atthispopular or aheavy plate of chicken andrice,you’ll Whether you’re here foracuppawithcake inexpensive localspecialities. This quaint,leafyspotisagoodchoice for Jacket Sts. andBaines and vegetable market onthecornerof Blue and SparSupermarkets), aswellthefruit stocked supermarkets (includingShoprite have achoiceSelf-caterers of well- several Eating 96 Maun (490km) To Nata(179km); Maun (490km) To Nata(178km); 4 1 3 2 FRANCISTOWN

Whistle Stop Tina’s CoffeeShop Barbara’s Bistro

Tati New Maun Rd

EASTERN BOTSWANAEASTERN ••Francistown

River Gemmel

AC

Makadikgadi St Makadikgadi St

(Blue Jacket St;mainsUS$2-5) (Blue Jacket Gemsbok St Gemsbok

(Francistown Sports Club;US$2-4) (Francistown Sports

(Blue Jacket St;mealsUS$2-5) (Blue Jacket

Sam Nujoma St Nujoma Sam Doc Morgan Ave Morgan Doc 7 B

Station New Maun Rd Maun New Train Footbridge

Start Haskins St Haskins

9 6 Blue Jacket St Jacket Blue 1

Selous Ave 19

Francis Ave 11 To Gaborone

14 Baines St 2

15 Haskins St

(425km) Tainton Ave 12 spirits here. lers, there’s though of agood selection hard The barhere attractsmostlybusiness travel- recent English-language films. Western-culture fix,thissmallcinemashows column inthe andthe‘What’s On’ board atthemuseum To findoutwhat’sgoingon,check thenotice Entertainment last bite of here. thewood-fired pizzasserved ting ready toheadoutthewilds,savour every fish, burgers anddesserts. agoodvarietyof grilledmeats, they alsoserve St Patrick Saint 20

18

3 17 First Ave 16 St Khama 5 Cresta Thapama Hotel &Casino Hotel Thapama Cresta Pizza House Cine 2000

8

13 Lobengula Ave St Feitelberg

Francis Ave

Guy St Matsiloje Rd Matsiloje Moffat St Moffat

(Blue Jacket St;US$2) (Blue Jacket

(Haskins St;pizzasfromUS$4) (Haskins

Rutherford St Rutherford Northern Advertiser Northern 0 0 To Bulawayo (184km) House (2km);Marang TRANSPORT SHOPPING ENTERTAINMENT EATING SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION i osaa...... B3 Air Botswana...... Cresta ThapamaLodge& Bus Terminal...... Northgate Centre...... Blue JacketPlaza...... Cine 2000...... Whistle Stop...... Tina's CoffeeShop...... Spar Supermarket...... Shoprite Supermarket...... (see17) Pizza House...... Fruit &VegetableMarket...... Barbara's Bistro...... Grand Lodge...... Casino...... Supa-Ngwao Museum...... Polina Laundromat...... Police...... Nyangabgwe Hospital...... First NationalBank...... Ebrahim Store...... Copy Shop...... (see18) Barclays Bank...... Hotel (4.5km);Tati River Lodge(5km) To SatelliteGuest If you need your Ifyouneed lonelyplanet.com 4

D Ifyou’re get- (Blue Jacket St) (Blue Jacket . 0.3 miles 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 500 m 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 B3 C3 C3 C4 C3 C3 C3 C3 C3 B2 D4 B2 C4 B1 B2 C2 D4 C3 C3 riverlodge.co.za; camping perpersonUS$12,chalet/rondavel riverlodge.co.za; Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com bar overlooking theTati River. Marang foradrinkintheirpopulargarden here,not staying it’sworththetripto lonelyplanet.com of options. these Advance bookings are recommended forall Sleeping of MweneMutapa. stone village thatbelonged tothekingdom the on eithersideof theriver bed.Nearbyare ite dyke thelandscape cut naturally through feature is its unusualrockformations.Themostfamous Game Reserve. recorded Tuli also been intheNorth-East leopards. More than350speciesof birdshave well assmallnumbers of and ,cheetahs andimpalasas hippos, kudus,wildebeests is rich inwildlife, andishometoelephants, collection of This area private gamereserves. which isa TuliGameReserve, North-East fortourism. developed and hassincebeen land proved foragriculture, tobeunsuitable shifted much tothenorthwest.However, of the to white settlers after therailwayroute was Africa Company(BSAC), thelandwasceded popo River. OnceownedbyBritish South 300km alongthenorthernbankof theLim- swathe of freehold farmlandextending over The TuliBlockisa10km-to20km-wide RESERVE TULIGAME NORTH-EAST omy, 6½hours) leaves at10am. 9pm andthedaytrain(US$7/3.50club/econ- 20/5 1st/2nd/economy,8¼hours) leaves at (US$2.80 toUS$3.50,twohours). (US$2, twohours) andBulawayo,Zimbabwe (US$3, 2½hours), Selebi-Phikwe Serowe five hours), Gaborone(US$6.50,sixhours), (US$3,twohours),Nata Maun (US$7.50, connectFrancistownwith minibus services train lineandtheBlueJacket Plaza,busand once daily,exceptSunday. Francistown andGaborone(US$100)atleast Air Botswana &Away There Getting Marang Hotel Marang Limpopo River Lodge Limpopo River The landscapeinTuliBlockisdefinedby The mainattractionof TuliBlock isthe The overnight traintoGaborone(US$24/ From themainbusterminal, the between Motloutse Ruins Solomon’s Wall

( %

(Old Gaborone Rd) (Old Gaborone MAKGADIKGADI PANS 241 2393;FrancisAve) , aGreat Zimbabwe–era

( % , a 30m-high doler-, a30m-high 72-106098; www.limpopo Even ifyou’re flies between fliesbetween triches take flight and stones turn to mountains triches andstonesturn to mountains take flight imaginary lakes os- shimmerand disappear, austerity. Heat as mirages destroy thesenses pans take onadisorientingand ethereal stark gadi Pans. Inthesizzlingheatof late winter, the lectively make upthe12,000sqkmMakgadik- The Sowa(Sua),NxaiandNtwetwePans col- MAKGADIKGADI PANS whentheriver be closed is too high. Drift usuallyrequires a4WD,andcaneven Africa, note thatthebordercrossingatPont Ifyou’rethe rainyseason. comingfromSouth creek beds,which occasionallyfloodduring itcanget inplacesover2WD, though rough either of thereserves. is usuallybooked aspartof apackage with ane andtheLimpopoValley Airfield, which Johannesburg, between Botswana flight Kas- Mashatu andTulisupportascheduled Air &Away There Getting beyond thePontDriftBorderPost. islocated just Border Post.Thegamereserve the LimpopoValley AirfieldorthePontDrift includetransferat thetent from camp.Rates with lighter walletscanstillindulge inluxury swana’s mostexclusive resorts, those though Themaincampisoneofa thousand). Bot- population (current estimates are wellover largeits bigcatsandfrighteningly elephant inSouthernAfricaisrenownedlife for reserve US$180/300; .mashatu.com; luxurytent/chaletwithfullboard&gamedrives beyond thePontDriftBorderPost. islocated just Border Post.Thegamereserve the LimpopoValley AirfieldorthePontDrift recommended. includetransfer from Rates arewildlife. strongly Advancereservations rounded byred rockcountrythatteems with issituated inariverine oasis,andsur-Reserve US$210/255/299; drives standard/executive/luxury perpersonwithfullboard&game US$57, tent campperpersonwithfullboard&gamedrives Drift. Baines Thelodgeelse. islocated 12kmnortheastof along theriver canbeasrich asanywhere thewildlifetion optioninTuliBlock,though retreat accommoda- isthemostaffordable per personfromUS$48; Tuli Game Reserve Reserve Tuli Game Most roadsinTuliBlockare negotiableby Reserve Game Mashatu pas pas ( p % ) Thelargest private wild- ) Thislovely riverside 264 5303;www.tulilodge.com; ( % 27-11 4422267;www ) TheTuliGame

97 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA 98 0 30 km MAKGADIKGADI & 0 20 miles

Park Headquarters Tshauxaba To Kasane MAKGADIKGADI PANS &NxaiPans National Parks ••Makgadikgadi A B C D E (287km) F ὈὈὈὈὄὄὄὄὄὄὄNxai ὄSee Inset Pan Nxai Pan Odiakwe GR Game Reserve NP NP National Park Xhongwane 2 Planet River 1 Makolwane Gate Nata Chaichumtsha To Maun (82km) (Main Entrance to Baobab Bojatau Nxai Pan National Park) Kudiakam Aardvark Zoroga Pan Maano Restaurant Gweta Xarathiwa North Gate Restaurant 7 11 Pan Nata Motopi Matima River Mosemaoto BotetiὈὈὈὈὄὄὄὄὄὄὄMain Entranceὄ ὄὄὄὄNata ὈDelta Didibakwe to Makgadikgadi 1 Pans Game Reserve Tsigara 8 Senagom Park Makalamabedi Green's Nata Molosi Makgadikgadi Gate Semowane 6 Khumaga Pans GR Baobab Sanctuary Gate Nxwee Gutsa Sowa (Sua) 4 Pan Fence INFORMATION 9 Spit Khumaga 12 2 Entrance to Nata Sanctuary...... 1 F1 Veterinary Cordon Morotobolo 3 Chapman's SIGHTS &ὈὈὈὈ ACTIVITIES ὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄBaobab ὄὄὄὄὄSowa (Sua)ὈDukwe Baines' Baobabs...... Dikwalo2 B1 Tsiagake

SLEEPING Gabatsadi Sowa (Sua) Pan Kwadiba Island River To Francistown Jack's Camp...... Tsoe3 C2 Lepashe Khumaga Camp Site...... 4 B2 (141km) Kubu Island Camp Site...... 5 D3 Ntwetwe Thabatshukudu Pan Leroo-La-Tau...... 6 B2 Nata Lodge...... 7 F1 Tshwagong Nata Sanctuary Camp Site...... 8 F2 Veterinary Checkpoint Old Cattle Trek Route Around Nxai Pan Njuca HillsὈὈὈὈ Camp Site...... 9 C2ὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὈὈὈὈtoὄ Pandamatenga ὄ Kgama- 3 North Camp...... 10 E4 Tamtiga Kubu Island Kgama Pan Planet Baobab...... 11 D1 5 13.5km San Camp...... 12 C2 circuit South Camp...... 13 E4 Baobab 12.6km 4.1km Distance Sokoro Katsha Tshitsane Tree Pan Interval Rakops Maditsenyane Pan Toromoja 5km Dzibui Nkokwane Pan Pan Ntsokotsa Baobab 10 Xumo Tree Tswanatsha Guquago Veterinary Pan 4.1km 10.6km ὈὈὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄPanὄὄὄὄὄὄCheckpoint ὄὈὄὄὈὄὄὄὈὈὄ8.3km Mmatshumo Bore Mabe Veterinary Cordon Fence lonelyplanet.com Mabe Pan Rhysana Nxai 3.2km Hole Eastern Pan 9.1km 6.4km Matswere Mopipi Pan Mosu Pan Complex Phorokwe 9.6km Gate 5.8km 4.7km 4 Mopipi To Francistown Khalaphuduhudu Gidikwe Dam Park 3.5km 13 Pan Lake Xau (203km) Central Xorodomo Njare Headquarters (Dry) Orapa (Closed Town) 1.5km Tlalamabele Kalahari Pan Pan Paephane 8.4km GR Gidikwe Chukutsa Kaokare Observation 0 10 km Pan Point 5.5km To Serowe Letlhakane 0 6 miles ὈὈὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄὄ(178km) (Closed Town)ὈὈὈὈὄὄὄὄ verdant oasisof monkey thorn,marulaand lonelyplanet.com birds congregate which is Delta, attheNata huge flocksofDuring the rainyseason, water Delta Nata bonate forindustrialmanufacturing. Soda Ash sodium car- Company,which sells Today,itisminedbytheSuaPanBakalanga. tothe salt who onceminedthepantosell inthe languageSowa means‘salt’ of the San, the lowestbasininnortheastern Botswana. ofsheet mudstretching salt-encrusted across Sowa (alsospelt Sua)Pan ismostlyasingle SOWA (SUA) PAN pass bytheNorthGate Restaurant. hours) andFrancistown(US$2,twohours), (US$3, twohours), andMaun (US$5.50,five ane (US$7.50,five hours) andFrancistown touring thenearbypans. and shadypoolare perfect forunwindingafter chic,safari andtheopen-airbar-restaurant mokolane palms.Luxurytents andchalets are son US$10,dluxurytentUS$105,chaletUS$120; ( the dayandavoid drivingatnight. inthisregion,the highway sotake care during awareMaun. thatelephantsgrazealongside Be ligatory fuelstopifyou’re headingtoKasane or way totheMakgadikgadi Pans, aswellanob- asthegate- The dust-bowl townof serves Nata NATA flock tofeed onalgaeandtinycrustaceans. rive topartake of thebounty,whilewater birds turngreen withlife.grasses Herd animalsar- the pansformtemporary lakes andfringing begin tofallinthelate spring,depressions in and floatinmid-air. But,astheannualrains ὈὈ % Kas- between Hourly combis(minibuses) 10km southeastof isthe Nata by thelodgeslisted inthisregion, oronanovernight tripfromlodgesinMaun( p109 ). tour withaknowledgeableguide. The panscanbevisited ondaytrips orovernight tripsoffered compass (remember, GPSunitsare notfoolproof). sense appeartodissolve. Youshouldbeaware ofwhere youare atalltimesbyusingamapand Once youdrive outontothesalt,remember thatdirection, reason connection, andcommon that saltpanscanhave amesmerisingeffect, andeven create asenseofunfettered freedom. there have been a numberoffatalitiesover theyears. Prospective drivers inmind shouldkeep a 4WDexpeditionthancasualdrive. Losttravellers are frequently rescued fromthepans,and tostress thattoexploreIt isimportant thepansproperlyandindependentlyrequires more of EXPLORING THEMAKGADIKGADI PANS 621 1210;www.natalodge.com;campingperper- It’s often safer (andsometimescheaperinthelongrun)toexplore thepansonanorganised MAKGADIKGADI PANS ••Nata Nata Lodge s ) a

vehicle US$2; US$5 perperson, andallsites are accessible herepits andcoldshowers. Camping costs is this ghostly, baobab-laden rock, whichis thisghostly, Along thesouthwestern edge of Sowa Pan Kubu Island travelling thearea through in a 2WD. the village are limited, it’sideal ifyou’re though village onthepan’sedge. Viewsof thepanfrom private vehicles asfarSowa(Sua) canproceed measures prevent publicaccesstotheplant, lucrative security sodaashindustry. Although heart of thepan,andisnexusof Botswana’s This long,slenderprotrusionextends intothe Sowa (Sua)Spit 7km southeastof Nata. a few hundred metres intothepan. compass ifyou’re withyou,even onlywalking youshould bringa on foot(7km),though the campsites, it’spossibletoaccessthepan rainingheavily.by 2WDifithasn’tbeen From isolated organisations (NGOs).mental localandinternational nongovern-several fouryearsestablished later withthehelpof Committee,and Conservation by theNata ary This 230sqkmcommunity-run Sanctuary Nata the village of Nata. the horizon.Accessisviaa4WDtrackfrom of water thatreflects theskyandobliterates February, thepaniscovered withathinfilm rains are attheirheaviest fromDecemberto northern endof theSowaPan. Whenthe formed when the Nata Riverformed whentheNata flowsintothe The entrance to the sanctuary islocated The entrancetothesanctuary SanctuaryoffersNata serene and several

( % 71-656969; admissionperpersondayUS$4, camp sites camp sites h 7am-7pm) with cleanpittoilets,braai was proposed in1988 wasproposed wildlife sanctu-

99 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA person US$5.50) S20°53’740 &E25°49’426)involves negotiat- have tocarryinyourownwater. 100 following theconstruction of the Mopipi the Boteti River, itwasleftpermanently dry the Although Ntwetwe Pan wasonce fed by PANNTWETWE pass bytheMaano Restaurant. hours) andFrancistown(US$3,three hours), (US$4, three hours), andMaun (US$4.50,four ane (US$6.50,fourhours) andFrancistown ing theglorydaysof Africantravel. chandeliers and framed memorabilia celebrat- wooden ceilings,cowhidebarstools, beer-bottle the funkyopen-airbar,complete withvaulted of thelodge,sound). Thehighlight is however, ‘grass huts’(bothare much plusher thanthey ‘mudhuts’orSan-style Bakalanga-style tween of abaobab tree whileothers be- canchoose canpitchCampers atent beneaththeshade one of themostbizarre lodges inthecountry. shared bathroomUS$34/52,s/dmudhutsUS$75/100; ( ing) thatmarkstheturn-off for concrete aardvark(no,you’re nothallucinat- to emerge andmate. until therainsprovide water forthem sufficient which incredibly burythemselves inthesand the croakingsoundmadebylarge bullfrogs Maun. Thenameof thevillage isderived from for fuelifyou’re headingtoeitherKasane or way totheMakgadikgadi Pans, andstophere The dustytownof asanothergate- serves Gweta GWETA 4WD andacompassorGPSequipment siderably more obvious,butdrivers a stillneed hasnowmadetherouteIncreased con- traffic ing amazeof bays. grassyisletsandsalty There isalso asmall goingtothelocalcommunity. with proceeds ment Island isnowprotected asanational which hasyieldednumerousartefacts. Kubu crescent-shaped stonewallof unknownorigin, as 500years ago. Ononeshore liesanancient may have inhabited bypeopleasrecently been Setswana, is entirely of salt. surroundedbyasea In environment andclimate, thisdesolate area givenas unlikely thecurrent asitmayseem % Access toKubuIsland(GPScoordinates: Hourly combistravelling Kas- between About ahuge 4kmeastof you’llsee Gweta, 72-338-344, camping per person US$8, s/d grass huts with 72-338-344, campingperpersonUS$8,s/dgrasshutswith (admission perpersonUS$4.50,vehicleUS$5.50) MAKGADIKGADI PANS ••Gweta kubu with pit toilets, though youwill withpittoilets,though means ‘hippopotamus’, and means‘hippopotamus’, camp site

( % Planet Baobab Planet Baobab 297 9612;per ps monu- ,

, )

p with sit-downflush toilets,coldshowers and grasslands andsavannas. Sincebothparks protects large tractsof pans,palmforests, salt andNxaiPan NationalPark,serve which and Maun Makgadikgadi slicesthrough Re- Nata West of themainroadbetween Gweta, NATIONAL PARK PAN &NXAI MAKGADIKGADI costUS$165pervehicle.4WD) fromGweta person oneway,andescorts(withyourown Road transfer costsUS$110per fromGweta cost US$150perperson onewayfromMaun. bush walksandarange of activities.Airfares includefullboard,wildlifefauna. drives, Rates and leaddiscussions onthearea’s floraand and world-renowned expertsdeliver lectures whereoperates asafieldmuseum localguides lanterns. Thecentral‘messtent’ by paraffin furnished withregal linenandromantically lit African–stylecanvastents classic 1940sEast Africa. Accommodationateithercampisin the mostluxuriouslodges inthewholeof recommendedhighly shore. channels andspitsfoundalongthewestern particularly therockyoutcrops,dunes,islets, famous foritsextraordinarylunarlandscape, mines inOrapa. Ironically,Ntwetweisnow Dam, which provides water forthediamond Camp Site (GPS: S:20°25’807& E24°52’395) is Camp running water (nondrinkable). The S:20°27’350 &E24°46’136 Site (GPS: Camp TheKhumaga reserve. Maymigrations between andOctober. andzebra wildebeest Africa’s mostspectacular fall, theBoteti experiencesoneof Southern Duringyearsreserve. of average tolow rain- are theonlysourceof permanentwater inthe is reduced of toaseries shallow pools,which whentheflow the river duringthedryseason after goodrains,wildlife congregates along theBotetieast. Although River onlyflows River inthewesttoNtwetwePan inthe This 3900sqkmparkextends fromtheBoteti Reserve PansGame Makgadikgadi into asingleparkinthemid1990s. concurrently intheearly1970s,andcombined and NxaiPan NationalPark were established migrations, Makgadikgadi Pans GameReserve compliment oneanotherinenablingwildlife The DWNPrunstwocampsites inthe If you’ve cashtoburn,the gotsomeserious ) and Jack’s Camp

(s/d US$625/930) San Camp ) is well developed iswelldeveloped lonelyplanet.com

(s/d US$500/840; are among

Njuca Hills .com/Leroo_La_Tau_Bush_Camp_Kalahari_desert.asp; .com/Leroo_La_Tau_Bush_Camp_Kalahari_desert.asp; E24°46’136), which were in immortalised mous staggering viewsofstaggering migratingwildlife. ning water, butthesurroundinghillsboast less withpitlatrinesandnorun- developed lonelyplanet.com Gate, which is about140kmeast of Maun and firewoodand braaipits(though isscarce). flush toilets,running (nondrinkable)water the Park Headquarters. Both have sit-down S:19°52’797 &E24°47’358)is6.5km northof Park Headquarters, (GPS: whileNorthCamp E24°46’598) islocated about1.5kmeastof the (GPS:S:19°56’159& SouthCamp reserve. years, onlyonebranch hasbroken off. paintingsreveals thatinalmost150 Baines’ in1862.Today,acomparisonwith mas Baines paintings bytheartistandadventurer Tho- Tanzania vehicles). (butwithoutallthesafari brella acacias,andresembles theSerengeti in of thebounty.Theregion isspeckledwithum- south, andpredators arrive totake advantage when large animalherdsmigrate fromthe the parkismostinteresting duringtherains overland cattledrives. of Thegrassyexpanse boreholes until the1960sfor andwasused Trail matenga This 2578sqkmparkliesontheold Nxai PanNationalPark accessible by2WD. thecampsitespark, though andlodge are todrivewest. A4WDisneeded aroundthe Another gate tothe islocated atKhumaga 141km westof and164kmeastof Nata Maun. US$100 pervehicle (withsixpassengers). a range of activities.Transfers fromMaun cost clude fullboard,gamedrives, bushwalksand in- Rates facilities andprofessional service. ent ly rave about thespotless rooms,wonderful andreadersis anawesomespectacle, consist- wildlife viewinginthesurroundingreserve other luxurylodges inBotswana. However, lodges), Leroo-La-Tau isnotaswellknown (atleastcomparedaffordable toothertop-end the atmosphere isluxuriousandtheprice overlooking theBoteti River bed.Although can–style canvastents withprivate verandas Afri- fari lodge of East iscomprised several s/d US$200/275; Leroo-La-Tau The DWNPrunstwocampsites inthe In thesouthof theparkare thefa- The entrance totheparkis atMakolwane The mainentrancetothenationalparkis Baines’ Baobabs , which of connected a series ps ( CHOBENATIONAL PARK &Kazungula ••Kasane % 686 8407;www.kalahari-desert ) Thisrecommended sa- (GPS: S:20°06’726& Panda- hospital onthemainroad. US$4; Kasane isdeadslowand unreliable. Kasane 24-hour emergency service. 24-hour emergencyservice. Kasane Internet Kasane ACCESSINTERNET Police Hospital Kasane Clinic Chobe Private EMERGENCY Information nects BotswanawithZambia. landing fortheKazungula ferry, which con- BotswanaandZimbabwe, andthe between asthebordercrossing of Kazungula serves Immediately totheeast,tinysettlement is afocusof activityinnorthernBotswana. such, thistownof justafew people thousand the gateway toChobeNationalPark and,as Rivers.of It’salso theChobeandZambezi Namibia andZimbabwe –andtheconfluence ing of fourcountries–Botswana, , Kasane sitsinariverine woodlandatthemeet- &KAZUNGULA KASANE January toMarch. and flooding,Savuti maybeinaccessiblefrom 4WD.Duetomud ahigh-clearance you need theparkorapproachthrough fromMaun, conventional vehicles. toproceed However, diately westof Kasane andisaccessible to beautiful LinyantiMarshes. Chobe’s northwestern cornerjusttouches the forests, isthepark’sthirdmajor region, and Ngwezumba River, withitspansandmopane and attractmyriadwater visited birds.Rarely Chobe alsoprovide primewildlife habitat Marshes of theMababe Depression inwestern water,but whentheycontain thelovely Savuti supports thegreatest wildlife concentrations, northern tier,withitsperennial water supply, varied wildlife. Theriverfront stripalongthe encompasses 11,000 sqkm,ishometoBotswana’smost which Park, National Chobe CHOBE NATIONAL PARK national park. track. A4WDisrequired toget aroundthe is another35.5kmnorthalongaterrible sandy 60km westof ThePark Gweta. Headquarters The northernparkentranceliesimme- h ( % 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-1pm Sat)Internetin 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, 625 0335)Alongthemainroad. ( ( % % ( 625 0333;President Ave) Public 625 0736;AudiCentre; per hr % 625 1555;President Ave)

101 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA 102 0 40 km CHOBE NATIONAL PARK 0 20 miles

To Katima Mulilo CHOBE NATIONAL PARK A B C D E Kazungula F River ὈὈὈὈὈ(70km) ὈὈZambezi Z A M B I A Lake Kasane Liambezi 3 River LEGEND Chobe River 2 (Dry) See Kasane & Kwando FR Forest Reserve Northern Gate & NP National Park N A M I B I A Ngoma Bridge DWNP Office Kazungula Map (p104) 1 WR Wildlife Reserve 1 Natanga Kasane To Victoria Falls Chobe Transit Route Pan FR (32km) Muchenje Satau Mabele Matinos ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ Pan Z I M B A B W E Lizauli See Okavango Kavimba ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈDelta Map (pp108-9)ὈὈὄIvuvwe ὄὄὈὈKasane ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅNunga Matabanelo FR Parakarungu Seriba Mudumu NP Nogatsaa/ Extension Kachikabwe River Tchinga ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅKataba Area Lianshulu Makumba Kwando Namuchira Pan wapiphofu Pan Kachikau Tambiko Pan River Nyomuga ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ Molapo Nogatsaa Pan 2 Pans 5 Chobe FR Gokoni Pool River Linyanti Tutlha Pan Tchinga Pan ὈὈὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅLinyanti 4ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὄὄὄὄὈὈὈ Marshes River Chuma Pan Mamili NP Poha Pool ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅGcoha Namuchira Hills River Pan Kazuma Kashaba FR Gokori Zoma ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅGubaatsa Pool Pan Maikaelelo Hills Tiyendazi Pan Komane FR Savuti Pan To Pandamatenga (50km); Nata (262km) 6 ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅNgwezumba River Gobabis Zweizwei ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈRidge ὄὈὈὄὄὈὈὈ 3 Savuti Channel Hill Pan Makapa Pan ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ Bietsha Sand Savuti Gcagcuaka Pan Chinamba Selinda Spillway Marshes Pan Channel Hills Wei ὅὅὅChosoroga Potopoto Tshikando Pan bi Pans Pan tum C SLEEPING Ghau h a l Magwikhwe nne Buffalo Ridge Camp Site...... 1 D1 ὅὅὅ Chobe Game Lodge...... 2 E1 Ihaha Camp Site...... 3 E1 Chobe NP King’s Pool Camp...... 4 B2 ὈὈὈὈὈMababeὄὄὄ

Linyati Camp Site...... 5 B2 Depression lonelyplanet.com Savute Safari Lodge...... (see 6) Savuti Camp Site...... 6 C3 4 Savute Elephant Camp...... (see 6) ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ Mababe Gate

River Moremi WR Khwai To Shorobe (75km); Gcoverega ὈὈὈὈὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ MaunὈὈὈὈὈ (122km) ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ

ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ lonelyplanet.com expedition: whatyouseeontheTV.4x4 drivingisnothinglike business, andtouristshave diedinthepastduetocareless mistakes. Remember,real (andsafe) vival manualdoesn’tmeanthatyou’re ready toheadoutintothewilds–4x4drivingisserious favourite destinationsofveteran off-roadenthusiasts. However, justbecause you’ve read asur- the thrillandadventure ofbushdrivingisunequalled.Notsurprisingly,Botswanaamongthe Although there isanextensive networkofbothsealedandgravel roadsthroughoutBotswana, WILD DRIVINGINBOTSWANA „

„ „ „ „ „

Driving in the Kalahari isoften throughhighgrass, andtheseedsitdispersescanquickly foul DrivingintheKalahari Sandtracksare mosteasilynegotiated tobogvehicles andleastlikely inthecoolmornings offers Although4WDexplorationandbushcampinggohand inhand,Botswanaremarkably Interms garagesthroughoutBotswanaare ofspare withbasic surprisinglywellstocked parts, As ageneralrule,stockuponemergency provisions, even ifyouare goingtobesticking Althoughagoodmapandcompassmaybesufficientfornavigatinginyourowncountry,it as muchplantmaterial asyoucanfromthegrille. radiators andcause overheating. Ifthetemperature gaugebegins toclimb,stopandremove in thetyres, thereby increasing theirgripping area. gently outoftheturn.Drivingonloose sandmaybefacilitated byloweringtheairpressure smoothlyround–thenaccelerate –thisallowsthevehicle toski you wouldonasolidsurface along thepathofleastresistance. Anticipate cornersandturnthewheelslightlyearlierthan bog. Whennegotiating astraightcoursethroughrutted sand,allowthevehicle towander acceleration. Shiftdowngearsinadvance ofdeepsandypatchesorthevehicle maystalland bogging orstalling,move therevs asquicklypossibleandkeep up,butavoidany sudden and evenings, whentheairspacesbetweengrainsofsand are smaller. prevent Tofurther your 4WD. ‘less isbest’,again,it’sbesttoerronthesideofcaution,especiallyifyouhave roomin extra batteries.a torch(flashlight)withextra sticktotheadage Althoughsomeseasonedhikers supplies,firewood,winter), and abasicfirst-aid agroundmatorTherm-a-Rest, fire-starting kit includes awaterproof tent, sleepingbag(youwillneedawarmerinthe athree-season Camping equipmentvariesaccordingto personal preference, thoughthelistofessentials an extensive networkofwell-maintainedcampsites, located even intheremotest ofplaces. tape willalsodoinapinch. combined withasturdyrollofduct p130 forsomegeneraladviceoncartravel). AgoodSwissArmyknife orLeatherman tool wooden plank(touseasabaseinsandandsalt),several spare tyres andapump(seealso fan belt,vehicle fluids,sparkplugs,balingwire, jumpleads,fuses,hoses, agoodjackand ity ofabushmechanic. The minimumyoushouldcarrywithisatowrope,shovel, extra andyouhaven’t trulyexperiencedSouthernAfrica4WD parts, untilyou’ve seentheingenu- items. per personday,aswellagoodsupplyofhigh-calorie,nonperishableemergency food fuel ashighwaydriving. Interms ofwater andfood,agoodrule istocarryfive litres ofwater of fuelinmetaljerrycans,andremember thatengaging 4WDburnsnearlytwiceasmuch without fillingup.Ifyou’re planningalongexpeditioninthebush,carryrequisite amount diesel tend tobeavailableinmostmajortowns,thoughit’swisenever passastation where you’re goingtobreak down(andwhensomeoneisgoingtopickyouup).Petrol and to themainhighways. The distancesbetweentownscanbeextreme, andyounever know Southern Africa. AlthoughGPSunitsare is stronglyadvisabletoinvest inagoodglobalpositioningsystem (GPS)before travelling in The followingisalistofroad-tested tips tohelpyouplanasafe andsuccessful4WD navigating withaGPSunit. As ageneralrule,youshouldalwaysbeabletoidentifyyourlocationonmap,even ifyou’re useful forestablishingwaypointsandhelpingyoudetermine whichdirection you’re heading. CHOBENATIONAL PARK inBotswana ••WildDriving not asubstitute foramapandcompass,theyare

103 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA ὈὈ ὈὈ Ὀ

BOTSWANA about 1km northof Kazungula. to Zimbabwe. to stockuponUSdollars(post-1996)ifyou’re heading exchange ratesthanthebureaux dechange.Besure Kazungula CrocodileFarm Kazungula and personal scalybeastsatthe with these the ChobeRiverfront, youcanget up close If you’re unsuccessfulinspotting crocsalong Sights ofWildlife&NationalParks Department TOURIST INFORMATION Barclays Bank MONEY 104 camp siteswithinChobeNationalPark. % 4 4 1 3 2 Chobe KASANE &KAZUNGULA Sedudu/ Kasikile Island Site (29km) Ihaha Camp Lodge (1.5km); To ChobeGame 625 0235; Sedudu Gate) This is the booking office for Thisisthebooking Gate) 625 0235;Sedudu

River Rd CHOBE NATIONAL PARK &Kazungula ••Kasane River 0 0 N AMIB Approximate Scale Only AC

(President Ave) better Offers Transit Route(51km);Buffalo Airport 8 President 6

4WD 1 Ngoma BridgeviaChobe

To SeduduGate(2km); Ridge Camping(51km)

See Enlargement Rd 5 14 Upper Rd Ave 0.5 miles 15 12 Kasane Kasane Mowana

1 km

Course Rd Chilwero 9 (admission US$4)

Golf Airport Rd Airport 16

ὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈ Mabele Rd Mabele Airport Kasane 11 B , located (DWNP; Approximate N AMIB Scale Only

13 Kasane-Kazungula

Kazungula CrocodileFarm...... Police...... Kasane Internet...... (see15) Kasane Hospital...... Chobe PrivateClinic...... (see12) Chobe NationalParkEntrance..... Zimbabwe)...... FerrytoZambia)...... Barclays Bank...... SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION Parks(DWNP)...... (see4) Department ofWildlife&National Botswana Immigration(for Botswana Immigration(forKazungula Chobe River Chobe Chobe wildlife drives (US$15). andcruises riverside along withabar,mealsand setting, camping perpersonUS$8; economical optiononthe hillside. warm and friendlyfamily-run lodge isavery .bw; 1198TholoCres; s/dfromUS$38/56; amenities. of different roomsandfeaturing varying a budget-oriented hotel offering avariety .bw; President Ave; s/dfromUS$38/50; excursions. wildlife drives aswellother andcruises, All of thefollowingplacescan organise Chobe Sleeping Mombova

Rd Liya GuestLodge Guest House Sedudu Rapids Thebe River Camping River Thebe Kasane Forest Reserve

Mpalila Island Zambezi River Zambezi ὄὄ Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com Kazungula 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 C3 A2 A2 A4 D3 D3 A2 (312km) To Nata

( Sand Bank Bus Terminal...... Audi Centre...... The OldHouse...... Spar Supermarket...... (see14) Thebe RiverCamping...... Sedudu GuestHouse...... Liya GuestLodge...... Kubu Lodge...... Chobe ChilweroLodge...... TRANSPORT SHOPPING EATING SLEEPING adnLde...... B1 Garden Lodge...... Kakumba 7 ps %

( %

( % 71-756903; liyaglo@botsnet 0 0 625 1748;Sedudu@botsnet 625 0314; Kazungula Rd; 625 0314;Kazungula ) Provides agreen lonelyplanet.com

pa Leshomo ZIMBABWE 2 D Z AMBI

ps River 3 Thisis Kazungula ) Livingstone 1 mile To Victoria 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 Ferry 9 8 This ) (72km) (82km) 2 km A2 B1 A2 A2 B3 A1 B2 C3 Falls To Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com rooms thatexudeahomeyatmosphere. den, andfeatures anumberof well-furnished charming lodge isbuiltaroundatropicalgar- President Ave; s/dUS$70/90; lonelyplanet.com natural wonderland will entail a river natural wonderland willentail cruise and for most visitors, appreciation of this The Chobe riverfront ispacked withwildlife, CHOBE RIVERFRONT and 10am. 9.30am between at hotels andguesthouses options usuallypickupbooked passengers Falls transfers (US$40,twohours). Allthese Lodge andChobeSafariLodge run Victoria bus terminal. Mowana ThebeRiver Camping, run whenfullfromtheShell petrolstation with connectionstoMaun andFrancistown, Maun (US$100)andGaborone (US$157). Air BotswanaconnectsKasane’s airportto &Away There Getting options. tarian order here, there though are vege- alsoseveral chickenexcellent beef, andfishdisheson and avariedmenu.There are anumberof only truerestaurant hasarelaxed atmosphere a there’s cater ing, lodges are opentothepublic.Ifyou’re self allofthough therestaurants intheupmarket Kasane isdecidedlylackingineatingoptions, Eating plush linen. gardens andcolonialfixtures adornedwith door andoutdoorshowers, private terraced elegant bungalowsthatfeature romanticin- River. Accommodationisinoneof fifteen boasts panoramicviewsacrosstheChobe thisexclusive andindeed lodge in Setswana, pas tuarylodges.com; low/high seasonperpersonUS$385/560; fig trees. an impeccablymanicured lawndotted with and wicker furniture, andscattered around chalets are lovingly adornedwiththickrugs in mostothertop-endlodges. Rusticwooden lodge andformalityfound lacksthestuffiness Located 9kmwestof Kasane, thisriverside Rd;s/d/trUS$130/170/198; ane-Kazungula Garden Lodge Garden Minibuses to Nata (US$8,three toNata hours),Minibuses OldHouse The Chobe ChilweroLodge Kubu Lodge For further options see also For furtheroptionssee p344 . ) Chilwero means‘placeof view’ high

( (

% (mains US$5-10;closedMon) % CHOBENATIONAL PARK ••ChobeRiverfront 625 0312; [email protected]; Kas- 625 0312;[email protected]; 625 0051;www.thegardenlodge.com; Spar ps nearBarclays.

( % 625 1362;www.sanc ) Thesimplebut pas Kasane’s )

DWNP tocamphere. withthe areservation so youdonotneed Ridgelike isprivately Ihaha,Buffalo owned, western endof theChobetransitroute. Un- the NgomaBridge bordercrossingnearthe ing area islocated immediately uphillfrom 325; .chobegamelodge.com; low/highseasonperpersonUS$250/ one of Botswana’spinnaclesof luxury.The vehicle (someChobe Riverfront drives require of Kasane andisaccessible byconventional The northernpark entrancelies5kmwest &Away There Getting Gate. about 9kmfromtheSedudu around hotel grounds.Thelodge islocated of elephantsalongtheriverfront asyouwalk and there’s agoodchance you’llspotherds isattentive andprofessional, plains. Service views of theChobe River andNamibianflood rooms are elegantyetsoothing,andsomehave ings andtiledfloors. Individuallydecorated arches,and flauntshigh barrel-vaulted ceil- isconstructedlodge intheMoorishstyle, itself camping perpersonUS$5.50; Gate. the riverfront about27kmfromtheSedudu DWNP campsite toKasane, located along site (MapIhaha Camp p102 ) istheclosest Sleeping only oneday. afternoon andpay parkfees for ‘booze cruise’ a morningwildlife drive youcanalsodoan discounted parkfees. Note thatifyoutake afternoon forUS$14toUS$22,plussafari wildlife drives inthemorningand andcruises hotels andlodges arrange 2½-tothree-hour down foradrinkandrompinthewater. All and theriverfront fillswithelephantsheading afternoon, when hipposambleontodryland or A great waytoenjoyChobeisona Activities of permanentwater isastonishing. abundance andvarietyof birdlife inthiszone pukus, arare antelope species.Inaddition,the rhino, isrepresented here. Youcanalsosee Southern Africanmammalspecies,exceptthe massive elephantherds,butvirtuallyevery the landscapeisdamage donebythearea’s or awildlife drive. Themostobviousfeature of Chobe Game Lodge Chobe Game Buffalo Ridge Camping Buffalo Ridge wildlife drive ps ) This highly praised safari lodge safari is praised Thishighly . The best time to cruise islate . Thebesttimetocruise

Mp p102; (Map p

Mp p102; (Map ) Thisbasiccamp- % 625 0340;www % 625 0430; river trip river 105

BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA proceed northofproceed Shorobe. Coming from Maun, 4WDto you’llneed ruts thatrequiresand 4WD. high-clearance the road deteriorates intoparallel Reserve, but after itturnssouthinto theChobe Forest by2WDasfar as Kachikau,road ispassable six-hour drive fromKasane toSavuti. The Under optimumconditions,it’sa four- to &Away There Getting pumped water hole. next toaswimmingpoolthatoverlooks a dining room,lounge andbar,islocated antique furniture. a Themaintent houses African–style tents, complete withreplica ofis comprised 12lavishly appointed East US$500/575; low/highseasonperperson trackers.orient-express.com; 6860153;www.game Maun Express Safaris, through Orient over thebush. where you canwatch thebreathtaking sunset bar.cocktail There isalsoaviewingdeck an elegantdiningroom,asmalllibraryand lodgemain safari ishometoasittingroom, that are simpleyetfunctionalindesign.The consists of 12contemporary thatched chalets thisrelativelyCamp, newupmarket retreat next totheformersite of thelegendary Lloyd’s low/high seasonperpersonUS$250/325; 6861243;www.desertdelta.com; Maun &DeltaSafaris, Desert pits, (hot!)showers andplentyof shade. camp site, withsit-downflush toilets,braai SiteSavuti (Map Camp p102 ) isanewDWNP Sleeping March. January (andinaccessible)between closed and Due topotential water, high Savuti isnormally overwhelming, especiallyafter heavy rains. ticularly elephantsandantelopes, canseem of Sanorigin.Thewildlife populations,par- of 4000-year-old rockart,which are probably gate neartheSavuti Channel,bears sets several and Maun. Gobabis Hill,southof theSavuti andoverlandfor safaris Kasane tripsbetween Savuti’s make flatexpanses anobligatory stop SAVUTI is free of charge. and theNamibianborderatNgomaBridge clearance. Kasanehigh Totransitbetween the interior of theparkrequires 4WDand 4WD), buttoreach Savuti orotherplacesin 106 Savute Safari Lodge Safari Savute Savute OKAVANGO DELTA ••Maun

pa Elephant Camp ) Thepremier campinSavuti

Mp p102; (Map

Mp p102; (Map % Bookings through Bookings p % ) Located Bookings Bookings River oxbow overlooking alagoon,this10- onaLinyanti Occupying amagicalsetting is alsoaccessiblebyriver fromLianshulu Camp by individuallodges; KwandoLagoon airtransfersSavuti. Otherwise, are organised alongavery trackfrom rough Linyanti Camp With a4WDvehicle, youcanreach Chobe’s &Away There Getting and outdoorshowers. in private thatched chalets featuring indoor properties. AccommodationatKing’sPoolis person campisthemostluxuriousof thetwo low/highseasonUS$550/875; .wilderness-safaris.com; Johannesburg27-118071800;www Wilderness Safaris, lotsof elephants –becareful.season, lets, braaipits,(hot!)showers and,inthedry operated campsite, withsit-downflush toi- Site (MapLinyati Camp p102 ) isaDWNP- Sleeping concessionairesseveral runluxurycamps. As yet,there’sand buffaloes. noeasyaccess,but River, which ishometolarge herdsof elephants it’s justabroad,floodedplainalongtheLinyanti may bereminiscent of theOkavango but Delta, by the900sqkmLinyantiMarshes. Thearea der, liestheKwandoarea, which isdominated West of Chobe,ontheBotswana–Namibiabor- LINYANTI MARSHES to theOkavango itwas once Although Delta. gateway ‘mau-UUnn’) istheself-proclaimed carts andflash4WDs, Maun (pronounced A schizophrenic apparitionof donkey-drawn MAUN as wellmostof Botswana’stourists. –attractmyriadbirds andotherwildlife, Delta the resulting wetland–known astheOkavango country,theincongruous watersthis desert of km mazeof lagoons,channels andislands. In Eventually, ina16,000sq theriver itself loses thirsty airandswallowedbytheKalahari sands. the flatlandscapeasthey’re consumedbythe water annuallyspread like anopenpalmacross Shakawe. There, 18.5billioncubicmetres of StripbeforeCaprivi entering Botswanaeastof Angola, thenflowssoutheastacrossNamibia’s The 1430km Okavango River incentral rises OKAVANGO DELTA Lodge inNamibia. King’s PoolCamp King’s

Mp p102; (Map % lonelyplanet.com Bookings through Bookings p

) Fri, 9.30am-3pmSat) Fri, Although MaunAlthough isanythingbutinspiring,it industry thatnowdrives thetown’seconomy. leadtotheburgeoningin fromNata safari hunters andpoachers, of theroad thesealing outpostforgraziers,a rough-and-tumble lonelyplanet.com PostNet I-Café Afro-Trek ACCESSINTERNET Information othertourist-oriented businesses. several Hotelcamp sites. are and Inbetween theSedia the centre, hasmostof thebudget lodges and village of Matlapaneng, 10kmnortheastof rants, shopsandtravel agencies, whilethe Maun mostofCentral contains therestau- Orientation tourist-friendly towninBotswana. andit’sbyfarthemost trips intothedelta, and/orfinish formostis theobviousstart also help you organise atripthrough thedelta. Formore information, see p109 . through thewildsof Botswanaisalittletoomuchtohandle, thehotels andlodges inMauncan ofdrivingyourself andMaun.Ifthe prospect as petrolandsupplies are onlyavailableinKasane If you’re planninga 4WD expeditionthroughthepark,youwill have tobecompletely self-sufficient „ „ „ „ region thanyou’d imagine, areas: especiallyifyouthinkofthedelta ashavingfourdistinct of theregion isoften adeterrent forindependenttravellers, it’seasiertoplanatripthroughthe unique ecosystem aswellBotswana’spremier Althoughthesize touristattraction. andscope Deltaisacomplexand Stretching Botswana,theOkavango anopenpalmacrossnorthwestern like EXPLORING THE OKAVANGO DELTA Okavango Panhandle Okavango towards –thisswampy extension oftheInnerDeltastretches northwest Moremi –thisregion GameReserve includesChiefs IslandandtheMoremi Tongue,andisthe andsouthofMoremi InnerDelta–thearea isclassicdeltascenerywhere west,north you ofthedeltaisfarmore Eastern accessible,andtherefore Delta–thispart cheapertoreach, affordable mokorotripsandfishingexpeditions. a numberofvillagesinthepanhandle have establishedaccessiblecampsites, andalsooffer or2WD.Sincethearea isnotcontrolled byalodgeortheDWNP,via publictransportation not offer theclassicdeltaexperience,itisgrowing inpopularityduetoitseaseofaccessibility the Namibianborder,andismainpopulation centre inregion. Althoughthisarea does flight. well asbycharter jaw-dropping prices. The Moremi isaccessibleby4WDfromMaunorChobeas GameReserve Moremi hasafew campsites runbytheDWNPaswellseveral trulydecadentlodgeswith area withinthedelta,sowildlife isplentiful,butyouwillhave topaydailyparkentryfees. most populardestinationswithinthedelta. The Moremi istheonlyprotected GameReserve lodges, almostallofwhichare onlyaccessibleby expensive chartered flights. can trulybeseducedbythecalmingspellofregion. luxury Accommodationisintop-end for farlessthanthecostofstayingin(andgettingto)alodgeInnerDelta orMoremi. arrange adaytripbymokoro(traditionaldugoutcanoe)oranovernight bushcampingtrip from MaunthantheInnerDeltaandMoremi. YoucaneasilybaseyourselfinMaunand (Score Centre; perhrUS$6; (Sedia Hotel;perhrUS$6) (Sedia OKAVANGO DELTA ••Maun h 9am-6pm Mon- Matlapaneng lodges. Matlapaneng the town’smanytourcompanies(see p132 ) andthe is improving,andyou’llalsofindgoodinformationat h % Tourist office Tourist ofWildlife&NationalParks Department TOURIST INFORMATION Post office POST the bureaus dechange. exchange facilitiesandoffer better rates than CharteredStandard which have Bank, foreign- The Mall hasbranches and of Bank Barclays MONEY 11.30am Sat) Near The Mall. 11.30am Sat)NearTheMall. main building. tions office,whichishousedinacaravanbehindthe national parkcampsites,youneedtogothereserva- & 1.45-4.30pmMon-Sat,7.30am-noonSun)Tobook 7.30am-12.30pm & 1.45-4.30pm Mon-Fri) This 7.30am-12.30pm &1.45-4.30pmMon-Fri) 686 1265;fax1264; ( h ( % 8.15am-1pm & 2.15-4pm Mon-Fri, 8.30- 8.15am-1pm &2.15-4pmMon-Fri, 686 0492;Tsheke Tsheko Rd; h 7.30am-12.30pm (DWNP;

107 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA 108 Mahito Andara (52km) Hills To Aha 4 6 1 3 2 5 OKAVANGO DELTA

Samuchina Gcwihaba Caverns Kavango (Drotsky's Cave) (43km) To AhaHills To Rundu(184km) OKAVANGO DELTA

Mucusso Xaro Lodge...... Okavango Xugana IslandLodge...... Xigera Camp...... Vumbura Camp...... Stanley's Camp...... Shinde IslandCamp...... Sepupa SwampStop...... Semetsi Camp...... Pom Camp...... Phala CommunityCampSite...... LuxuryLodge...... Oddball's PalmIsland Nxabega OkavangoCamp...... Mbiroba Camp...... Makwena Lodge...... Kwara Camp...... Kaparota Camp...... Kanana Camp...... Gunn's Camp...... Guma IslandLodge...... Duba Plains...... Drotsky's Cabins...... Delta Camp...... Chitabe Camp...... Camp Okavango...... SLEEPING ABCD

Buffalo Map (p118) See TsodiloHills

River Divundu Mahango Gcwihaba Hills Mohembo Bagani Fence Shakawe West Caprivi Hauxa Popa Falls ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ Samuchina Sand Dunes River Ferry N AMIB 4 Nxamaseri Kaokwe 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 22 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Golden Hwy B2 D4 C4 C2 C4 C3 C3 D3 D3 D4 D4 C3 C3 B2 D4 E4 Okavango D3 C4 B2 D3 E4 D3 D4 D3

Nokaneng Sepupa The Etshas Okavango

(1-13) River Ikago Gumare Etsha 13

18 Panhandle Etsha 1 Island Kandalengoti Tubu Etsha 6 Mawana Reserve Map(p120) See CentralKalahariGame Gqoro Dungu 11 6 Tsau Island Aga

Seronga Thaoge 12

Motshupatsila To Ghanzi River (162km) Sehithwa Island ὈὈὈ ὈὈὈ Sandveldt Kwihum Island Tongue Ganitsuga Duba Islands 15 Madinare 5 23 Island 13 Eretsha Nqogha

16 Buffalo Fence Buffalo Island Ngami Lake Betsha 8

21 Katima Mulilo(193km) Xudum To Kongola(146km);

Nxaragha Letenetso Inner Delta River Island Valley lonelyplanet.com Chiefs Island Beacon

Xudum Island Island 9 Lions Dindiga Toteng Island

River Moremi GR Spillway Island Selinda Bobo Nhabe River 3 Mboma 1 14 Island Bokwi Island Island ὅὅ ὅὅ ὅὅ ὅὅ ὅὅ ὅὅ ὅὅ ὅὅ ὅὅ Lopis 24 7 10 19 17 Ὀ Ὀ ὈὈὈ ὈὈὈ ὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com

Tongue Moremi Magwegqana Boro Xhumu Ditshipi Island Xakanaxa ὈὈ ὈὈ Island

Lediba Santandadibe Ntamine

Island Maun River

20 River Eastern Map (p110) Matlapaneng See Maun& Delta EF

2

Matlapaneng Gomoti Mudumu NP See MoremiTongueMap(p114)

Third Bridge

River Mamili NP Khwai Savuti OKAVANGO DELTA ••Maun Marshes Linyanti 40km 20miles 0 0 To KatimaMulilo ὈὈ ὈὈ ὈὈ ὈὈ Channel Thamalakane Shorobe (52km) River (Maqwee) N AMIB Headquarters Gate &Park North (Khwai) South Gate River East Caprivi Parks Map(p98) Nxai PansNational See Makgadikgadi&

Makalamabedi Linyanti River

Boteti Savuti

River Map (p102) National Park See Chobe Chobe NP Senagom (223km) To Nata Motopi 4 6 1 3 2 5 while cruising through thedelta. while cruisingthrough keep yourhandsandfeet insidethemokoro basically alltheencouragement to youneed donations welcome; US$20/26; gocamp.com; campingperpersonUS$4,s/double tentsfrom ablution blocksinMaun’. boasts whatmayjustifiably be‘thecleanest a serious party atmosphere.a serious 14kmsouthofbush setting Maun, and boasts per personUS$4; [email protected] or [email protected]; camping of someof thesmallerlodges. it lacks thepersonalitying abitlonely,though of thelodges, andagoodchoice ifyou’re feel- with backpackers. It’sbyfarthemostsociable accommodation inMaun isalwayspacked p US$7; tentsperpersonUS$6,linenextra pre-erected campingperpersonUS$4,basic Shorobe Rd,Matlapaneng; as popularAudiCamp. riverbank, andit’soften it’snot quietbecause down-to-earth spothasalovely onthe setting camping perpersonUS$3,s/dchaletUS$35/40; Lodge River Okavango Sleeping office. asacentralbookingandinformation serves [email protected]) (see p132 ). tocheckwise aroundbefore choosing one soit’srun mokorotripsand4WDsafaris, cific agencies andlotsof companies safari lodgesMost delta are withspe- affiliated Tours dile Farm of locallyproducedartsand crafts. include localtheatre andsales presentations cultures of theOkavango. Peripheral activities bitions andoutlinesthenaturalhistory inahistoricbuilding,featureshoused artexhi- hour orsoramblingaroundthebushhere. ciation of nature. Ifyou’re intown,it’sworthan aims toprovide school children withanappre- on theeastern bankof theThamalakaneRiver, 1390; admissionfree; The Sights Audi Camp Camp Audi The community-run Sitatunga Camp Camp Rest Maun The ) Thisno-frills rest campisspotless,and Maun EnvironmentalEducationCentre Maun Nhabe Museum ps

(admission US$2;

Travel Wild Travel ( ps % ) The most-established budget Themost-established h h 686 0599; fax 686 0581; www.okavan 686 0599;fax0581;www.okavan

(

( % % 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pmSat) 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, ) 7.30am-12.30pm &1.45-4.40pm) Thiscampenjoys anice (

, opposite theairport, % 686 4539;fax4540; ground

686 3472;[email protected]; (

% h ( % Okavango SwampsCroco- Okavango 686 3707;[email protected]; 686 1346;admissionfree, 9am-4.30pm Mon-Sat) 686 0822;fax0493; p (

% This ) 109 686 686 is

, , BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA 110 4 6 1 3 2 5 MAUN &MATLAPANENG INFORMATION hkw aai...... C1 Phakawe Safaris...... Department ofWildlife&NationalParks Travel Wild...... Tourist Office...... Standard CharteredBank...... PostNet...... (see 26) Post Office...... Okavango Tours&Safaris...... (see24) Okavango RiverLodgeSafaris...(see18) Maun RestCamp...... (see17) Ker &Downey...... Island SafariLodge...... (see15) Desert &DeltaSafaris...... (DWNP)...... Crocodile CampSafaris...... (see14) Barclays Bank...... Backpackers...... (see13) Back totheBridge Audi CampSafaris...... (see12) Afro-Trek...... (see 19) Afro-Trek I-Café...... (see19) INSET –AROUNDMAUN (386km) Shakawe To Ghanzi(286km); OKAVANGO DELTA &Matlapaneng ••Maun

Sitatunga Camp(14km) Crocodile Farm(14km); Okavango Swamps Hospital (800m); To MaunGeneral Motlopi St Motlopi

ὈὈ Pulane St AC 6 Mall The 7

28

21 St Tsaro

St Tswii Airport 1

above See map Moeti Maun Tsheke

24 Tsheko Rd Rd Mathiba I St 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 B1 B3 A4 A4 B1 C3 C3 A4 22 Francistown (490km); 20

Shorobe (Matlapaneng) Rd To Nata(302km); Kasane (614km) St Mophane

Thamala Naledi St 8 B 23 Sedie

kane Thamalakane Bridge

9

ὈὈὈὈ River ὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈ

Sekgoma Airport Ave Airport

4 Rd Sir Seretse Khama Rd 3 27 11 2 16

26 Matlapaneng St Motshaba 19 Kudu St 10 Wildlife Reserve Maun 25 5 0 0 17 15 12 TRANSPORT SHOPPING DRINKING EATING SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES Curry HouseRestaurant& C1 Nhabe Museum...... Maun EnvironmentalEducation Restaurant...... (see25) Sports Bar& Sedia Hotel...... (see19) Power Station...... (see24) Maun Lodge...... (see16) Bull &BushPub...... (see20) Sports Bar&Restaurant...... Power Station...... Hilary's...... French Connection...... Takeaway...... Bull &BushPub...... Sedia Hotel...... Okavango RiverLodge...... Maun RestCamp...... Maun Lodge...... Island SafariLodge...... Crocodile Camp...... Back totheBridgeBackpackers.. Audi Camp...... Centre...... Long-Distance BusStation...... Air Botswana...... Score Centre...... 14 13 200m 0.1miles 0 0 18 (7km, seeinsetbelow) 1 mile To Matlapaneng 2 km Moremi WR(92km) To Shorobe(37km); lonelyplanet.com South Gate; D 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 A4 C1 C1 C6 B1 B1 B2 A4 B1 C6 D5 C6 C4 C5 C5 C6 C5 C4 This resort-like complexfeatures anoutdoor put alittle flairinyourday. Youcanget all ish caféis agoodchoice ifyou’re lookingto camping perpersonUS$5,s/dfromUS$75/90; Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com with allsortsof interesting characters. ontheriver,spot right andisusuallypacked in Maun, occupiesasuperb the‘CrocCamp’ US$40/60; camping perpersonUS$5,s/dtentUS$20/40,chaletfrom lonelyplanet.com and vegetarian meals. mix of burgers, pastas, localspecialities salads, agood ‘industrial’ Maun institutionserves better this knownasabarandnightclub, Indian delicacies. and authenticcurriesaswellother tasty cheap,unpretentious delicious place. Itserves the Mall, and attractsmanylocalstothis meals US$3-6) sandwiches. home-made bread, soupsand baked potatoes, choice of including wonderfullyearthymeals, 8.30am-12pmSat) Fri, Hilary’s Eating this price. and boastsalltheluxuriesyou’dexpectat Maun islocated justsouthof thetowncentre, pas lodge; [email protected];Rd;s/dUS$95/125; OldMaun all thehotel facilities. or simplypitch atent andtake advantage of chalets, number of roomsandself-contained huge froma swimmingpool.Youcanchoose bar, aContinental-inspired restaurant and and tranquil. theriversidethough isstillrelaxing setting Safari Lodge toshow itsage, isstarting al- p [email protected]; campingperpersonUS$5,s/dchaletUS$55/60; lot of potential here. istranquil,sothere’sside setting definitely a The atmosphere ischilled outandtheriver- beside thehistoricOldMatlapaneng Bridge. new andfriendlyoptionoccupiesaleafyspot ing perpersonUS$5;s/dtentsfromUS$32/48; camp- Bridge; Pools,OldMatlapaneng [email protected]; Hippo Crocodile Camp Crocodile Camp Power Station &Takeaway HouseRestaurant Curry Lodge Maun Lodge Island Safari Backpackers Back totheBridge French Connection French Hotel Sedia ) Oneof theoriginallodges inMaun, Island

(Mathiba ISt;mealsfromUS$3; (Mathiba p ) Thenewestupmarket hotel in Thesmellof currywaftsacross ) Arguably themostattractive lodge

( % (

% (Mophane St;US$4-8) OKAVANGO DELTA ••Maun

Thishomeyplaceoffers a 686 0177;[email protected]; ShorobeRd; ( % 686 3939;www.sausage.bw/maun

(Mopane Rd;US$5-8)

686 0265;www.botswana.com; ( % 686 0300;fax2932; h Although it’s Although

( % 8am-4pm Mon- Thisstyl- pas

p (The Mall; Mall; (The 686 2037; This )

) taurant withahugetaurant range of Western-style This popularwatering holehasaclassyres- at thisupmarket hotel usuallyhaslive jazzor ators strong andtouristswithitscoldbeer, oper-landmark attractsexpats,pilots,safari Bull &Bushforafew rounds. in themoodtoeat,it’sworthstoppingby (US$1, one hour);andGhanzi (US$4.50,five hours); Shakawe (US$10,five hours); Shorobe six hours) and Francistown(US$9,five hours), withconnections toKasane (US$12, the Mall (US$6;three toNata you’llfindbuses northeastof bus station At thelong-distance BUS air charter companies. are typicallyarranged bylodges local through intothedelta and Gaborone(US$156).Flights Maun between Air Botswanahasdailyflights AIR &Away There Getting food. andclassy pooltables drinks, satellite TV, nights. as apopulardiscoonFridayandSaturday style pubatthispopularhotel alsoserves covered barandrestaurant. theme toitslimitwithindustrialart– inMaunnightspot takes thepower-generation of themostpopular anoldpowerstation, from Thursday toSunday. traditional performers duringtheevenings offering. the of the liquidkind,check outtheFridayedition While entertainmentinMaun isusuallyof Drinking for athicksteak andcoldbeer. a varietyof regular andisyourbestbet events, haunt amongexpatsintown.Thepubhosts Bull &Bush isprobably themostpopular chef. dishes, alllovingly created byarenowned speciality salads. cappuccinos,baguettesing croissants, and the classic European standards herethe classicEuropeanstandards includ- Maun Lodge Maun Power Station Sports Bar&Restaurant Sports Hotel Sedia Bull &BushPub Bull &BushPub Bar&Restaurant Sports Ngami Times

(Shorobe Rd)

( %

(Mophane St)

(Mathiba ISt) (Mathiba

(Mathiba ISt;mealsUS$5-10) (Mathiba 686 3939; Old Maun Rd) 686 3939;OldMaun fortheoccasionalcultural The poolsideEnglish-

(Shorobe Rd, Sedie; US$5-9) (Shorobe Rd,Sedie;

(Shorobe Rd) Housed intheruins Housed Even ifyou’re not Thislocal Thebar The 111

BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA erness Safaris, Johannesburg27-118071800;www.wilderness erness Safaris, Chitabe Camp Sleeping p132). (see byMaunised lodges andtourcompanies are Delta trips intheEastern mainlyorgan- andaccessibleoption.Mokoro an affordable and/or money,thispartof remains thedelta north of Matlapaneng. Ifyou’re short of time Rivers, theBoroandSantandadibe crosses fence that andthebuffalo Game Reserve thesouthernboundaryofbetween Moremi The includesthewetlands Delta Eastern DELTAEASTERN US$4. bus terminal costaround andairport;taxis lapaneng (US$0.30)runwhenfullfromthe townandMat- between Local minibuses Around Getting bus toKasane. witha sible ifyouwanttoconnectinNata totheterminalhours). asearlypos- Get 112 Seronga (see p116 ). PolersTrustin trips throughdelta lodgesorMaunsafaricompanies, through theOkavango meal, 250gofwhite sugar,sixtea bagsandsufficient saltandpowdered milk. you have arrangedtoprovide yourpoler’smeals,thestandarddaily rationsare 500gofmealie implementswhiletravellers supplytherelishes:cooking tinsofcurries,stews andvegetables. If to share meals. The polersmay,forexample,provide a sack ofmealiemeal to provide foodforyourpoler. Even iftheydobring theirownsupplies,manytravellers prefer methods. way; explainthedeltacultures; andperhapseven teach clientshowtofishusingtraditional thepoler!);recognise andidentifyplants,birdsanimalsalongtheswim withoutfirstasking country. The polerscanspeakatleastsomeEnglish;warnyouaboutdangers(never keenest themtonegotiateexpecting labyrinthine waterways orleadyouonbushwalksthroughwildlife passengers’ enthusiasm. ofthepoler,meshingpersonalitiesand the experiencedependslargely upontheskill moving betweenestablishedcampsorwild campingalongtheway.Inthiscase,qualityof ride forseveral theirjourneywithwalksonpalmislandsand dayswiththesamepoler,breaking from Maun),oramore expensive fly-intrip,mostpeopleprefer amultidaytrip,where travellers their foodandcampingequipment. belies theiramazingstability.Amokoronormallyaccommodates thepoler,twopassengersand from fibreglass). The mekoroare poledfromastandingpositionandtheirprecarious appearance shallow-draught dugoutcanoehewnfromebonyorsausagetree log(or,more recently, moulded spendatleastsometimetravelling bymokoro Most visitorstotheOkavango TRAVELLING BY MOKORO Although it’sstillpossible tonegotiate withindependentpolers,most visitors organise mokoro If you’re organising abudgetmokorotrip,inquire inadvanceastowhetheryou’re expected offindingacompetent polercannotbeoverstated,The importance especiallywhenyou’re tripsare possibleintheEasternWhile one-day Delta(with areturn drive lastingseveral hours OKAVANGO DELTA ••EasternDelta

Mp pp108-9; (Map % bookings throughWild- bookings est lodges intheregion, Oddball’s hasgone it’sstilloneofdelta. Although thecheap- optioninthe was byfarthemostaffordable lodge catered primarilytobackpackers, and s/dUS$250/350) www.okavango.bw; % Oddball’s Palm IslandLuxuryLodge Sleeping cember, dependingonthewater level. JuneandDe- and operate between roughly polers withspecificlodges,licensed affiliated areDelta almostinvariably arranged with Panhandle. theInner Mokorotripsthrough ofChiefs Islandandthebase theOkavango the areas westof ChiefsIslandand between occupies defined,theInnerDelta Roughly INNER DELTA common wildlife. presence huntingdogsandotherless of Cape isanisland-oasisrenownedChitabe forthe the southernedges of Moremi GameReserve, Situated River neartheSantandadibe along seasonUS$225/550perperson; -safaris.com)low/high Bookings through Okavango Tours & Safaris, 6861154; Tours&Safaris, throughOkavango Bookings Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com

(ground maize) and

(plural, mekoro),a Foryears, this lonelyplanet.com

Mp pp108-9; (Map s

) the delta floodplains. the delta designed tented viewsof camphassweeping the shores of theBoroRiver, thisexquisitely .ccafrica.com; low/high seasonperpersonUS$350/450) .ccafrica.com; Johannesburg27-118094300;www ings throughCCAfrica, near the southern end of Chiefs Island. near thesouthernendof ChiefsIsland. beautifully situated besideaflowingchannel Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com zone between the savannas andswampsnorth zone between located ontheDuba Plainsatthe transition high seasonperpersonUS$400/600) low/ 6861154;www.okavango.bw; Tours&Safaris, Okavango per personUS$350/450) low/highseason 6861154;www.okavango.bw; Tours &Safaris, fringed isletthatoverlooks ChiefsIsland. tents attractively scattered aroundapalm- consistsof dome Camp eight option, Semetsi US$250/350) 6860265;www.botswana.com; s/d Crocodile CampSafaris, inbudgetstaying dometents. consideringyou’re though, a littlehigh, still upmarket inrecent years. is Itsnewpricetag Vumbura Camp Vumbura Nxabega Okavango Camp Nxabega Okavango Delta Camp Camp Semetsi preferably before youarrive inMaun. an additionalsurcharge, socheckfirstwiththelodge. ment ispossibleinpula–butatarate thatsuitsthelodge. Payment bycredit cardmayincur mainly SouthAfrica andNamibia. Althoughtariffs are quoted inUSdollarsbythelodges,pay- published) discountstoBotswanacitizens andresidents andtocitizens of‘regional countries’,ie listed includeallgovernment charges. taxes andservice Tips are alwaysextra. if asingletraveller iswillingtoshare twinaccommodationwithanothersingletraveller. Rates sharing atwin/doubleroom.Singlesupplementsare usuallycharged, butwillbenormallywaived tolatemid-October November), The butyou’llhave rates toask. listed are alwaysperperson places offer discounted unadvertised rates for‘shoulderseasons’(early Marchtomid-June and (about November toJune),butifonlyonerate islisted, thisistherate charged allyear. Some discounted lodgeare fares negligible. toacertain companiesofferingMaun-based air-charter company,soyourchancesoffindingothercharter agenciesdealexclusivelyperson return withaparticular fromMaun.Mostlodgesandbooking deals,however.) maybeincludedinpackage mal dailyrates. (Transfers Airfares listed are per private bathrooms(unlessstated otherwise). (beer andwineonly),entryfees toMoremi GameReserve. Allrooms,chaletsandtents have mokoro trips,nature walksandwildlife drives. The more expensive placesalsoincludedrinks accommodation orcampingequipment,allmealsandseveral orexcursions,suchas activities content.the coat-tails andlivingituptoyourheart’s If you’ve dustingoff gotalittlebulgeinyourbudget,thedeltaisoneplacewhere it’sworth LODGES DELTA All lodgesintheEastern Delta,InnerDeltaandMoremi mustbepre-booked, GameReserve The rates showninthischapter are for‘foreigners’; mostlodgesoffer substantial(butrarely Most lodgeshave different rates and ‘lowseason’ for‘highseason’(aboutJulytoOctober) Transfers (ifrequired) by roador,more usually,byair,fromMaunare never includedinnor- The rates foralllodgesintheEastern Delta,InnerDeltaandMoremi include GameReserve Another comparatively affordable Anothercomparatively affordable (Map pp108-9; (Map

OKAVANGO DELTA ••InnerDelta Mp pp108-9; (Map Mp pp108-9; (Map This long-standing camp is campis Thislong-standing %

Mp pp108-9; (Map Thistwin-campis Bookings through Okavango throughOkavango Bookings % % Bookings through Bookings Bookings through Bookings % Book- On low/high season perpersonUS$450/600) 6861154;www.okavango.bw; Tours&Safaris, Okavango camp willfadequickly. tive, so it’slikely thatthememoryof the old theconversionhowever, more hasbeen effec- as anupmarket luxurylodge. Unlike Oddball’s has worked hardinpastyears toredefine itself US$425/650) 6860265;www.botswana.com; s/d Crocodile CampSafaris, covered islands. a watery site in a mazeof grass- andpalm- season US$425/500) low/high &Downey, 6860375;www.kerdowney.com; Ker tropical ambience. and isrenowned foritsrich birdlife and located intheheartof deep theInnerDelta, Pronounced ‘kee-jera’, thisisolated spotis low/highseasonperpersonUS$400/600) derness-safaris.com; Johannesburg27-118071800; www.wil Wil-derness Safaris, herds. buffalo of andisfamous forattractinglarge thedelta, Gunn’s Camp Camp Kanana Xigera Camp Pom Camp Much like Oddball’s, Gunn’sCamp

Thisclassyretreat occupies

Mp pp108-9; (Map Mp pp108-9; (Map Mp pp108-9; (Map

Mp pp108-9; (Map % % % % Thisintimate Bookings through Bookings Bookings through Bookings Bookings through Bookings Bookings through Bookings 113

BOTSWANA BOTSWANA ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ ὈὈὈὈὈὈὈ

ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ BOTSWANA areas of vastwetlands. drylandrisingbetween has adistinctlydualpersonality, withlarge life-rich partof theOkavango Thepark Delta. aside inthe1960stoprotect themostwild- Oct-Feb) This RESERVE MOREMI GAME you tothelodge. 4WD vehicles yourplaneandtake willmeet US$150 toUS$200roundtrip,Mekoro or the lodges listed above typicallycostabout Charteredit astwoscenicflights. to flights sive extra,butthepainislessifyoulookat for mostvisitors isbyair. Thisisanexpen- The onlywayinandoutof theInnerDelta &Away There Getting remote campsinthedelta. DubaPlainsisoneof themost Game Reserve, season US$550/750perperson) low/high 6861154;www.okavango.bw; vango Tours&Safaris, kept withrecent ituptospeed properties. frequent though in thedelta, renovations have camp wasoneof theoriginalluxuryretreats 114 Xhumu Island 1 Xhamu 3 2 Lediba MOREMI TONGUE Mboma Island Duba Plains reserve Second Bridge OKAVANGO DELTA Reserve ••Moremi Game , encompassing 3000 sq km, was set , encompassing3000sqkm,wasset

8 15 9 Ὀ Xakanaxa 2 AC Lediba Shinde IslandCamp(25km);

( Camp Okavango(20km); h

Kaparota Camp(40km)

Camp (10km);Xugana Mp pp108-9; (Map 6 Island Lodge(15km); Magwexana Bridge First Lediba 9 6am-6.30pm Mar-Sep, 5.30am-5.30pm 6am-6.30pm Mar-Sep, To Kwara

Fourth Bridge 3 15 22 Xakanaxa

Airstrip

Northof theMoremi

Bodum 23.5 %

ὄ a

t

a throughOka- Bookings

u Rd Lediba Pools Paradise Xini B

Pan Xhoro-oro 24 Mmamokuba

ὄ ὄ Khwai

Pan 42 Leghwedau To Maun extension of theMoremi Tongue,contrasts (Map p114 ), which isactuallyjustalong The grassysavanna of this100sqkm island MBOMA ISLAND and crocsamongthereeds. ofand foolhardybecause theriskof hippos visitors swimhere, butit’sa despite DWNP regulations, manyignorant enjoy apicnic.Contrarytoofficial advice,and River, which isanidyllicspottocampand tannin-coloured sandy, poolontheSekiri It’s arusticandbeautifulbridge spanninga atSouthGate (Maping thereserve pp108–9 ). This isliterally thethirdlogbridge after enter- THIRD BRIDGE Sights lagoons andislands. floodplains, marshes, permanentwaterways, savanna, riverbank woodlands,grasslands, mopane woodlandandthornscrubtodry northeastern extent. Habitats range from the Moremi Tongue,comprisingthereserve’s and intheInnerDelta, Chiefs Island,deep The twomostprominentdryfeatures are (90km) Pan Moremi Reserve

7 Game

42 1 (Maqwee) South Gate Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com River

30 North (Khwai) Headquarters Khwai Loop(27km) Mboma Loop(25km) Distance Interval Gate &Park SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES Xakanaxa CampSite...... Third BridgeCampSite...... Machaba Camp...... Khwai RiverLodge...... Khwai CampSite...... Camp Moremi...... Third Bridge...... Dombo HippoPool...... aweCm ie...... C3 Maqwee CampSite...... 4 6miles 10km 0 0 Khwai Airstrip Khwai River lonelyplanet.com very D 5 badidea– 6 21 Chobe National Gate (50km); 15 To Mababe 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 A1 A2 D1 D1 D1 A1 A2 C1 Park village ontheothersideof theriver. There are acoupleof smallshops inKhwai camp site here isshadyand welldeveloped. Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com trip. west of ThirdBridge side andisapleasant about2km MbomaLoopstarts 25km sandy sharply withsurroundinglandscapes.The lonelyplanet.com the night. it’sstillabeautiful placetopitchthough for site inMoremi toshow itsage, isstarting hippos andcrocs),themostpopular camp On theedge of alagoon(so watch outfor down. theablutionblocksarethough abitrun The campsite here isreasonably-developed, sites inthe Moremi GameReserve. The DWNPoperates each of thefourcamp CAMPING Sleeping as lovely asthenamesuggests. post. Thetwowater holesatParadise Poolsare in relative observation safety fromanelevated the shore. Theirshenaniganscanbeenjoyed of NorthGate), where hipposcrowdalong Dombo HippoPool(about 14kmsouthwest most scenictracks.Worthwhilestopsinclude followsoneofXakanaxa Lediba Botswana’s negotiable –fee. –but organised boatormokorotripforahigh for guests.Thepublicmaybeable tojoinan lodges thatoperate boatandmokorotrips of fish. ports anarrayof wildlife andlarge numbers (wood, sacred andglossy).Thearea alsosup- marabous, saddle-bill storks,egrets andibises here Potentialdise. sightings includeherons, p114 ) isrenowned asabird-watchers’ para- Map (Xakanaxa Lagoon; Xakanaxa Lediba With oneof Africa’slargest heronries, XAKANAXA LEDIBA low/high season perpersonUS$250/325; 686 1234;www.desertdelta.com; &DeltaSafaris, Desert Okavango Camp LODGES surrounded bymarshes andlagoons. This campsite occupiesanarrowstripof land Xakanaxa Camp Site Camp Xakanaxa Site Camp Bridge Third Site Camp Maqwee The drive NorthGate between and Khwai Camp Site Camp Khwai upmarketThe lagoonishometoseveral

OKAVANGO DELTA Reserve ••Moremi Game Mp pp108-9; (Map

(Map (Map p114 Gate; ; North Mp p1 Xknx Lediba; Xakanaxa p114; (Map

(Map (Map p114 ; SouthGate; Mp p114; (Map

% Bookings through Bookings Third Bridge; Third Bridge; p Set amid Set ) p ) The p p p )

) ) other wildlife.). withhugeand teems herdsof elephantsand mixof andsavanna habitat, a pleasant delta the delta, justnorth ofthe delta, Moremi. ated onthefringe the savanna and between camp, oneof issitu- theoldestindelta, by game-rich grasslands. andissurrounded next toXakanaxaLediba, wilderness retreat sitsamidgiantebonytrees erness-safaris.com; low/highseasonperpersonUS$250/400) erness-safaris.com; Johannesburg27-118071800;www.wild Wilderness Safaris, & Downey, 686 0375; www.kerdowney.com; low/highseason & Downey,6860375;www.kerdowney.com; through Ker & Downey, 686 0375; www.kerdowney.com; &Downey,6860375;www.kerdowney.com; through Ker Kwando Safaris, 6861449;www.kwando.co.za; low/highKwando Safaris, low/high seasonUS$450/550; cluding elephants,antelopes andzebras. drinking venue forhundreds of animals,in- River, whichthe Khwai becomesanevening shelter thecamp,Machaba sitsalongwith the localwordforsycamore figtrees that US$375/450, ssupplementUS$150/200; season perpersonUS$300/425; low/high 6861154;www.okavango.bw; vango Tours&Safaris, Pelicans Feed’). flocks of pelicans(thenamemeans‘Where the fishtoattract form poolsthatsupportenough lies inanarea of subterranean springs,which season perpersonUS$250/650; any of theMaun operators (see p132 ). corner of thecountry.You canbookthrough formality andpretence commonlyfoundinthis other lodges inMoremi, lacksthe Stanley’s per person; the grounds. concentration of trees sausage thatgrowon this modestcampisnamedafter theheavy Situated onaremote islandnorthof Moremi, offers superbbird-watching andfishing. pristine lagoonjustnorthof Moremi, thislodge .com; low/highseasonperpersonUS$250/350; 6861234;www.desertdelta &DeltaSafaris, through Desert per personUS$US$250/325; low/highseason 6861234;www.desertdelta.com; Delta Safaris, lous attention todetail. isfamousfortheirmeticu- taste, andthestaff Moremi, thischarming lodge shows elegant andjackalberrytreessausage justoutsideof Machaba Camp Machaba Shinde IslandCamp Camp Xakanaxa Kwara Camp Stanley’s IslandLodge Xugana Moremi Camp Kaparota Camp Kaparota p

Camp ) Significantly less ostentatious than Significantlyless ostentatious than

(Map p114; (Map

(Map (Map pp108-9 ; low/highseasonUS$250/450 Mp pp108-9; (Map

Mp p114; (Map Mp p114; (Map

Mp pp108-9; (Map

p

Mp pp108-9; (Map Mp pp108-9; (Map p % p p ) This long-standing Thislong-standing % % ) Bookings through Desert & throughDesert Bookings Thislagoon-side ) Thisislandcamp ) Thiscampoffers % % Bookings throughOka- Bookings Bookings through Ker throughKer Bookings p Bookings through Bookings Bookings through Bookings Namedafter ) p % % Set on a ona Set ) Bookings Bookings Bookings Bookings 115

BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA Perched onthenorthernshores of theKhwai 116 lodges. isalsoavailable atmostofCamping the CAMPING Sleeping Okavango Delta. more thaninotherpartsof the affordable where mokorotripsandaccommodationare the growingnumbers of visitors totheregion, waters. They’re alsoincreasingly catering to and extracttheirlivelihoods fromtherich Angolans) occupyclusters of fishing villages Tswana, Herero, European,Sanandrefugee mixofcosmopolitan people(Mbukushu, Yei, beds andpapyrus-choked lagoons.Here a the valleyoneithersidetoformvastreed Panhandle, theriver’s waters spread across theOkavangomeet Delta. Inthe Okavango In northwestern Botswana,theKalahari sands THE OKAVANGO PANHANDLE for anadditionalcharge. normally arranged bythecamp,butusually camps,air,roadorboattransportisdelta Ifyou’refly-in safari. booked intooneof the a4WDvehicleyou’ll need oradrive-in or There’s no publictransporttoMoremi, so &Away There Getting large numbers of hipposandelephants. andisfrequently visited by Game Reserve, River, thisopulentlodge overlooks theMoremi low/highseasonperpersonUS$500/575; -express.com; 6860302;www.gametrackers.orient Safaris, Orient-Express Khwai River Lodge River Khwai The OKAVANGO POLERSTRUST 18-passenger boatsforUS$90. Sepupa SwampStopcharters Seronga docktoMbiroba Lodge,3kmaway,costUS$9.Otherwise, between SepupaSwamp Stop(see above ) andSeronga(US$3, twohours);transfers fromthe on payingaboutUS$0.75 foralift.Whenthey’re operating,water taxis runalongtheOkavango Riverfrom thefree ferry Okavango inMohembo(seep121formore onhitchinginBotswana).Plan self-cater equipment). (iebringyourownfood,water and,ifnecessary,campingandcooking of Maun,thetrustcharges US$30perdayfor mokoro trips. Althoughit’snotuncommontopayupwardsofUS$100perdayforamokoro tripout safari operatorhasitsfingersinthepie, thecooperative canaffordtocharge reasonable pricesfor 100 people,includingpolers,dancers, cooks,managersanddrivers. Sincenotravel agencyor trust andusedtoprovide thecommunitywithbetter facilities. The trustdirectly employsnearly collective isrunentirely bythevillage,allprofitsare shared invested bytheworkers, intothe provide cheaperandmore accessible mokoro tripsandaccommodationforvisitors. Sincethe There’s nolongeradaily busfromMohembotoSeronga,butit’salmostalwayspossiblehitch OKAVANGO DELTA Panhandle ••TheOkavango Okavango PolersTrust Okavango

Mp p114; (Map %

( % Bookings through Bookings 687 6861) wasestablishedin1998bythepeopleofSerongato p two

) people. inmind,however, Keep thatyoumust suga; campingperpersonUS$4; site isfriendly, welcomingandfarfromthe [email protected]; campingperpersonUS$10,s/dA-frames resembles theInnerDelta. handle, thisstretch of thepanhandleclosely of atthe base of thepan- theHippo)Lagoon US$30/45; s/dfrom 687 4302;campingperpersonUS$6,backpackers’ catered for. ling withthelittleones,theywillbewell asa‘familyresort’itself –ifyou’re travel- GumaIslandalsoadvertisescamp, though US$150; [email protected]; campingperpersonUS$5,familychalets the delta. the usuallaunch pointformokorotripsinto is runbytheOkavango Polers Trust,andis US$5, s/dchaletUS$35/45; (3km) fromtheMaun–Shakawe road. village, andaccessible very affordable Sepupa back riverside handyto campsite issecluded, ing perpersonUS$4,s/dtentsUS$30/40; [email protected]; village;[email protected];camp- Sepopa SwampStop Sepupa LODGES a sturdy2WDorhitching fromSeronga. andaccessibleby about 23kmeastof Seronga tourist crowd.Phala isnearGanitsugavillage, coming lodge liesbesideachannel of theOka- US$60/110, 4-personchaletsUS$120; Drotsky’s Cabins Lodge Makwena Guma IslandLodge Mbiroba Camp Phala Community Camp Site CommunityCamp Phala p p ) Fishing is the focus at this secluded Fishingisthefocusatthissecluded ) Located onQhaaxhwa(Birthplace Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com

Mp pp108-9; (Map

Mp pp108-9; (Map

Mp pp108-9; (Map p

Mp pp108-9; (Map Mp pp108-9; (Map Thisimpressive camp ) p p ) Thisrusticcamp % Mp p189; Ganit- pp108-9; (Map Thislovely, wel- lonelyplanet.com

) % 687 6861;camping p % % % 687 4299;fax Thislaid- ) 687 5035; 686 7073; 687 4022; picturesque. Drotksy’s. Bookthrough from Drotksy’s–butserene andextremely The lodge isremote –about 10km downstream and about4kmeastof themainroad. vango River about5kmsoutheastof Shakawe lonelyplanet.com lahari scrub. They’re butthe scenicenough, 300mfrom theflat,thornyKa-Aha Hills rise 700-million-year-old limestone anddolomite Straddling theBotswana–Namibiaborder, the HILLSAHA the AhaHills. erns. Alternatively, youcanapproach from borehole; another27kmgets youtothecav- south here andafter 27kmyou’llreach the posted totheXhababorehole. turn-off Turn the roving trackforabout 90kmtothesign- turn-off 2kmnorthwestof Tsau andfollow camping equipment.Take anunsignposted and long-range water petroltanks, reserves clearance, a4WDwithhigh need Self-drivers money. peoplepayingenough with enough Hills) canbearranged inMaun, butonly Dutch-organised CgaeTlhabolo Trust. fees (aroundUS$5perperson) the through without payinglocalguidesandadmission topreventmay beinstalled visitors entering ers claimownership of thecaves andgates Nxainxai before visitingthecaves, asvillag- are tocheck advised inwiththevillage of XaiandCgaeCgae)village.Cae, the borehole atNxainxai(variouslyspeltCae emerge inalarge room.Thenearest water is shelf, where there’s before squeeze atight you into apitandthenuptheothersideto hardest partisashort, vertical climbdown such asmatches andcigarette lighters. The powerful torches aswellemergency lights, which route totake, soyoumustcarryseveral the cave isabout800m. trances are 300mapartbuttheroute through were known asDrotsky’sCave. Thetwoen- farmer, Martinus Drotsky,andforyears they when the!KungshowedthemtoaGhanzi to Europeanattention untilthemid-1930s means ‘’sHole’.Theyweren’t brought ated cavern system intheGcwihaba Hills In the!Kunglanguage, thenameof thisdecor- CAVE)(DROTSKY’S CAVERNSGCWIHABA Tours tothecave (andtothenearbyAha inconvenientHowever itmaybe,visitors There are andnoindicationof nolights Lodge Xaro

(Map (Map pp108-9 ; s/dchaletUS$50/75; OKAVANGO DELTA ••GcwihabaCaverns(Drotsky’sCave) p

) Tsodilo wasonceone of Botswana’s most clients tomake itworthwhile. paying advancenoticeandenough they need but Safari companies also runcustomsafaris, to climborexplore inthisremarkable area. three hours withlittletime of sightseeing, US$450 forfive people, but they’llallowonly can organise one-dayair charters at starting Most Maun companiesandagencies safari &Away There Getting purify it). water to isintended forcattle,soit’swise hundredseveral metres fromtheairstrip (this able attheMain andattheborehole Camp Water issometimes avail- shops orservices. ofaround thebase thehills,butthere are no for US$6perperson, oratwildcampsites Malatso, Makoba Woodscamping grounds Visitors cancampateithertheMain (Rhino), Sleeping for aroundUS$13perday. Normally, localSanpeoplewillguidegroups that passthemainpaintingsandsacred sites. unmarkedthe hills,aswellseveral tracks extolling theundeniablyspiritualnature of tors of today’sSanpeople. the majority of are these attributed toances- 200 sites. Andasinmostof SouthernAfrica, paintings have discovered been atwellover site of Creation. More than2750ancientrock for the thiswasthe San people,whobelieve with myth,legend andspiritualsignificance oceanlike of andare expanse desert threaded abruptlyfromarippled, and NorthHill)rise The four Tsodilo Hills(Male, Female, Child HILLS TSODILO west totheAhaHills. bridge nearNokaneng.Fromthere, it’s190km the Maun–Shakawe road,northof asmall route (see left ), andtheotherturnswestfrom Hills. OnefollowstheGcwihabaCaverns Gcangwa. are available inthevillages of Nxainxaiand suppliesanddrinkabletrack. Basic bore water camping isallowedwithin100mof themain no facilitiesintheAhaHills,butunofficial of absence water.the almosttotal There are remoteness andutter silence,duemainly to foremost attractionistheirend-of-the-world Thanks to three notoriousaccess routes, a now There’s 4WDroutesTwo taxing leadtotheAha museum near Main Camp,

117 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA South Africa, andformone of Africa’s most Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia, Angola, countries:Congo(Zaïre), seven The Kalahari stretch sands across partsof THE KALAHARI to explore thehillsarea. a4WD Note, thatyou’llstillneed however, a 30-minute thebush. 2WDjauntthrough inalow4WDto sand deep grind through read this,willhave turnedfromafour-hour rently beingupgradedand,bythetimeyou roadiscur-is thatthemiddle(Nxamaseri) bad news,dependingonyourperspective) inaccessible wonders. Thegoodnews(or 118 To Tshukumutshu(39km) 4 1 3 2 TSODILO HILLS Malatso CampSite...... Makoba WoodsCampSite...... Main (Rhino)Camp...... Zebra LogoPainting...... Wheels Painting(#16)...... Wheels Painting...... RecliningGiraffePaintings(#11).... WaterPit(#4)...... Signpost &Cave(#12)...... RainmakingScene...... NumerousStylisedPaintings...... FaintZebraPaintings(#10)...... NumerousElandPaintings(#14)...... Origin ofSexPainting...... Nqoma site(#7)...... Lion Painting...... (Elands&Giraffe)...... Horned SerpentNaturalCistern...... Hippo &DancersPaintings...... Headquarters &Museum...... (see24) ChequerboardLion(#8)...... Giraffe Paintings...... OstrichPainting...... Elephant Shelter...... Divuyu...... ElandPaintings(#17)...... Brightly Coloured'TestPattern'Panel... Antelope &CattlePaintings...... (see9) SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES Whale, Penguin,Wildebeest,Hippo& Tree ofTrueKnowledge Shields (Ladders),Half-Giraffe& Shelter withKudu,Crab,Chevrons& Rhinos, BuffaloForgery& Rhino &GiraffePainting(#15) Laurens vanderPost'sPanel Giraffe, Antelope& Gemsbok, SableAntelope& Dancing Penises& THE KALAHARI •• Reserve Game ••Khutse THE KALAHARI AC 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 C2 C3 C3 C2 C3 C2 C3 C3 C3 C2 C2 C3 C3 C2 C3 D3 C3 C2 C2 C3 C3 C2 D3 C3 C3 C2 North Hill B !Kung Village Child Hill

Buffalo Fence Cliff Trail Bore Hole#1 Bypass 26 antelopes, aswellsuch predators aslions, avariety ofGaborone dwellers. tosee Expect a popularweekend excursion foradventurous makes Game Reserve The 2600sqkm Khutse RESERVE GAME KHUTSE ble boreholes. routes, thescantvillages huddlearoundfee- cilities are few andoffmain andfarbetween, areDistances vast,transportisrare andfa- offersin Setswana) asolitudeall itsown. classified asanaridzone. that receive toomuch rainfalltobeofficially Kalahari isavastdepositof sediments sandy mostofsmall portionisclassicdesert, the prominent geographical features. Whilea Bore Hole#2 In Botswana,theKalahari ( 17 9 Female 16 24 Pipeline 23 13 Hill 1 3 5 Bore Hole 8 19 21 22 Fields Air Strip Mbukushu 25 12 14 6 10 are inverypoorcondition 7 Village and stillrequirea4WD 15 All roadsonthismap

20 Sand 2 18 2km 1mile 0 0 Male HillTrail Lion Trail Rhino Trail Divuyu Trail Cliff Trail 4

Fields Ridge Male Hill (420m) To Sepupa (44km) 11 lonelyplanet.com D Kgalakgadi Nxamaseri (40km) To Samuchina (30km)

hunting dogs. the incarnationof andeven themorningstar) caracals (which tobe theSanpeoplebelieve leopards, brownandspotted hyenas,jackals, lonelyplanet.com % be pre-booked the through water sourcethatattractswildlife. Allsites must Pan, 67kmfromthegate, which hasanatural site istheverymost distant Moreswa pleasant camp site, is 14kmwestof theentrygate. The Site, witharudimentary Camp ers. Khutse gate, has(brackish)runningwater andshow- sites, neartheentry butonlyWildlife Camp, Khutse has eight DWNP-operated haseight Khutse camp is interpreted bythe government. material difference tothe conditionoftheSandependstosome extent on the wayruling ruled thattheSan were wronglyevicted fromtheCKGR.However, a makes whetherthevictory have ofBotswana beenresolved Court inthefavourofSanDecember 2006whentheHigh International. The situationappeared bySurvival supported to took thematter Court, totheHigh than successful.The FPKandthegovernment were unabletoresume discussions, andtheFPK campaignappears tohavea long-standingrecord beenless ofgoodworks–butthisparticular government were tobackdown.These undoubtedly efforts well-intended –theorganisation has todiscussionwith theFPK. intractable that shared usewasnever seriouslyconsidered bytheBotswananGovernment, whichremained of events ismurky,butitseemsthatatleastonemodelforshared usewasputforward,but New Xade, and relocations beganin1997–somevoluntary,not.The subsequentcourse in theCKGR.However, inthe1990sitestablishedamore accessible external settlementcalled decades theBotswanangovernment tothe residents provided healthandeducationservices in1961,itsetasidetheareaadministration departed toprotect the interests ofSan,and fortwo iscomplex.the background International, butto condemntheBotswanangovernment ofSurvival whilepraisingthe efforts tional spotlight,theCKGRachieved globalnotoriety.The international mediahasbeenquick say this. Isthis‘development’? bored They tocommitsuicide. are andgetdrunk. Wenever starting sawthatbefore. to Ithurts go there. Somebecome prostitutes. They are notallowedtohunt.They fightbecausetheyare live lives shorter thanbefore? They catchHIV/AIDS.Ourchildren are beaten inschoolandwon’t we mustmove ofdevelopment isitwhenthepeople andbeganforcingusaway...Isaywhatkind coursewecanliveanyone totell where usthat.Of Godcreated president us!Butthenext said ago, thepresident ofBotswanasaidwecouldlive onourancestrallandforever. Wenever needed acceptance speechbyRoySesana: Award, whichisregarded asthe‘Alternative NobelPrize’. The followingisanexcerptfromthe process. ofFPKwere In2005theactions recognised Livelihood withthebestowment oftheRight (CKGR) Sanorganisation, GameReserve inanattempt toreverseCentral Kalahari therelocation the withtheFirst inconjunction indigenous populations,worked (FPK), People oftheKalahari anNGOthatadvocatesnational (www.survival-international.org), fortheself-determination of in 1986,andforcedrelocations Inter- intensified from1997to2002.Duringthistime,Survival Informal government began programmesaimedatremoving theSanfromcentralKalahari VOICES AGAINSTRELOCATION 318 0774;[email protected]; POBox131,GovernmentEnclave, Survival International stagedaseriesofinternational demonstrations intendedSurvival topersuadethe The CKGRwas alegacyoftheBritishcolonialadministrationinBotswana. Before theBritish International’s campaign tobringtheforcedrelocationsFollowing Survival intotheinterna- ‘Why amIhere? Becausemypeoplelove theirland,andwithoutitweare dying. Manyyears THE KALAHARI •• Central Kalahari Game Reserve Game ••CentralKalahari THEKALAHARI DWNP

(Map pp88-9 ; pp88-9; (Map heart of Botswana. It’sperhaps bestknown area, sprawlingacrossthenearlyfeatureless 52,000 sqkmandisAfrica’slargest protected covers Kalahari GameReserve The Central RESERVE GAME CENTRAL KALAHARI itself. inside thereserve you maybeable tohitch tothegate, butnot 4WDtrack.FromLetlhakeng, 103km sandy roadbecomesarough at Letlhakeng thesealed infood,water andfuel. be self-sufficient 1.45-4.30pm Mon-Fri) Cres, Gaborone; Khama The entrancegate is226kmfromGaborone; in Gaborone and visitors must inGaboroneandvisitors must h reservations 7.30am-12.45pm & 7.30am-12.45pm& reservations

119 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ BOTSWANAὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ 120 To D'kar(75km); (196km) To Ghanzi To D'kar(65km); (40km) To Tshane Ghanzi (94km) Ghanzi (84km) CENTRAL KALAHARIGAMERESERVE NP GR LEGEND See OkavangoDeltaMap(pp108-9) Lokalane Tsao Sehitwa THE KALAHARI •• Central Kalahari Game Reserve Reserve Game ••CentralKalahari THE KALAHARI

Kuke

Palamakoloi National Park Game Reserve Trans-Kalahari Hwy Trans-Kalahari

Kuke Buffalo Fence ὄὄὄ ὄὄὄ ὄὄὈὈὈὈὈ ὄὄὄ ὈὈὈὈὈ ὄὄὄὄὄὈὈὈὈὈ ὄὄὄὄὄὄὈὈὈὈὈ ὄὄὄὈὈὈὈὈ ὄὄὄ Tsau Hills Ngami Lake Xade Gate Lamont Pan Kang Morwamosu Leti Craill's Pan Wildlife ahau Camp Xade Toteng Quee Pan Motopi Pan Kokong Tsetseng Passarge ὄ ὄ ὄ ὄ ὄ ὄ ὄ Xade River Pan Xade Pan Piper's Pan suitable for4WDonly All routesinReserve Motokwe Maun Mabutsane Nail Pan D Sunday Pan

Kalahari GR e Passarge c Okwa e Central Valley Lodge p Valley Leopard Pan Deception t i o Letiahau Pan

n

V

a Tswaane Pan l Xaka ὄ ὄὈὈ ὈὈ ὄ ὄ ὄ ὄὄὄ ὈὈὈ ὈὈὈ ὈὈὈ Menatshe l Kori

e Okwa

y Lekhubu To Lobatse Moreswa Motopi Matswere Game (325km) Makalamabedi Camp Site Deception Pan Scout Camp Mabuakolobe River Dutlwe Pan Khutse Matswere Mothomelo Khutse GR Pan Gate Metsimanong Molapo Sunday Kikao Hill Khankhe See Makgadikgadi&NxaiPanNationalParkMap(p98) Kukama Pan Moreswe (Game ScoutCamp) Pan Wildlife Camp

ὄ ὄὄὄὄὄὄ ὄὄὄὄ ὄ ὄὄὄ ὄ ὄ ὄ ὄ ὄ ὄ Bibe

Takatokwane Quoxo River Quoxo Rakops Metsimanong Mboane Waterhole Molose Pan Peloyakukama/ Makgadikgadi & Nxai PansNP Ocwe Pan Makgadikgadi Pans Section Nxai Pans Section Southern Gate Ditshegwane 30miles 50km 0 0 Salajwe Mopipi

ὄ ὄὄὄ ὄ ὄ Tropic of Capricorn of Tropic Gope lonelyplanet.com Moriso Khudumelapye Letlhakeng Ntwetwe Pan To Gaborone Gweta Orapa (128km) US$305/550; low/highseasonperperson 8554; www.deceptionvalley.co.za; Book accommodationBook online at lonelyplanet.com of Marginally thereserve. drinkable water is Molpapo hyenas emerge justafter darkandyoumay Cry of the Kalahari hyena study,which isdescribedintheirbook Mark andDeliaOwens’1974to1981brown Valley,for Deception(orLetiahau) thesite of lonelyplanet.com the Maun–Nata road,heads southforabout ternative approach, fromMakalamabedi near it’s70km toDeceptionPan.Camp, The al- FromMatswereand Rakops). GameScout (the nearest suppliesare atGhanzi,Kang petrol vehicle, acompassorGPS,andreserve ent accessrequires 4WD ahigh-clearance customdrive-inganise tours, butindepend- Maun. strips thatattractupmarket from fly-insafaris Xade, OkwaandDeceptionPan have air- &Away There Getting to 2WDvehicles duringthedryseason. 120km fromMaun, andtheroute isaccessible outdoor shower. Thelodge isapproximately elements, andfeature aprivate lounge and rooms combineVictorianandAfricandesign detracting fromitsambience. Thesoothing to blendintothesurroundingnature without cated ontheedge of Itwasdesigned thereserve. near thenortheastern gates of thereserve. available onlyatthe trees. Otherremote campsites include Piper’s Pan isknownforitsbizarre ghost enjoys afew rare, shadyacaciatrees, while lack facilities.Thewell-knownDeceptionPan hau Pan, SundayPan andPiper’sPan, butall tion Pan, Pan, Letia- Leopard Kori,Lekhubu, There are basicDWNPcampsites atDecep- Sleeping eastern cornerof thereserve. access isviatheMatswere gate inthenorth- water forwildlife. Passarge –are artificiallypumpedtoprovide Piper’s,Sundayand –Letiahau, the reserve years ago. Otherpansinthenorthernarea of the rivers flowingmore ceased than16,000 the virtuallyfeatureless although expanses, Passarge alsobringtopographicalrelief to the Okwa,Quoxo (orMeratswe) andthe lions.Three similarfossilvalleys:also see The onlyreasonably convenient public Most Maun-based operators safari canor- Deception Valley Lodge , s Gope ) isanexclusive bushretreat lo- and THE KALAHARI ••Ghanzi THEKALAHARI . AtDeceptionPan brown Xade Matswere Game ScoutCamp Game Matswere

inthesouthernpart (South Africa

% 27-12 665 27-12 665 Xaka , , Henry Jankie Dr; Henry Jankie tion withmodernandwell-furnished rooms. African side). areas (see p462 forinformation ontheSouth (28,400 sqkm)and mostpristinewilderness Park. The result isoneof the world’slargest Park into the newKgalagadiTransfrontier Africa’s formerKalahari-Gemsbok National Park combinedwithSouth hasnowbeen The formerMabuasehube-Gemsbok National KGALAGADI TRANSFRONTIER PARK Transfers fromGhanzicostUS$22. the lifestyles of thetraditionalKalahari San. and otheractivitiesproviding into insight per hour),wildlife drives (US$6perhour), hunting andgatheringbushwalks (US$4 without/with half-boardUS$35/45; admission US$2,campingperpersonUS$5,Sanhuts game ranch Sanpeopleatthe7500-hectare The Ncoakhoe D’KAR 2.30pm. bus toMaun (US$4.50,five hours) leaves at and Gaborone(US$10,11hours); thedaily terminal toMamuno (US$3,three hours) shop inadditiontoitspopulardiningroom. now hasapub,take-away, bakery andbottle The complexhasexpandedover theyears, and pas [email protected]; campingperpersonUS$4,s/dUS$60/75; and bar. swimming poolandapub-stylerestaurant lets andhotshowers, aswellarefreshing has amodernablutionblockwithflush toi- .bw; campingperpersonUS$4,s/dchaletUS$30/45; cal instrumentsandwoven mats. bags, leatheraprons,bowsandarrows,musi- San craftsincludingdyedtextiles, decorated It’s anexcellentplacetoshopfortraditional craft outletandtrainingcentre fortheSan. noon Sat), ministrative centre is The principalattractionof theKalahari’s ad- GHANZI turn-off nearD’kar. andtheXadeGate isreached froma Reserve Game fromKhutse southern gate isaccessed fence totheMatswere Gate. Thevery remote 105km alongtheeastern sideof thebuffalo The The In the morning buses runfromthemain In themorningbuses Thakadu Camp Thakadu Kalahari ArmsHotel Kalahari which in1953asa wasestablished ) is a long-standing Ghanziinstitu- is along-standing h Dqãe Qare 8am-12.30pm & 2-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am- 8am-12.30pm &2-5pmMon-Fri, (

% (

% Gantsi Craft Craft Gantsi 72-249221; thakadu@botsnet (

% 659 6574;www.kuru.co.w; p 659 6298;kalahariarms ) offer guided ( % 659 6241; ps 121

) BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA .bw; PO Box 131, Government Enclave, Khama Cres, Gaborone; Cres, Gaborone; .bw; POBox 131, GovernmentEnclave, Khama h through per person mustbepre-booked pernight) two tofive 4WDvehicles. Eitherroute (US$37 group ispermitted perday,andmustinclude can bedoneonlyfromeasttowest. Onlyone a paralleltransittracktothesouth), which the NossobandMabuasehube (there’s also The otherisatwo-day150kmroute between water) before loopingbacktowardtheNossob. River, andwindingnorth toKaa (where there’s Polentswe Pan, atGrootbakontheNassob is abone-shaped285kmloopbeginningat with twoobligatorycampsites alongtheway, Botswana. The Kgalakgadi WildernessTrail, thisremote4WD tracksthrough cornerof There are nowtwochallenging wilderness Wilderness Trails Nossob Camp. Two Rivers and60kmnorthof SouthAfrica’s Polentswe Pan, atGrootbrak,223kmnorthof Rooiputs, 30kmnortheastof TwoRivers, and sites further northontheBotswananside: showers andtoilets.There are alsotwobasic Rivieren hascold South Africa’sTwee Camp, Rivers over Camp, theNossobRiver from cess isstillbestfromSouth Africa. The Two fromeitherKaasection orMabuasehube, ac- youcannowreachAlthough theTwoRivers Section Two Rivers good supplyof drinkingwater). bogolo Pan have tocarrya water (it’sstillwise Panto pittoilets,butallKhiding andBoso- sites atMabuasehube Pan. Facilities are limited Bosobogolo Pan Pan, andKhiding aswelltwo Pan,Lesholoago Monamodi,Mpaat hutlwa Pan, of upto12peopleeach, campsites, rudimentary fortwogroups eight grate fromtherest of has thepark.Thissection spring whenherdsof elandandgemsbok mi- 7.30pm Oct-Feb) hube major minorones. pansandseveral onthelowredand focuses dunesaroundthree coversname means‘RedEarth’), 1800sqkm The Mabuasehube of section thepark(the Section Mabuasehube fromSouthAfrica. isbestaccessed section Kang andHukuntsi,whiletheNossob River to theMabuasehube andKaa gates, bothvia 122 Direct roadaccessfromBotswanaislimited reservations 7.30am-12.45pm &1.45-4.30pm Mon-Fri) reservations

( h BOTSWANA DIRECTORY ••Accommodation BOTSWANA DIRECTORY for day visitors 6.30am-6.30pm Mar-Sep, 5.30am- for dayvisitors6.30am-6.30pmMar-Sep, DWNP isbestinlate winter andearly

Mp pp88-9; (Map at the % 318 0774;dwnp@gov Entrance Gate, Entrance Gate, Mabuase-

vango Delta, which islargelyvango Delta, given over to a real dearthof midrange placesintheOka- midrange accommodation.Note thatthere’s the leaptoUS$80US$150forcomfortable thing underUS$50.You’llthenhave tomake ments only. given inthischapterRates are forcashpay- requires anadditionalcharge of 10%to12%. Paymentbed tax. bycredit cardnormally sites) issubjecttoa10%accommodation Accommodation (withtheexceptionof camp ACCOMMODATION BOTSWANA DIRECTORY South Africa. Hukuntsi andTshatswa (Zutshwa),orvia enter onlyatKaa, viaKang, which isaccessed borone). FortheTwoRivers youcan section, ifyou’reKokotsha (useful comingfromGa- ntsi inthenorthoralongcutlinefrom fromTshabongaccessed inthesouth,Huku- hasonlyoneentrancegate, whichsection is TheMabuasehube petrol andself-sufficiency. All tracksintotheparkrequire a4WD,reserve &Away There Getting tion, see p85 . in Gaborone. Forfees andbookinginforma- must bepre-booked Department of through at thepark gates andget acamp site; they you can’tjustturnupin thedust.However, and flush toilets;manyare simplyclearings camps havetary littlemore thanbraai pits get directions site. toasuitable torequeststation permission tocampand local scrutiny,visitthe ernment freehold lands.Ifyoucan’tescape outside nationalparks,private landandgov- ming pool.Wildcampingispermitted only includes accesstothelodge barandswim- for aroundUS$7perperson, which normally system have campsites withvaryingamenities Quite afew hotels andlodges alongtheroad Camping in localcurrency. in USdollars paymentcanbemade although Mosttop-endplacesquotedelta. theirprices stratosphericallytoaroundUS$500inthe rise thiscan you backaroundUS$300,although luxury campsandtop-endlodges thatcanset In general, abudget doubleroomisany- In nationalparks,thetypicallyrudimen- lonelyplanet.com kgosi orpolice lonelyplanet.com are limited totheTsodilo Hillsinthenorth- out into the Kalahari. Hiking opportunities gadikgadi Pans, orhiringa4WDandheading ing toflyinMaun, quadbiking ontheMak- intheOkavango,or horseback safaris learn- elephant between limit, andyoucanchoose you’re really flush withcash,theskyis tions: wildlife etc.If viewing, 4WD safaris onthesofterfocuses ormore expensive op- volume touristdestination,activity tourism Since Botswanaislargely ahigh-budget, low- ACTIVITIES Maun mayacceptwalk-ins. road-accessible optionsaroundKasane and and lodges require pre-booking, butsome to US$200yourbill.Allremote camps only byair,which willaddaroundUS$150 most Okavango campsare Delta accessed a few lodges are accessiblebycaror4WD, complexes of brickorreed chalets. While They range fromtinytented campstolarge andallover theOkavangoReserve Delta. the LinyantiMarshes, theMoremi Game around ChobeNationalPark, theTuliBlock, campsandlodgesMost safari are found &Lodges Camps Safari Botswana sometimesdoubleasbrothels. countries, andtheless expensive hotels in anything ascheap asinmostotherAfrican ferent priceranges. youwon’tfind However, towns andtouristareas offer indif- several Every town has atleastonehotel, andlarger Hotels p85). (see Wildlife &NationalParks (DWNP)offices

„ PRACTICALITIES „ „ „ „ Botswanagenerates at220voltsAC, thoughtheyconfusinglyusetwotypes electricity 50Hz, Botswanausesthemetricsystem foreverything. Nationwideprogrammingisprovided Botswana,broadcastinginbothEnglishand byRadio are Printandslidefilm,batteries availablein andaccessories aswellvideocartridges square prongs. of plugs:theSouthAfrican typewithitsthree roundprongs,andtheUKtypewiththree casts local,African andinternational news. whichbroad- Setswana, whilemostofthecountryhasaccesstoBotswanaTelevision (BTV), brand. Gaborone, FrancistownandMaun,thoughit’snotcheap,youmightfindyourdesired Gaborone andincludesgovernment news,plusmajornationalandinternational news. Daily News, published by the Department ofInformation&Broadcasting,isdistributed free publishedbytheDepartment in BOTSWANA DIRECTORY ••Activities BOTSWANA DIRECTORY is thedefinitive work forarchaeology buffs. tome, compiled bytheBotswana Society,and isaweighty ARediandSegobye, by PLane, Ditswammung –The Archaeology of Botswana, &Culture History shops aroundSouthernAfrica. own vehicles. It’savailable inbetter book- venturing intothegreat unknown withtheir mation, includingGPScoordinates, forthose Mike infor- Main, concentrates onoff-road Adventurer’sGuidetoBotswana,African Guidebooks the Kalahari’. aboutthemythical‘lostcityof tales taining read telling enter- twofancifulandhighly tures. is Itssequel EuropeanandSancul- of between ameeting Post, isanentertaining, fictionaltreatment good colourphotos. tural histories.They’re fullof personality and vegetation, wildlife andgeological andcul- spectively, withparticularattention totheir of theKalahari andtheOkavango re- Delta, the Kalahari, by Michael Main, and Kalahari –Life’s Variety inDuneandDelta, General BOOKS mokoro safaris. Okavango lodges Delta orparticipantson life hikes canalsobearranged forguestsof and southeastern partsof thecountry.Wild- west and several smallranges intheeasternwest andseveral The Sunbird, A Story Like the Wind,

by Karen Ross, studythefaces by Wilbur Smith, is a light by WilburSmith,isalight A Far Place. Off Okavango –Jewelof by Laurens vander byLaurens 123 by

BOTSWANA BOTSWANA 5pm until late, while nightclubs and late-night 5pm until late, andlate-night while nightclubs and dinner. bars openaround Run-of-the-mill to Saturday,usually withabreak lunch between open fromaround 10.30amto11pmMonday Moreevening. expensive restaurants will be cheap eatswillbeopenallday,closinginearly the typeof –asarulecafésand establishment and 1.45pmto4.30pmMondayFriday. ment offices are openfrom7.30amto12.30pm for lunch 12.45amand2pm). Govern- between offices are openfrom8.15amto4pm(closing Friday and8.30amto11amSaturday.Post hours are from9amto3.30pmMonday activity anywhere. In larger towns,banking noon or1pm;onSundaythere’s scarcelyany at Saturday shopsopenaround8amandclose with aone-ortwo-hourclosure forlunch). On Normal business hours are 8amto5pm(often BUSINESS HOURS andvisions. early efforts reading foranyoneinspired byAdamson’s maymake rathertragictales depressingThese Kenya toMashatu, inBotswana’sTuliBlock. George Adamson’s Kalahari. hyenas intheCentral yearsAmerican couple’sseven studyingbrown is anentertaining andreadable accountof an many years intheMaun area. nial erainSouthernAfrica. Theauthorspent is amemoirdescribingtheendof thecolo- and folklore iscontinuedin quest foranunderstanding of Sanreligion and ground ontheTsodilo Hills.The author’s somewonderfulback- people andcontains der Post,isaclassicworkdealingwiththeSan Lost Worldof the Kalahari, Literature Travel woman RuthWilliamsinthe1950s. andEnglish-president, Khama, SirSeretse marriage of NgwatoheirandBotswana’sfirst thenegativeDutfield, details responses to the tion of Seretse andRuth Khama, modern times. Botswana’s history,fromtheStoneAge to isthemostreadable accountofCampbell, 124 the Free, Cry of the Kalahari, Starlings Laughing, History of Botswana, Restaurant opening hours vary according to openinghoursRestaurant varyaccordingto With MySoulAmongst Lions A Marriage of Inconvenience:ThePersecu- The Voice of the Thunder BOTSWANA DIRECTORY ••BusinessHours BOTSWANA DIRECTORY byGareth Patterson, carryJoyand Born Free byMark &DeliaOwens, byJuneVendall-Clark, byTTlou&Alec Heart of theHeart Hunter by Laurens van by Laurens . legacy from and by Michael Last of

Hampshire Ave NW, Washington,DC20008) Tervuren, B-1150 Brussels,Belgium) BR111, Broadhurst) Bag Rd,Private [email protected]; 5131NelsonMandela occurs, Botswanaenjoysavery lowcrime a harmlessinconvenience. theft Although may becometiresome, they’re mostlyjust roadblocks, bureaucracy andbored officials preparedness. Whilepoliceandveterinary by naturalelements,combinedwithalackof The greatest dangers inBotswanaare posed DANGERS &ANNOYANCES areeggs confiscated attheborder. products such asuntinnedmeat,milkand and 250gof tobacco dutyfree. Edibleanimal you canimportupto400cigarettes, 50cigars countries dutyfree. Fromoutsidetheunion, carriage of items member certain between Customs Union,which allowsunrestricted Botswana isamemberof theSouthernAfrican CUSTOMS the Okavango Delta. ticularly inthefarfringes of theKalahari and are extremely limited, par-goods andservices dren totravel thatchild-related in,beadvised Botswanaisasafe countryforchil-Although CHILDREN broadguidelines. these hours where significantlyfrom theydiffer (or 10pm)andkeep goinguntil5am. drinking spotsopentheirdoors around9pm Angola All of thefollowing are in Gaborone: inBotswana Embassies &Consulates USA UK EU Commission. the BritishHigh areinformation andvisas available through Botswana hasnodiplomaticrepresentation, as wellinthefollowingcountries.Where therelevant countrychapters),Zimbabwe (see and sions inNamibia,SouthAfrica,Zambia commis- Botswana hasembassies andhigh Botswana Embassies&Consulates EMBASSIES &CONSULATES Western) countries. rate compared with otherAfrican(andmany London W1N9AE) ( ( In thischapter wehave onlylisted opening % ( % % Mp pp88-9; (Map 32-2-732 2070;fax7356312;169,Ave de 020-7499 0031;fax74958595;6StratfordPl, 202-244 4990;fax2444164;1531-33New % 390 0204;fax3975089, lonelyplanet.com features localandregional music,danceand PO Box90) [email protected]; GovernmentEnclave,EmbassyDr, sional House,Broadhurst,POBox315) Easter Monday Rd, POBox1424) Namibia Germany France lonelyplanet.com Info Botswana Botswana Government Following isalistof helpfulwebsites: RESOURCES INTERNET botsnet.bw fast andinexpensive. Themostpopular ISPis town, Kasane and Ghanzi,andit’srelatively internet cafésinGaborone,Maun, Francis- Internet andemailaccessisnowavailable at ACCESS INTERNET Day Boxing Christmas IndependenceDay Day after Botswana/Independence Day Day President’s Day Khama Sir Seretse Day Ascension Labour Day Easter NewYear’s Day Day after New Year’s Day following: Public holidaysin Botswana includethe HOLIDAYS Day andBotswana/IndependenceDay. Day,President’s Khama country onSirSeretse aredrama. heldallover Celebrations the 4946; www.info.bw/~maitisong) Gaborone’s Botswana stages few major celebratoryevents. FESTIVALS &EVENTS Zimbabwe Zambia USA UK Lobatse Rd,POBox1586) Zambia House, the Mall, POBox362) Zambia House,theMall, Orapa Close,POBox1232) operators, plus thelatestnewsand weather. departments. current news and linkstobusinessgovernment Bag0023,theMall) Private Mp pp88-9; (Map Mp pp88-9; (Map March/April – Good Friday, HolySaturdayand –Good Friday, March/April Mp pp88-9; (Map (Map (Map pp88-9 ; (Map (Map pp88-9 ; ( 25December % (Map (Map pp88-9 ; 1May

26December (www.botsnet.bw) Maitisong Festival Maitisong 395 3143;fax3038;3rdfl,Profes- April/May (www.info.bw) Includeslinksto tourism % July 1 January % BOTSWANA DIRECTORY ••Festivals BOTSWANA &Events DIRECTORY 395 2841;fax6105;Queen’sRd, % % 395 3982;fax6947; % 1July /fax 3973863;761Robinson % (www.gov.bw) Contains 395 1951;fax3952; 397 2685;BCC Bldg,1278 2January 391 4495;fax3905863; , based inGaborone. , based , inMarch orApril, 1October 30September (

% 367 1809;fax358 tourism. information onhistory,archaeology,politics,societyand Africa. tour companiesandlodgesinBotswanaSouthern expectations. courting upmarket touristsonly hasincreased a matter of course, buttheofficialpolicyof charge isaddedas In mostplacesa service Tipping lers cheques. while theformercharges 3%tochange travel- ard Chartered bankscharge 3%commission, To change andStand- cash, bothBarclays Moneychangers restaurants inthelarger citiesandtowns. MasterCard) are accepted attouristhotels and Most major credit and cards(especiallyVisa Cards Credit and acceptmostmajor Western cards. ATMs are commoninmajor citiesandtowns, ATMs P1, P2andP5. and coinsindenominationsof 5t,10t,25t,50t, denominations of P5,P10,P20,P50andP100, notes comein (meaning ‘raindrops’).Bank ing ‘rain’),which isdividedinto100thebe Botswana’s unitof currency isthepula(mean- MONEY forUS$10. sells detailed ofinsets Gaboroneandthetouristareas. The swana, Botswana bird Publishers’ 1:2,500,000 central Gaborone. AlmostasgoodisRain- ofroads andincludesinsets touristareas and Tourist Map of Botswana, The mostaccurate countrymapisthe MAPS more onlanguage, see p772 . the first language of over 90%of people. For ken which is language, isSetswana, however, year of primaryschool. Themostwidely spo- and themediumof instruction fromthefifth languageEnglish istheofficial of Botswana LANGUAGE ofBotswana University On Safari publishedbyMacmillan, alsocontains (www.onsafari.com) Givesdetailson (www.onsafari.com) ContiMap . The1:1,750,000 isadecentroadmapthat (www.ub.bw)Provides which showsmajor Republic of Bot- Explorer MapExplorer

Shell 125 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA Still even Mascom’sStill even coverage ispatchy, and which Mascom isbyfarthelargest provider. .bw) applicable) andtelephone number. followed bythecountrycode,area code(if distributes brochures, mapsandtheannual more useful. 0357) locatedzines. Theoffices in Botswana Focus one) Bag0047,Gabor- Private BankBldg,theMall, Chartered fax 3908675;[email protected]; 2ndfl,Standard ofTourism Department The continuallyimproving of office the TOURIST INFORMATION bile operator. steadily, yourmo- anditisworthcontacting to change asthemarket ismoving forward over Maun, GhanziandMamuno. Thisisset tion isminimal,withlittleareas of coverage east. Outsideof areas these you’llfindrecep- orone inthesoutheasttoFrancistown is confinedtotheeastern corridorfromGab- phone networks, and somepetrolstations. denominations are soldatshops,postoffices in allmajor towns.Phonecards invarying andinshoppingcentresand postoffices, found atBotswanaTelecom (Map pp88–9 ) tional accesscodeis phone number. FromBotswana,theinterna- outside Botswana,dial no internal area codes,sowhenphoningfrom Botswana’s countrycodeis TELEPHONE &FAX corner off theenvelope. Designate anairmailletter byclippingone and P4.70(US$0.80)totherest of theworld. can countries,P3.90(US$0.70)toEurope to 10g)costP3.10(US$0.50)otherAfri- lettersPostcards andstandard up (weighing fordeliveryweeks toanoverseas address. can beextremely slow,soallowatleasttwo generallyAlthough reliable, services postal POST tourist centres such asMaun andKasane. theycanstillbechangedBotswana, though in Travellers cheques are in fallingintodisuse Cheques Travellers 126 Reliable coinandcardtelephone boxes are Botswana hastwoglobalmobile(cell) and dispenses touristinformationand also dispenses and TRANSPORT INBOTSWANA There &Away ••Getting TRANSPORT Orange Botswana Maun

( % and Mascom Wireless Mascom 686 0492) Discover Botswana % Mp pp88-9; (Map % 00, which should be

(www.orange.co.bw) 267 followedbythe are alsobecoming % 267; there are Kasane (www.mascom

% 395 3024;

( % maga- , of 625 residents following. –see three-year renewable residency permit.Appli- increase. Foreigners are normallygranted a the bush,yourchances of employmentwill or Maun, butifyou’re willingtoworkin remain inoraroundGaborone,Francistown warmest welcome. Mostforeigners to choose neers andcomputer professionals willfindthe school teachers,secondary professors, engi- training andexperienceasmedicaldoctors, professionals with fields.Those inseveral tion system skilled cannotproduceenough rapidlyandtheeduca- Botswana isdeveloping WORK Cres, POBox942,Gaborone) Office atthe Officer apply totheImmigration&Passport Control Formorestay. thanathree-month extension, or proof of funds foryourintended sufficient You maybeasked toshow anonwardairticket Extensions are available foruptothree months. VISA EXTENSIONS isgrantedentry, everyone a30-daystay. On visas. Israelisdoneed or theUSA;however, monwealth countries,mostEuropeancountries areVisas notrequired bycitizensof most Com- VISAS passport that isvalidforat leastsixmonths. All visitors entering Botswanamust holda Passport (p752 ). chapter outlined intheTransportSouthern Africa where inAfricaorfromothercontinentsis tion ontravel toSouthern Africafromelse- and itsneighbouring countriesonly.Informa- coversThis section travel Botswana between THERE& AWAY GETTING BOTSWANA IN TRANSPORT volunteer placements. etc –are alsoactive in Botswana, andaccept organisationsunteer –thePeace Corps,VSO 1300; fax3552995;POBox942,Gaborone) country tothe cations mustbesubmitted fromoutsidethe Working visas areWorking visas alsoavailable fornon- Numerous NGOs andinternational vol-

( % 361 1300; fax 355 2996; cnr State House Dr & Khama 361 1300;fax3552996;cnrStateHouseDr&Khama Department ofImmigration Department Department ofImmigrationHead Department before yourtrip. lonelyplanet.com . ( %

361 02 38) .flysas.com; hubJohannesburg) .co.bw; hubGaborone) Zambia to see VictoriaFalls. tosee Zambia you’re crossing over toZimbabweand/or happy immigrationofficials, especiallyif Also, allowafew emptypages forstamp- lonelyplanet.com sometime between 6pmand10pm. The main sometime between 6amand8am andclose sometime between Namibia orSouth Africagenerally open but major Botswana and crossingsbetween disinfectant. pit filledwiththesame country. Vehicles a mustalsopassthrough intothe carrying foot-and-mouthdisease gage, inadisinfectant diptoprevent them packed those even awayintheirlug- shoes, travellers are often requested tocleantheir Atborder crossings, arriving straightforward. travelOverland toorfromBotswanaisusually Border Crossings Airways South African Air Botswana hop onaconnectingflight. of international anddomesticcarriers) and Africa (bothof byanarray which are served either Johannesburg Town inSouth orCape special charter Mosttravellers flights. flyinto bytwoairlinesandanumberof only served flies directly intoBotswana. Thecountryis Victoria Falls (VicFalls) inZimbabwe. in Gaborone,Francistown,Maun, Kasane and routes withinSouthernAfrica. Ithasoffices included inticket prices. international airdeparture of tax US$9is Far more popularare tourists asanentrypointintothecountry. hannesburg andHarare, by used itisseldom fromJo- withflights airport iswellserved north of Gaborone. the thecapital Although Airport ternational Botswana’s mainairportis Air before theyarrive inthecountry. avisa toobtain Other nationalitieswillneed permit onarrival(passportphotosrequired). Mauritius) willbegranted aone-monthentry Nigeriation of and Ghana,India,SriLanka, bers of theCommonwealth (withtheexcep- Scandinavia, countriesandallmem- Balkan Members of theEU,USA,SouthAfrica, The nationalcarrier,AirBotswana,flies Border openinghours change all the time, No EuropeanorNorthAmericanairline and Kasane Airport Kasane (BP; TRANSPORT INBOTSWANA There &Away ••Getting TRANSPORT % (GBE;

390 5500;www.airbotswana (SA; % Maun Airport Maun %

35 1191) (BBK; 020-22 9663;www Sir Seretse Khama In- Khama Sir Seretse % , located 15km 65 0136) (MUB;

. The % 66 p131 for more on hitching), butthestretch also so hitching isn’tinordinately risky(see region, strifeany serious inNamibia’sCaprivi asthebusterminal. There’s nolonger serves for liftsattheShell which petrolstation, also refuels atKasane, soyoumaywanttolook require paymentof parkfees. Nearlyeveryone Bridge isrelatively welltravelled, anddoesn’t ChobeNational Parkthrough toNgoma 54kmtransitrouteFrom Kasane the sealed Hitching Mohembo bordercrossing. cross-border theMahango– through buses inBotswana. Therebark ordisembark are no Kasane,through passengers maynotem- and VictoriaFalls Windhoek tween passes Pre-booking isessential. itdepartsat7.30amonWednesday. hoek, (US$55, 10hours), viaGhanzi.FromWind- fromMaun toWindhoek shuttle service 686 0599, Petrol &RestCamp. Station Gate East hole upontheborderatuseful they onlyrunwhenfull,soyoumayhave to Unfortunately, ontheNamibianside hoek. wait foraminibusontoGobabis orWind- on theborder,butfromthere, you’llhave to Ghanzi andMamuno (US$3,three hours), There’s atleastonedailycombibetween Bus behind Botswana. (late May toAugust),Namibiaisonehour Buitepos. Note thatduringthewinter months Bridge, Mahango–Mohembo andMamuno– The three mainbordercrossingsare atNgoma NAMIBIA ofject toaroadsafety levy US$10. On entry,foreign-registered vehicles are sub- valid intheSouthernAfricanCustomsUnion. registration papers andthird-partyinsurance lunch from12.30pmto1.45pm. of water. high for Someminorcrossingsclose inperiods 8amand4pm,butclose between swana andSouthAfrica,are normallyopen Limpopo andMolopoRivers Bot- between crossings, such asthemanycrossingsover the runsfrom6amto6pm.Minor ferry toZambia are openfrom6amto8pmandtheKazungula BotswanaandZimbabwecrossings between Those entering byvehicleThose current need Although theIntercapeAlthough Mainliner busbe- At 7.30amonMonday % Windhoek 0811-272870) Audi Camp Audi runs auseful (

%

Maun 127 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA 4294; KuduShell,Queen’sRd; Klerk St) Falls, Zimbabwe. toreachnot difficult Livingstonevia Victoria a longqueueorthe ferry isn’toperating,it’s cars andUS$20 for larger vehicles. Ifthere’s son andUS$7.50 for motorbikes, US$12for 6am to6pmdailyandcostsUS$0.50 perper- the Kazungula ferry, which operates from Direct travel thetwo countriesison between River.gle pointinthemiddleof theZambezi world’s shortest international border–asin- bwe andNamibia)share the what’scertainly (alongwithZimba- Botswana andZambia ZAMBIA p131). pay forlifts(see border crossings,butyoumaybeexpected to especiallyatthemain ing isstraightforward, BotswanaandSouthAfrica,hitch- Between Hitching at 6.30amandJo’burg at3.30pm. Station Jo’burg (US$18,sixhours), leaving Gaborone hours),eight viaMartin’s Drift. Palapyeand runbetween andJo’burg (US$14, withMafikengnect Lobatse (US$3,1½hours) alsocon- main busterminal. Minibusservices 5.30pm, fromthenorthwestcornerof the (US$12, sixhours) leave whenfull,6amto GaboroneandJo’burg between Minibuses Bus &Minibus duringperiodsof water.be closed high arethese to2WD vehicles, impassable andmay Molopo River insouthernBotswana;someof Limpopo River, intheTuliBlock,and backroadsacrossthe border crossingsserve bordercrossings.Other Tlokweng orPioneer theRamatlabama, through South Africapasses Most overland Botswanaand between traffic SOUTH AFRICA you have lotsof water. 40km southof Ghanzi,andwait there; besure a Gaborone-bound vehicle toNewJunction, improve yourchances, youcanalsohitch with Most peopleheadoutinthemorning.To bothlocated inGhanzi. petrolstation, Oasis about liftsattheKalahari ArmsHotel orthe from GhanzitoGobabis (Namibia),inquire tle traffic. lit- KongolaandDivundustillsees between 128 To hitch alongtheTrans-Kalahari Highway Intercape Mainliner Mainliner Intercape TRANSPORT INBOTSWANA There &Away ••Getting TRANSPORT travels Gaboroneand dailybetween ( Gaborone Pretoria

% Map Map pp88-9 ; 012-654 4114;108 % 357 ( McDonald atthe a busthatisgoing.InVictoriaFalls, Gareth passengers, askthemtoringaroundandfind (US$28, twohours). Iftheydon’thave enough Safari Lodge offer VictoriaFalls transfers 10 hours). busfromGaborone(US$5, runs anightly companyalso day andSunday.Thesame hours). Itreturns fromGweruonWednes- (US$11, 10hours), viaBulawayo(US$5,eight Monday andFridayfromMaun toGweru another combitoBulawayo. (US$1.50, 1½hours), ontheborder,andthen combi fromFrancistowntoRamokgwebana daily ineitherdirection. Alternatively, take a three hours),leave buses five times toseven FrancistownandBulawayo(US$3.50, Between Bus back-roadcrossingatPandamatenga.used west of VictoriaFalls. There’s alsoalesser- andatKazungula,Ramokgwebana–Plumtree borders areThe twomostcommonlyused at ZIMBABWE truck drivers aboutliftstoLivingstone. shore ask ofor theZambian theZambezi, noon traffic is headed towards Bulawayo.noon traffic for hitching intoBotswana, whilemost after- Plumtree bordercrossing. Morningsare best and Bulawayo,using theRamokgwebana– It isfairlyeasyto hitch Francistown between Hitching continue. Zimbabwe’s politicalandeconomic crises ates, andit’sunlikely toresume aslong nolonger oper- and Bulawayo,thisservice Gaborone the costsforraillinkbetween Due toZimbabwe’s failure topayitsshare of Train inBotswana. embark ordisembark Kasane, through passengers cannot passes VictoriaFallsice between andWindhoek US$30. Falls andtheKazungula bordercostaround cross theborder. Taxis Victoria between (US$10 perperson) toKazungula, butdoesn’t .com; 357GibsonRd) % Although theIntercapeAlthough Mainliner busserv- If you’re hitching from Kasane–Kazangula In Kasane, ThebeRiver SafarisandChobe on Golden Bridge alsohasabusservice Victoria FallsVictoria 013-42209;www.victoriafallsbackpackers runs inexpensive transfers Victoria Falls Backpackers’ Lodge Falls Backpackers’ Victoria lonelyplanet.com

town centre page 131formore). (see ungula roadturn-off 1.5kmsoutheastof the from VictoriaFalls toKasane, waitattheKaz- wait foraliftattheKazungula borderpost; From Kasane toVictoriaFalls, it’sbestto lonelyplanet.com These services are regulated nowhighly and services These you backaroundUS$100 toUS$150. will set and aremote lodge intheOkavango Delta extra cost. and isolated villages, butthey are anexpensive times, theonlywaytoreach remote lodges Charter are flights often thebestand,some- CHARTER FLIGHTS this book. & Awayintherelevant regional chapters of There underGetting see Air Botswanaoffices, for details of andthecontact domesticflights, isnotfull). if theflight alittlemore(unofficially, isoften permitted fare. Passengers are allowed20kgof luggage aged twoand12cost50%of between the an adultcost10%of thefare andchildren children aged undertwo sittingonthelapof turn fares, soplanyouritineraryaccordingly; language newspapers. look foradvertisements inthelocalEnglish- tours –check withtheairline,or sightseeing Gaborone andMaun, includinghotels and They alsorunoccasionalpackages between Gaborone, Francistown,Maun andKasane. larger townsaroundthecountry,namely a limited numberof between domesticflights The nationalcarrier,AirBotswana,operates Air vehicle isthebestandmostpractical. places are notaccessible. Allinall,hiringa number of paved roadssothemore interesting ably frequent, butare confinedtothelimited arecombis (minibuses) alsocheap andreason- strip of eastern and Botswana. Publicbuses restricted toonelinealongthethinpopulated and dependable,butitisterribly slowandis isinexpensive Therailwayservice larly served. cheap andonlyahandfulof townsare regu- able, AirBotswana(andcharter are flights) not are fairlyfrequent and usuallyreli-air services and, attimes,expensive. domestic Although Botswana’s public-transportnetworkislimited AROUND GETTING One-way fares are more expensive thanre- On average aone-wayfare Maun between about thecostsandfrequencyFor details TRANSPORT INBOTSWANA Around ••Getting TRANSPORT hire (orbuy)avehicle. Withyour owncaror The best waytotravel aroundBotswana isto &Motorcycle Car p132). (see viaMoremi4WD safaris GameReserve Maun companiesoffer butsafari three-day Chobe NationalPark Kasane between and only onboard. there are noadvancebookings;tickets are sold isquite limited. Inallcases, transport service na’s smallpopulationmeansthatitspublic- followafixedwhile buses schedule. Botswa- according todemandanddepartwhenfull, operate most popularruns,minibusservices only iftheyliealongmajor Onthe highways. With few exceptions,smallvillages are served of thecountrythanalongeastern corridor. are lessfrequent inthewestern part services all major routes highway inBotswana,but travel andminibuses Buses regularly along Bus or road. wildlife whiletravelling alonganyhighway cyclists mayencounter potentially dangerous and in Botswana’snationalparksandreserves, bear inmindthatbicyclesare notpermitted about aBotswanabicycleadventure. Also conditions, abandon anyideasyoumayhave enced cyclistandequippedfortheextreme public transport,butunlessyou’re anexperi- avoiding of theuncertainties hitching and travellers stilltake abicycleinthehopeof only concessionitmakes tocyclists.Some Botswana islargely flat–andthat’sabout the Bicycle the planeisfullof passengers. 2kg to3kgthepilotwillusuallyonlymindif ifyouhavewhen booking).However, anextra 12kg of luggage each (check theexactamount on charter are flights onlyallowed10kgto agenciesthrough inMaun. fare time. atthesame Packages canbebooked withoutalsobookingareturnin thedelta air to bookaccommodationataremote lodge very small.Likewise, youare notpermitted asmanylodgesto findabedforthenight are remoteturn upinthese locationsandexpect youcan’tsimply the lodges. Thisisessential; atoneofage withamandatoryreservation mustbebookedflights aspartof pack- asafari It isvery tonote thatpassengers important Note that there’s no bus service through through Note thatthere’s nobusservice

129 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA times five). home country foratleast twoyears (some- 25) andhave driver alicensed inyour been (some companies require drivers tobeover To rent acaryoumustbe aged atleast21 HIRE it!)andaspareto use tyre. check you have aworkingjack(andknowhow p103 formore aboutbush driving. spannerandacomplete tool kit. See wheel leads, towropeandcable,afew litres of oil, to carrythefollowing:twospare tyres, jump planning onsome4x4drivingitisadvisable major centres, butnotelsewhere. Ifyou are planning ondrivinginmore remote areas. in long-range orjerrycans)ifyou’re tanks able tocarryanadditional100Lof fuel(either withoutfillingupandit’sadvis- station service from about7amto7pmdaily. Mahalapye andPalapye; elsewhere, theyopen 24 hours inGaborone,Francistown,Maun, Petrolthe petrolstation. are stations open prices varyaccordingtotheremoteness of in Botswana,aroundUS$0.75perlitre, but The costof fuel(petrol)isrelatively expensive FUEL &SPARE PARTS and itisvalidfor12months. national automobileassociationcanissuethis an International DrivingPermit (IDP).Your toobtain itisadvisable lation. Inanycase, in English youmust provide acertifiedtrans- months inBotswana,butifitisn’twritten Your homedrivinglicenceisvalidforsix DRIVING LICENCE for safety reasons. not tonote thatmotorbikesalso important are experienceonamotorbike.a miserable It’s kicked upbyothervehicles couldmake for and trackswhere cloudsof dustandsand arebikes tracks,inbetween alongdesert roads itcanbegreatand although funtoridedirt cheaper inSouthAfrica. a vehicle inBotswana–butprobably ishigh arethat distances longandthecostof hiring towns) andorganised tours. Thedownsideis (which islimited toroutes major between motorbike, youcanavoid publictransport 130 If you’re renting ahire carmake sure you Spare partsare readily available inmost As ageneral ruleyoushould passa never You cannothire amotorbike inBotswana permitted in national parks and reserves permitted innationalparksandreserves TRANSPORT INBOTSWANA Around ••Getting TRANSPORT throughout South Africa, andinNamibia. throughout SouthAfrica, and companyhasofficesinGaborone African–based andalloverSouthernAfrica. Kasane Maun, Imperial Budget Avis and thendrivingittoBotswana,see p589 . information abouthiringacarinSouthAfrica major car-rental companieslisted below.For you) hasoverlooked somethingimportant. harsh placetofindoutthatthecompany(or brakes, battery andsoon–theKalahari isa how itworks.Also,check thevehicle fluids, engages properlyandthatyouunderstand cle before acceptingit;make sure the4WD carefully examinethevehi- andthoroughly this willcostextra. (Namibia),but (South Africa)orWindhoek in Gaboroneandreturn ittoJohannesburg Africa. Itis possibletohire acar,forexample, and willnotallowyoutogoanywhere in else are less happyaboutdrivers goingtoZambia companies sort outthepaperwork.Rental it withthecompanybeforehand sotheycan and Zimbabwe, butonlyifyouhave cleared Swaziland,Namibia South Africa,Lesotho, panies willallowyoutotake avehicle to strongly insurance isnotcompulsory, itis Although INSURANCE well. and willpossiblycover youforcollisionas some protection should anythinggowrong credit‘gold level’ card,which willoffer you also provide foranextracost. babyseats, (10%)isincluded. Mostcompaniescan tax sales added. Alsocheck tomake sure thegovernment fee’ maybe the rental company;anda‘service to US$50!)maybeincurred atthediscretion of arbitrary); a‘cleaningfee’ (which canamount 1% issometimescharged fairly (butthis seems than thecar-rental of office); a‘tourismlevy’ off orpickingupthecaratyourhotel (rather lowing: afee formaybecharged fordropping Additional charges for thefol- willbelevied Tempest NamibiaandZambia. Africa, andFrancistown, andinthemajorcitiesofSouth Gaborone as in South Africa, ZimbabweandNamibia. as inSouthAfrica, Naturally, alwayscheck thepaperwork It isprobably besttodealwithoneof the It is nearly always advisable topaywitha It isnearlyalwaysadvisable (www.avis.com) Offices in Gaborone, Francistown, inGaborone, (www.avis.com) Offices Most major international car-rental com- (www.budget.co.za) Offices in Gaborone, aswell inGaborone, Offices (www.budget.co.za) (www.tempestcarhire.co.za) ThislargeSouth (www.tempestcarhire.co.za) (www.imperialcarrental.co.za) Offices in Offices (www.imperialcarrental.co.za) recommended. No matter whoyou lonelyplanet.com insurance policiesdonotincludecover for on) andwhatyourliabilities are. Most local metres, insurance,collision-waiver tax, andso what isincludedintheprice(unlimited kilo- hire yourcarfrommake sure youunderstand lonelyplanet.com eastern Botswana atanytime. ofaround the saltpans the Kalahari ornorth- fordrivingby4WD ment. AGPSisessential better, globalpositioningsystem (GPS) equip- Chobe National Park); andacompass or, carry awinch onsometracks(egthrough (Decemberto February),season 4WDsshould tempted by4WD.Intheworst of thewet badly mappedtracksthatshouldonly beat- villages andcross afew national parks. cept duringexceptionalrains–connect most four) –butnormallyaccessibleby2WDex- mud, gravel androcks(andsometimesall major populationcentres. Trackswithsand, George VI.) in 1947preparation forthevisitbyKing wascompletedCourt building.(Theroad totheHigh trainstation from theLobatse swana’s onlypaved roadextended for5km At thetimeof independencein1966,Bot- ROAD CONDITIONS and informthebankinadvance. country withouthassles–justkeep thepapers amountofsame hardcurrency toyourhome and resell itinBotswana,youcanremit the in SouthAfricasee p761 . For more information onpurchasing avehicle vehicle isacross theborderinSouthAfrica. vehicle in-country. Thebestplacetobuya years, it’snotworthpurchasingfor several a Unless you’re inBotswana goingtobestaying PURCHASE absolutely albeitataprice. everything, out theSuperCollisionWaiver, which covers a shortperiodof timeitmaybeworthtaking US$3000 fora4WD.Ifyou’re onlygoingfor liability isabout US$1500fora2WDand having. Forbothtypesof insurance,the excess Loss (Theft)Waiver isalsoanextraworth 2WD, andaboutUS$40perdayfora4WD. which costsaroundUS$20extraperdayfora totakeadvisable Damage (Collision)Waiver, requirement inBotswana. itisalso However, damage towindshieldsandtyres. If youdobuyacarwithhardcurrency Third-party motorinsuranceisaminimum Most other‘roads’are poorlydefinedand daysgoodpavedThese roadslinkallthe TRANSPORT INBOTSWANA Around ••Getting TRANSPORT to hitch willbesafer if theytravel inpairs risk.Peoplepotentially serious who do choose understand thattheyare asmall but taking ellers whodecideto hitch, should however, rates established even for mainroutes. Trav- sometimes erraticinremote areas. There are to get aroundgiven that publictransportis Hitching inBotswanaisanaccepted way HITCHING gate attendant. to offer afriendlywaveeffort tothebored down whilethegate isopenedandmake an or travelling in,acattletruck,simplyslow animals tolivestock. Unlessyou’re driving, uptostopthespreadset fromwild of disease erinary CordonFences; see p85 are). These fences’ (officially calledVet-so-called ‘buffalo is definitely notrecommended. is far,fargreater after dark,sodrivingatnight chances of hitting awildordomesticanimal and shouldbedriven withcaution.The roads are frequently byelephants trafficked TheMaun–Natahighways. andNata–Kasane alongthe swana, canalsobeahazard,even estimated three millionwilddonkeys inBot- insurance companies. addresses andsortitoutlateryour through parties agree –youcanexchange namesand damage andthere are noinjuries–andall hours. Ifvehicles have onlyminor sustained must bereported totheauthoritieswithin48 offence.without alicenceisalsoserious if youhave anaccidentwhiledrunk.Driving law, andyourinsurancepolicywillbeinvalid Drink-drivingisalsoagainstthe back) seats. iscompulsoryinthefront(butnot installed) vehicle belts(where isillegal, andwearingseat Sittingontherooffor speeding. of amoving thelimit) 10kmyouexceed US$1 forever motorists (aboutUS$10,plusanadditional ofin theabsence anysigns. villages, limitof assumeaspeed 60km/h,even townsand Whenpassingthrough reserves. roads and40km/hinallnationalparks 120km/h onpaved roads,80km/hongravel side of limitis theroad.Thenationalspeed keeps totheleftAfrican countries,traffic least 18years old.Like mostotherSouthern To drive acarinBotswana,youmustbeat ROAD RULES Wild animals,includingelephantsandthe One commonbutminorannoyanceisthe If youhave anaccidentcausinginjury,it radarandlove policeuse Highway tofine

131 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA BOTSWANA Chobe National Park. for overlandthe base toKasane safaris via added totheend of tours. delta Maun isalso excursions are These oftenGame Reserve. Park, Tsodilo Kalahari HillsandtheCentral to ChobeNational Botswana, mostnotably it’s alsoeasytobooktours toother partsof pointfortheOkavangojumping-off Delta, From Maun ( p106 ), which isthetraditional Tours depending onhowfaryouwantto go. thisisnegotiable to US$60perday,although fixed. Taxis canbechartered –about US$45 able butfares foroccasionalshared are taxis Faresor trainstations). are fortaxis negoti- (usuallynearthebus stand up orgotoataxi telephone companytoarrange ataxi apick- for fares one, inGaborone. –even Ifyouneed airports, however. bus driver. Taxis are alwaysavailable cannormallynegotiate afareelse withthe lodge. are These free forguestsbutanyone a courtesy busoperated byatop-endhotel or reliable transportfromtheairportisusually Francistown, Kasane andMaun, sotheonly hanging aroundtheairportsatGaborone, blue numberplates. Theyrarely bother are taxis alsorecognisableLicensed bytheir TAXI and Kanye. Lobatse pye, Francistown,Selebi-Phikwe, ane, Ghanzi,Molepolole,Mahalapye, Pala- around major townssuch asGaborone,Kas- plates, routes circulate accordingtoset Combis, recognisable bytheirbluenumber- COMBI (MINIBUSES) attractions are off thebeaten track. to thetraveller asmostof Botswana’stourist cheapAlthough andreliable, itisof littleuse majorto mainroadsbetween populationhubs. ofthe needs thelocalpopulaceandisconfined Public transportinBotswanaisgeared towards Local Transport ing in. of theridedetermine apricebefore climb- prevent situationsattheend uncomfortable be requested inexchange foralift,butto ning togo. and letsomeoneknowwhere theyare plan- 132 The equivalentof abusfare willfrequently It is not normal for taxis to cruise thestreets tocruise It isnotnormalfortaxis TRANSPORT INBOTSWANA Around ••Getting TRANSPORT to the exclusive touroperators. ISt)OneofBotswana’smost downey.com; Mathiba operator isrunoutofthepopularAudi Camp( p109 ). Thisbudget ISt,Maun) Mathiba .okavangocamp.com; upmarket safaris, and is located next to Riley’s Garage. toRiley’s andislocatednext safaris, upmarket /~bathusi; Tsheko Thiscompanyspecialisesin Rd,Maun) operator islocatedattheCrocodileCamp( p111 ). Thisbudget www.botswana.com; ShorobeRd,Maun) Ker &Downey Ker Camp Rest Maun Lodge Island Safari Safaris Crocodile Camp &Safaris Bathusi Travel Backpackers Back totheBridge Safaris Camp Audi Afro-Trek recommended: other adventures. forlodges,and informationoffice and safaris asacentralbooking the airport,which serves 0822; fax6860493;[email protected]) bwean border to Ramatlhabama ontheSouth bwean border toRamatlhabama stretches ontheZimba- from Ramokgwebana one linerunning along eastern Botswana. It The Botswanarailway system islimited to Train Wilderness Safaris Safaris Phakawe Tours&Safaris Okavango Lodge River Okavango (p111). packers Back- budget operatorisrunoutofBacktotheBridge % airport. airport. andislocatednearthe safaris specialises inupmarket Thisoperator 1800; www.wilderness-safaris.com) Maun Rest Camp( Rest Maun p109 ). andisrun outofthe operator specialisesinmobilesafaris, [email protected], Thisbudget ShorobeRd,Maun) is run out of the Island Safari Lodge( is runoutoftheIslandSafari p111 ). Thisbudgetoperator ISt,Maun) [email protected]; Mathiba Hotel( andislocatedintheSedia safaris, p111 ). Thiscompanyspecialisesinmidmarket Shorobe Rd,Maun) based tours. lodge- established operatorspecialisesinupmarket Thiswell- MophaneSt,Maun) www.okavango.bw; the Pumpkin Patch.the Pumpkin buildingcalled andishousedinabright-orange safaris, reader-recommended operatorrunsinformalparticipation Rd)This Khama SirSeretse .phakawe.demon.co.uk; operator is run out of the Okavango River Lodge( River operator isrunoutoftheOkavango p109 ). [email protected]; Thisbudget ShorobeRd,Maun) The followingBotswanatouroperators are isat A goodplacetostart 686 2406;[email protected]; This ShorobeRd,Maun) Mp p110; (Map (Map (Map p110 ; (Map (Map p110 ; Mp p110; (Map (Map (Map p110 ; (Johannesburg (Johannesburg (Map (Map p110 ; % Mp p110; (Map (Map (Map p110 ; 686 0177; www.afrotrek.com; 686 0177;www.afrotrek.com; ( % % Mp p110; (Map % % 686 0375;www.ker 686 0647;www.info.bw % % 686 4337;www 686 3472; Mp p110; (Map Travel Wild Travel % 686 0500;www lonelyplanet.com % % 686 0300; (27) 11807 % 686 3707; 686 0265; , opposite 686 1154; (

% 686 places of littleornointerest tothetourist. and reliable itispainfullyslowandserves cheapwhich defunct.Although isnowsadly rious Johannesburg–Bulawayo trainservice, African border,andwasoncepartof theglo- lonelyplanet.com the above - ‘Do the right thingwithourcontent.’ the above -‘Dotheright theterms and conditionsonoursiteforalonger wayofsaying youknow,orresell it.See everyone site,mass emailitto only. Inotherwords, pleasedon’tuploadthischapterto apeer-to-peer Inreturn, wethinkit’sfair toaskyouuseitforpersonal,non-commercial purposes restricted. © LonelyPlanetPublications. iteasier foryoutouse,accessthischapterisnotdigitally Tomake travel andFran- theroute Lobatse between the slowerandcheaper train’.Both ‘night quicker andmore expensive ‘daytrain’, and There are twodifferent typesof train–the TRANSPORT INBOTSWANA Around ••Getting TRANSPORT advance oronthetrain. economy-class passengers canbuya ticket in 2nd class,advancebookingsare essential; (for tripsbeyondGaborone).For1stand sible atGaborone,FrancistownandLobatse are onlypos- butreservations train stations, Palapye, andothervillages. Serule cistown, viaGaborone,Pilane,Mahalapye, Schedules andtickets are available atall © LonelyPlanetPublications

133 BOTSWANA BOTSWANA