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|  | BOTSWANA COUNTRY SNAPSHOT AND INTERESTING FACTS | Botswana borders South Africa to the south and east, Zimbabwe to the northeast and Namibia to the north. The tableland of the Kalahari Desert covers most of the country and the national parks cover an additional 17 per cent. The vast arid sandveld of the Kalahari occupies much of north, central and western Botswana. Gaborone, the capital, is situated in the southeast of the country and features an excellent National Museum with natural history and ethnological exhibitions, but it is Botswana's national parks and game reserves that are the real attraction. The Okavango Delta area, northwards in the Kalahari Desert, is home to more than 300 exotic species and a variety of fauna. It is extremely beautiful, composed of vast grass flats, low tree-covered ridges and lagoons. The Moremi Wildlife Reserve in southern Africa, covering 1812 sq km (700 sq miles) in the northeast corner of the Okavango Delta, is spectacular. Small boats travel the delta through lagoons abundant with birdlife. Most lodges and safari camps have restaurants and licensed bars. Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. Four decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies, and significant capital investment have created one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. Mineral extraction, principally diamond mining, dominates economic activity, though tourism is a growing sector due to the country's conservation practices and extensive nature preserves. Botswana has one of the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection, but also one of Africa's most progressive and comprehensive programs for dealing with the disease. Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest economic growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $9,200 in 2004. Two major investment services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of the expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for 70-80% of export earnings. Tourism, financial services, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. On the downside, the government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 23.8%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the second highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. An expected leveling off in diamond mining production overshadow long-term prospects. | Open here a detailed map in a new window. Map Server Travel-Island.com. | 
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| | | RESORTS AND EXCURSIONS | Botswana is a vast, flat dry land, as big as France, but with a population of only 1.6 million, many of whom live in or near the two main cities of Gaborone and Francistown. Over 80 per cent of the country is semi-desert, but, in spite of this, abundant wildlife thrives, and with so few people, Botswana boasts the largest percentage of land given over to wildlife in the world - a remarkable 17 per cent is national park, and with the many huge private concessions in the Okavango Delta and Tuli Block, it reaches a staggering 38 per cent. All national parks and game reserves have camping areas. For all information and reservations within the National Parks, contact the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, PO Box 20365, next to Police Station, Maun; tel: +267-661 265; fax: +267-661 264; and PO Box 131, Queens Road, Government Enclave, Gaborone; (tel: +267-580 774; fax: +267-580 775; email: parks.reservations.gaborone@gov.bw; website: gov.bw/tourism).
The South East
Gaborone
The capital, Gaborone, is situated in the southeast of the country. There is an excellent National Museum open from Tues-Fri 0900-1800 and weekends 0900-1700, with natural history and ethnological exhibitions. As well as permanent displays, there are also temporary exhibitions and various symposia and conferences. Gaborone has several good bookshops and libraries, including the University of Botswana Library which has a 'Botswana Room' devoted solely to publications on the country. There are good craft shops and markets in the town, where pottery, basketwork, leatherwork and handwoven objects can be bought.
Excursions
The 600 ha Gaborone Game Reserve, along the Ngotwane River, about 5km east of central Gaborone, is nothing like as good for game as the major parks, but does have a number of species of antelope. Ten km southwest of the city is the privately operated, 3000 ha Mokolodi Nature Reserve, where visitors can do guided game walks amongst the elephant, cheetah, leopard, and antelope. Both reserves have small numbers of white rhino. The St Claire Lion Park, 14km from the city on the Lobatse road, is a good place to see the animals up close, but in a situation far from a natural environment. It also has a vulture restaurant, children's playground, riding and other entertainments.
The Gaborone Dam is a centre for watersports, and day trips can be made to see local crafts at Oodi, Thamaga and Pilane. A trip to the weaving centre at Lentswe-La-Odi, just north of Gaborone, is especially recommended. Local craftwork can be bought here at a fraction of its cost in the big cities. The centre is a non-profitmaking organisation, with proceeds going back to the craftspeople. Mochudi, also north of Gaborone, is the regional capital of the Bakgatla tribe. The Phuthadikobo Museum chronicles the history of the Bakgatla people in fascinating detail.
Serowe
Halfway between Gaborone and Francistown, Serowe is one of the largest villages in Botswana, the seat of the Bangwato tribe, and the birthplace of Botswana's charismatic first president, Sir Seretse Khama. He is buried in the local graveyard. The Khama III Memorial Museum, located in the Red House at the base of the Serowe Hill has memorabilia of the Khama Family. On Khama III's grave (Sir Seretse's grandfather) is a bronze duiker sculpted by the famous South African artist Anton van Wouw. Thathaganyana Hill is home to the ruins of an 11th century settlement.
Nearby, the small Khama Rhino Sanctuary houses almost all of Botswana's rhino collection, gathered here to protect them from poachers. There are also 28 other animal species and over 150 bird species.
The Tuli Block
This patchwork of private game ranches and concessions covers about 120,000 hectares in the southeastern corner of the country adjacent to South Africa. It is quite different to anywhere else in Botswana with ruggedly beautiful countryside famed for its birdwatching potential. It is famed for its large herds of elephant. The pot pourri of rocks, varying in age from 2700 million to 3700 million years old, makes for incredible scenery. Horseriding safaris are available as are mountain bike tours. Mashatu main camp and Mashatu tented camp are in the area.
The Northeast
Francistown
Francistown is a stopping-off point for visitors on the way to the Okavango, Moremi and Chobe game reserves. The area has been inhabited for about 80,000 years, but the town was created in 1867 with the discovery of gold. There are still mines working in the area. The Supa-Ngwao Museum has displays on local history, an information centre and a craft shop with books and maps. There are several reasonable hotels and restaurants, and some of Botswana's best nightlife, which is still somewhat limited.
Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans
Situated only 37km (23 miles) north of the main Francistown to Maun road, the entrance to Nxai Pan National Park marks the start of a vast area (roughly the size of Portugal) once covered in giant, shallow salt lakes. Only rare shallow islands of palms and baobabs break the flatness of the countryside. The 2578 sq km park, incorporating the Nxai and Kgama-Kgama Pans, is grassland, teeming with plain animals such as zebra and wildebeest.
The sands of the Makgadikgadi Pans, part of which is protected by a 4900 sq km national park, gleam white with salt in the dry season, transform into a shimmering lake in the rainy season, when thousands of brilliant pink flamingoes arrive to paddle in the brine. Herds of zebra and wildebeest also come to drink here. When the Makgadikgadi loses its water the animals move on to the Boteti River where they remain until the following rainy season, which heralds their movement northwards again to the Nxai Pan. A new cultural village, Planet Baobab, has been established close to the Nxai Pan, and luxury camps in this area include Jack's Camp and San Camp. Non-game-viewing activities include quad biking in the dry season.
The Northwest
Kasane
Both border crossing and safari town, Kasane lies on the Chobe River between the Chobe National Park and the Zimbabwean border. It is a pleasant little town, with a good range of lodges, hotels and campsites including the Cresta Mowana, Chobe Game Lodge, Chobe Chilwero and Chobe Valley Lodge (all in the luxury end of the market); and Kubu Lodge and Chobe Safari Lodge and Kasane Marina Lodge (standard accommodation). It also has an airport, used mainly by charter flights taking people deep into the Delta or southern Chobe; most international arrivals use Victoria Falls, only 40 mins drive away, in Zimbabwe. Like Maun, Kasane has a wide range of tour operators and facilities such as banks.
Chobe National Park
An area of 10,566 sq km (4081 square miles) this is the home of a splendid variety of wildlife, including elephants who move in their thousands along the well-worn paths of the Chobe Riverevery afternoon to drink. Chobe boasts the highest elephant population in the world, with an estimated 45-90,000 elephant. There are also large herds of buffalo to be seen at the river's edge, as well as hippo, lechwe, kudu, impala, roan and puku. The tourists, like the elephants all tend to congregate in a narrow, 20 km (12 mile) strip in the north of the park, doing game drives from the lodges in Kasane. It is undoubtedly spectacular, but it is also very crowded with other vehicles and boats.
In an effort to spread people and elephants out and save the river's eco-system, the park authorities are now pumping water to a series of waterholes in the Nogatsaa area, about 65 km (40 miles) south. As yet, there are only simple campsites in this dry area, but better facilities are being planned.
Further south and west, the Linyanti Marshes are a mini-version of the Okavango, a river twisted by a volcanic fault to splay out into a lush green, animal rich oasis. Nearby the Savuti area marks the northern shore of what was once the giant superlake which covered most of Botswana, its flat dry lakebed now a sea of grass, scattered by rocky kopjes beloved of leopards and baboons.
With the exception of certain sections, which are closed in the rainy season during November to April, the park is open throughout the year. The best time to visit it is between May and September when it is possible to see several thousand animals in a day. In the Linyanti region the camps include Kings Pool Camp, Selinda Camp, Zibalianja and Lebala Lodge. Although this is the most developed of Botswana's parks and reserves, many of the roads in the area are passable only by four-wheel-drive vehicles.
The Tsodilo Hills
Situated northwest of the Okavango Delta close to the border with the Caprivi Strip (Namibia), these four granite ridged hills (Male, Female and Child Hills, plus a fourth, unnamed and said to be the first, discarded wife) are considered to be a sacred site by the Basarwa (San or Bushmen), who regard them as the final resting place of the dead, and the home of the gods. Known to have been inhabited for at least 100,000 years, they have been decorated with around 4000 rock paintings, mostly portraying animal life; the eldest of the paintings is believed to date back more than 4000 years. The hills are reached by air or road but there are no camping facilities or water supplies so visitors should allow for water, food and fuel needs. The Caprivi strip is currently suffering from security problems, so visitors should take advice before travelling in this area.
The Delta
Maun
On the southern edge of the Okavango Delta, nearly 950km northwest of Gaborone, Maun is the main jumping off point for most tourists visiting Botswana. It is a sprawling, scruffy little town, founded in 1915 as the administrative centre for the Batawana people. It has an international airport and a number of reasonable hotels, including Riley's Hotel, Sedia Hotel and Maun Lodge while lodges include Crocodile Camp, Audi Camp and Island Safari Lodge. Okavango River Lodge is a campsite. Most hotels have a swimming pool as well as bar and restaurant. This is also the best place to book safaris, with many tour operators' offices, a National Park office and the only banks for several hundred miles.
There is an 8 sq km game reserve with several pleasant walking trails along the Thamalakane River near Riley's Hotel.
Okavango Delta
Undoubtedly the most striking region in the north of the country, situated in the Kgalagadi (or Kalahari) Desert and easily accessible from Maun. It is the greatest inland delta system in the world. The region is extremely beautiful, covering an area of about 15,000 sq km (5600 sq miles) and composed of vast grass flats, low tree-covered ridges and a widespread network of narrow waterways opening into lagoons. The thick reeds and grasses which thrive in these waters make much of the delta section impenetrable except by dug-out canoe (mokoro), which is the local people's traditional form of transport. The waters are clear, and crocodiles, hippos and hundreds of fabulous birds can be seen, as well as elephants, zebras and giraffes.
The few people who live here are mainly fishermen, in the west. The only part of the park that is officially protected is the Moremi National Park in the east (see below). Most of the land in the delta is carved up into giant private concessions, scattered by luxury lodges and camps, including Mombo, Xigera, Kwetsani, Xudum, Rann's, Gubanare, Chiefs Camp, Khwai River Lodge, Eagle Island Camp, Xaxanaxa, Shinde, Camp Okavango, Camp Moremi, Xugana, Tsaro, Nxabega and Sandibe. Bizarrely, with the channels and lagoons shifting every season, these lodges, as the only permanent landmarks, have become an integral part of mapping and navigating in the Delta.
The Delta has three main areas - the Panhandle, a 9 mile (15 km) wide fault in the northwest, where the fishing is superb but the game-viewing less spectacular; the central permanent swamp, with its maze of pans and watermeadows; and the arid seasonal swamps to the south and east.
Although the Delta is home to about 36 species of large mammals, 480 species of birds, 80 species of fish and a wealth of flora, it is not the best place in Africa to find big game - there is plenty there, but it is often hard to see.
The Delta has its own micro-climate with three main seasons. It is warm to hot and dry in Aug-Nov, which is when the game-viewing is at its best, but the water is too low for many mokoro trips. Dec-Mar is hot and wet, the game vanishes into the undergrown, but the bird and plant life is at its best. Many lodges close. Apr-Aug is cooler and dry, but with flood waters from the Angolan Highlands still fuelling the river channels.
Moremi Game Reserve
This beautiful park covers 1812 sq km (700 sq miles) in the northeast corner of the Okavango Delta. It comprises permanently swamped areas, seasonally swamped areas and dry land. It not only offers water activities such as boat trips but also top game viewing and incredible scenery, with giant bullrushes fringing hidden lagoons shining blue between the solid trunks of the baobabs, tottering termite mounds and the cracked red mud plains. Small boats travel around the delta, visiting lagoons like Xaxanaxa, Gcobega and Gcodikwe with their abundance of birdlife. Elephant, hippo, buffalo, lion and most other game can be viewed in abundance. Fishing, walking and night drives are possible outside the park boundaries. South of here, the Gcwihaba Caverns, about 240km (150 miles) from Tsau, contain beautiful stalactites. The name means 'Hyena's Hole' in the Quing language of the Bushmen.
The Centre and South
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
This remote and virtually unexplored reserve was set up as a refuge both for animals and the country's few remaining San (Bushmen) people. The terrain is very varied, with open plains, salt pans, sand dunes and mopane scrub in the north (which also has the best game-viewing), bushveld in the centre and woodland in the south. There are five designated but undeveloped campgrounds. Self-drivers with four-wheel-drive vehicles can go year-round with a permit. The Deception Valley area is used by several upmarket mobile safari operators.
Khutse Game Reserve
This 2500 sq km (965 square mile) expanse of dry savannah land in the centre of the Kalahari incorporates a series of shallow pans, which, when filled with water, attracts hundreds of bird species as well as an abundance of springbok and ostrich, giraffe, gemsbok, lion, leopard and the rare brown hyena, amongst othe. It joins the southern boundary of the Central Kalahari National Park, about 240km (150 miles) northwest of Gaborone. Camping facilities are basic, and water, food and fuel should be brought. Many of the campsites are on the edge of the pan, which enables one to game-watch from the comfort of a camp chair. There are still a few small bands of Basarwa (San) living in this region, one of the last Stone Age races on earth, some of whom guide visitors around the reserve and teach them about edible and moisture-bearing plants and how many of the animals survive despite the lack of water.
Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park
This remote park, straddles the border with South Africa in the southwest of the country, the first of a number of 'peace parks' planned to cross national boundaries and reopen ancient animal migration routes. The park has deep fossil river beds and high sand dunes, and the area is also known for its salt pans which reflect amazing colour changes during the day. Many herds of gemsbok and springbok (as well as other species of antelope), cheetah and famous black-maned Kalahari lion can be seen here and brown hyenas and jackals occur in abundance. The best time to visit is from March to May. It can be reached by a paved road from Gaborone to Tsabong, after which a four-wheel-drive vehicle is necessary. The main entrance, easiest access point and accommodation are all on the South African side of the border in what was the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. At present there is no accommodation on the Botswanan side and you will need to take a tent and all supplies, including water and fuel. | PASSPORT AND VISA APPLICATION Furthermore, in order to get into many countries on the stay abroad you will require a visa of some type, even if you are just visiting. This is usually an insert, stamp or sticker which is placed in your passport and the duration of its validity varies from place to place. If you do intend to work or study in the country to which you are traveling, however, you should organize your visa even further in advance as this can take longer to process.
As well as your passport you should ensure that you have at least one other form of identification with you. This may be a driver’s license, birth certificate or any other form of ID which is acceptable worldwide. As with passports, bring at least two copies of all forms of identification in case of loss or theft.
Help to Passport and Visa Application Forms. How to find the right one(s)?
A passport is issued to you by your home country as proof of citizenship. Visas are stamped into your passport to allow you entry into other countries. Although there are exceptions, you are usually required to display your passport when entering or leaving a country. Once you arrive at your destination, carry a photocopy of your passport and keep the original in a safe place.
A visa is an endorsement or stamp entered into your passport by a foreign government. It allows you to enter that country for a specific reason and period of time. Start applying for visas as soon as your passport is available so that all your documentation is completed well before your departure date. To receive a visa you need to send your passport to an embassy or consulate of the country you want to visit. Most countries have embassies and consulates worldwide, and travel agents can usually tell you where the nearest ones are located. Keep in mind that your passport may be tied up for days or weeks until the paperwork is done, so plan accordingly. In addition, some countries require proof of yellow fever vaccination before they will issue you a visa. The amount of time spent mailing your passport to the various agencies involved can really add up if you are visiting several countries. Plan ahead if possible. If you only have a few weeks to prepare, a commercial visa service can often speed up the process. |
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