"Nature helps us to be our true self... It brings magic and laughter."
Sobonfu Some.
Straddling the great southern highland plateau, Botswana is a land of desert and wildlife reserves. With eighty percent of its lands given over to the Kalahari, and an area the size of France dedicated to permanent wildlife reserves, Botswana's committment to its wilds is unsurpassed - not only in Africa, but throughout the world.
One of the fastest growing economies, Botswana has been fortunate on two fronts. Firstly, it has been been governed with its interests at heart, and a succession of presidencies since independence have all been marked by a pragmatic approach to ensuring political and economic stability. Secondly, it has diamonds. Voted by Transparency International as one of the least corrupt countries in Africa, its forty year odd partnership with De Beers has reaped extraordinary rewards.
This said, Botswana is not without problems. Apart from an ongoing and very serious AIDS epidemic (one in three adults is said to be HIV positive), it is still something of a one-horse economy, and its over reliance on diamond production, and on an unchanging international market, may one day prove its weakness. For while it is very aware of the need for diversification, and has put an enormous amount of time and effort into its service and manufacturing industries, growth in other areas of the economy is relatively slow: diamonds continue to constitute over half of Botswana's total revenue. More, its relationship with De Beers, though above aboard and fair, means that there are (and will be) conflicts of interest - which is what seems to have taken place in the Kalhari Reserve, where diamond mining is having a negative effect on the local Sans communities.
Botswana Journeys
Most of the country's camps and lodges have been designed to minimize their impact on this globally unique environment. Small and well planned, they provide a distinctly personal safari experience.
Mobile Tented Safaris
A mobile-tented safari led by professional wildlife guides is the experience of a lifetime. This classic overland adventure follows the migrations and movements of the country's wildlife along the sides of the Okavango Delta and through the dry salt pans of the Makgadikgadi.
Once a lake, the Makgadikgadi Pans now form the largest salt pans in the world. An often parched expanse where annual migrations of wildebeest and zebra take place, the rainy season generally sees the pans filled with thousands upon thousands of flamingos.
Mobile tented safaris in Botswana extend as far as the Chobe river and neighbouring Linyanti. The Chobe river valley is mainly national park and forest reserve with fantastic game, particularly elephant and buffalo. The adjacent Linyanti area is a beautiful and relatively unknown corner of the country that plays host to papyrus-lined waterways and lush riverine forest.
Horse-Riding and Mokoro Trails
Along with elephant rides, using horses as a means of getting up close to wildlife in the Okavango Delta is an unmissable and truly authentic experience. These specialist safaris engage the traveller in such a way as to diminish the gap between the looker and the looked at. Led by experts in both the land and horses, they embed themselves in real wild Africa.
Mokoro boat trails, escorted by your own guide and poler, through the channels and waterways of the Okavango Delta are a traditional, invigorating and back-to-basics way of seeing the Delta.
Elephant Back Safaris
The act of riding through the Okavango Delta on the back of these magnificent animals is both a humbling and an exceptional experience. Perhaps even more so than with horses, the combined assets of size and fearlessness (on the part of both elephant and the animals observed) mean these safaris are able to take the traveller into, and through, areas that would otherwise prove utterly inaccessable.
Camps and Lodges
A superb choice of small, attractive camps and lodges are well positioned around the country's highlights. Beautifully sheltered luxury accommodation, set in the island forests of the Okavango Delta, or out on the Makgadikgadi salt pans. Flying is the preferred - often only - form of transfer.
Beaches
Although Botswana has no beaches of its own, a trip down to Lake Malawi, or further onto the beaches of Mozambique, can easily be tied into one's itinerary. |
