Official name: Republic of
Botswana, adopted in 1966 Population: 1,800,000 Capital City:
Gaborone (213,000), pronounced ha-bo-ro-neh Languages: English and
Setswana 78%, Katanga 8%, and others Religion: Christian (75%),
Badimo and other indigenous beliefs Coastline: 0 (landlocked) Land
Area: 224,710 Sq. miles Highest point: Tsodilo Hills (4,885 ft.) Lowest
point: at the junction of the Limpopo and Sashe Rivers (1,683 ft.) Significant
rivers: Limpopo, Okavango and Shashe Location: Southern Africa, north
of South Africa Natural resources: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt,
soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore and silver Agricultural
products: Livestock, sorghum, maize (corn), millet, beans sunflowers,
peanuts Industries: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash,
potash, livestock processing, textiles
Map of Botswana
Botswana is a landlocked
country somewhat smaller than Texas, located in Southern Africa. It has
land borders with Zimbabwe in the northeast, South Africa in the south
and northeast, and with Namibia to the west.
Most of the country
lies at an average elevation 3,300 ft and consists of a vast and nearly
level sand-filled basin characterized by scrub-covered savanna. The Kalahari desert, a semi-arid expanse
of sandy valleys, cover about 85% of the country, including the entire
central and southwestern regions. In Northern Botswana, the Okavango
River flows in from Namibia and soaks into the sands to form the
Okavango Delta and Makgadikgadi Pans. The Okavango Delta provides a
thriving oasis, while numerous salt lakes and pans attract an array of
migrant waterfowl, including flamingo.
A glance at the map shows
that most of the population is in the eastern savanna grasslands along
its borders with South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Over 100 years ago
Rudyard Kipling, in his famous "Just So" children's story, wrote about
"the great grey, green, greasy Limpopo River all set about with fever
trees." This article takes you into the heart of the Land of Legends to
the site of one of the earliest kingdoms established in Southern Africa.
Known worldwide for its outstanding game preserves, national parks and
varieties of wildlife, Botswana "must sees" include the Okavango Delta,
Makgakigadi (Salt) Pans, Mokolodi Nature Reserve and the Tsodilo Hills
area. These will be described briefly. Let's go.
The Okavango Delta
In Northern
Botswana, the Okavango River flows in from Namibia and soaks into the
sands to form the Okavango Delta. Fed by a river which never meets the sea, this is the world's longest
inland delta system which floods annually, forming a network of water
channels, lagoons, swamps, and islands covering over 102,000 sq. miles.
Someone described it as "The forgotten Eden, jam packed with animals."
The
Okavango Delta is one of the world's largest inland water systems. Its
headwaters start in Angola's western highlands with numerous
tributaries joining to form
the Cubango River, which then flows through Namibia and finally enters
Botswana, where it is called the Okavango. Millions of years ago, the
Okavango River used to flow into a large inland lake called Lake
Makgadikgadi. This has created a unique system of water ways that now
support animal and plant life that would have otherwise
been a dry Kalahari savanna (grassland).
The delta's floods are
fed from the Angolan rains, which start in October and finish in April.
The slow moving floods cross the border between Namibia and Botswana in
December and will take 9 months to reach the bottom end of the delta at
Maun sometime in July. The slow meandering pace of the flood is due to
lack of drop in the elevation which drops little more than 180 feet over
a distance of about 300 miles. The delta's water dead ends in the
Kalahari via the Botelle River with over 95 percent of the water
eventually evaporating. As the water travels through the delta, the
wildlife starts to move back into the region.
The delta
environment has large numbers of animals such as crocodile, elephant,
wild dogs, buffalo, wattled crane and other common mammals and bird
life. The best time for game viewing in the delta is during the May to
October period, as the animal life is concentrated along the flooded
areas and the vegetation has dried out. The best for birding is during
the rainy season (November to April), as the migrant birds are returning
and the plants are flowering and green.
The Okavanga Delta
Makgadikgadi Pans
With vast
open savannas teeming with wildlife, Botswana is truly the Africa of
your dreams. In the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans National Park herds of
wildebeest, zebra, and other mammals migrate annually in search of water
and food. Here the visitor can see herds of migrating zebra
and wildebeest in this baobab-dotted salt pan complex.
The
fascinating Makgadikgadi Pans, the world's largest salt pans (salt
flats) are the most visible remnants of a lake that was formed more
than five million years ago. The lake was once 100 feet deep and
covered an area of 30,886 sq. miles, but as recently as 10,000 years
ago, climatic shifts started to dry up Lake Makgadikgadi. Further
evaporation turned the lake into large pans with a surface glistening
with salt.
The rainy season attracts a spectacular array of
waterbirds and dramatic migrations of Wildebeest and Zebra. The rains
usually begin in November and end about March. The pans can retain water
until April or May. The area is transformed as grasses sprout and the
salt pans fill with algae soup. This is just what the large breeding
flocks of Flamingo like.
Makgadikgadi is technically not a single
pan, but many pans with sandy desert in between. The largest individual
pan is about 1,900 Sq. miles. During the dry season a dry salty clay
crust forms, but most of the year the pans are covered with water and
grass, and are then a refuge for birds and animals in the very arid part
of the world.
Makgadikgadi Salt Pan
Mokolodi Nature
Reserve
The Mokolodi Nature Reserve a few miles south
of Gaborone aims to promote wildlife and conservation education. It
operates as a research facility, a breeding center for rare and
endangered species and a sanctuary for orphaned, injured or confiscated
birds and animals.
The list of wildlife found here is
astonishing. Reedbuck and white rhino have been reintroduced from South
Africa. You will also find aardwolf, aardvark, baboon, bushbuck, caraca,
civet, crocodile, duiker, eland, elephant, fox, cape demsbok,
genet, spotted giraffe hare, cape hare, redrock hartebeest,
hippopotamus, honey badger, hyena, brown hyrax, impala, jackal,
black-backed jackal, sidestriped klipspringer, kudu, leopard, mongoose,
banded mongoose, dwarf mongoose, slender mongoose, whitetailed monkey,
vervet, ostrich, otter, cape clawless pangolin, polecat, porcupine,
reedbuck, common reedbuck, mountain rhinoceros, white springhare
squirrel, ground squirrel, tree steenbok, warthog, wildcat, African
wildcat, blackfooted wildebeest and blue zebra.
Chobe
National Park
Chobe
National Park, named for the Chobe River, is the place to go if you want
to see big game, especially elephants. Botswana's second largest
national park covers four ecosystems from river forest to dry,
desert-like land, open swamps and marshes.
The country
offers game viewing and birding from the Delta and in the Chobe
Game Reserve--home to one of the largest herds of free-ranging elephants
in the world.
Tsodilo Hills
More than 2750 ancient rock paintings from
the San people can be found at 200 sites in the Four Tsodilo Hills
located in northwestern Botswana. Tsodilo was designated a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 2002 because of its unique religious and spiritual
significance to local peoples.
There are four chief hills. The
highest is 1400 meters which is the highest point in Botswana. The four hills
are commonly described as the "Male," the "Female," "Child" and an
unnamed knoll. According to legends the fourth hill was the male hill's
first wife, whom he left for a younger woman, and who now prowls in the
background.
These hills are of great cultural and spiritual
significance to the San peoples of the Kalahari. It is believed that the
caves and caverns of the "Female" hill are the resting places of the
deceased and various gods rule the world from there. The most sacred
place is near the top of the "Male" hill, where it is said that the
First Spirit knelt and prayed after creating the world. The San believe
that you may still see the impression of the First Spirit's knees in the
rock. In the northwest part of the female hill, some distance up from
ground level is an old mine that has filled with water. This water is
considered to be holy water and brings good luck to those who wash
their faces in it.
Most of the San rock paintings are found on
the "Female" hill, the most famous being the "Whale" painting. "Two
Rhinos" and the "Lion" are on the Eastern face of the "Father". Some of
the paintings have been dated to be 24,000 years old. The paintings are
difficult to find without a knowledgeable guide. Visitors are required
to go with a local guide. This provides money to the local economy and
helps protect the site from vandalism.
Landing at Tsodilo Hills
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Slow Mail with Love Letters from Africa Tell the Story
By: Gene B. Little
