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Botswana

Overview
Highlights
Experiences
Locations

Botswana is a vast land, highly prized for its safaris and game. Astonishingly, around 17% of the country is designated national park, and when Botswana's huge private concessions are also totalled up, the figure swells to a proud 40%.

Botswana has ensured that its spectacular Delta region has been well developed for tourists, with its impressive lagoons crammed with hovering birdlife, elephants, giraffes and other exotic animals that amble through its vast grass flats. Incidentally, this is the largest inland delta in the world, which explains its wealth of wildlife. It is almost enough to make you forget that most of Botswana is given over to desert.

Botswana was also once an economic wasteland. The country gained independence in 1966, having been a British Protectorate, and at this time was amongst the poorest nations in the world. Nature was then kind to Botswana, when once again natural assets became apparent, ready to be exploited. The government discovered diamonds and Botswana has enjoyed a growth rate that still continues to soar, especially when put into a context with much of the rest of Africa.

Having a sundowner, unwinding in the glare of a sunset and hearing the sounds of singing birds and roaming game, Botswana is both a country to relax in and a country to have adventure in.

Full Country Name: Republic of Botswana
Area: 582,000 sq km
Population: 2.03 million (UN 2011)
Capital: Gaborone
Borders: South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Religion: Christian is the main religion of Botswana followed by other indigenous religions
Time Zone: Standard time is two hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time
Languages: Official language is English but the National language is Setswana
Country Dialling Code: +267

CLIMATE

Botswana's climate is semi-arid. Though it is hot and dry for much of the year, there is a rainy season, which runs through the summer months. Rainfall tends to be erratic, unpredictable and highly regional. Often a heavy downpour may occur in one area while 10 or 15 kilometres away there is no rain at all. Showers are often followed by strong sunshine so that a good deal of the rainfall does not penetrate the ground but is lost to evaporation and transpiration.

For tourists, the best visiting months are from April through to October - in terms of both weather and game viewing. It is during this period that the wildlife gathers around what water there is - the natural waterholes and the borehole-fed dams - and are at their most visible.

CURRENCY & BANKS

The unit of currency in Botswana is the Pula (BWP), which is made up of 100 Thebes (cents). Full banking services are available in all the main towns although a commission is normally charged. US Dollars are the common currency used whilst on safari. It is recommended to carry some cash in small denominations.

ELECTRICTY

In Botswana the general voltage is 220-240 and the frequency is 50 Hz. Electricity in most camps is provided by generators. Batteries may be recharged in the camp during the day but it is wise to double check with the camp manager.

As the sockets can vary a ‘Travellers Adaptor Set’ is recommended. Voltage sometimes fluctuates and whilst power cuts are rare, they are not unknown. It is useful to carry a torch.

HEALTH

Health requirements vary from country to country. We recommend you speak to your local Travel Doctor for up-to-date information and advice. The following information is to be used as a guide only.

Malaria: It is recommended that precautions against malaria are taken for travel to most regions in Africa. We suggest you contact your doctor for advice on which prophylactic is recommended.

ROAD TRAVEL

Please note that road surfaces vary from tarmac, gravel, sand and occasionally vehicles may travel "off road". Additionally, if visiting remote areas or National Parks and Reserves, the roads may well be rough, bumpy and in a poor condition and may be affected by adverse weather conditions.

VISA INFORMATION

At the time of writing, no visa for Botswana is required for travellers on Australian Passports. Please double check this with your travel agent as this may change at any time. You must hold return or onward flight tickets.

We hope that you will find this country Information on Botswana useful for reference when preparing for your holiday. All the information above was correct at the time of writing and is to be used as a guide only. Health, visa and other specific details should be double checked by your travel agent at the time of booking.

A water wonderland of wildlife and scenery, Botswana boasts the unique opportunity of observing wildlife whilst paddling through the Okavango Delta in wooden-hulled boats, or experiencing Africa’s biggest herds of elephants, huge concentrations of buffalo and thousands of hippos residing around the Chobe River.

Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park which is the second largest national park in Botswana and covers 10,566 km², has one of the greatest concentrations of game found on the African continent. Its uniqueness in the abundance of wildlife and the true African nature of the region, offers a safari experience of a lifetime. Chobe National Park is divided into four distinctly different eco systems: Serondela with its lush plains and dense forests the extremes of the north-east; the Savuti Marsh in the west about fifty kilometres north of Mababe gate; the Linyanti Swamps in the north-west and the hot dry hinterland in between. A major feature of Chobe National Park is its elephant population. The Chobe elephant’s comprise part of what is probably the largest surviving continuous elephant population. This population covers most of northern Botswana plus north western Zimbabwe. The Botswana's elephant population is currently estimated at around 120,000.

Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta is one of the world's largest inland water systems, the only inland delta of its kind and a unique oasis of life in the centre of the Kalahari Desert. It stretches over 16,000 square km and supports a staggering variety of animal, plant, fish and birdlife. The water was once thought to have reached the sea, but this is no longer the case. After a series of tectonic uplifts and earthquakes running along geological fault lines, the land at the edge of the Delta now lies lower than that of the surrounding area. Hence the water very rarely flows further south than Maun. Once the rains begin, around November, the floodwater begins its 250km journey downstream from the Angolan highlands towards Maun. Because of the gentle slope of the Okavango Delta floor (1: 36,000) the floods take approximately six months to travel to their eventual destination. The hottest month is October with mean maximum temperatures of 35º C. The coldest months are June and July with a mean minimum of 6º C. The rains usually fall between November and April with the heaviest downpours occurring in January and February.

Moremi Game Reserve

Moremi Game Reserve is mostly described as one of the most beautiful wildlife reserves in Africa. Moremi combines mopane woodland and acacia forests, floodplains and lagoons. It is the great diversity of plant and animal life that makes Moremi so well known. Moremi is best visited in the dry season and game viewing is at its peak from July to October, when seasonal pans dry up and the wildlife concentrates on the permanent water. The winter months of May to August can be very cold at night, but pleasantly warm, under clear blue skies, during the day. From October until the rains break in late November or early December, the weather can be extremely hot - both day and night. The reserve enjoys a wide diversity of habitat and is well known for the height of the trees in the mopane tongue, which covers the central area. However, the mainland part forms only about thirty percent of the reserve and is, in many ways untypical - the remaining area being part of the Okavango Delta.

Central Kalahari Desert

Central Kalahari Desert is larger than Denmark or Switzerland, and bigger than Lesotho and Swaziland combined, the 52,800 km² Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the second largest game reserve in the world. Central Kalahari Game Reserve is situated right in the centre of Botswana, this reserve is characterised by vast open plains, saltpans and ancient riverbeds. Varying from sand dunes with many species of trees and shrubs in the north, to flat bushveld in the central area, the reserve is more heavily wooded in the south, with mophane forests to the south and east.
Rainfall is sparse and sporadic and can vary from 170 to 700 mm per year. The people commonly known throughout the world as Bushmen, but more properly referred to as the Basarwa or San, have been resident in and around the area for probably thousands of years. Game viewing for animals which include giraffe, brown hyaena, warthog, wild dog, cheetah, leopard, lion, blue wildebeest, eland, gemsbok, kudu, red hartebeest and springbok, is best between December and April, when the animals tend to congregate in the pans and valleys.

Choose your Experience

A Cairo to Cape Town Flying Safari

Be one of nine pioneers to cover the entire latitude of the African continent on the first ever air safari from the mouth of the River Nile to the Cape of Good Hope. You’ll be exhilarated by the swift passage from luxury lodge to tented camp to island beach house; and you’ll be constantly amazed by the spontaneity and freedom of having your very own wings.