General information: The republic of Botswana is a land-locked country in southern Africa – surrounded by Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It covers an area of 581 730kms2 with an average elevation of 1000m above sea level. Mostly semi-desert and Kalahari sands, it also contains the world’s largest oasis, the Okavango Delta, as well as the world’s concentration of rock art in the Tsodilo Hills with approximately 3500 paintings. Added to this is Botswana’s rich abundance of varied birds, wildlife and flora. The capital city Gabarone is situated in the south eastern end of the country, and the currency is the Pula.
Climate: Summer: October-April, daytime temperatures up to 380 C.
Winter: May-September, daytime temperatures up to 250 C but can drop to 50 C at night.
Population: 1.5 million, with English and Setswana as official languages.
Local time: GMT plus 2 hours
Clothing: Casual, lightweight, comfortable, light colored cotton clothing, except in up market hotels/ lodges. Warm clothing will be required at night for example a windbreaker or tracksuit.
Health: It is advisable to take along sufficient supply of prescribed medications as well as malaria precautions, information and prescriptions can be obtained from your nearest travel clinic.
Insurance: Travel insurance (medical, hospitalization, baggage, theft and cancellation) is highly recommended, and can be arranged in country of origin. Travel insurance documents must be in the possession of the holder at all times.
Electrical appliances: 220/240 Volts 50hz – both round and square pin plugs are used.
Accessories: Sun block lotion, sunglasses, hats and insect repellent.
Telephone
The international dialing code for Botswana is +267
Ambulance 977
Fire 998
Police 999
Photography: Please note that photography of government buildings, State House and officials in uniform are strictly prohibited.
Game Parks and Reserves
Moremi Game Reserve: In 1962 the local BaTawana people set aside a third of the Okavango Delta to protect it for the future. They called this the Moremi Game Reserve, and it now forms the core of the region's reserves.
Moremi encompasses a large area of the Delta's wetlands and the main dry peninsula that juts into the Delta, known as the Mopane Tongue. Moremi is lush and varied - a patchwork of lagoons, shallow flooded pans, plains and forests. It is one of Africa's finest areas for wildlife, with particularly high game densities. The animals found here are numerous and relaxed, often allowing vehicles to approach closely. Most of Moremi is only accessible to the fly-in camps on its fringes. However, there are several prime areas on the edge of the Mopane Tongue, a dry peninsula, where the land meets the Okavango's permanent waters.
These include Khwai River, Xakanaxa Lagoon and Third Bridge - and they can be reached with a mobile safari.
Chobe National Park: Located in the northern Kalahari region; Chobe National Park covers about 11,700 square kilometers, and consists mainly of dense thorny bush emerging from deep alluvial soils. A well-worn safari circuit, made famous by the massive herds of elephant and buffalo and significant prides of lion that have become skilled at to hunting large herbivores. The Chobe River apparently flows in both directions and holds the secrecy of the Savuti Channel which vanished in recent time.
The highlight to this safari area is Chobe's animal migrations. The animals move with the available food and water in the district, exhibiting the ancient patterns of time.
Many head for open plains to the south and east during the rainy months (December to March). Then, eventually, from April to November, as the land dries out and the heat builds, the animals migrate back to the great rivers of the north and west.
The Okavango: The Okavango River rises in the highlands of Angola & flows southeast into the Kalahari.
Here it spreads out into a delta formation covering over 15,000 square kilometers with a lush water wilderness of papyrus swamps, shallow reed-beds and floodplains, dotted with islands & laced with a network of channels. This is a unique environment: there's nowhere else quite like it. It's an amazing, world-class destination for wildlife, from birds to big game.
It's also a wonderful place to relax. Gliding silently in a mokoro (a dugout canoe), you can watch the wildlife at eye level. Often it's the smaller things that catch your eye, like the tropical fish that flash through the clear waters or the iridescent malachite kingfishers that dive for them.
It might take your guide's keen eyes to spot the terrapins basking on floating logs, or a fish eagle just perching, watching and waiting. Sometimes it's larger animals - red lechwe wading through the shallows, or elephants on the islands - whilst all around water lilies bloom and birds call.
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