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Comprised of three great salt pans (the largest on earth) the vast Makgadikgadi Pans are like no other landscape on earth; they represent all that's left of a vast lake. Especially during the sizzling heat of late winter days, the stark pans take on a disorienting and ethereal austerity.
Heat mirages destroy all sense of space and direction, imaginary lakes shimmer and disappear, ostriches take flight and stones turn to mountains and float in mid-air.
As the annual rains begin to fall in the late spring, depressions in the pans form temporary lakes and fringing grasses turn green with life. Herd animals arrive to partake of the bounty, while water birds flock to feed on algae and tiny crustaceans.
Mokolodi Nature Reserve is home to giraffes, elephants, zebras, baboons, warthogs, hippos, kudu, impala, waterbucks and klipspringers. The reserve also protects a few retired cheetahs, leopards, honey badgers, jackals and hyenas, as well as over 300 different species of birds.
Mokolodi also operates a research facility, a breeding centre for rare and endangered species, a community education centre and a sanctuary for orphaned, injured or confiscated birds and animals. They also accept volunteers, though an application must be submitted prior to arrival, and a maintenance fee is levied according to the length of the programme.
The reserve is also home to the well-reviewed Mokolodi Restaurant, which features cuts of all those tasty animals you've been tracking all day. Even if you're self-catering, the outdoor bar is perfect for a sundowner or two.
www.mokolodi.com tel info 316 1955
bus Lobatse (minibus)
| full | US Dollar 2.00 |
The four Tsodilo Hills rise abruptly from a rippled, ocean-like expanse of desert and are threaded with myth, legend and spiritual significance for the San people. More than 2750 ancient rock paintings have been discovered at well over 200 sites. The Tsodilo hills are now a national monument and all visitors must report to the headquarters at the Main Camp.
car 4WD
Described as 'the river which never finds the sea', the Okavango disappears into a 15,000 sq km (5850 sq mi) maze of lagoons, channels and islands in north-western Botswana. It's the largest inland delta in the world, and it teems with wildlife.
Most obvious are the birds - thousands upon thousands of them - but there are also elephant, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe, hippo and kudu. In the centre of the delta, the Moremi Wildlife Reserve totals around 3000 sq km (1170 sq mi) and is officially cordoned off for wildlife preservation.
About 60km (40mi) southeast of Moremi, Maun is the administrative centre of the delta and home to the main airstrip. The cheapest area to visit is the Eastern Delta, as there aren't as many controls on operators here, and most of the guides and boat pilots are unlicensed freelancers.
If you want to stay where the wild things are, a number of camp sites are available in Moremi. Don't camp outside them, or you may end up as a local lion's midnight snack.
Gaborone is a sprawling village suffering from the growing pains, drabness and lack of definition that accompany an abrupt transition from rural settlement to modern city. Although it has a few interesting sights, it is certainly nothing to go out of your way for.
Gaborone's premier attraction is the National Museum & Art Gallery, offering the usual collection of historic artefacts and stuffed animals. The small national gallery is a repository for both traditional and modern African and European pieces, including some San artwork.
The Gaborone Game Reserve, just east of Broadhurst Mall, is accessible only by private vehicle. It's home to a variety of grazers and browsers (including rhinos in a guarded enclosure), and makes a nice break from the city bustle. If you'd rather do your range roving au naturel, you can take a horseback safari into the scrubby bush north-west of Gaborone. There are several places to stay in Gaborone, but very few budget options. Gaborone lies midway along Botswana's south-eastern border with South Africa.
