En Route Travelling around Botswana

Ghanzi

Ghanzi is a town that’s seeing an upturn in its fortunes. Although the Bushman and Bakgalagadi people were the original inhabitants, the first permanent settlement (a cattle station) was established here back in the 1890s, by the Boer Dorsland Trekkers.

They came to this area as it offered the only accessible underground water in the Central Kalahari. Many English-speaking families – mostly cattle ranchers and traders –- followed in the early 1900s. After independence, and the downturn in the cattle industry, Ghanzi began to lose prominence, and by the 1990s it had become a forgotten backwater.

The revitalisation of the town came with the completion of the Trans-Kalahari Highway and a tar link to Maun, a lifeline that allowed Ghanzi to dust itself off and make a comeback as one of the new frontier towns.

The area is now touted as the ‘Gateway to the Kalahari’, and tourism and the game industry have started to revitalise the local economy. Because it lies close to the Gaborone/ Maun/Namibia fork in the Trans-Kalahari Highway, it is a convenient stopover for all three destinations. 

Thirty-five kilometres north of Ghanzi is the small village of D’Kar, home to various extended family groups of Bushman people. Do take the time to stop here, as one of the best co-operative galleries displaying and selling Bushman art and crafts is situated here.

Every year, D’Kar also hosts the Kuru Traditional Dance and Music Festival during August. With all aspects of traditional Bushman culture on display, this event is well worth visiting.

Accommodation

Kalahari Arms Hotel – The town’s best-known landmark has had a facelift. Comfortable and convenient, it’s the best place to stay. Camping and self-catering facilities are also offered.

Tautona Lodge – A game farm just outside town.

D’Kar Hostel and Campsite – Has very basic amenities.

The Shakawe

Anyone arriving from northern Namibia and the Caprivi Strip will enter Botswana at Shakawe, the most northerly settlement on the western side of the country. From this small yet burgeoning riverside village you’ll get your first glimpse of the Okavango River.

If you’re in a hurry you can head straight for Maun, almost four hours from here, but if you’re on a more leisurely schedule, set aside a good few days to explore the Panhandle and Tsodilo Hills. Campers and those with a tight budget will find Drotsky’s Cabins a short distance south of Shakawe and right on the banks of the Okavango, a great base.

They offer full or half-day trips on the river. Another 30 kilometres further south, you’ll find the tranquillity of Nxamaseri Lodge (your accommodation must be booked and no campers are allowed. Ideal if you want a more exclusive stay away from the bustle of the main road and the busier sections of river.

Both places offer fantastic fishing, and Nxamaseri Lodge is one of the very best birding destinations in the Okavango Delta. Botswana’s most memorable rural experiences are to be had on this route.

Make it part of your journey and stop off anywhere between Shakawe and the oddly-named Etsha 6 to bargain for baskets or just observe village life – the people will welcome you warmly. Fuel is available at Shakawe, Etsha 6 and Gumare. 

Tsodilo Hills

These three hills form one of Africa’s premier Bushman rock art sites and are highly recommended as a stop-off, but make sure you allow a day or two to explore the area. Tsodilo Hills consist of a quartzite outcrop just 40 kilometres west of the main road, standing like a beacon in the otherwise flat surrounding Kalahari sandveld.

Archaeological evidence discovered amongst the remains of villages here, including pottery, stone tools and simple jewellery, indicates that various groups used the hills as a trading post, stop-over point and place of abode from as olong ago as 100 000 years.

The hills are known to the local !Kung people as the Male, Female and Child, and contain over 4 000 individual paintings, at almost 400 sites, including images of humans, wild and domestic animals, and various geometric patterns and shapes. While some of the paintings may go back a few thousand years, the majority are more recent – dating to the early part of the last millennium. The most modern paintings, of white geometric shapes, are just a few centuries old.

Presently, the only people living beneath the shadows of the three hills are a small extended family of Kung and a group of Hambukushu, who see Tsodilo as a sacred site, as they believe their people were lowered onto earth by the gods at this site.

Besides its cultural heritage, Tsodilo also has immense natural beauty, with the trees, birds and incredible vistas all creating a very special atmosphere. Tsodilo is now a national monument and Botswana’s first World Heritage Site.

A small museum complex has been built, and there is also a bush airstrip as well as various designated campsites here. You can also base yourself at one of two lodges in the area (Nxamaseri and Drotsky’s Cabins).

Fishing and birding from boats are the major activities in the Panhandle region.

The Van der Post Panel on the Female Hill is the most striking of the rock art sites at Tsodilo Hills.

With its feather-like branches, the wild date palm (Phoenix reclinata) dominates the islands along the main river and channels of the Panhandle.

The Tsodilo Hills are known to the local !Kung people as the Male, Female (seen here) and Child, and contain over 4 000 individual paintings at almost 400 different sites.

The Kasane–Nata Route

Kasane itself is not a particularly impressive place, but what falls within the immediate vicinity is. The town acts as the ‘Gateway to the Chobe National Park’, and as a crossroad for anyone heading to the Victoria Falls from Botswana. As a result it far exceeds Maun as a leading tourist town.

Spread out along the banks of the Chobe River, Kasane has a number of hotels, guesthouses and campsites that accommodate all the visitors to the national park. The town has a decent gallery, The African Easel Art Gallery, for you to enjoy during those midday hours outside of game-driving time, as well as a few roadside craft stalls between the town and the Kazangula ferry.

If you are on your way to Livingstone in Zambia by road, you will have to cross the Chobe River on this ferry. If you are going on the ferry, don’t be put off by the queues of trucks: just drive straight to the front. (The possibility of building a bridge across the Chobe River at this site has been mooted, but there are no definite plans as yet).

Accommodation (Outside the national park)

Chobe Chilwero – This fabulous lodge has the prime spot in a private concession. It boasts stunning views overlooking the Chobe River, and is definitely not for
self-drivers or campers.

Chobe Safari Lodge – This lodge is an old favourite, situated on the banks of the river, and the accommodation closest to the park. There is a large hotel, as well as chalets and a campsite, with a neat sunset deck overlooking the water.

Mowana Safari Lodge – Large hotel, with nine-hole golf course, on the banks of the Chobe.

Kubu Lodge – This smaller lodge-type accommodation at the quieter end of the river, also offers camping facilities for the more budget-conscious traveller.

The route south to Nata is often referred to as the ‘game drive route’, as there is always the chance of seeing wildlife of some sort along the way. North of Pandamatenga, elephants are common, and buffalo, sable and giraffe can be seen, but less regularly.

On the Nata-to-Maun stretch, particularly in the region of the Makgadikgadi Pans and Nxai Pan turnoffs, ostrich, impala, giraffe and steenbok are common, while elephant and zebra can be seen during the summer months.

On both of these sections, keep eyes peeled for the occasional predator early or late in the day. The village of Nata is another crossroads town, lying at the junction of the roads to Maun and Kasane. It’s a grubby place, with more fuel stations than food shops, and an inordinate number of trucks that loiter along the main road.

If you’re using it as a halfway stop you should avoid the town itself and stay at Nata Lodge, about 10 kilometres further along towards Francistown.

During the summer months after the first rains, the Nata Sanctuary can be a surprisingly rewarding stop for keen birders. This community project is on the northern edge of the pans, and gets flamingo and pelican from time to time, along with another 200 other species that have been recorded here.

The Royal Route via Serowe

Up until fairly recently this route was very difficult, travelled only by those with sturdy 4x4s and extra time in their itineraries. It has now been tarred right the way through and, because it offers a pleasant alternative to the busier Gabs–Francistown road, it will in all likelihood become the more popular way of reaching the Okavango.

The turnoff is at Palapye, and from there it’s almost 500 kilometres before this road rejoins the main one, about 150 kilometres from Maun. There are numerous highlights along the way.

Serowe, otherwise known as the Royal Village because of its connections with the BaNgwato and the Khama dynasty, is worth a quick stop. Climb Thathaganyana Hill, nothing more than an outcrop overlooking the town, to visit the Khama family cemetery, but out of respect first ask permission from the Chief’s office at the foot of the hill.

This is the resting-place of Sir Seretse Khama, Khama III, Tshekedi and Sechele I. Keen historians, who want to find out the full story of their role in Botswanan history, can visit the Khama III Memorial Museum in town. 

The Khama Rhino Sanctuary is another 40 kilometres further on and, with a campsite and comfortable chalets, it is the best overnight stop along this route.

Started in 1993 as a trust by residents and leaders of the local community, the sanctuary has played a crucial role in the efforts to conserve Botswana’s rhino population. Visitors have a great chance of seeing at least one of the 22 white rhino (there is also a single black rhino), as well as a variety of other plains game species, including oryx, red hartebeest, springbok and eland.