| BOTSWANA GENERAL INFORMATION |
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Area: 581,730 sq km (224,607 sq miles).
Population: 1,680,863 (2001).
Population Density: 2.9 per sq km.
Capital: Gaborone. Population: 186,007 (2001).
GEOGRAPHY: Botswana is bordered to the south and east by South Africa, to the northeast by Zimbabwe, to the north and west by Namibia and touches Zambia just west of the Victoria Falls. The tableland of the Kalahari Desert covers most of Botswana. National parks cover 17 per cent of the country, with 38 per cent of the country dedicated to wildlife areas. To the northwest is the Okavango Delta, the largest inland delta in the world. The Moremi Game Reserve occupies two-thirds of the delta’s area. The Chobe National Park in the north includes the Savute and Linyanti regions. To the far southwest is the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park, which ranges across the borders of Botswana, South Africa and Namibia, but is managed as a single entity. The majority of the population lives in the southeast around Gaborone, Serowe and Kanye along the South African border. The vast arid sandveld of the Kalahari occupies much of north, central and western Botswana. The seasonal rains bring a considerable difference to the vegetation, especially in the Makgadikgadi Pans and the Okavango Delta in the north. The latter, after the winter floods, provides one of the wildest and most beautiful nature reserves in Africa.
Government: Republic since 1966. Head of State and Government: President Festus Gontebanye Mogae since 1998.
Language: English is the official language. Setswana is the national language.
Religion: The majority of the population holds animistic beliefs, 30 per cent are Christian. There are small Muslim communities and the Bahá’í Faith is also represented.
Time: GMT + 2.
Electricity: 220-240 volts AC, 50Hz. 15- and 13-amp plug sockets are in use.
Currency: Pula - Currently 1 BWP = 0.1815 USD $
Climate: Botswana is semiarid with warm winters and hot summers and a dry winter season from May to August. - Currently 45º, Fair. Back to top
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Telephone: IDD is available to over 80 countries. Country code: 267. Outgoing international code: 00. There are very few public phone boxes.
Mobile telephone: GSM 900 network. Local providers include Mascom Wireless (website: www.mascom.bw) and Orange Pty LTD (www.orange.co.bw). Coverage is limited to the main inhabited areas.
Fax: Widely available in urban areas, although there are very few facilities in wildlife areas.
Internet: Local ISPs include IBIS and Mega (website: www.mega.bw).
Telegram: There are facilities in Gaborone and other large centres (usually in major hotels and main post offices).
Post: There are post offices in all towns and the larger villages, open weekdays 0815-1245 and 1400-1600 and Sat 0800-1100. Services are slow but cheap. Airmail service to Europe takes from one to three weeks. There are post offices in all the main towns, although there are no deliveries and post must be collected from boxes.
Press: The daily newspaper is the Dikgang tsa Gompieno (Botswana Daily News), published in Setswana and English. Other English-language newspapers include The Botswana Gazette, The Botswana Guardian, The Midweek Sun and Mmegi (The Reporter), all published weekly.
Radio: BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. Back to top
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Gaborone: The capital of Botswana was founded in the late 19th century by an African chief who gave it his name, and is now a small and quiet city which serves best as a gateway to the rest of the country. While here, see the Botswana National Museum and Art Gallery, which has excellent historical and cultural collections, and head out for a hike up the side of Mount Kgale and enjoy the scenery, or on a day trip to the Gaborone Game Reserve complete with picnic tables and an education center.
Chobe National Park: Chobe is part of the Okavango Delta, the world’s largest inland delta, and is home to a large concentration of African birds and animals, including flamingos, zebras, giraffes, cheetahs and lions. The national park itself is huge, 4300 square miles in size, and balances the needs of both tourism and the ecology by controlling access to the park. Head to Kasane, the main town at the park’s northern tip, which serves as the gateway into the area as well – safaris are most easily arranged from here.
Gcwihaba Caverns: Spelunkers will love visiting the Gcwihaba Caverns, 400 miles northwest of Gaborone, although preparation is required for the two to three day trek by jeep or 4x4. Bring enough food, water, flashlights and extra batteries for the trip, along with a camera and a pair of tall boots, as the bat guano is deep in some places. Some sections require an experienced cave navigator, and this is not a commercialized area, so there are no stores nearby and you will be camping while here. Back to top
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Local Customs: A more traditional life is strong in rural areas of the country, so ask permission before taking someone’s picture, as well as avoiding photographing airports of military buildings. Clothing should not cause problems with casual wear accepted throughout the country and standard dress in the cities.
Banking: Credit cards have limited acceptance and while traveler’s checks can be used more frequently, you’ll get better exchange rates in a bank. Banks are open for the first few hours in the morning, normally from 8am to 11am or noon.
When To Visit: The dry season, from May to August, is the best time to visit Botswana and is also the peak tourist season with higher rates, although the last half of the season isn’t as busy as the first. President’s Day, July 15th to 16th, and Independence Day, September 30th and October 1st, are the two biggest holidays during this time.
Food: Botswanan food can include simpler millet and sorghum porridge, morama, a large tuber, mealies, or ears of corn, and the more exotic Kalahari truffle or mopane worm. Kgadi, distilled brown sugar, and bojalwa, a sorghum beer, are both popular.
Tipping: Follow standard tipping rules and add 10% to your bill in all the urbanized areas.
Security: Although carjacking is becoming more common, use regular street awareness when traveling, avoid walking alone at night, and note that driving at night may combine fast highways with slow moving wild animals in the back country. Any drug possession is taken very seriously here. Back to top
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