Botswana is a landlocked country. It is bounded on the south and south east by South Africa, in the North East is Zimbabwe,
while Namibia wraps around the Western and the Northern fronts, at Kazungula, which is in the Northern Part where four countries,
Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia meet
at a single point mid-stream in the Zambezi River. Therefore Botswana has a border Crossing with Zambia.
SIZE
It’s like the size of Kenya, France Or Texas.
Botswana is 581,730 Square Kilometers
Nearly 17% of which is protected wildlife Areas.
Its about 950 meters
[3000 feet] Above sea level, about 80% of Botswana is covered with the Kalahari
sands.
CLIMATE
The country lies
within the tropical of Capricorn, renders Botswana’s climate subtropical.
SUMMER
November to March,
the high temperatures average between 30°c to 38°c [86°f to 95°f] with low
temperatures around 18°c [65°f] and rain showers.
WINTER
POPULATION
Estimated 1,7
million, [2001census] with an official language English and the national
language Setswana.
ECONOMY
Based on Diamond
Mining, Tourism, Financial Services Industries, Cattle Ranching and
Manufacturing
VISAS AND PASSPORTS
All visitors must have passports valid for at least six months and the means to leave the country,
i.e. an out going travel ticket and sufficient funds.
Nationals of the Common wealth Countries require visas to enter Botswana.
Citizens of the European community countries;
e.g. Scandinavia, USA and South Africa do not require Visas.
DEPARTURE TAX
Botswana International Tax is 25.00 Pula, Local 10 Pula.Zimbabwe International tax is 5 US$.
ECO- TOURISM
The big game
country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chobe is a destination that will live in the visitor’s memory forever. This incredible un tamed wilderness area is one of the great wildlife paradises with its amazing Eco diversity and landscapes, combining to present the true face of Africa’s splendor and a credit to the dedicated wildlife service of Botswana who protected the area for the enjoyment of all.
This 11000sq kilometer area, which is unique in the abundance of wildlife and the true African nature of the region, offers a safari experience of a lifetime. The park is made up of four distinctly, different eco systems. First, the Savuti marsh area is in the west approximately 50 km north of Mababe gate. Second, Serondela, with its lush plains and dens forests in the Chobe river area. Then third, in the extreme northeast, the mostly dry corridor, which connects these two areas and which has no permanent surface water, and forth, the beautiful Linyanti Swamps in the North West.
Savuti is located 180 kilometers northeast of Maun, in the western section of Chobe. The 5000sq kilometers Savuti marsh is African’s most densely populated predators areas along with the greatest concentration of plains antelope, zebra and wildebeest in Southern Africa, Nowhere else will the visitors find such a wealth of wildlife, bird life [350 species] and some of the most diverse landscapes in the country. Savuti is renowned for its magnificent lions, and it has the highest density in southern Africa
One of the most peculiar features of Savuti is the dry channels, which are filled with by hundreds of large dead trees. It covers a distance of 100 kilometers from the Chobe river [through a gape in the sand ridge ] to the Mababe depression. There are many pans in Savuti that retain water for several months after the rains have ended, enabling game to remain in the region after the wet season, and there are also some artificial water holes. Predators and elephants concentrate around these water holes, and game viewing is spectacular.
The diverse wildlife of Sirondela is the principal attraction to this pristine region. Sirondela is very popular for the beauty of the river, fine landscapes, and for the concentration of game along the river.
Superb sightings and photos opportunities are highly expected. The region is most famous for large numbers of elephants, which form one of Africa’s last remaining herds. Game viewing in special viewing vehicles, or from the river, in a cruse boats, will allow for exciting safari experiences. Experienced game rangers lead all excursions.
MOREMI WILDLIFE RESERVE;
The Okavango is the largest inland river delta in the world. A huge flood plain, fed principally by the Okavango River, which lies in the distant Angolan high lands. Apart from that Makakane River, there is no visible outlet to the swamps, which dissipate through evaporation and seepage through the clay sand of the Kalahari. The delta conserves an area of some 15000 square kilometers of swampland and savannah. This unique wetland eco-system holds captive a huge variety of mammal, bird, insect, plant, fish and reptile species, which have adapted to the swamp conditions, in what otherwise would have been a dry and arid region.
The Okavango is a naturalist paradise. It is an experience of a lifetime, comparable in interest to the best world heritage sites. Photographic opportunities are both frequent and varied, while either traveling across the savannah in a special game viewing vehicle or gliding silently through the watercourse in a “Mokoro” or dugout canoe.
In the eastern section of the Okavango delta is the Moremi game reserve. This 5000 sq kilometer wilderness paradise was proclaimed a wildlife reserve in1963. Mrs. Moremi, wife of the late chief Moremi, lead the initiative with the help of the local dedicated conversationalists and the support of the local people. This initiative earned Botswana people international praise for their vision of protecting a valuable national asset. The reserve covers almost one third of the Okavango delta area. An interesting feature of this un-spoiled wilderness is the diverse and fascinating range of ecological zones.
Flood plains, reed banks, open lagoons, water holes, grasslands, forests of giant acacia trees, parklands, and dense mophane woodlands, combine in unsurpassed natural beauty. Large concentrations of wild life thrive in this paradise and all large Africa mammals are found here.
Game viewing is good throughout the year. Lleopards, lions,
elephants, hyenas, kudus, elands, roan antelopes giraffes, zebras, impalas,
buffalos, hippos, and many of the smaller predators and game species can be
seen in large numbers. An abundance of raptors and water birds provide
impressive bird watching opportunities.
KALAHARI DESERT
“THE LAST GREAT
TRUE WILDERNESS OF AFRICA”
The great Kalahari of southern and western Botswana, is a huge semi desert region, dominating the entire western and central regions of Botswana, spilling over into South Africa, Namibia and Angola. The region is not a classic desert, but rather a vast deposit of sand forming a living desert, treed and grassed in many places, but with ancient mountains, river courses sand dunes. A unique ecological treasure conserving by its sheer remoteness, one of the most unusual ecological systemd in the world.
In spite of an almost totally lack of surface water, this true wilderness area supports an amazing variety of fauna and flora. It is a nearly perfect environment where all living things exist in a delicate balance of nature. Every plant, animal, reptile and insect, form part of intricate and complex web of survival, where nothing can live in isolation, and where survival means not only life, but also death. In the Kalahari, life and death are not contradictory, but supplementary, for the continued existence of this fragile natural system.
Its where man is reminded that his very existence through the ages. has been deeply rooted in such a natural design. There are few places in the world where the sheer vastness of a desert landscape, wildlife and the fiery sunset, can evoke such absence of awe and inspiration, as does the Kalahari.
The San who are descendents of the original in habitants of the Kalahari, still live as nomadic hunters and gatherers, and live in small communities in some parts of the Kalahari. Despite the encroachment of modern civilization through out the surrounding regions, many of the San have retained their rich cultural way of life. Their unique understanding of cycles of nature and desert life is legendary.
CENTRAL KALAHARI GAME
RESERVE
These 52800sq kilometers in the Ghantsi district of central Botswana, is one of the largest protected areas in Africa. Endless vistas of sand dry fossil rock, clay pans, dunes, fields and grasslands, shimmer in an ever moving mirage, under a vast blue sky, to provide an endless variety of shapes colors and moons.
The visitors to the central Kalahari will travel in search
of game for huge distances across this vast desert landscape. There are just
three principal ponds where water and game are plentiful. At this point game
gather to drink, attracting many different predators and scavengers, thereby
creating a chance to possibly witness a dramatic kill. At these ponds, birds, reptiles, insects and
many different animals, small and big, are found in great numbers. People have
been known to spend hours at those sites, enjoying the interaction of many
different desert species, including desert black maned lions, meerkats,
springbok, cape ground squirrel, brown hyena, and oryx. These are a few animals mentioned that are
unique in the desert.
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