Famous cities

Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, has the usual facilities of any modern capital city, small though it may be by world standards. There are international hotels, casinos and a collection of shops, restaurants, services and supplies that one might expect, a National Museum with outstanding exhibits and, 16kms from the centre, the international Sir Seretse Khama airport.

One of the more striking of the city's tall buildings is Orapa house at the intersection of Mandela Drive and Khama Crescent. It is in this building, on floors specially designed to make maximum use of daylight without ever letting sunlight in, that Botswana's diamond wealth is sorted, packaged and sent out to the markets of the world.

A large dam on the Ngotwane river provides for sailing watersports (motor boats are not permitted) and a little further downstream, on the same river but still within the confines of the city is the Gaborone Game Reserve.

The older part of Gaborone, the old "Village", is steeped in colonial history. Remains of the old fort, established when Pioneer Columns were advancing into what became Rhodesia, are still to be seen. In the village, too, will be found the remains of the old Government Rest House. For a short time is was used as a hotel where Cecil Rhodes occasionally camped and where the infamous Jameson Raid is said to have been planners.

A visit to Molepolole, 50kms west of Gaborone, will show a town of the Bakwena, another of the principle Tswana tribes. The mixed architecture gives interesting insights into the changing nature of Botswana society where the old and traditional ways are seen slowly to he giving way to more modern practices. Much of the nature of this change is recorded and compared in the small Sechele Museum to be found there.

For those interested in pottery in particular a visit to Thamaga some forty kilometres to the south west of Gaborone is essential. Here lives on a rural craft project developed with Norwegian aid and now continuing under its own steam. Thamaga bowls, platters and goblets are especially well known and their hazy blue glaze has almost become a trademark and often sought after by collectors.

To the north–east of Gaborone, roughly 40kms away is the attractive village of Mochudi and, in the same area, the rock engravings at Matsieng.The older part of the village; surrounds the kgotla (the tribal meeting place) and there are still some traditional houses and courtyards to be seen there. On the hill above the kgotla is Mochudi's Phuthadikoho Museum. This houses a fascinating collection of old photographs and artifacts relating to the Bakgatlu. There is also a small Livingstone collection.

A little further north of the turnoff to Mochudi will be found the rock engravings at Matsieng. These engravings, mostly of human feet and animal tracks, are made in the rock bed of an ancient river. This site is important to the Tswana who believe it to be the place where Matsieng, central figure of a creation myth and an important early ancestor, rose out of the ground, followed by cattle and wild animals.

Immediately to the south of Gaborone, on the main road to Lobatse are two important places for game enthusiasts. The first is Mokolodi Nature Reserve and the second is the Lion Park, where the lions are kept in very large wire mesh enclosures. The setting in which they are seen is perfectly natural and offers great opportunities to enthusiastic wildlife photographers.