BOTSWANA
McCall-Smith’s No 1 Ladies Detective agency stories were turned into a Sunday evening television series. That light-hearted glimpse at the country’s capital, Gaborone, may have been consigned to occasional repeats on an obscure satellite channel but Botswana’s draw cards for tourists remains as compelling as ever – perhaps more so in an age when visitors are looking for ever-more ‘authentic’ and ‘raw’ travel experiences.
B
Wildlife Wonders Botswana is, first and foremost, a destination that offers exceptional game viewing. Of all those African countries where big game, nocturnal creatures and abundant birdlife can be observed in their natural habitats, none offers such a varied range of safari experiences, and across so many different landscapes, as Botswana. Appropriately shaped like an uncut diamond – Botswana's impressive economic record has been built on a foundation of diamond mining – it is bordered by five countries: South Africa to the south, Zimbabwe (east), Namibia (west) and Zambia (north). With a full 38% of its total land area devoted to national parks, reserves and wildlife management areas – for the most part unfenced, allowing animals to roam wild and free – travel through many parts of the country has
otswana briefly found itself beamed into front rooms across the UK when Alexander
the feeling of moving through an immense wonderland of nature. The two key areas for game viewing
are the spectacular Okavango Delta, home to the largest inland delta in the world, and Chobe National Park, which can point to the biggest concentration of elephants found anywhere. The game-viewing experience itself in
Botswana is unique: for starters it’s the only place in Southern Africa where you can look for passing wildlife from a mokoro – a canoe that was originally hewn from a sausage tree – that enables guests to view the wildlife from a very different perspective. Expect an adrenalin rush as you drift past reeds recently flattened by hippos or watch a crocodile sliding into the water. And walking safaris take on a visceral
feel: you can walk through grass as high as your shoulders while following vultures circling in the sky above, unsure of what resides on the lusher shorter grass beyond. Other key areas that offer a genuine glimpse of Africa writ large are the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the planet’s second-largest game sanctuary; the isolation and other-worldliness of the Makgadikgadi, uninhabited pans the size of Portugal; and the Tuli Block, a land of big skies, giant trees and great herds of animals.
Night Skies For many the lasting and most vivid impression of Botswana will be the vast expanses of uninhabited wilderness that stretch to the horizon and the feeling of limitless space. Then there are the night skies, littered with stars, and stunning sunsets of almost unearthly beauty. Throw into the mix cultural tourism options, where visitors can experience first-hand the ancient traditions of the country’s bushmen; archaeological treasures – Stone Age tools can still be found along the shoreline of tiny Kubu Island – and adventure activities like mountain bike safaris, horseback safaris, fishing trips and helicopter flips over the Okavango Delta and it is clear Botswana is a country with plenty of appealing differences. Certainly Sonia Dixon, Director at Holidays Please needs no convincing. Sonia, who joined a Botswana
Tourism UK fam trip to the country, says: “Agents should not be apprehensive about sending their clients to Botswana. The highlights for me were the amazing game viewing coupled with people who were always friendly and welcoming. Botswana has something for everyone and they are guaranteed the most wonderful of times.”
What’s New The Botswana Tourism Organisation has launched an Ecotourism Best Practises Manual and Eco-Certification System designed to encourage and support responsible environmental, social and cultural behaviour by tourism businesses and ensure they provide a quality eco- friendly product to consumers. Both are based on performance criteria designed to meet or exceed basic environmentally responsible standards or legislation. Botswana Tourism UK's Dawn Parr
“Botswana is perfect for repeat safari clients, adventurers and bird watchers”
And yes, your clients can sign up for a
No 1 Ladies Detective Agency Tour and follow in the footsteps of Mma Ramotswe. Several Gaborone-based companies take visitors on a tour that drops in on the locations featured in the television series.
Best Time to Visit? Most visitors arrive between April and October, the ‘Dry season’, when the bush is at its least thickest and wildlife gathers at the water holes. When the rains come the vegetation bursts into life and some places can become difficult to access. But the November-February period also brings baby mammals, great birdlife and fewer people.
says the initiative is recognition that the country’s natural wildlife resources are precious and that any growth in tourist arrivals should be accompanied by a sustainable tourism policy.
BOTSWANA Top Selling Tips...
• Intimate affair... “Botswana is primarily – but not solely – a pricey destination best suited for top-end clients, but the intimacy, exclusivity, privacy and quality on offer is worth the price tag for many”
• Private access… “Many lodges in Botswana are set far into the wilderness for the best game viewing and well-served by all-weather airstrips so that guests spend more time in the bush”
• Out of Africa… “Sell nervous flyers the idea that taking a light plane transfer to your lodge is part of the 'Out of Africa' experience, with grass landing strips, animals on the runway and pilots who might ask you to lend a hand in getting the propeller spinning”
Gliding the Okavango… “In a traditional mokorro! Or visit Abu Camp for a very special and intimate insight into elephant life”
Opposite page: There are plenty of opportunities to get up close to hippos on a safari in Botswana; Above: Chobe Game Lodge
SANDRA HARRISON Product Manager - Indian Ocean, Africa, Asia & Australasia, Elegant Resorts
www.sellinglonghaul.com • July/August 2012 31
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