botswana

The San are deemed to have been the first settlers in the region of Botswana. They, with the Bantu and the Khoi, migrated south from the northern regions of Africa some time around 300AD. Little however was known of the area until the first Europeans explored, indeed, the maps of Africa in the 1800’s show little to no detail on the topography or landmarks of the region. The “Bechuanaland” protectorate, as governed by the British, was relinquished in 1966 and Botswana was made a fully independent state, as we know it today. We now thankfully know much more about Botswana. The main industries of Diamonds, Minerals, Agriculture and especially Tourism ensure that Botswana keeps its reputation as a successful and stable nation. With a strong and democratic government, the country, which is approximately the size of France, is relatively unpopulated with only 2 million inhabitants. The government wisely set aside 17% of the land as National Parks and Reserves, with another 22+% set aside as wildlife management areas. With such a large percentage of land mass dedicated to the protection of wildlife, and with such diversity in the accepted regions, this makes Botswana arguably the number one safari destination in Africa. Seemingly covered in sand with its reputation of being 80% desert, this is deceptive, the Kalahari Desert does indeed cover the majority of Botswana, but you will be hard pressed to find a sand dune. Rather this largely flat country is covered with areas of open savannah, forests, riverine woodlands, wetlands, swamps, permanent water channels and great rivers.