Botswana
Once a British protectorate, Botswana gained its independence in
1966, which today makes the country the oldest democracy in Africa.
Landlocked in the south of the continent and bordering Namibia,
Zambia and South Africa, Botswana is a tour destination that has
never received the kind of accolade it deserves, but the fact that
it’s such a well-kept secret only adds to its appeal for travellers.
Botswana, after over forty years’ history of practising democracy,
is one of the most stable countries in Africa—it was ranked as
Africa’s least corrupt country in 2005 by Transparency
International, who positioned Botswana 32 out of 159 countries
worldwide for the same category—and though it numbered among the
poorest nations on the continent when it broke away from British
sovereignty in the mid-1960s, it has since been reaping the economic
benefits of its diamond resources. Today the southern country is
blossoming in prosperity and is often counted as among the most
rapidly developing African nations. Botswana truly is a country on
the up and up and is doubtful to be kept a secret for much longer.
With much of the country being blanketed by the inhospitable
barrenness of the Kalahari desert, the majority of the population
reside in the eastern territories, but for the traveller, it is
these sparsely inhabited regions that can be the most fascinating
and rewarding. Botswana is a safari paradise, but more than that, it
is a safari paradise that retains its wild and untouched
characteristics; qualities that many other safari destinations have
failed to preserve. Taking a tour to watch dusty buffalo roam the
plains or hippos lumber into murky waterways promises a memorable
expedition indeed, but to witness such events with the untamed and
uncultivated wilderness of the animals’ natural habitat as a
backdrop enhances the experience severalfold. Botswana offers
safaris in their purest forms, and remains a tour destination where
travellers can glimpse the natural environment and wildlife as it
was before man came to dominance.
Parks and reserves protect about 17% of Botswana, and where the
Okavango Delta region houses an array of birds, plants and smaller
animal species, reserves such as Moremi, or parks like Chobe, are
the places to tour for larger animals. Chobe boasts a free-range
elephant population in its hundreds of thousands and a huge variety
of wildlife that rivals anywhere in Africa: giraffe, zebra,
wildebeest, cheetah, hyena and warthog to name but a few. The
stunning Moremi Wildlife Reserve is home to antelopes, hippos,
elephants, leopards and lions, along with some of the most
picturesque scenery in all of Africa.
As the last surviving bastion of pure and untarnished safari
expeditions, Botswana is a trip to be taken sooner rather than
later.