|
1. Botswana
Emerges as an Up Market Safari Destination
Botswana is a country of seemingly endless
open spaces. Though it occupies an area the size of
France, the human population is only 1.6 million. This
is one country where wildlife does not face stiff competition
for land resources from man. As a result the animals
have multiplied with a flourish. Botswana can justifiably
claim to host some of the finest game sanctuaries in
Africa. The worlds' largest exporter of diamonds by
value, the country is not under pressure to get in more
tourists. And the government has adopted a deliberate
policy of keeping visitor numbers low. The hidden hand
of the market has responded by adjusting the price to
reflect this reality. Botswana has therefore emerged
as an exclusive up market safari destination.
Bill Clinton, together with his wife
went on safari in Botswana in 1998. The power couple
was greatly fascinated by the wildlife, and the serious
games of life and death they play. Affirming his position
on top of the food chain, the president ate for dinner
some of the animal species he had watched earlier. His
evening buffet included zebra, crocodile, impala in
monkey sauce, and giraffe. "I tried it all",
he declared with satisfaction. But the former American
president is only one in a long line of heavy hitters
to enjoy the wildlife havens of Botswana. Hollywood
legends, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor chose to
remarry here, for example.
Botswana is dominated by the Kalahari
Desert. It occupies 84% of the land area, mostly in
the west, central and north of the country. But the
Kalahari is not a desert in the Sahara sense. You find
the occasional sand dune, but also substantial vegetation
in the form of short thorn and scrub bush, trees and
grasslands. Very little water though, and hence the
desert tag. To the northwest, you find Okavango, the
world's largest inland delta. The northeast is a land
of gently rolling tablelands interrupted by granite
hills and rock formations. The east and southeast, where
80% of the people live has more varied relief. And the
rain clouds linger more and unburden themselves more
freely, relative to the rest of the country.
Today Botswana is a peaceful, well-managed
and relatively prosperous country. The country wealth
per man indicator places among middle-income nations
alongside Mexico and Russia and ahead of Brazil. But
it has not always been so and the country has come along
way. The San people (otherwise known bushmen) are believed
to be the original inhabitants of Botswana. Their descendants
survive to this day, some living as their forefathers
did for most of the 30,000 years historians guess they
have been around. Later -much later, Bantu groups, prominent
of which were the Tswana, became the masters of these
realms.
The modern Botswana nation has been
shaped by the alliances made in response to historical
currents swirling in southern Africa in the eighteenth
century. The rulers at the time aligned their interests
with those of the British against the Boers who were
approaching from the south and the Germans from the
west. For the British, the value of the alliance was
strategic and not much was expected in terms of economic
advantage. And that is how the relationship resulted
in the Bechuanaland Protectorate - the precursor of
modern Botswana. The British remained in charge until
independence in 1966.
The visitor to Botswana is drawn by
the credible intelligence that abounds about the quality
of its pristine wildlife sanctuaries. Chobe National
Park, one of the finest game parks in Africa is located
to the north east of the country. The park has the greatest
variety of game anywhere in the country. That is why
the busy Bill Clinton found himself at Chobe for his
short safari. Wildlife thrives among the swamps and
grasslands that stretch along the flood plains of the
Chobe River. Occupying 10,560 square kilometers, it
is particularly renowned for the great concentration
and sheer abundance of its elephants, estimated to number
80,000.
Page 2 Article on Botswana
NOTE:
If you have a friend who is going on vacation to Africa
and would find the above information useful then you
can email this page to the person by clicking
here
|
