Luxury Accommodation & Safari Expeditions in Botswana

With an area of 581,730 square kilometres, Botswana is virtually the same size as France, Kenya or Texas. Situated in the centre of Southern Africa, it is a landlocked country, with Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe as its immediate neighbours.

Botswana lies an average of 950 metres above sea level and is more than 600 kilometres from the nearest coast. The Tropic of Capricorn bisects Botswana.

The most striking features of the country are its flatness and aridity. With the exception of the eastern part of Botswana where the great majority of Batswana live and where the summer rainfall is slightly higher, three quarters of Botswana is technically a desert.

This is what makes the Okavango Delta even more remarkable. It is a wonderful wetland within a desert, getting its waters from rain falling in central Africa, 1000 km away.

Botswana is one of Africa's success stories. Prior to independence in 1966, it was one of the world's poorest countries. When we started to work in Botswana in the 1970s, very few people who lived outside Botswana had even heard of the Okavango.

In those early days East Africa was "king" of the safari circuit. Botswana was undiscovered and was only visited by a few hardy adventurers. But things were to change! East Africa lost its gloss in the eyes of the discerning traveller as it overcrowded its parks. South Africa became a "normal" country with Nelson Mandela's release, and the whole Southern African sub~ continent became a desirable region to explore!

Within Botswana, there were big changes, too. Diamonds were discovered in the Kalahari shortly after independence and this kick-started the economy.

Sir Seretse Khama was the country's first post-independence president. He was a wonderful leader and one of the most pragmatic and far-thinking presidents any country could ever hope for. Seretse laid the foundations and the platforms that Botswana needed to propel itself forward. Democracy has never been compromised and the economy has been booming. On the wildlife front, Seretse's son, Ian, is one of the country's unsung conservation heroes. When he became head of the military, he positioned his troops to secure Botswana's borders from poachers. The game concentrations within the country multiplied overnight. Many people owe their jobs and careers to his actions.

The country abandoned mass tourism and focused on high quality / low volume tourism. The country's leaders took the view that high quality / low volume tourism was the best way to create a sustainable industry that would employ a large percentage of its people, while still preserving the environment. Today wildlife and tourism employs about 45% of all the people who live in northern Botswana.

The country has remained focused on delivering the finest possible, authentic wildlife experience. This is accomplished through one of Africa's most sensible land plans ever devised. Much of the country's best wildlife land is outside the parks! This land has been resurveyed over the past 10 years and has been divided into massive private reserves that are leased out to safari companies or to rural communities. Well over 30% of the country has now been set aside for wildlife. The safari companies have to manage their operations within strict guidelines and with very strict carrying capacities to prevent overcrowding. These companies have to train and employ local people ~ and they have to pay large amounts to the communities or the Government for the privilege of being there. Communities are now being brought into the mainstream of the wildlife industry.

While most of the country's best wildlife experiences are in these private reserves (or concessions, as they are known locally), the country still has areas for the general public to visit. These are not the areas to which you should be travelling to find the best private wildlife experience. The safari camps that Wilderness Safaris recommends are all in the private reserves.