travel botswana, the best site indeed

 OUR TOP PICKS  IN  BOTSWANA.............. lovely  planet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okavango  delta

Makgadikgadi  pans

Nxai  National  park

Chobe  Game  Reserve

Moremi Game  Reserve

 Kgalagadi  Sand  dunes

Botswana is an African success story. After achieving democratic rule in 1966, three of the world’s richest diamond-bearing formations were discovered within its borders. Today, the country enjoys a high standard of economic stability, education and health care, which, with the exception of South Africa, is unequalled elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. However, its modern veneer belies the fact that much of it remains a country for the intrepid (not to mention relatively wealthy) traveller. This largely roadless wilderness of vast spaces requires time, effort and, above all else, lots of cash to enjoy it to its fullest.

                                         

                                                    Travelling  around   chobe viewing concerved  animals

Chobe National Park derives its name from the eponymous river that snakes its way through the north of the country, eventually to meet the Zambezi river at the point where the borders of Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia meet. The river has a steady supply of water year round and so is a reliable source.

                                                  awesome  times  in    botswana  game  reserves

If you don't succeed in spotting crocs along the Chobe Riverfront, you can get up close and personal with these scaly beasts at the Kazungula Crocodile Farm, about 1km north of Kazungula.

                                                                                               crocodile  farms

                                                    buffalo..................... some  of  botswana s  conseved  animals

Sand  dunes  in  kgalagadi

                                                       sand  dunes  in  kgalagadi  dessert

sand  dunes  in  kgalagadi  dessrt,  botswana

                                                    tiger

                                                      sun  set   time............. beautiful  botswana




  Okavango delta........  the  world   biggest 

The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Swamp), in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea. Each year approximately 11 cubic kilometres of water irrigate the 15,000 km² area and some flood-waters drain into Lake Ngami. The Moremi Game Reserve, a National Park, spreads across the eastern side of the delta.

The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that mostly dried up by the early Holocene.

                                                          tswiiii,  food  from  the  delta

                                                    animal  riding  in  okavango  and  sorrounding areas

                                                        fishing  and  travelling  in  okavango

animals in  okavango

 BEAUTIFUL  BOTSWANA,  NATURE  AT  ITS  BEST!!!!!

culture in Botswana - folk music, thepulseofbotswana

Botswana is made up of numerous ethnic groups, though the Batswana are the most numerous. Music is an omnipresent part of Botswana culture, and include popular and folk forms. Church choirs are common across the country. Music education is an integral part of the educational system. Children of all ages are taught traditional songs and dances.

Tswana music is mostly vocal and performed without drums; it also makes heavy use of string instruments. Tswana folk music has got instruments such as Setinkane, Segankure / Segaba and for the last few decades, a guitar has been celebrated as a versatile music instrument for Tswana music. The guitar was originally played in a manner similar to Segaba but with a better rhythm due to plucking, almost completely replacing the violin-like Segaba until such prodigies of Segaba as  Ratsie Setlhako re-popularised Segaba in the 80s with the help of radio. In the absence of instruments a clapping rhythm is used in music with the typical chant and answer manner of singing. The absence of drumming is predominant and is peculiar of an African tribe.

                                                                           dance

                                                        matsieng traditional  group in botswana

Like many African countries, much of the popular music there is called jazz, though it has little resemblance to the African American genre of that name. There has been a push in recent years to focus on revitalizing the Botswana music industry instead of purchasing foreign releases. Most popular music in Botswana still comes from South Africa, United States, Europe or elsewhere in Africa. Gumba-gumba is a form of modernized Zulu and Tswana music, mixed with traditional jazz; the word gumba comes from township slang for party.

                                              tswana  dance,  botswana  culture spears group

                      jazz artist banjo  mosele,  dog  eat  dog, hahhhahaaa, nice  tune.......... enjoy

traditional  dance -  mogwana   group.

Professional artists based in Gaborone, Botswana who perform the traditional music, song and dance of indigenous ethnic groups of Botswana and southern Africa. Mogwana Dance Company, professional performers/artistes of traditional songs and dances of Botswana and southern Africa.

culture in Botswana - folk music, thepulseofbotswana

Botswana is made up of numerous ethnic groups, though the Batswana are the most numerous. Music is an omnipresent part of Botswana culture, and include popular and folk forms. Church choirs are common across the country. Music education is an integral part of the educational system. Children of all ages are taught traditional songs and dances.

Tswana music is mostly vocal and performed without drums; it also makes heavy use of string instruments. Tswana folk music has got instruments such as Setinkane, Segankure / Segaba and for the last few decades, a guitar has been celebrated as a versatile music instrument for Tswana music. The guitar was originally played in a manner similar to Segaba but with a better rhythm due to plucking, almost completely replacing the violin-like Segaba until such prodigies of Segaba as  Ratsie Setlhako re-popularised Segaba in the 80s with the help of radio. In the absence of instruments a clapping rhythm is used in music with the typical chant and answer manner of singing. The absence of drumming is predominant and is peculiar of an African tribe.

                                                                           dance

                                                        matsieng traditional  group in botswana

Like many African countries, much of the popular music there is called jazz, though it has little resemblance to the African American genre of that name. There has been a push in recent years to focus on revitalizing the Botswana music industry instead of purchasing foreign releases. Most popular music in Botswana still comes from South Africa, United States, Europe or elsewhere in Africa. Gumba-gumba is a form of modernized Zulu and Tswana music, mixed with traditional jazz; the word gumba comes from township slang for party.

                                              tswana  dance,  botswana  culture spears group

                      jazz artist banjo  mosele,  dog  eat  dog, hahhhahaaa, nice  tune.......... enjoy

traditional  dance -  mogwana   group.

Professional artists based in Gaborone, Botswana who perform the traditional music, song and dance of indigenous ethnic groups of Botswana and southern Africa. Mogwana Dance Company, professional performers/artistes of traditional songs and dances of Botswana and southern Africa.

wildlife flora

Floral diversity of vegetation in Botswana,

 Receives only an average annual rainfall of about 450 millimetres (18 in) only, is generally defined under three broad heads namely,hardweld, sandveld and Okavango deltaved which show seasonal difference in its nutrition value, with woody plants recording higher values compared to the grasses; Panicum has recorded more nutritional content during the rainy season.

Hardweld vegetation consists of woody plants and grasses. The woody plants are; Acacia karroo, Albizzia anthelmintica, Balanites aegyptiaca, Mopane (Colophospermum mopane),Combretum apiculatum, Grewia bicolor, Grewia flavecens, Grewia monticola, Lonchocarpus capassa and Terminalia.

Sanveld of the Kalhari desert’s vegetation expanse consists of grasses namely, Kragrostis pallens, Striagostis uniplumis, Anthephora pubescens, Schmidtia pappophoreides andMegaloprotachne albescens. Woody plants recorded are the Grewia avellana, Grewia retinervis, Lonchocarpus nelsii and Terminalia sericia. 

                                                                        Morula  tree

                                                          

                                                             These  are  the green morula fruits

Trees  are  also   homes  for  other  animals, examples, the  birds  and  sakes  use the  nest found  in this  tree  as  their  home.

Okavango deltaved has has both grasses and woody plants. The woody plants are the Fecus verruculosa and the Hyphaene crinata. The grasses reported are the Phragmites  communis, Dichanthium papillusum, Panicum repens, Andropogon encomus, Echinochloa  pyramidelis  and Imperata cylindrica.

Although about 90% of Botswana is covered by some kind of savanna, even the Kalahari Desert contains adequate vegetation to support tens of thousands of wild animals. Small areas of forest exist, but only in the far north along the Chobe River. Gruff shrubland tends to grow in the dryer desert areas, whilst trees tend to grow in the swamps, particularly in the Okavango delta which have access to more water to thrive.^] Botswana is home to over 2500 species of plants and over 650 species of trees

tourism in Botswana, Africa

1. Wildlife  in  Botswana

The wildlife of Botswana refers to the flora and fauna of Botswana. Botswana is around 90% covered in savanna, varying from shrub savanna in the southwest in the dry areas to tree savanna consisting of trees and grass in the wetter areas. Even under the hot conditions of the Kalahari Desert, many different species survive; in fact the country has more than 2500 species of plants and 650 species of trees. Vegetation and its wild fruits are also extremely important to rural populations living in the desert and are the principal source of food, fuel and medicine for many inhabitants.

Three national parks and seven game reserves that are wildlife shelters occupy 17% of the land area of Botswana. The three national parks are the Chobe National Park, the Nxai Pan and Makgadikgadi National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The seven game reserves are the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Gaborone Game Reserve, Khutse Game Reserve,Mannyelanong Game Reserve, Maun Game Reserve and Moremi Game Reserve. In addition, a number of small privately owned reserves are maintained

                                                                   

                                                                            Location  of  Botswana

                                                                  Chobe  National Park

                                                                  rhino

The Chobe National Park, with its four ecosystems, is known for its largest wildlife concentration in Africa. Animals  found  include rhinos,  elephants, Some of the other faunal species seen here are sable, wildebeest, kudu, buffalo and waterbuck, apart from lion, hyena, jackal, bat-eared fox, cheetah and wild dogs

                                                                        African  buffalo

springbok  antelope

                                                                      Wildebeest

Botswana is a natural game reserve for most animals found in southern Africa, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, African buffalo, hyenas and  antelopes.

Zebras

Hyenas  are  also  found  is  some  parks  and   game  reserves

hyena

                                                           Giraffe 

Mashatu Game Reserve

The Mashatu Game Reserve is a private reserve covering an area of 46,000 hectares (110,000 acres) made up of savannah plains, riverine forests, open marshland and rugged outcrops of sandstone. It is the largest private reserve in Southern Africa. Its name is derived from “mashatu” or nyala trees (round-topped leafy giant trees which are seen in abundance in the large open wilderness). It has the largest elephant population in the world. In addition, more than 350 species of birds have been reported here. Other fuanal of Botswana are also commonly found here.

Birdlife

Birdlife in the park is wide and of varied species; water birds to shy forest dwellers are commonly seen.

                                                                Cape  vulture  in a  zoo

                                    yellow  billed  hornbill in  moremi  game reserve

                                        

Red  footed  falcons   found  along  the  lenyanti  swamp,  Chobe  National  Park