Welcome to Gaborone, the capital and largest city of Botswana. It sits in the south-eastern corner of the country, between Kgale Hill and Oodi Hill, less than 15 kilometres from the South African border. The city takes its name from Chief Gaborone of the Tlokwa people, and it was planned as a capital in the mid-1960s, chosen partly because it belonged to no single indigenous group and lay close to fresh water. Gaborone was once one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, and it is home to the headquarters of the Southern African Development Community. Let's set off and explore.
Three Dikgosi Monument
In the heart of the business district stand three bronze figures, each 5.4 metres tall. They are Khama the Third, Sebele the First and Bathoen the First, three dikgosi, or tribal chiefs. In 1895 they travelled to Great Britain and persuaded the British government not to merge their land with Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company, securing British protection until independence in 1966. Here is a surprising detail: the monument was made by a North Korean company, Mansudae Overseas Projects, which caused controversy among local sculptors. It was inaugurated in 2005.
Botswana National Museum
Photo: CNJerem · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsStep inside the Botswana National Museum, also known as the National Museum and Art Gallery. Established by an Act of Parliament in 1967 and opened to the public the following year, it displays traditional crafts and paintings and celebrates the work of local artists. Its family has grown to include the Octagon Gallery and, since 2007, the National Botanical Garden. The museum also helps preserve Tsodilo, the country's first World Heritage Site, and it cares for Tsholofelo Park, the resting place of a man whose remains were returned from a museum in Banyoles, in Spain.
Mokolodi Nature Reserve
Photo: Cretep · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsJust 10 kilometres south of the city lies Mokolodi Nature Reserve, a private, not-for-profit game reserve founded in 1994 on 30 square kilometres of donated land. Giraffe, zebra, kudu, hippopotamus and leopard all live here, and cheetahs and African wild dogs have large enclosures of their own. The reserve's herd of southern white rhinoceros is part of a national breeding programme that helps rebuild Botswana's rhino population. If you are feeling brave, there is also a reptile park, home to black mambas and spitting cobras.
Kgale Hill
Photo: Athena Lao · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsRising above the city is Kgale Hill, whose Setswana name means the place that dried up. Locals call it the Sleeping Giant, and its summit reaches 1,287 metres above sea level. Three trails lead to the top, and on the hour-long climb you will often spot troops of baboons. The hill also has a touch of screen fame: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was filmed at its foot, earning the set the playful nickname Kgalewood.
Gaborone Dam
Photo: Athena Lao · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsSouth of the city, along the road to Lobatse, spreads the Gaborone Dam on the Notwane River. Construction began in 1963, while the new capital was still being planned, and the original dam was completed the following year. In the rainy season of 1965 and 1966 the reservoir filled and overflowed. Between 1983 and 1985 the dam was raised by 7 metres to hold more water, and today it supplies both Gaborone and Lobatse.
Lomakuume
