Botswana – The good, the bad, the ugly
Well, there was nothing ugly except maybe the condition of the roads.
Good, there are lots of goods. Botswana has avoided a lot of the problems in Africa being essentially a single tribe country with hidden wealth – mining and cattle. So, although it may not appear so as the country is very dry, the overall welfare of the people is considerable better than some of their neighbours. Fantastic wildlife watching, but bads are the cost both time and money to get anywhere and the lack of an alternative, for visitors, of ways to travel other than as part of a tour. Even then high costs tours, great luxury and great experiences, tend to be more readily available and promoted. If there are cheaper alternatives other than self drive it is hard to find. Self drive is not at all practical if you are travelling from overseas and have to hire a vehicle.
The distances to travel are vast so most people concentrate on the Chobe/Okavango and Vic Falls area.
- Goods
- Fantastic Animals
- Great scenery
- Friendly and proud local people
- Not so good
- The roads and infrastructure
- The lack of much between luxury lodges and basic camping
- Hot and dry – but this is mostly semi desert
Review of the Okavango Delta
- Goods
- Lovely place
- Interesting
- Plenty to see, lots of animal and interesting natural situations
- Very few people
- Not so goods
- No management, no road maintenance, low grade facilities
- No rules, people drive where ever they want, collect firewood etc
- Hot !
Next – Back to Africa