Botswana beckoned, and in Botswana I am. A colourful country this is. Since I spent so much time in Angola and Namibia, my time in Botswana is limited to only a few days. People go to France to go to Paris or to Italy to go to Rome but nobody goes to Botswana just to go to Gaborone. Next week I'm flying from Johannesburg to Bangkok and most of Botswana's standouts are a detour away from the route to Gaborone and Johannesburg so I'll have to save them for a future journey. Immigration was picky about making sure that I have an "address in Botswana" written down but Nancy didn't send me her address and I couldn't reach her when I tried to call her. In the dark I waited as I knew it was gonna be a long overnight slog to Gaborone. A truckie would pick me up as he was on his way to South Africa and then he stopped to sleep for a bit. Upon making my first purchase in Botswana with Namibian dollars I was given change in Botswanan pula. 1 pula is subdivided into 100 thebe. "Pula" means "rain" and "thebe" means "shield" in Setswana, which is the official language of Botswana. In the dark I was dropped at the turnoff to Gaborone, which was only about 30 km away but when I was offered shared taxi I was warned by a guy to not go with that particular taxi. A fight would break out: the type of fight I'd expect at a pub in Airlie Beach after a few drinks rather than at a taxi stand in Botswana. Judging by the demeanor of the guy who said not to take the taxi, I believed him. I was told that some shady taxi drivers will rob someone and then leave them in the middle of nowhere. An older lady would then advise me to wait with her, and then a bus turned up. More people generally means more safety. I would get to Gaborone safely but I was still a ways away from Nancy's home and it was late. Minibuses don't run at night, so my only option was to take a taxi. In the safety and sanctity of Nancy's home I was after a long, long journey.
Nancy is an eccentric and interesting lady. She's 49 and originally from France but was brought up in Botswana. She lives on a farm that she built entirely from scratch and she regards herself as a "dog mum" with four dogs. Located in the district of Modipane, her place is ideal to work on your inner peace and stay away from alcohol, meat, and other vices. She and I would take a drive into central Gaborone today and then go to Gaborone Game Reserve. Unlike many people who have to buy the latest vehicle every two or three years, Nancy has been driving the same ute for more than 30 years and describes it as her "old girl." If it ain't broke, don't fix it. As long as a vehicle gets one from Point A to Point B, it shouldn't matter what it looks like on the outside. In the city centre we peroused at the market and then a woman got all upset because I was taking photos of a tusk sculpture. It then made me upset, as I wasn't taking a photo of anything sensitive or private. As a general rule, you shouldn't photograph government buildings, military facilities, police, and the like, and it's never a good idea to photograph people without their approval but I was photographing a sculpture for crying out loud. Oddly, it some places I've been told I can take a photo with my phone but not with my camera. Exchanging Namibian dollars turned out to be impossible, and finding postcards and stamps was rather difficult but not fruitless as I did eventually find some. After a delicious lunch we'd go to Gaborone Game Reserve. The wildlife isn't as varied as in Etosha but I still managed to see zebra, antelope, warthogs, and many other majestic creatures.
You're probably, officially at least, required to remain in your vehicle like at Etosha but with fewer people about there are fewer rules.
Botswana celebrated 50 years of independence in 2016. The dominant ethnic group is the Tswana, and the zebra is celebrated on the country's coat of arms.
There are only a very small number of geocaches here in Gaborone, and I only managed to find one. Nancy was scheduled to teach a class in the afternoon today so I opted for pizza and wine and then met a lovely lady named Anita. We chatted about all sorts of things whilst I told her all about my journey. Anita's brother would give me a lift back to Nancy's home. Nancy would ask me, after making my vegetable tomato soup, to fly Juliette (my drone) and do some photos and a video of the property. Of course she didn't disappoint.
Nancy is vegetarian, and we enjoyed the veggie tomato soup whilst sitting all warm and toasty by the campfire. I simply love the comfort of Nancy's home. Whilst it's a shame I only had enough time to go to Gaborone, I'm happy that I met Nancy and got to experience a sample of this fascinating country. Since I'm going to South Africa again next year I would definitely love to come back and spend more time in Botswana. Thank you no much Nancy for hosting me and giving me a fabulous introduction to Botswana.
