Traveling North Through Botswana
“This continent belongs to us too, and we have to enjoy it!” Hana Ali
I arrived in Gaborone, Botswana around 8pm. This time, I took a Wi-Fi equipped coach bus — living large! I was warned that Gaborone was all about American style malls. Sure enough, I was dropped off at a fancy mall where I met my host. I set out to spend a day in Gaborone before heading up north to Maun — home of the infamous Okavango Delta.
My host arranged for a reasonably-priced driver she knew to come pick me up and take me to town. The “driver” turned out to be a college student with his buddy. These kids completely redefined the image I had of Gaborone and showed me their version of “Gabs” as they referred to it. Full time college students and part time hustlers — shuttling people around Gabs for cash. They were eager to talk about life in New York, which they knew so much about. “We want to show you our hood, our very own Harlem and Brooklyn” they told me earlier in the day. We spent a few hours in Old Naledi, their neighborhood, where I met their friends and family. “Here, it is pretty safe, it is not like Joburg” they said, proudly.
Driving around the city, they briefed me on the working class young adult life in Gabs. They had an extensive trap music playlist and were slightly disappointed by my limited knowledge of Future and Rick Ross’s whereabouts. After listening to original songs in English (they new all the words), they would play the Setswana version (Setswana is one of the local languages). “We make our own trap music bro!” one of them said, singing every word in Setswana. I was sad to see my day come to an end in Gabs! They dropped me off at the bus station for my overnight ride to Maun. We promised to stay in touch!
Driving up to Maun at night, I was brutally reminded that it is indeed winter time in Southern Africa. Away from the big concrete buildings and closer the Okavango Delta, the late night/early morning temperatures were no joke. Northern Botswana is the reason most tourists come to the country. It is home to some of the most incredible wildlife on the continent. Botswana tourism, however, is not built for the 99%. In fact, I read recently that even the 1% is starting to question some the absurd safari prices. There is very limited option for affordable tourism but it does exist and I was determine to experience it.
Due to the lack of affordable tourist accommodations in Botswana, the limited options that exist bring together interesting characters. Where I stayed, some evenings, the restaurant/bar areas were hotbeds for racist and settler colonial outbursts. On a particular evening, I sat an earshot away from a group of white southern Africans (I believe from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana). As the night progressed and the rounds continued to flow, the disinhibited conversations turned to how “blacks” govern and how “black rule” have ruined the region. They talked about the “good old days” and still insisted on referring to Zimbabwe as “Rhodesia” — you know, the same Rhodesia that the Charleston murderer, Dylann Roof, glorified. All the while, they were being served round after round by black Botswanans.
It is easy for people like them to color one’s view of an entire country, especially if you are spending a limited time. For me, the experience with my boys in Gabs is much more representative of Botswana than the venom these people were spewing. But it was also a reminder of the history of the region.
In Maun, I made plans to see the Okavango both through water and land. First, I did sunrise canoe trip, which the local call Mokoro ride.
It was a peaceful morning with a spectacular view of birds, flowers and some wild life.
The following day, I went on a game drive at 5am . The vastness of the Okavango Delta is breathtaking! Siting on the back of a retooled Toyota pick up truck, it was surreal to watch the sun come up behind a group of giraffes.
There is something about the order of life in the wild that’s very humbling. Outside of the wild life, the expansiveness the delta is stunning.
The site of a baobab tree that is over a thousand years old and have withstood the beatings of thirsty elephants for generations, reminds you that you are just a visitor on this earth.
From sunrise to sunset, I roamed around the Okavango, admiring its inhabitants.
Now… off to Zimbabwe!
