Straddling the Tropic of Capricorn, and a little larger than France, the Republic of Botswana is a relatively flat country, most of which is covered by the Kalahari Sands. Current population is around 2,300,000 people with 80% of that concentrated in the eastern side of the country where the capitol Gaborone and other major towns are.
Set at an average of 1000m above sea level, Botswana can be hot and cold. Winter begins in May with temperatures dropping right down to zero and below in the desert region. Midday temperatures are around 25 – 30 degrees C. July is generally the coldest month although there is no rain and the skies are an uninterrupted clear blue. By August it starts to warm up a little and September can be distinctly hot. October and November are the very hot months that herald the rainy season, which extends right through to March and April. Temperatures during the hot months can exceed 40 degrees C during the day and can drop to 25 degrees C at night. Rainfall is erratic, with the Okavango and Chobe regions receiving an average annual of around 450mm a year with a 30% variation.
Botswana is a Republic and is run as a multi-party democracy, with elections being held every 5 years. There has been no change in government since independence in 1966. Its considerable wealth, namely diamonds and beef, is managed conservatively with approximately 5 years of foreign reserves in hand. Tourism is also now considered a major factor to the country’s wealth.
The main area of tourism is the north and north west of the country comprising the Chobe and Okavango regions respectively. The Okavango Delta is fed by the Kavango River, which rises in the Angolan highlands. The rainfall feeding this river generally occurs in the latter part of the year with the floodwater reaching the ‘pan handle’ of the delta in about January. This water then takes around 6 months to spread through the 16 000 square kilometre delta before reaching Maun in June/July. In years gone by, this water would then flood on down the Boteti River to Orapa, the main diamond mine.
