Botswana

Botswana is a very good safari country, vast, sparsely populated and many game parks (Okavango, Chobe, Central Kalahari, ...). But the heat, the drought, and in some places the dangerous animals make it a trivial cycling country. But maybe this is exactly the challenge!

Setswana (translated: language of the Tswana people ") and English are the 2 official languages. Most people can speak English, only sporadically you will find someone who can only speak Setswana. Learn a few words of Setswana, and many doors will open for you.

• Dumela Ma / Ra (Good day to a woman / man),
• Kea Leboga (Thank you)
• Ee (Yes),
• Nnyaa (no)

There are quite a lot of countries that can enter Botswana for 90 days without a visa.

Source: Wikipedia.

Although "safety" is always very relative, you can call Botswana a very safe country. The people are very sympathetic, aggression is not at all in their culture. The police still walk around unarmed, prisoners walk untouched across the street to the hospital and back here in Gaborone.

In addition to the western court system for serious offenses, each village has its "Kgotla", a kind of people's court for minor offenses where the village elders sit. The respect for this last court is great, and petty crime is low.

Drinkable water

• Water from the tap is better to avoid.
• The beer is not expensive and of excellent quality. Brewery a. De coq has many varieties, including bock beers and beer of 12%.

The biggest problem in Botswana is AIDS. It is estimated that about 23.5% of the adult population is infected, the highest in the world. The risk of contamination via contaminated needles is small, and the hospitals are well equipped and of a high standard. Condoms (if you have such plans) are widely available (at street stalls, petrol stations, ...), and are also made available free of charge in toilets in almost all public buildings.

Best period

• The dry season runs from april to october, and this is without a doubt the best cycling season. The weather will be dry and clear for 6 months, with a temperature between 20 and 30 degrees during the day and a temperature at night that can sometimes cool down to freezing point. The big advantage of this season for the camper is that all small dangerous animals (snakes, scorpions, ...) hibernate.
• The rainy season lasts from november to march. It is then warmer (30 ° to 35 °)
• In the north botswana has a subtropical climate, in the south a semi-arid desert climate.
• Winters can be cold with freezing temperatures typical of desert areas.
• Dry winds sometimes cause sand storms from the kalahari desert. The country sometimes falls prey to long periods of drought.
• The tourist high season is situated around the holiday periods of the botswanese and south african schools. Schools have holidays from august 9 to september 9, from december 9 to january 21 and from april 9 to may 9.

Average temperature

• In the winter months (june-august) the daytime temperature rises to 25 °, at night it can cool down to around 5.
• In the summer months (december-february) it will be 35 to 40 °, and it will remain warm at night. Then the heat storms also develop in the afternoon.

**Spare parts
**

Gaborone has 1 bicycle repairman worthy of that name. He has many qualitative parts in stock and will be able to help you with repairs. You can find it across the bp gas station, at the station mall, not far from gaborone's central bus station. (note from admin: please add marker to the map if you know where this is).