Botswana Footprints

Between the 1880’s and its independence in the 1960’s, Botswana was a poor and peripheral British protectorate known as Bechuanaland. The country is named after its dominant ethnic group, the Tswana or Batswana, and the national language is called Setswana. Since the 1960’s, Botswana has gained international stature as a peaceful and increasingly prosperous democratic state. Botswana has one of the fastest growing economies in the world based on the mining of diamonds and other minerals, as well as the sale of beef to Europe and the world market. This has ensured an extensive development in educational and health facilities in villages and traditional rural towns. Bordered by South Africa, Zambia and Namibia, Botswana’s landscape is a study of contrasts – an expanse of savannahs, deserts, wetlands and salt pans stretching from the red desert dunes of the Kalahari, home of the Bushmen, to the lush green of the waterways of the Okavango Delta. The varied landscapes change with the seasons meaning that, in Botswana, every safari is unique. Botswana is home to a vastly diverse wildlife population, including species such as Elephant, various Antelope, Kudu, Giraffe, Cheetah, Ostrich, Leopard, Wild Dog, Lion and more.