Sport for All: Africa Rising, Communities in Motion Unconfirmed
17–21 October 2027
Half a day to spare
North-west Botswana
Fly Gaborone–Maun, then light aircraft or road
The world's largest inland delta and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Okavango River empties into the Kalahari rather than the sea, creating a seasonal wetland of channels, islands and floodplain that supports elephant, lion, buffalo, hippo and several hundred bird species. Explored by mokoro (dugout canoe), boat, vehicle or on foot with a guide.
Far north, near Kasane
Fly Gaborone–Kasane
Botswana's first national park and home to one of the densest elephant populations in Africa. The Chobe riverfront in the dry season draws very large herds down to water, and boat-based game viewing gets you close without a vehicle. Victoria Falls is a short transfer across the border.
Central Botswana
Roughly a day's drive north-west of Gaborone
One of the largest protected areas on earth — open grassland, fossil river valleys and remarkable silence. Best known for black-maned Kalahari lion, big cheetah country, and night skies with effectively no light pollution.
15 km south of Gaborone
Around 20 minutes by road
A community-focused reserve on Gaborone's doorstep with giraffe, rhino, zebra, kudu and warthog, plus an education centre used by Botswana schools. The most realistic wildlife option for delegates who only have a spare half-day.
Eastern Gaborone
Inside the city
A small reserve within the city limits — impala, wildebeest, ostrich, and a bird hide on the wetland. Useful for an early-morning walk before sessions begin.
South-west Gaborone
Around 15 minutes by road
Gaborone's landmark hill and its most popular walk. An hour or so of steady climbing gets you a view over the whole city and the Notwane valley. Go early: October mornings are the only comfortable time.
Central Business District, Gaborone
City centre
Bronze statues of the three chiefs — Khama III, Sebele I and Bathoen I — who travelled to Britain in 1895 to argue for the protectorate's independence from company rule. A short and worthwhile stop for context on how modern Botswana came about.
Extend your trip
North-central Botswana
Fly or drive via Francistown or Maun
The remains of a superlake, now a series of salt pans covering an area larger than Switzerland. In the dry season the pans are a blinding white void; after the rains they draw zebra migration and flamingo in the tens of thousands. Kubu Island's baobabs on the pan edge are among the most photographed places in the country.
North-west, near the Namibian border
Via Maun and Shakawe
A UNESCO World Heritage Site holding more than four thousand rock paintings across four quartzite hills rising from otherwise flat Kalahari sand. The site has been continuously significant to local communities for millennia and is often described as one of the world's great concentrations of rock art.
