Botswana National Parks
The best-selling book, The Cry Of The Kalahari, and the hilarious feature films The Gods Must Be Crazy (I and II) and a large feature story in National Geographic have assisted Botswana in gaining international recognition as a top safari destination.
More than four-fifths of the country is covered by the Kalahari sands, scrub savannah and grasslands- The land is basically flat with a mean elevation of 3280 feet (1000 m). Over 85 percent of the population is concentrated near the better water resources in the eastern part of the country.
The Kalahari Desert is not a barren desert of rolling dunes as one might imagine. It has scattered grasslands, bush, shrub and tree savannah, dry river beds, and occasional rocky outcrops.
The "pula" is Botswana 's unit of currency, and also the Setswana word for rain, which is so critical to this country's wealth and survival. The rainy season is December-March, with the heaviest rains in January and February. Winter brings almost cloudless skies. January (summer) temperatures range from an average maximum of 92° F (33° C) to an average minimum of 64° F (18° C). July (winter) temperatures range from an average maximum of 72° F (22° C) to an average minimum of 42° F (6° C). Frost occasionally occurs in midwinter.
The San, Basarwa, or Bushmen were the first inhabitants of the area and may have come to southern Africa 30,000 years ago. Most of the estimated 60,000 Bushmen live in what is now Botswana and Namibia . Their language uses "clicking" sounds, distinguishing it from Bantu and most other languages in the world.
Traditionally, Bushmen have been nomadic hunter-gatherers, but today only a few live this kind of existence in the Kalahari. Men hunt with poisoned arrows and spears while women use sticks to dig up roots and gather other food for the group.
Bushmen are unique in that they distribute wealth equally among the members of the group, share in the day-to-day aspects of life, and believe they are not superior to their environment and must live in harmony with it.
The Sotho-Tswana group of people comprise well over half of the country's population and speak the Setswana language. The Batswana (citizens of Botswana ) prefer to live in large, densely populated villages. Cattle are the most important sign of wealth and prestige. Ancestor worship was the chief form of religion until missionaries arrived in 1816 and converted large numbers of Batswana to Christianity.
Bechuanaland became a protectorate of the British Empire on September 30, 1885, and became the independent country of Botswana on September 30, 1966.
Today, very few of the people dress in their traditional costume except for special celebrations. However, for many Batswana, tribal customs are still important in day-to-day life. English is spoken by most of the people, and especially by the youth.
Botswana has a multiparty democracy and is one of the most economically successful and politically stable countries on the continent. Diamonds are Botswana 's greatest foreign exchange earner, followed by cattle (there are three times as many cattle in Botswana as people), copper-nickel matte, and tourism.