Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park to Botswana

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Wildlife cruise in Chobe, Botswana

© Chris Marais

Africa's first trans-border conservation region, the Kgalagadi Transfronteir Park covers 38 000 square kilometres, with 9 600 falling within South Africa and 28 400 in Botswana. The unhindered expanse allows for large scale natural migration of wildebeest, sprinkbok and eland, along with exceptional viewing of ground squirrel and meerkat.

Other wildlife species to be found here include cheetah, pangolin, leopard, hyena, honey badger, bat-eared fox and lion.

Botswana's capital city, Gaborone, is a scant 15 kilometres from the South Africa-Botswana border post.

The heart of modern-day Gaborone is the Main Mall, which is where you go to shop, eat and watch contemporary Botswana at play. On Saturdays and Sundays, visit the Barankelo Flea Market at the Broadhurst Mall, and sample an astounding array of crafts, gifts, fabrics and foods.

Of course, in latter years, the talk of Gaborone has been Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith and his best-selling No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of books. This has prompted a fascinating four-day cultural safari, during which you follow in the footsteps of the main characters.

Maun, in the far west of the country, is the real frontier town of Botswana. As one of the aerial trans-border points with Botswana and South Africa Maun has one of the busiest airports in southern Africa.

One of the finest South Africa-Botswana trans-border experiences is the miracle of the Okavango Delta. it begins up in the Highlands of Angola, where most of the annual 2 500 mm of rain runs off into the Okavango River, drops south across the Popa Falls and gently cascades into northern Botswana. There, in the middle of the dry June winter season, it is met by a vast mantle of sand - the Kalahari Desert. From the panhandle it spreads out into 16 000 square kilometres of Delta, passing Maun, filling the Makgadikgadi Pans and finally disappearing into the vast sand complex.

Driving north from Gaborone, on a South Africa-Botswana trans-border trip one arrives at the Chobe River just in time for the waterside outing - ‘booze cruise', if you will. This gentle, eco-friendly game viewing experience is totally de-stressing - and the variety of animals coming for their evening drink at the river is astounding. Botswana is truly Africa unplugged.