Gaborone

We are staying in the leafy Suburbs of Gaborone, the Capital and largest city in Botswana. Botswana is a large country with a relatively small population, mostly clustered along the Southern border with the larger, more populous and more powerful South Africa. Much of the northern part of the country is barren salt pan and the Kalahari Desert, where there are natural resources and wildlife, but you probably wouldn't want to live there. The parallels with Canada are obvious.

Also, compared to South Africa, it seems a very integrated society. The gap between rich and poor is still significant, but much less profound than further south. Botswana has major diamond reserves, and the government is trying to leverage this boon to build a country with excellent infrastructure, hoping the seeds of a stable economy will come, and they will be ready for the inevitable end of the diamonds. 

We took an early-morning climb with Tig's cousins up Mt. Kgale, the "second highest point in Botswana" (did I mention it was a flat country?). The "Sleeping Giant" is a 1287m pile of weathered granite blocks, about 400m above surrounding Gaborone. The 45-minute hike up is popular for sporty locals, sweaty tourists, and the occasional baboon. Rather like the Grouse Grind. Except, of course, for the baboons.

We also took a much shorter hike up to Kobokwe's Cave (also known as Livingston's Cave),where the rocks here were quartzites and pebble quartzites. The legend around this cave involve the disappearance of a condemned criminal (Kobokwe) into it. After his mysterious (and therefore magical) vanishment, it became a convenient place to banish witches and other troublemakers. The story goes that Missionary David Livingston once accepted a challenge to spend a night sleeping in the cave. When he emerged alive in the morning, the local Chief was astonished, so impressed with the protective powers of Livingston's God that he accepted Christian Conversion for his people. And everyone in Africa lived happily ever after. 

The cave now appears to be a popular place for local youth to urinate.

We are enjoying the hospitality of family, and the relative cosmopolitanity of Gaborone before we head off for a couple of days in the Kalahari. Hopefully the rain we brought with us from Canada will stop soon (although the locals seem to appreciate it!)