![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
23.75° S, 23.73° E
Ok, finally have time to visit a new random point on the Earth: 23.75° S, 23.73° E. Looks like it is back to Africa!
Physical geography:
We are in the Kalahari Desert, which is really more semi-arid savanna than desert. While it is very sandy and dry, there are trees here and probably wildlife a plenty, including many of the charismatic animals people think of when you think African wildlife: elephants and giraffes, lions and cheetahs! It probably looks something like:
It's also as flat as can be, not a hill in sight. It is hot here, but not like the brutal, long lasting heat of the Sahara, it's usually 80s (F) in the summer and 70s in the winter and can get chilly at night, possibly even reaching freezing. Annual rainfall is similar to southern California with definite wet and dry seasons but with dry being the winter (June-August). The savanna here looks undisturbed and healthy, it's about 10 miles to the nearest signs of people.
Human geography:
Politically we are in the Kweneng District of Botswana, which is mostly rural. We're about 10 miles to the nearest road, which is the paved A12, the major road crossing the district. About 20 miles to the nearest town of Dutlwe of about 1,000 people. About 120 miles to nearest real city, Molepolole, and 150 miles to the nearest commercial airport. Our point would be within the ancestral homeland of the San people (aka Bushman), a traditionally semi-nomadic people and there are a few that still practice a hunter-gatherer lifestyle that might roam the area.
Most of the people living nearby today are going to be of the Bakwena or Tswana ethnic group that make up the majority of Botswana. The Bakwena are a Bantu people that established themselves in the area in the middle ages and they were still there as an independent chiefdom through most of the 1800s when Europeans began visiting the area. When the Dutch and English established colonized South Africa the Bakwena maintained mostly peaceful relations and a prosperous ivory trade with the Europeans though there were some battles when Boers attempted to settle on Tswana land. In 1885 the British established a protectorate over the land and it became Bechuanaland, the British were worried about German interest in the area, the local chiefs accepted as they wanted protection from the Boers. The Tsawana chiefs maintained nominal independence and successfully resisted being incorporated into South Africa. The British never moved into the area in significant numbers and granted Botswana independence in 1964 and one of the Tswana chiefs was elected its first president in a peaceful transition. Since then the country has enjoyed much better political and economic stability than most of its neighbors.
The language spoken near our point is most likely Tswana, though if you're there as a tourist most folks know English as well. The locals are mostly Christian with the Bakwena having been converted way back in 1834 by none other than David Livingstone.
While there are some cattle ranches in the area, if there's anyone at our point they are going to be hunters or tourists. We are just outside the Khutse Game Reserve, one of Botswana's National Parks, and the terrain is pretty similar, friendly both to wildlife and to off-road driving, perhaps a bit sandier than in the park. There are definitely some off-road tracks visible in the satellite imagery nearby. Nearest campground with any amenities is about 20 miles away so it would be just you and the critters.
For a humorous look at this area watch the film The Gods Must Be Crazy.
Physical geography:
We are in the Kalahari Desert, which is really more semi-arid savanna than desert. While it is very sandy and dry, there are trees here and probably wildlife a plenty, including many of the charismatic animals people think of when you think African wildlife: elephants and giraffes, lions and cheetahs! It probably looks something like:
It's also as flat as can be, not a hill in sight. It is hot here, but not like the brutal, long lasting heat of the Sahara, it's usually 80s (F) in the summer and 70s in the winter and can get chilly at night, possibly even reaching freezing. Annual rainfall is similar to southern California with definite wet and dry seasons but with dry being the winter (June-August). The savanna here looks undisturbed and healthy, it's about 10 miles to the nearest signs of people.
Human geography:
Politically we are in the Kweneng District of Botswana, which is mostly rural. We're about 10 miles to the nearest road, which is the paved A12, the major road crossing the district. About 20 miles to the nearest town of Dutlwe of about 1,000 people. About 120 miles to nearest real city, Molepolole, and 150 miles to the nearest commercial airport. Our point would be within the ancestral homeland of the San people (aka Bushman), a traditionally semi-nomadic people and there are a few that still practice a hunter-gatherer lifestyle that might roam the area.
Most of the people living nearby today are going to be of the Bakwena or Tswana ethnic group that make up the majority of Botswana. The Bakwena are a Bantu people that established themselves in the area in the middle ages and they were still there as an independent chiefdom through most of the 1800s when Europeans began visiting the area. When the Dutch and English established colonized South Africa the Bakwena maintained mostly peaceful relations and a prosperous ivory trade with the Europeans though there were some battles when Boers attempted to settle on Tswana land. In 1885 the British established a protectorate over the land and it became Bechuanaland, the British were worried about German interest in the area, the local chiefs accepted as they wanted protection from the Boers. The Tsawana chiefs maintained nominal independence and successfully resisted being incorporated into South Africa. The British never moved into the area in significant numbers and granted Botswana independence in 1964 and one of the Tswana chiefs was elected its first president in a peaceful transition. Since then the country has enjoyed much better political and economic stability than most of its neighbors.
The language spoken near our point is most likely Tswana, though if you're there as a tourist most folks know English as well. The locals are mostly Christian with the Bakwena having been converted way back in 1834 by none other than David Livingstone.
While there are some cattle ranches in the area, if there's anyone at our point they are going to be hunters or tourists. We are just outside the Khutse Game Reserve, one of Botswana's National Parks, and the terrain is pretty similar, friendly both to wildlife and to off-road driving, perhaps a bit sandier than in the park. There are definitely some off-road tracks visible in the satellite imagery nearby. Nearest campground with any amenities is about 20 miles away so it would be just you and the critters.
For a humorous look at this area watch the film The Gods Must Be Crazy.