Safety Tips in Ghanzi District

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Ghanzi is very safe; not very populated with little opportunity to further a career in theft. There are some Bush people who have been reduced to begging which is very rare in most of Botswana. Big cities attract most crime but Gaborone is reasonably safe, though the area around the parliament buildings is very deserted at night and attracts the city’s few street dwellers. You should exercise some caution in the local bars, as you’re bound to be hit on by the Zimbabwean itinerant workers. They are friendly enough and are just looking for a free beer and a UK contact. The trouble comes when you find yourself at the centre of the rivalry that exists between them and the local Tswana drinkers. The Zimbabweans are clearly not wanted in the country and are in direct competition with the locals, who are also looking for a free beer and a contact in the UK. It’s nothing more than shouting matches, with the Tswana shouting down the refugees, telling them to go home but you do get enough of it after a while. The situation in Zimbabwe is putting a lot of strain on its neighbouring countries, though we met a young Irish woman who had travelled alone through the whole country with no trouble other than too many marriage proposals.

One other word of caution, touched on in another section, is that if you are travelling with a nylon tent, DON’T LEAVE FOOD IN THERE! Our tent was slashed by an over eager baboon, who was after the oranges we’d left on our sleeping bags.