Gaborone Dam and a Hill

Find our way around Town

- 4 May 2013 -

Zima was eager to explorer Gaborone, so she organized a car for the weekend.. Seeing that we were practically in South Africa, the road rules and mannerisms were something we were already familiar with.

So after careful consideration of our options, and after I downloaded a map of the city we decided that we would go visit the Gaborone Dam. We navigated our way through town to what looked like an entrance road... and it was, but we were stopped at the gate by security and were told that we need a permit to enter. We enquired as to where we could get one and were told that we need to go back to town and find "water utilities".... we asked for directions, and got a very rough idea of where we needed to go... So we headed in the general direction. It wasn't long until we realized we weren't coming right and had to ask 3 additional times for directions, each time getting a different version, but eventually we found it. Zima went inside and stood in a queue just to find that we first needed a fishing permit then need to come back and buy an access permit. It was at this point we realized that this place isn't made for tourism.

We gave up with the effort and decided to move on. I did notice a road on my map that also looked like it might lead to the dam, but it turns out it the road was blocked off and not really in use.

So we turned back and headed in the direction we came from... On the way we noticed an open gate heading in the direction of the dam and decided to try it out. It wasn't long until we spotted the dam for the very first time.

It was breath taking, a truly unspoiled environment. Turns out that a lack of information and lack of easy access to the dam has left the place in a pristine condition and truly beautiful. It was at this point it dawned on us that perhaps we weren't allowed to be here, but seeing that we were already here I decided to take some photos and make an effort to leave it as uninterrupted as possible.

We didn't stay long, we just admired the place and decided to move on. It's truly a pity that the dam isn't accessible to others to see and enjoy and that the Botswana government doesn't make more effort to cater for tourists in their capital city, but on the other hand I understand that once you open the doors, things might not stay as perfect as they are intended to be.

We now headed to a hill on the edge of town called Kgale Hill. Also not fantastically advertised, and they are mining the rock on the edge of the hill, so finding the place took a little time, but we eventually got there. Zima decided she doesn't have the energy to climb the hill so she said she will wait in the car for me.

I started climbing and soon realised I'm not as fit as I should be, but I kept going.

It wasn't long before I could get a "bird's eye view" of Gaborone.

I could have gone higher up, but I didn't have the energy and I was also starting to feel bad that I have left Zima in the car, so I started heading down, but not before I captured some images of the quarry on the foot of the hill.

When I returned, Zima had turned down the car seat and was relaxing, she was keen to go to a beef festival 80km west of Gaborone, but I was tired and exhausted from the walk up the hill, so we retired back to hotel.... Tomorrow was another day.