Botswana traveller's guide
The land that is today known as Botswana is thought to have
sustained flourishing farming communities since the seventh
century. In the fourteenth century the land fell under the control
of the powerful Tswana people who gradually migrated from the north
of Africa to establish a new state which would prosper from
agriculture, cattle herding and hunting. The rule of the Tswana
people was undermined in the nineteenth century by the emergence of
other settlers. These included the Boers, who fought with British
colonists for control of Botswana. The local Tswana rulers allied
with the British to defeat the Boers and Botswana became a British
protectorate in 1890, remaining so until it gained independence in
1966.
Botswana is landlocked between Namibia, Zimbabwe and South
Africa and experiences a subtropical desert climate which broadly
results in two seasons. The wet season, summer, spans the months
from November to April with January and February the wettest
months. Torrential downpours can last from a single afternoon to
several days.
In march and April, temperatures are hospitable and rain becomes
increasingly sporadic. In the dry season - winter - which lasts
from May to October, humidity is low and the chances of any
rainfall are slight. In the hottest months of September and October
daytime temperatures can reach 38C (100F), cooling only marginally
at night whilst in May the temperatures are considerably more
hospitable, attaining an average maximum of 28C (80F).
Botswana's agricultural heritage informs much of the nation's
cuisine and food tends to be wholesome, tasty and based around
fresh meats, cereals and vegetables. Sorghum wheat or maize are
traditionally made into a porridge (bogobe) which accompanies
dishes such as the popular seswaa - a heart stew of salted beef and
onions. Other specialities include serobe, a hot dish of finely
chopped animal intestines, offal and fat; Vetkoek, a ball of
deep-fried dough which is cut in half and filled with minced and
spiced meat and Mopane, a caterpillar-like worm which may be
boiled, roasted or deep fried. Rooibos tea is a popular hot
beverage whilst home-brewed beer, and especially ginger beer, and
extremely potent palm wine are the most commonly encountered
alcoholic drinks.