This sprawling and unattractive capital (pop. 200,000) is not one of our favorite African cities - we recommend moving on quickly. Gaborone's best attraction is the national museum, which displays a wonderful collection of local handicrafts and traditional objects. The museum also has a number of stuffed animals. Just east of town, the small Gaborone Game Park provides a meager sampling of Botswana wildlife (a variety of antelope and a white rhino). If you have to spend the night in Gaborone, the best hotels are the Best Western President Hotel (overlooking the Mall market), the Grand Palm Hotel Casino Resort and the Gaborone Sun, which has good restaurants, a bar, a nightclub and a casino.
If you have some extra time, you could take a day trip to David Livingstone's house. Although this site is not on most tour agendas, it can be reached from Gaborone in an ordinary vehicle without four-wheel drive. Botswana was the only place in Africa where the missionary/explorer lived for any length of time. The stone foundations of Livingstone's home and small school lie just west of the Kolobeng River (a dry streambed for most of the year) on the north side of the gravel road between Thamaga and Kanye. The foundations are surrounded by a decrepit barbed-wire fence marked with a small museum placard. While there is not actually much to see in this dry, dusty spot, the quietness of the surrounding scrub has not changed much since the 1840s: You can stand where Livingstone once did, and look out on a small part of Africa that is almost identical to what he and his family experienced. You might also gain an insight into why he left the isolated life at this mission to become an adventurer.
Tourist information about another destination in Botswana
