Gaborone is the capital city of Botswana according to allpubliclibraries. It is one of the youngest and most modern cities in Africa, and also one of the smallest, with only a little more than 200 thousand residents, 10 percent of the country’s population. Located about a thousand meters above sea level, and south of the African continent, it is located between Kgale and Oodi Hills, along the Notwane River in the southeastern portion of Botswana 15 kilometers from the border with South Africa. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the world thanks largely to the mining of diamonds.
Geography
Gaborone is nestled between the Kgale and Oodi Hills, along the Notwane River in the southeastern portion of Botswana, 15 kilometers from the South African border, and both Pretoria and Johannesburg are a few hours away via the connecting highway. The city is located at a height of 1010 meters above sea level.
Gaborone borders the following cities: Ramotswa to the southeast, Mogoditshane to the northwest, and Mochudi to the east, and Tlokweng on the other side of the river. Most of them are Gaborone bedroom towns. Some suburbs in Gaborone are: Broadhurst, Gaborone West, The Village, Naledi, and New Canada. Phakalane, a wealthy neighborhood, is located north of the city limits.
In the center of the city is the commercial center, the financial and tourist center of Gaborone. The mall is home to numerous banks and shopping centers. At the eastern end of the mall is the Civic Center, along with the Pula Arch, which commemorates Botswana’s independence. The Botswana Stock Exchange, the National Museum and Art Gallery, and the main campus of the University of Botswana are also located near the shopping center. To the west of the mall is the Government Enclave. This area contains government buildings such as the National Assembly of Botswana and Ntlo and to Dikgosi buildings. The National Archives building is also located here.
Climate
Gaborone’s climate is hot semi-arid. Most of the year, it is a very sunny city. Summers are generally hot. The nights are cool. In general, summers with little rainfall are warmer than summers with regular rainfall. If there is a drought, the highest temperatures of the year are generally in January or February. If normal rainfall occurs, the highest temperatures are usually in October, just before it starts to rain. During winter, the days are still warm, and the nights are cold.
Precipitation in Gaborone is scant and erratic. Most of the rainfall falls during the summer months, between the months of October and April. There are an average of forty days of thunderstorms per year, most of them occurring during the summer months, and four days of fog, usually occurring during the winter months. Gaborone has been affected by three floods based on records dating back to 1995, one in 2000, one in 2001, and one in 2006. The highest humidity occurs in June at 90%, while the humidity is lowest in September at 28%. The average wind speed in a given year is 12 kilometers per hour.
Recreation areas and nature reserves
Gaborone has a large dam located south of the city along the Gaborone-Lobatse highway, which provides water to Gaborone and Lobatse. The dam is the largest in Botswana, with more than 140 million cubic meters of capacity. It is also beginning to be marketed as a recreational area. The northern end of the reservoir is planned to become an entertainment venue called The Waterfront. There is a yacht club, called the Gaborone Yacht Club, also on the north side of the lake. The south end houses the Kalahari Fishing Club and a new public facility called Scapes Town. City Scapes contains playgrounds and boating facilities. The dam is popular with bird watchers, windsurfing, and fishermen. However, there is no swimming pool due to the parasitic crocodiles and bilharzias.
Kgale Hill is located a few hundred meters from the city. The hill is known as the sleeping giant and is 1,287 meters high. There are three different paths to get to the top, it usually takes two hours.
The Mokolodi Nature Reserve is a 30 square kilometer reserve, which was created in 1994. It is located 12 kilometers south of Gaborone. There are many different species of animals found in the park, such as wild boars, steenbok, kudu, zebras, giraffes, common eland, ostriches, hippos, and rhinos. The park contributes to wildlife projects in Botswana, including: the reintroduction of the white rhino and the relocation of “problem” cheetahs. Mokolodi also runs the Education Center, which teaches children about conservation projects.
Another nature reserve is to the East, it is a park of 600 hectares. The reserve was built in 1988 and is now the third busiest in Botswana, where you can see impalas, kudu, ostriches, wildebeest, zebra, oryx, antelope, gazelle, common Eland and wild boar. The park is famous for its bird watching. Birds in the marshy section of the park include: boubou, swamphen, kingfisher and hornbills. And there is also the St. Claire Lions Park, which exhibits numerous specimens of these felines to visitors.
Somarelang Tikologo is a member based environmental NGO housed inside an ecological park in the center of Gaborone. The organization’s goal is to promote sustainable environmental protection through education, demonstration and promotion of best practices in environmental planning, resource conservation and waste management in Botswana. The park was officially opened by the Botswana Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Onkokame Kitso Mokaila on February 27, 2009. – The park has a playground for children to play throughout the day, an ecological community garden, a recycling drop-off center, and a store where you can buy products made from recycled material.
