This outdoor traffic-free market plus surrounding shops and banks is a bustling collection of stalls selling leather goods, clothes, baskets, shoes and food.  It opens early in the day.  

A good view is from the balcony of the President Hotel (where the No 1 Ladies’ Detective, Mma Ramotswe drinks coffee, see Recommended Reading page) and steps from the balcony lead down to the market place.  There’s a lot to enjoy here.  Botswana’s leather goods are of very good quality.

A large showroom (on the outskirts of Gaborone) with a great variety of wooden figures, pottery bowls, decorated ostrich eggs, books, the famous Botswana baskets and more.  The baskets are hand-made in the north-west of the country using the fibre from palm leaves and natural dyes. The basket weavers work in a co-operative fostered by the company, producing items ranging from small, dish-shaped plates to large, lidded grain stores.  There is a wide variety of designs of the patterns in the baskets, some traditional and simple, some exceptionally intricate.  There are items on display from other African countries too, so, if Botswana items are sought, it may be necessary to ask for clarification about the origins.  There’s a café and an outdoor area for concerts held by local musicians.  Entry to the showroom is free but a charge is made for the concerts.  About 15 mins by car.

https://botswanacraft.com/

Add info about Riverwalk Mall

Just outside the city, this monument celebrates the important role played by the three chiefs who travelled to the UK to persuade the government to reject the attempt by Cecil Rhodes (South Africa) to annex Botswana.  Kgosi means tribal chief in Setswana, dikgosi is plural. They were successful and the Protectorate was established.  The monument was sculpted by North Korean artists in 2005.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Dikgosi_Monument

Within walking distance of the President Hotel, the museum displays Botswana’s natural and cultural heritage and the next-door gallery has exhibitions of art, crafts and photography.  The museum’s researchers are looking at geology, ethnology, zoology and entomology. There are over 100,000 artefacts and 4000 insect specimens. Special exhibitions are frequently held.  Admission is free.

Interesting architecture, surrounded by trees and flowers, plus several important monuments, including a statue of Seretse Khama, first president of Botswana by Norman Pearce (UK), and a memorial to the Batswana people who served in World War II.  Don’t take photographs of the buildings, however: for some reason, this is forbidden!

About a twenty minute drive from Gaborone - a large game reserve set up by the Mokolodi Wildlife Foundation (patron Alexander McCall Smith) with rhino, giraffe, zebra,  kudu, hippos, cheetahs,  steenbok, crocodiles, tortoise, warthogs, wildebeest, ground squirrels and many large and small birds and insects.  Mokolodi has a breeding programme for its cheetahs.  

There’s a restaurant and shop.  Game drives with expert guides are best taken in the early morning or evening when more animals are likely to be seen.  There are modest fees for the two hour game drive.  It’s a good idea to phone and reserve a place on a game drive.

https://mokolodi.com/

Add info about chalets for overnight stay

About thirty minutes from Gaborone: a co-operative owned by local people, set up by Swedish aid workers in 1973.  This workshop does dyeing, spinning and weaving.  The results are interesting wall-hangings, runners and place-mats, with local scenes and individual designs – all for sale at reasonable  prices in the adjoining shop.  Entry is free.

Add info about our visit here

https://phuthadikobomuseum.org.bw/

The Pelegano Village Industry is here: a glass factory, metal workers, pottery and sorghum milling.  There’s a shop selling pottery items.  Nearby is the Veld Products Research Centre which is developing the sale of indigenous plants.

https://www.instagram.com/gabane_pottery/

We are looking for a cattle post or farm that is willing to welcome visitors - somewhere within easy distance of Gaborone or Serowe.

Not sure if we want to update or delete this section? Might still be worth providing info about what a cattle post is if people get to visit one.

In a red brick building once home to the Khama family, this museum has a large and interesting collection of photographs, correspondence, furniture and artefacts that tell the story of Serowe and the Khama family.  The author Bessie Head also features here. There is an entry charge which provides for a guide to explain things and who will take you to the Khama graves in the royal cemetery nearby, and if you ask, will also take you to the Serowe market where San woodcarvings are on sale.  About ten minutes from the Serowe Hotel.

http://www.botswanabeckons.com/places/places-central-botswana/item/khama-iii-memorial-museum

Established in the early 1990s to conserve the dwindling rhino population, the sanctuary opened with four white rhinos brought from the Chobe National Park and eight others from South Africa.  Later, black rhinos were introduced.  Both types of rhino have flourished and produced offspring and some white rhinos have been re-introduced, for example, in the Makgadigadi. There are 30 other animal species and 230 bird species to be seen. The entry charge includes a two-hour game drive with an expert guide.  It’s best to phone ahead to book a game drive.  The shop sells local crafts. 

https://www.khamarhinosanctuary.org.bw/  Phone: (267) 463-0713

This is an impressive, very large church and its tall steeple is an important landmark for the town, as it was for missionaries, prospectors and explorers who came from far and wide to Serowe. It was reconstructed by Chief Tshekedi of the Bamangwato when the tribe moved to Serowe from Old Palapye in 1902, using the stonework from the old church. 

Examples of local woodcarving are on display in the Khama III Museum and on sale at stalls in the Serowe Market.

http://www.knowbotswana.com/arts-and-crafts-in-botswana.html