Page 21 - Meetings Botswana 2024 FINAL

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Meetings Botswana 2024
first rains, a lot of aquatic birds, especially flamingos
visit the area, feeding upon a layer of blue-green algae
growing in the Sowa pan and surrounding areas. This is an
important part of Botswana’s ecosystem and is a must see
for any visitor passing through the area.
A Homeland for the Earliest Human Species
Apart from the memorable experiences of Botswana parks
and reserves, the country is legendary for its heritage
and historic sites, which may take visitors through
man’s very origins and challenge his very understanding
of creation. Some, like the Makgadikgadi Pans, have a
spiritual connection fuelled by its vastness of space, the
sky’s unsettling colours and its quietness, often creating a
primitive awareness of one’s own insignificance and place
as a part of the ancient timeline of humanity. The area has
a long geographical and archaeological history, providing
a snapshot into the very cradle of humankind, if one were
to go by a 2019 research paper based on mitochondrial
genetic evidence. Published in the journal entitled
‘Nature,’ the study points out that groups of anatomically
modern humans migrated to the Makgadikgadi Pans
about 200,000 years ago, and traces the origins of the
deepest maternal lineage known to humans to this part of
Botswana. It is not surprising then that the hunter-gatherer
San people of Botswana residing here and in much of the
Kalahari Desert have been considered to possess one of the
oldest cultures on the planet.
Well-preserved records of life during the Middle and
Late Stone Age periods are also found at Tsodilo Hills in
the extreme north-western part of the country. Here lies a
tapestry of some of the highest concentrations of rock art
such as carved art objects of animals and people, reflecting
their nature of life, their identity and their character. As a
result, the hills have been designated a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in recognition and in order to protect such
peculiar aspects of the planet’s culture and natural heritage.
This is but a glimpse into the paradise that is Botswana;
a country with an astonishing diversity of tourism
offerings, spanning from the desolate savannah grasslands
of the Kalahari Desert to the lush sprawling plains around
the Okavango Delta; the grey, surreal landscape of the
Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to hilly mysterious caverns of the
Tsodilo. Above all else, Botswana is the land of a cheerful
and welcoming populace, ready to receive a visitor with
a smile and the promise of an authentic and rewarding
cultural experience in a free and secure setting. It is the
ideal MICE tourism hub which rarely fails to amaze.
Below: The Makgadikgadi
Pans is an incredibly
important breeding
ground for Greater and
Lesser Flamingos. Tens of
thousands of these colourful
birds arrive into the pans
during the rainy season to
build their nests and develop
their young. Image by
Steven Stockhall.
T H E W O W F A C T O R