Page 23 - Meetings Botswana 2024 FINAL

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Meetings Botswana 2024
T H E D E S T I N A T I O N
As well as the impressive Botswana Conference &
Exhibition Centre, there’s the Gaborone International
Conference Centre (GICC) at Peermont’s Grand Palm,
and new international entrants in the market include
Hilton and Avani.
Among the unique locations which offer up a flavour
of Africa is Mokolodi, 15km south of Gaborone, featuring
the World’s View Conference Centre as well as numerous
opportunities for game-viewing and casual barbecue dining
alongside the serious meeting agenda – while Phakalane
has a four-star hotel with recently revamped meeting
facilities set within an 18-hole championship golf resort.
More urban attractions in Gaborone include the
Three Chiefs Monument in the Central Business District
(CBD); the National Museum and Art Gallery with crafts,
modern art and sculpture exhibits; Thapong Visual Arts
Centre and adjacent No. 1 Ladies Coffee House, named
after Alexander McCall Smith’s eponymous Number 1
Ladies’ Detective Agency books, and the 40,000-capacity
National Stadium. (Tours are also available taking in film
locations from the HBO series …)
Nearby, Kgale Hill is an ideal site for dramatic African
sunsets; Gaborone Dam is home to the Gaborone Yacht
Club and has facilities for non-motorised water-sports as
well as fishing, while the Gaborone Game Reserve is well-
stocked with animal and bird species from ostrich to zebra.
Father afield, the village of Thamaga is renowned for
its pottery and other crafts at the Botswelelo Centre while
the nearby Bahurutshe Cultural Village offers a taste of
traditional arts, crafts and dancing.
But for something completely different, a unique trip
on any itinerary is a visit to Jwaneng, the world’s richest
diamond mine operated as a joint venture between
DeBeers and the Botswana Government – the operation
also supports the adjacent Jwana Game Park offering up a
contrasting day trip.
CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
Probably the most accessible of Botswana’s natural
treasures, the 11,700 sq km Chobe National Park also
offers the widest choice of accommodation – including
several resorts such as Maun Lodge and Cresta Mowana
which are of a size, and with every facility to cater to small-
and medium-sized meetings and events. Equally important
are the natural attractions.
The park is famous as being home to the largest
concentration of elephants in the world, estimated at
around 120,000 – a sundowner cruise to view these,
hippopotamus and other river residents, with a glass of
something in hand is an ideal inclusion in any itinerary.
Other tick-list sights include zebra, giraffe, Cape
buffalo, antelope, lions and leopard plus countless numbers
of brightly coloured bird species.
The latter can be seen year-round, with migratory
arrivals in summer (November to April), while generally
the highest concentrations of animals are spotted between
April and November.
OKAVANGO DELTA
Located in the north-west of Botswana, in the Kalahari
Basin, the Okavango Delta ranges in size between 15,000
and 22,000 sq km, according to seasonal flooding – and
most visitors will head for the 5,000 sq km Moremi Game
Reserve there, established to protect wildlife some 50 years
ago before conservation became a hot topic.
Above: Chobe sunset.