FRANCISTOWN HOTELS BOTSWANA

FRANCISTOWN

Francistown is situated in the eastern border region of Botswana, close to the border with Zimbabwe and outside the arid Kgalagadi district. Not only does the natural environment resemble that of Zimbabwe, but the Francistown area (then called Nyangabgwe) also had close trading and cultural links with the Ndebele people in Bulawayo long before the borders were established by colonial rulers.

Francistown is Botswana’s second oldest town and is also called the “Capital of the North”. The first settlement sprung up as a result of Rhodes’ railway connecting Zimbabwe to the Cape. This little shanty town much resembled the set of a Wild West movie: just one street, a few “saloons” and some shops selling the bare basics. The well-known missionary, Robert Moffat, was the first white person to visit the area. Soon after, Karl Mauch followed. In 1867 Mauch discovered gold along the Tati River and in the Francistown settlement, leading to southern Africa’s first gold rush.

Of course, fortune seekers from all over descended on the town. This prompted one Daniel Francis (after whom Francistown was named) to formally establish the town. Unfortunately, the gold in this part of Botswana is set in narrow reefs, which severely limited the possibility of the small-scale pioneers finding great riches. Today all that remains of that gold rush are abandoned mine shafts and interesting street names. One such street name is “Blue Jacket Street” (the main street of Francistown) which was named after a legendary prospector, Sam Andersen. Sam walked across the Western Desert in Australia, pushing his prospecting wheelbarrow and wearing his famous blue denim jacket.

Today Francistown is a bustling city experiencing an economic boom. It is a very popular stopover for tourists travelling northwards to the Makgadigadi Salt Pans, Chobe, the Okavango Delta, Kasane and Maun. Well-stocked shops make it a very popular destination for shoppers from neighbouring Zimbabwe.

The supreme court of Botswana sits both in Francistown and Lobatse, just south of Gaborone. This make Francistown the judicial capital of the north.

 

About 200 km north of Francistown is a small village known as Nata. This is where the Maun road turn left and the road to Chobe and Kasane continue. This is where you will find Nata Lodge which was rebuilt in 2008 to a luxury lodge.

 

ZIMBABWE HOTELS AND LODGES

 

It is easy to drive in a single day from Francistown to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. In Victoria Falls you will find a boutique hotel, Ilala Lodge which is also the nearest hotel to the Falls spend at least three nights here. If you decided to visit the Eastern Highlands, you can reach Inn on the Vumba in the Vumba mountains within a day from Francistown.

 

NAMIBIAN LODGES

 

Francistown accommodation recommends a number of lodges in Namibia. In the south is a reward winning lodge in a small town with the name Grunau. They call this special lodge Grunau Country House simply because everybody feels at home at this place. In the North is Damaraland an area with fascinating plant life and numerous fossils. At Twyfelfontein Country Lodge in Kaokoland formerly Damaraland you will see it all but in addition some of the best preserved rock paintings. Francistown strongly recommends a few nights at the Waterberg Plateau National Park in Namibia.

GENERAL LINKS

Waterberg Namibia  Twyfelfontein Country Lodge  Nata Lodge   Grunau Country House  Caribbea Bay Hotel