Getting out
Gabarone is one of the more expensive African capitals, meaning that accommodation is not very cheap at all. We ended up in a place, the Hotel Crystal Palace, which reminded me of communist-style hotels from the 1960. It's clean, but everything is worn out and there's little attention to detail. The worn out bit is puzzling, since the hotel was only built a few years ago.
With not much to see in Gabs, we drove down to Madikwe, a supposedly impressive game reserve on the South African side of the border with Botswana. We tried two gates but were turned away on both occasions. We had to have made reservations upfront before being allowed to enter.
You'd think they'd be happy with any visitor, since the reserve is quite a bit out of the way. But no.
We drove down to the Hartbeespoortdam instead. The lake and its surroundings feel like Switzerland and it's a place which, on weekends, is overrun by day trippers from Jo'burg and Pretoria. It's not bad, as it feels a bit more authentic than the malls in both these towns.