Talk:Botswana

Formatting and language conventions For articles about Botswana, please use the 24-hour clock to show times, e.g. 09:00-12:00 and 18:00-00:00. Please show prices in this format: P100 and not BWP 100. Please use British spelling (colour, travelled, centre, realise, analogue, programme, defence).

Regions

No regions yet for Botswana. Here's a starting point:

• Eastern Botswana
• Gaborone Area
• Kalahari Desert
• Makgadikgadi Pans
• Ngamiland / Okavango Delta

These are called districts. Some incudes, South East,Central, Kgalagadi... Donald Ralokwae (talk) 11:28, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Alternative banner for this article?

Banner currently used in this article

Suggested new alternative banner

I created a new alternative banner for this article (I initially created it first and foremost so that it would be used at the top of the parallel article in the Hebrew edition of Wikivoyage, yet I later decided to also suggest that the English Wikivoyage community would consider using it here as well). So, which banner do you prefer having at the top of this article? ויקיג'אנקי (talk) 05:15, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

The rock paintings are an unusual subject for a banner, but the picture of elephants has a very good composition. Here's another case in which I'd ask whether the new (or perhaps the old) banner could be used for another article, as we should find room for both, if possible. Ikan Kekek (talk) 05:31, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

Agree with Ikan. Keep the rocks. --Andrewssi2 (talk) 12:38, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

Keep. Danapit (talk) 18:40, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

1. 1, more distinctive Syced (talk) 09:17, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

I prefer the new banner as the one currently used is similar to that of Tsodilo (cc @Ikan Kekek). SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 08:55, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

It's not identical, and I don't care about the similarity because it's such an unusual subject. I still would like for the elephants to be used in a different article, but not this one. Ikan Kekek (talk) 14:32, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

But Botswana isn't really known for its rock art to be fair. I often associate Botswana with wildlife, similar to what I do with ZA. I don't think the rock art is even well known – it didn't have an article until 2021/12/04. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 06:23, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and as you said, Botswana shares a draw of wildlife with several other African, and specifically Southern African countries (Namibia, too, for example). Ikan Kekek (talk) 09:18, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

Fair point. But perhaps the new banner can be used on Elephants. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 09:21, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

Tough choice. The current banner there is at least as good, but I think it's better we're looking more closely at the elephants. Ikan Kekek (talk) 09:32, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

Merge all regions

I previously put merge tags on the empty and rather under-developed region articles. However, they were removed with the reason given that I failed to give a reason for adding the merge tags (I thought the reason must've been obvious, but maybe it wasn't). So please, let us have the discussion here. Hobbitschuster (talk) 00:10, 9 December 2017 (UTC)

I figured that was your reason for placing the tags, but:

1. Changes to a regional structure are usually discussed first, I don't see why this is different,
2. There's no policy or guidance that I'm aware of that under-developed region articles should be gotten rid of, and
3. Based on my travels there, I think it's reasonable to have subregions.

For that last point, I've got a couple of reasons. One, Botswana isn't a small country -- according to Wikipedia, it falls between the Ukraine and Spain in size. There's quite a bit of distance between points. Two, there is diversity, which makes the different parts distinct. The Southeast is the populated area along or close to the Limpopo River and follows the A1 highway corridor. To the north is Chobe, the Okavango and the Makgadikgadi Pans, which is the predominant safari/tourism area. This region is mostly connected by the A3 highway corridor. The last region, Kalahari, is the part of the country covered by the Kalahari desert, and is linked by the A2 highway corridor. Additionally, there are sufficient entry/exit points that you could plan a trip around just one or two of the subregions.

I agree the subregions are under-developed and not very useful right now, but it's also a wiki and is usually built in little pieces over time. I don't think the current state of the subregions is a good reason to delete them if they otherwise make sense. -Shaundd (talk) 06:53, 9 December 2017 (UTC)

well for the current amount of content the subregions are too much. And in their current state they provide zero information. I did similar stuff with Rwanda and actually got encouragement from other users. If - as it would appear - you know things about the regions, be my guest in adding it to articles and convince me of their worth Hobbitschuster (talk) 16:37, 10 December 2017 (UTC)

Hobbitschuster, it's not my or anyone else's job to prove an article's worth to you. Our policy is regions are changed by discussion and consensus -- like you did in Rwanda -- and not by putting down merge tags like the discussion is already closed. I personally don't agree with your reasons, but if a consensus emerged that the regions should be done away with, then that's the direction we go. But that discussion should take place.

With respect to Rwanda, it's a country of some 26,000 sq km, while Botswana is 581,000 sq km (roughly 21 times bigger), and I suspect Botswana has more tourist infrastructure. It makes sense, to me anyway, that what works for Rwanda may not be the same as Botswana. -Shaundd (talk) 06:36, 12 December 2017 (UTC)

Currency, time and spelling conventions

Below is a proposed infobox to let readers know which formatting conventions to use in Wikivoyage articles. Do you agree with these proposals? If you have direct knowledge of what is most commonly used in the country, please let us know. Ground Zero (talk) 12:38, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

Moved to the top of this page. Ground Zero (talk) 04:07, 28 December 2019 (UTC)

Botswana Cities

Botswana has only two cities Gaborone and Francistown. Some the places on the section are major villages and town... Donald Ralokwae (talk) 11:26, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

About "Cities" lists in articles: We don't go by official definitions but also include communities that may be officially called "towns", "villages", even "hamlets". Though if there's a really significant difference that would have an effect on travellers, places that are not officially cities could be put in a different subsection of the "Cities" section. Because the point to consider is where else would they go? "Other destinations" means destinations that are not communities (for example, parks, islands, sometimes archeological sites, or in some countries, huge temple complexes and such). That said, although as many as 9 cities can be listed in the "Cities" sections of country articles, there is no requirement to list that many if that's not helpful to travellers. Do you think travellers would be better served by not listing some of these communities? Ikan Kekek (talk) 16:56, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Wrong Map

Swept in from the pub

Good day everyone. After searching for 'Botswana' in Wikivoyage, the map that is shown in the results ([Here Is The Map]uploaded on 2009) is wrong or somehow outdated. The districts are not correctly drawn. Is there a way to change the map?? I've tried but couldn't succeed.Clinton Baikwatlhai (talk) 15:35, 30 January 2022 (UTC)Clinton_B04

Why is it wrong? These resgions were made to best benefit visitors rather than following government regions. Tai123.123 (talk) 06:55, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

The relevant guidelines are at Wikivoyage:The traveller comes first, specifically the following bullet: "Regions, price classifications, etc., are based on the convenience and expectations of travellers, not bureaucratic fiat (administrative districts, formal star ratings and so on)." Ikan Kekek (talk) 07:22, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

Welcome, @Clinton B04. I think people are uncertain what the problem is. WhatamIdoing (talk) 19:14, 31 January 2022 (UTC)