Ghanzi :: overview

Travel via the Trans Kalahari Highway to Ghanzi also known as “The capital of the Kalahari” must be one of Botswana's most intriguing towns - situated in the middle of nowhere and separated from the rest of the world by hundreds of kilometres of road.  There is a strange fascination to it all - and subtle, unexpected variations in terrain. There is also beauty to be found in the eerie sunsets and in the desert night's overwhelming canopy of stars.

 

Once, parts of this vast region were populated only by Bushmen (Basarwa) who had perfected survival strategies for living in this inhospitable land. Later the Bakgalagadi arrived and today live in Kalahari villages such as Ncojane, Matsheng and Kang.  After the Bushmen, the Ghanzi area was settled by Hottentots, who it is believed, tended large herds of cattle. The first white settlers arrived in 1874, led by Hendrik van Zyl, a flamboyant character whose legend still persists in Ghanzi, as does the remains of his once palatial house.   More white settlers followed in the late 1890s. The first group of trekkers, travelling thousands of kilometres by oxcart and facing considerable hazards, merely exploited game and other resources in the area and then moved on. But newcomers in the early 1900s were committed to cattle ranching and stayed. By 1936 there were over 40 farms and in the 1950s more farms were allocated.  Today there are over 200 cattle farms, holding approximately 6 per cent of the national herd.
 

Ghanzi community is a conglomeration of ethnic groups - Bushmen, Bakgalagadi, Baherero, Batawana, and Afrikaaners who own many of the farms. Afrikaans is widely spoken - you might feel as if you are in a tiny South African place in the Northern Cape.

 

Ghanzi accommodation offers visitors a unique Kalahari experience and a chance to truly absorb the spectacular ambiance of the area whilst relaxing and rejuvenating in comfort and style. To encounter a rare chance to share San village life, overnight in a traditional Bushman hut in a San village. Ghanzi Craft is a co-op producing textiles, bags, woven mats, ostrich eggshell necklaces and local Bushman art and all proceeds still go to the San craftspeople.  Take a cultural tour to a village to learn the way of life and be sure to take part in a food forage experience. Go on a medicine bushwalk with a traditional healer and participate in a traditional dance and music event.