Kgatleng runs north-east from the edge of Gaborone towards the South African border, a quiet district of farmland and thornveld broken by rocky hills. It's the home of the Bakgatla, who crossed from what is now South Africa in the nineteenth century under pressure from Boer settlers. They settled at the foot of Phuthadikobo Hill beside the Notwane River, about 40 kilometres from today's capital, and the village of Mochudi grew from there. Readers of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency will know it as Precious Ramotswe's home village.
A path climbs Phuthadikobo Hill to the museum, housed in the village's first school building. Inside, old photographs and documents tell the Bakgatla story, and the craft shop and silkscreen printing workshop are run as a community project. Back in the village, look for the traditional houses with painted walls and the kgotla, the open-air meeting place at the heart of village life. In Oodi, closer to Gaborone, a weavers' co-operative makes tapestries of village scenes. A short drive from Mochudi are the Matsieng footprints, marks in the rock that tradition says were left by a giant ancestor. Matsieng is said to have led people and animals up out of the earth to settle the world.
Mochudi makes an easy day trip from Gaborone, and our guide to Gaborone and the south-east covers the other villages and reserves around the capital. Use the Book here tab to see live dates and prices.
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