Kweneng is the Bakwena homeland, a broad district that starts in the rocky hills west of Gaborone and runs out into the Kalahari sand. Molepolole, about 50 kilometres from the capital, is the Bakwena capital and one of the largest traditional villages in Africa, with a big kgotla and a museum named after Kgosi Sechele I. Beyond it, the villages thin out into open grassland and sand.
Missions, rock art and the Kalahari
Kolobeng, about 25 kilometres west of Gaborone off the Thamaga road, was David Livingstone's third and last mission. He lived here with his family and converted Sechele I, the Bakwena kgosi. Drought and a Boer attack at nearby Dimawe ended the mission, and the fenced ruins are now a national monument. A short drive south-west, near Manyana village, paintings of giraffe and antelope cover five rock faces on the Kolobeng hills, made several hundred years ago. You can see them all on a short walk along the foot of the hill. Far to the north-west, Khutse Game Reserve adjoins the Central Kalahari with no fence between them. After good rains its grassy pans draw springbok and gemsbok, and lion and brown hyena follow, though sightings depend on the rain.
Booking on adventuro
Past Manyana, the road runs on into the Southern district and the old Bangwaketse capital at Kanye. Our guide to Gaborone and the south-east covers the rest of the area. Use the Book here tab to see live dates and prices.
