Botswana is a vast land, highly prized for its safaris and game. If what you are seeking is big expanse dappled with roaming wildlife, then this is the destination of your dreams.

Indeed, Botswana is a country that you feel is keen to conserve what makes it beautiful and utilise its assets. Astonishingly, around 17% of the country is designated national park, and when Botswana's huge private concessions are also toted up, the figure swells to a proud 40%. This is one of the largest percentages bestowed to wildlife worldwide, and explains why, in some parts, there are nearly as many tourists craning their necks out of jeeps as there is roving game.

Furthermore, Botswana has ensured that its spectacular Delta region has been well-developed touristally, with its impressive lagoons crammed with hovering birdlife, and elephants, giraffes and other exotic animals that happily amble through its vast grass flats. Incidentally, this is the largest inland delta in the world, which explains its wealth of wildlife. It is almost enough to make you forget that most of Botswana is given over to desert.

Botswana was also once an economic wasteland. The country gained independence in 1966, having been a British Protectorate, and at this time it was amongst the poorest nations in the world. Nature was then kind to Botswana, when once again natural assets became apparent, ready to be exploited. The government discovered diamonds and Botswana has enjoyed a growth rate that still continues to soar, especially when put into a context with much of the rest of Africa.

Despite this success story, Botswana is afflicted by controversy. There have been claims that parts of the Kalahari Desert Region have been closed at the expense of the world's last few remaining ancient people, the Bushmen, who roam this area. The Bushmen's previously nomadic lifestyle has mostly been quashed and they now reside in settlements. There is also the HIV/AIDS pandemic to contend with – Botswana's infection rate is amongst the world's highest, with 20% of the country's population being estimated to have contracted the virus.

Nevertheless, these are issues that do not seem to worry Botswana's wildlife. For them, the struggle to survive beneath a great span of star-stuffed sky carries on, regardless. Having a sundowner, unwinding in the glare of a sunset and hearing the sounds of singing birds and roaming game, it is easy to forget global troubles. Botswana is both a country to relax in and a country to have adventure in.

Geography
Botswana is bordered to the south and east by South Africa, to the northeast by Zimbabwe, to the north and west by Namibia and touches Zambia just west of the Victoria Falls. The tableland of the Kalahari Desert covers most of Botswana. National parks cover 17% of the country, with 38% of the country dedicated to wildlife areas. To the northwest is the Okavango Delta, the largest inland delta in the world. The Moremi Game Reserve occupies two-thirds of the delta’s area. The Chobe National Park in the north includes the Savute and Linyanti regions. To the far southwest is the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park, which ranges across the borders of Botswana, South Africa and Namibia, but is managed as a single entity. The majority of the population lives in the southeast around Gaborone, Serowe and Kanye along the South African border. The vast arid sandveld of the Kalahari occupies much of north, central and western Botswana. The seasonal rains bring a considerable difference to the vegetation, especially in the Makgadikgadi Pans and the Okavango Delta in the north. The latter, after the winter floods, provides one of the wildest and most beautiful nature reserves in Africa.