Fast Facts

Banks -- In Maun: Standard Chartered and Barclays are both open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 2:30pm, and Saturday from 8:30am to 10:45pm. Banks are generally open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9am to 2:30pm; Wednesday from 8:15 to noon; and Saturday from 8 to 10:45am. Shop hours are Monday through Friday from 8am to 1 or 2pm, and Saturday from 8:30am to 1pm.

Currency -- One pula (P) is the equivalent of 100 thebe.

Dentist -- Call the Delta Dental Clinic in Maun (tel. 267/686-4224); the offices are near the Caltex gas station.

Directory Inquiries -- Dial tel. 192.

Doctor -- If you need a doctor in Maun, the Delta Medical Centre is on the Tsheko-Tsheko road, which runs through the center of town (tel. 267/686-1411). Note that, should you experience a medical emergency in the bush, the operators and camps recommended below will take appropriate and immediate action.

Drugstore -- Okavango Pharmacy (tel. 267/686-0043) is on Maun's main street, in the Lewis Building opposite Riley's garage complex.

Electricity -- As in the rest of southern Africa, you'll need an adapter/voltage converter. Botswana uses 220/240V 15/13-amp plug sockets. Plugs are 2- and 3-pin, round and flat. Remember that many bush camps do not have electricity but run on generators.

Embassies & Consulates -- Note that all offices are in Gaborone. U.S. Embassy: tel. 267/395-3982; the after-hours emergency telephone number is tel. 267/395-7111. British High Commission: tel. 267/395-2841. Canadian Consulate: tel. 267/390-4411.

Language -- English is the official language and is widely spoken; Setswana is the national language, spoken by the Batswana people, who make up 50% of the population.

Safety -- Consult your physician (or a travel-health specialist) before leaving about starting a course of antimalarial prophylactics, and note that children under the age of 12 are generally not allowed in game lodges unless special arrangements have been made with the management.

Taxes -- Sales tax is 10% and is included in all prices quoted in this chapter, unless otherwise indicated.

Telephone -- Phone calls can be made from any post office or business that provides office services. Public call boxes are found in towns. Remember, this chapter lists numbers for Botswana and South Africa, indicated by their country codes. Botswana has no regional or town codes. There are no telephones in the delta. The camps communicate with Maun and each other via radio and can transmit emergency messages this way. If you do have a satellite phone, you will be asked to keep it switched off.

To call southern Africa from another country: Dial the international access code (United States or Canada 011, United Kingdom or New Zealand 00, Australia 0011), plus the country code (27 for South Africa, 263 for Zimbabwe, 267 for Botswana, and 260 for Zambia), plus the local number minus the 0 at the beginning of the city/area code. To make an international call: Dial 00, wait for a dial tone, then dial the country code (United States or Canada 1, United Kingdom 44, Australia 61, New Zealand 64), the area code, and the local number. To make calls within Botswana: Drop the 267 country code; there are no area codes. To charge international calls: The toll-free international access code for Sprint is tel. 0800/180-280. At press time there was no international access code for AT&T and MCI.

Time Zone -- Botswana is 2 hours ahead of GMT, or 7 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Tipping -- Tipping at bush and delta camps is at guests' discretion, but a general rule of thumb is $10 to $20 a day, to be shared among the staff. If you are delighted by the services of your guide, you can tip him in addition to this.

Water -- Water in all the camps is drinkable, but most camps/lodges do supply plenty of bottled mineral water. There is some disagreement about the safety of water in the smaller towns -- to be on the safe side, drink bottled water or bring along a purification system.

When to Go -- Most operators consider the winter months (July-Oct) as high season; it's cooler, and the delta is usually flooded.