Bobonong is a town in the
Central District of
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
80 km from
Selibe Phikwe town. Bobonong has a population of around 19,000. The
Babirwa tribe can be found in this town. The Botswana Pink semi-precious stones can be found in Bobonong region. The Babirwa are known for harvesting the mophane worm. The locals refer to the town as Bobcity or formerly Lekgarapeng, which was derived from the stoney landscape of the town.
Bobonong is the headquarters of the
Bobirwa Sub District and is an hour's drive from the
Tuli Block
The Tuli Block is a narrow fringe of land at Botswana's eastern border wedged between Zimbabwe in the north and east and South Africa in the south. It consists mainly of privately owned game farms offering safari tourism. The eastern section up to ...
area where the
Northern Tuli Game Reserve is located. Mashatu and Tuli Safari Lodge have accommodation for tourists.
Bobonong has a Senior Secondary School (Matshekge Hill School) which is a catchment for Junior Secondary Schools in the Bobirwa Sub District. It has government offices including a Magistrates office, a primary hospital, police station, post office, library and a small town center. It also has a large shopping complex, which include big retail stores such as Choppies Supermarket and Saverite Supermarket. Bobonong also have a chain of hardware stores, furniture shops and even wholesalers.
Bobonong can be accessed from
Francistown
Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...
through Selibi Phikwe or from Gaborone via
Palapye
Palapye is a growing town in Botswana, situated about halfway between Francistown and Gaborone ( from Francistown and from Gaborone). Over the years its position has made it a convenient stopover on one of Southern Africa's principal north–sout ...
both routes are tarred and branch off from the Main North South Highway which runs from Ramokgwebana to Ramatlabama.
It is a semi town with both traditional and modern housing structures with a reliable electricity supply as well as the standard ICT services including both land line and cellular services.
As a Sub District headquarters it has a cross sectional community and is served well by bus services from Tray Vrikeshor,
Gaborone
Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 cen ...
and other areas of Botswana.
The
Lepokole Hills, a western prolongation of the
Matobo Hills in Zimbabwe, are located 15 km north of Bobonong. The last of the
San people
The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the first cultures of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia ...
in eastern Botswana lived in the hills and left more of their rock paintings in the caves and rocks. Stone Age tools and ancient pottery scattered around the hills are evidence of even earlier occupation.
The Journey to the Lepokole Hills
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References
Sources
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External links
*Pictures
Populated places in Central District (Botswana)
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