0:00:09 > 0:00:13Not much fun if you're travelling, unless, that is, to the Travel Show.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16It has gone from being one of the poorest countries
0:00:16 > 0:00:19in the world to relative prosperity today, and has a reputation
0:00:19 > 0:00:23as a beacon of responsible tourism.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27The Republic of Botswana has been on quite a journey in its 50
0:00:27 > 0:00:30years of independence.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33And I am on a personal mission to explore how people here have
0:00:33 > 0:00:36shared this land with such a diversity of wildlife
0:00:36 > 0:00:39for millennia.
0:00:39 > 0:00:47And if tourism can help maintain that delicate balance.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50The big day, the 50th anniversary, draws ever nearer, and rehearsals
0:00:50 > 0:01:02are well underway.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Half a century of independence is a big deal for the people
0:01:06 > 0:01:08of Botswana, who have seen their country overcome
0:01:08 > 0:01:14some major hurdles.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15We had few schools.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17The only schools that were there were run by missionaries.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20It has been a journey where one could say
0:01:20 > 0:01:28we were starting from nothing.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30And there have been some serious crises.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33At one point, the country had the world's highest rate
0:01:33 > 0:01:34of HIV infection.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36But sensible treatment and prevention programmes mean
0:01:36 > 0:01:41that the worst is over.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44When one talks of the 50th celebrations of this country,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47and when one looks back, you just say, you know,
0:01:47 > 0:01:55there is a lot that as a nation we really need to celebrate.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Inside the barracks, the military band are feeling their way
0:01:58 > 0:01:59through a traditional favourite.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04But let's see how they cope with a more cavalier interpretation.
0:02:04 > 0:02:14Do you want to have a go?
0:02:14 > 0:02:15Yeah!
0:02:15 > 0:02:15Let's try.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18I am just waving my hands in the air, and look
0:02:18 > 0:02:28at what is happening.
0:02:28 > 0:02:45Music!
0:02:45 > 0:02:47The power is going to my head.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50I have got a sneaking suspicion they are actually
0:02:50 > 0:02:51ignoring my inspired baton gesturing.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55But hey, happily for them, I won't be in charge on the big day.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57With just a few hundred thousand residents, the capital,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Gabarone, in the south-eastern of the country, does not really fit
0:03:00 > 0:03:03the stereotype of a bustling noisy African city.
0:03:03 > 0:03:04Can I try your hat?
0:03:04 > 0:03:05What do you think?
0:03:05 > 0:03:05Beautiful.
0:03:05 > 0:03:06Come on!
0:03:06 > 0:03:15But right now, the market is doing a good trade in Bot50 paraphernalia.
0:03:15 > 0:03:27In fact, for some people, the party has started early.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30As an international trader, diamonds have been Botswana's best
0:03:30 > 0:03:32friend throughout most of its independence.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Huge discoveries propelled it to becoming the world's largest
0:03:34 > 0:03:42supplier, and it's the industry's global hub today.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47Botswana has come a long way in 50 years.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50And thanks to the wealth accrued through diamond reserves,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53they have got free education, free health care, it is even classed
0:03:53 > 0:03:54as a middle income country.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58But in Botswana, diamonds are not for ever.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00And tourism is trying to fill the gap.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Botswana is about the size of France.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Yet with only around 2 million people, it's one of the world's most
0:04:06 > 0:04:08sparsely populated countries, on a par with Australia and
0:04:08 > 0:04:17Mongolia.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21And the truth is, you don't really come to Botswana for the urban vibe.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23I am keen to explore the country's world renowned wildlife,
0:04:23 > 0:04:30so across the Tropic of Capricorn I drive, north.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Botswana boasts more African elephants per square mile
0:04:32 > 0:04:36than any other country in the world.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40And it's a glorious sight.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44But there is another big beast that has had a much rougher passage
0:04:44 > 0:04:46in the last few decades.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48The rhinoceros.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51At one point, thanks to poaching, there were only four rhinos left
0:04:51 > 0:04:57in the entire country.
0:04:57 > 0:05:04Khama is a sanctuary dedicated to ensuring their future survival.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07With nine rhinos brought in from South Africa in the late
0:05:07 > 0:05:091980s, a breeding programme began, and we are now tracking one
0:05:10 > 0:05:20of the success stories of that programme.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24So the wind is blowing that side, so we have to go downwind.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Rhinos have got a good sense of smell, that is how they detect
0:05:28 > 0:05:29whatever is around them in the environment.
0:05:29 > 0:05:47We have two be downwind so that they don't smell us.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50It's fascinating because he has explained to me that you can tell
0:05:50 > 0:05:52the rhinos don't feel threatened because they are
0:05:52 > 0:06:00moving quite slowly.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03You can tell they are moving slowly by their footprints,
0:06:03 > 0:06:24and there is one rhino here, and one rhino over there.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27That offers us some luck that we will get close to them
0:06:27 > 0:06:28because they don't feel threatened.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29Let's cross our fingers.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30We've just spotted them.
0:06:31 > 0:06:31Yes!
0:06:31 > 0:06:43Wow.
0:06:43 > 0:06:55OK, we are going to take a bit of a risk.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58My guide has been as close as ten metres to a rhino before,
0:06:58 > 0:07:09without them sensing that he's there, so let's try that now.
0:07:09 > 0:07:37It may be best if only Mike comes.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40It's hard to grasp that one of this planet's great survivors,
0:07:40 > 0:07:46such a dignified, shy beast is under threat because of man's vanity.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48200 rhinos have been successfully bred here,
0:07:48 > 0:07:57and today around 75 reside in the Khama sanctuary.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59But this is not the end of the story.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Other neighbouring countries are now sending rhino into Botswana
0:08:02 > 0:08:06as a protected haven from poachers.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08I travelled northwest to Chief's Island to see how
0:08:08 > 0:08:11successful this project is, in the company of the most committed
0:08:11 > 0:08:22advocate of wildlife conservation I have ever met.
0:08:22 > 0:08:23Beautiful creature.
0:08:23 > 0:08:37Beautiful, beautiful creature.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Of course I'm biased!
0:08:39 > 0:08:44It looks to me, and I need a better view, there are thorns in the way
0:08:44 > 0:08:47here, but we are looking at a mother and a calf.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48That calf was born in Botswana.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52The mother has met a bull here and she has bred that calf.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54So that in itself is a success.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56That excites me, that should excite anyone
0:08:56 > 0:09:03who is interested in conservation.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Today, rhino horns are highly valued for their supposed medicinal
0:09:05 > 0:09:10and ornamental properties, especially in Asia.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12The latest round of poaching is a massive threat
0:09:12 > 0:09:15because of technologies, GPS units, satellite telephones that
0:09:15 > 0:09:17are being used by the modern syndicates, you know?
0:09:17 > 0:09:29So the modern guys are a distinct threat for us.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Between the two rhinos in front of us, he estimates
0:09:32 > 0:09:35there is a market value of 120,000 US dollars worth
0:09:35 > 0:09:37of illegal rhino horn.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39It is an international effort, but the threat comes
0:09:39 > 0:09:40from continents away.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42They use neighbouring states as sort of clearing stations,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45so this effort to look after these rhinos, prevent poaching,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47has to be international by description.
0:09:47 > 0:09:59It is not an effort that can be carried out in Botswana alone.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01And conservation is Botswana's main focus these days.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03The mantra for tourism is high-quality, low impact.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06In other words, discouraging mass tourism in favour of more expensive,
0:10:06 > 0:10:14but also more responsible camps.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16The latest trend in that is mobile safari -
0:10:16 > 0:10:19essentially pop-up sites that prevent local wildlife becoming too
0:10:19 > 0:10:36habituated to human presence.
0:10:36 > 0:10:42OK, so the first thing we are going to do is to build my bedroom.
0:10:42 > 0:10:49En suite, no less!
0:10:49 > 0:10:51And it is all in that box?
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Yes, let's go and make it.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Friends of mine will tell you I am not a natural camper,
0:10:56 > 0:11:15and I think I am about to prove them right.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16What am I doing wrong?
0:11:16 > 0:11:17Here we go.
0:11:17 > 0:11:17Argh!
0:11:17 > 0:11:19I am feeling a bit dizzy.
0:11:19 > 0:11:19Oops!
0:11:19 > 0:11:21The whole thing has collapsed again.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23But out of chaos comes comfort.
0:11:23 > 0:11:41Do you know what?
0:11:41 > 0:11:46I have never been in this situation before, with wildlife roaming free.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50In fact, I can hear a lion just over there.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52No rangers, no guns, no Wi-Fi coverage, no mobile phone
0:11:52 > 0:11:55coverage, and I'm just about to go to bed in
0:11:55 > 0:11:56a tent by myself.
0:11:56 > 0:12:05LION ROARS.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10TENT ZIPS UP.
0:12:13 > 0:12:19SNORING.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22It is about three o'clock in the morning and I have just woken
0:12:22 > 0:12:30up, I have been woken up by something, a noise outside.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34I slept quite well but now my mind is beginning to race and I'm
0:12:34 > 0:12:38thinking that if I put my head through the entrance of the tent
0:12:38 > 0:12:48there will be a lion or an elephant just there.
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Up until then, I slept quite well.
0:12:50 > 0:13:05It is a nice set up here.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09The only real stirring I have heard are the sounds of the night
0:13:09 > 0:13:11from my colleague in the tent down there.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Sunrise, and a spectacular journey across the mighty Kalahari,
0:13:14 > 0:13:28a desert that covers some 80% of the country.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32Now this is what I really imagine when I think of desert.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Vast, stark, dry flat stretches of landscape and so dusty
0:13:35 > 0:13:45when the sand is whipped up by a car or the wind.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47And there are perils to driving through this terrain.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51Here we have the hazards of driving a 2-wheel drive car in the middle
0:13:51 > 0:14:01of this heavy thick sand.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05This car was stuck and we will try to help rescue her.
0:14:05 > 0:14:05Does that help?
0:14:05 > 0:14:06Probably not.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I don't know if this will make any difference.
0:14:09 > 0:14:09Handbrake on!
0:14:09 > 0:14:10Put the handbrake on!
0:14:10 > 0:14:12I don't know what is happening now.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Will you pull this by yourself now?
0:14:14 > 0:14:16This is the strongest man in Africa.
0:14:16 > 0:14:25Yes, I am very confident...
0:14:31 > 0:14:39Ooh, he has done it.
0:14:39 > 0:14:47Success!
0:14:47 > 0:15:0050 years makes Botswana quite a young country.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03But what the anniversary conceals is that here in the Kalahari desert
0:15:03 > 0:15:06you have one of the oldest communities on the planet,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08maintaining the same traditions for tens of thousands of years.
0:15:08 > 0:15:21And this is where it all began, the Tsodilo Hills in the far
0:15:21 > 0:15:24north-west of the country are the spiritual and ancestral home
0:15:24 > 0:15:31of many communities of Bush, or San, people.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33They left a remarkable legacy.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37This area here has been occupied by people continuously for 100,000
0:15:37 > 0:15:41years and people have left their artistic expressions
0:15:41 > 0:15:49in the form of rock art.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51People believe this is the abode of our ancestors.
0:15:51 > 0:16:03Not just hills or rock art, but the abode of the souls
0:16:03 > 0:16:06and ancestral spirits and that is why this site is very
0:16:06 > 0:16:20important and on the World Heritage lists.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23By their very lifestyle, the nomadic San tribes have touched
0:16:23 > 0:16:27many parts of what is Botswana today and I am interested in finding out
0:16:27 > 0:16:30how they are coping with the modern world, where they are not allowed
0:16:30 > 0:16:33to hunt and have lost land and access to natural resources.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36So I am heading to a town close to the Namibian border,
0:16:37 > 0:16:38Ghanzi.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Settlements like these were created as part of a controversial
0:16:40 > 0:16:43government relocation programme, designed to integrate the San people
0:16:43 > 0:16:43into mainstream society.
0:16:44 > 0:16:45People like Bulanda.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Is this where you live and sleep?
0:16:48 > 0:16:51This is a far cry from the nomadic hunting and gathering lifestyle
0:16:51 > 0:16:53of her forefathers.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Four times a year they moved to different areas and when the seasons
0:16:57 > 0:16:58change they move to another area.
0:16:58 > 0:17:08They were very sensitive to movement of animals.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11The living conditions here are a good illustration
0:17:11 > 0:17:16of the sometimes uneasy mix of traditional and contemporary.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18You can see the traditional pot here.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21In the olden days our forefathers were using traditional sticks
0:17:21 > 0:17:25for making fire and now we buy matches from the shops and instead
0:17:25 > 0:17:29of pots and plates we use ostrich egg shell as a plate and for storing
0:17:29 > 0:17:37water and medicinal use.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41For many San people the transition to this way of life has been
0:17:41 > 0:17:44difficult but Bulanda has forged a career for herself as a beader,
0:17:44 > 0:17:49using Indigenous skills.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52My business has grown tremendously.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57I have been invited to attend trade fairs in different countries.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59I have been to America, to Europe.
0:17:59 > 0:18:09I think our community needs to change their lifestyle.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Relocation has meant that many of the ancient San traditions,
0:18:12 > 0:18:20language and culture have come under threat and not just in Botswana.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24Bulanda took me to a festival held outside Ghanzi.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Naro language is very old but it is dying.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Not many people speak it now?
0:18:29 > 0:18:31That's right.
0:18:31 > 0:18:37Can you teach me how do the click sound?
0:18:37 > 0:18:39BULANDA SPEAKS NARO.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43RAJAN TRIES TO MIMIC TONGUE CLICKS
0:18:43 > 0:18:46At this festival, different tribes from all over southern Africa gather
0:18:46 > 0:18:48to promote and celebrate endangered cultural practices.
0:18:48 > 0:19:09Later in the evening, a spiritual healing dance is performed.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16In the olden days, these were only performed when someone was sick.
0:19:16 > 0:19:26Moving around, touching the patient asking the evil spirits to move out.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31This festival is under the banner of 50th anniversary celebrations,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33but Bulanda is sceptical about it having real meaning
0:19:33 > 0:19:36for her community.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40It doesn't make sense to me.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43The San people have not changed for 50 years.
0:19:43 > 0:19:49The lives of people are going down, down every day.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52There is poverty, unemployment.
0:19:52 > 0:19:59This is not really a thing to celebrate.
0:19:59 > 0:20:05The San people are only a small minority of the people of Botswana
0:20:05 > 0:20:09but they are highly symbolic.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12It may need more than a healing ritual like this
0:20:12 > 0:20:18to remedy the situation.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21One solution is to involve more San people in tourism.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24It has been successfully achieved by other communities in schemes
0:20:24 > 0:20:36in the Okavango Delta in the north.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40These traditional canoes, mokoro, used to be carved from tree trunks
0:20:40 > 0:20:45but for ecological reasons are now fashioned from fibreglass.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47We are off.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Nice and smooth.
0:20:50 > 0:20:56No sign of crocodiles which is good news.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Richard learned the technique of poleing from his father
0:20:58 > 0:20:59at the age of nine.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04The mokoro tradition goes back for centuries.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09In the olden days they go out using mokoro for fishing,
0:21:09 > 0:21:14for hunting and for gathering wild berries.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17In the old days there were several villages that lived on islands.
0:21:17 > 0:21:25When they visited each other they used mokoro as transport.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Do you think you will always stay here?
0:21:27 > 0:21:32I will say yes because this is where I originated.
0:21:32 > 0:21:46I asked my friends to come and meet me here in this paradise.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48The boat is wonderfully smooth.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50I have not felt threatened at all.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55I may feel threatened if there was a crocodile
0:21:55 > 0:21:58or a hippopotamus coming this way but at the moment,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02I feel safe.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03It has been an epic journey criss-crossing Botswana.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09It has been an epic journey criss-crossing Botswana.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Eight plane trips and some hard slogs driving more than 3000
0:22:12 > 0:22:15kilometres over rough terrain.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18It is not necessarily a cheap place for travelling.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Sometimes it feels exclusive.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25The future of Botswana for the next 50 years and beyond lies
0:22:25 > 0:22:28in all of its inhabitants peacefully sharing in the unique resources
0:22:28 > 0:22:35of this extraordinary land.
0:23:10 > 0:23:11Good morning.