Nokaneng is a village in North-West District,

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 ...

. It is located close to the

Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Grassland; formerly spelled "Okovango" or "Okovanggo") in Botswana is a swampy inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the en ...

, and is served by Nokaneng Airport. The population of Nokaneng was 1,590 in 2001 census.

The people

The people therein are the

Bayei The MaYeyi (also: ''Yeyi'' or ''Bayei'') are Bantu-speaking people of north-western Botswana and north-eastern Namibia. The Yeyi immigrated to the area in the 18th century from the north, and lived in close cooperation with the San people, or '' ...

, Basarwa and the Baherero though of late there has been a significant increase in the numbers of settlers such as the Bahambukushu. This is a group that predominantly stays along the Okavango Delta. Nokaneng

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

, the Namibian capital, is not far but due to poor road conditions leading to the border it is not a popular route. You can get through from Nokaneng to Tsumkwe at the Dobe Border Post. About 5 hours from

Tsodilo The Tsodilo Hills are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS), consisting of rock art, rock shelters, depressions, and caves in southern Africa. It gained its WHS listing in 2001 because of its unique religious and spiritual significance to local peo ...

to Dobe. Dobe to

Tsumkwe Tsumkwe ( Juǀ'Hoan: Tjumǃkui) is a settlement in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia and the district capital of the Tsumkwe electoral constituency. Nature and wildlife The area associated with Tsumkwe exhibits notable vegetation and wildlife. ...

is 1 hour. You can stay at Tsumkwe Lodge. Road conditions from [Nokaneng to Tsumkwe are variable. The border post at Dobe, 53 km east of Tsumkwe, is now open 7 days a week (7h30 to 16h30 Namibian/Botswana time) and provides a thoroughfare to Botswana. The 4x4 track to Nokaneng is about 140 km. The average speed one can maintain on this road will range 50–80 km/h. The nearest fuel would be 37 km north of Nokaneng at Gumare or at Maun, Botswana, Maun. This is the most recommended route to get to this lodge. At this stage, fuel is not available in Nokaneng but there are two shops with very basic supplies, a local police station, a school, two pubs/bars, a bottle store, three churches, a clinic. There is also the artificial insemination center where people take their cows for breeding and proper nurturing. The lodges and camping sites are within the Buffalo fence or the restricted areas and most of them are controlled from Maun. Nokaneng is also a former capital of

Ngamiland The North-West District or Ngamiland is one of the first-level administrative subdivisions of Botswana. For census and administrative purposes Ngamiland is subdivided into Ngamiland East, Ngamiland West and Ngamiland Delta (Okavango). It is gove ...

. It was where the Batawana moved their capital from

Toteng Toteng is a village in the north west of Botswana, Ngamiland. The town is the location of the oldest "directly dated evidence of cattle in southern Africa". Nearby towns are Sehitwa and Bobideng to the west, Tsau and Gumare to the north and ...

. This then makes Nokaneng one of the most villages alongside Toteng and Tsau. It is also where the famous tour operator, Douglas Wright, Managing Director of Safari South and Ker & Downey, grew up. Wright still regards Nokaneng as his home village even though he now resides in Maun. His family ran a shop in Nokaneng. Most of the South African bound mine workers were collected from Nokaneng en route to Johannesburg. The Basarwa/San living in Nokaneng lead a normal life as compared to those living in the

Central Kalahari Game Reserve Central Kalahari Game Reserve is an extensive national park in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. Established in 1961 it covers an area of (larger than the Netherlands, and almost 10% of Botswana's total land area), making it the second largest game ...

. This is mainly due to the relationship they mostly have had with the Bayei, the dominant group in the village. They have a very understanding relationship and regard each other as cousins. Nokaneng is also a gateway to the world-famous Drosky Hills, or as they call them, the qhwihaba hills. From Maun, now the capital of Ngamiland, Nokaneng is about 200 km by road and about 200 from

Shakawe Shakawe is a village located in the northwest corner of Botswana at the beginning of the Okavango Delta, close to Namibia and Angola. Shakawe is awakening from its former status as a sleepy little outpost on the Okavango. For travellers, Shakawe ...

. It has also been realised that the majority of people residing in Maun trace their roots to Nokaneng, especially those residing in the Botshabelo, Boseja and Thito wards of Maun.

References

{{coord, 19, 39, 50, S, 22, 11, 30, E, display=title North-West District (Botswana) Villages in Botswana