Planet Baobab, Botswana

Postcard from PB

Who They Are

On the stark road between Maun and Francistown, surrounded by thousand-year-old trees (the average age is 4,000) and the salt pans of the Makgadikgadi, Planet Baobab is a funky, modern lodge that has both the charm of a local hangout and the quirkiness of its location – on the edge of what was once the world’s largest super lake. The star-crowded night skies are unbeatable, the treks onto the endless once-lake unforgettable.

The Famous Anteater

The brainchild of Catherine Raphaely and Ralph Bousfield, owners of the more high-end Jack’s Camp, PB, as it is affectionately known, was inspired by the local painted mud hut villages of the Kalanga people who live in the area. Its specially commissioned giant anteater sculpture has become famous, and the one-of-a-kind lodge is the sort of place where you might find traveller and local alike, today’s version of Rick’s Café, rich with the characters of an African Motorcycle Diaries, as well as home to the Kalahari Surf Club, elephants, and meerkats.

What They Are Doing

A Local Kaleidoscope

Most notably, PB is like an installation/artstore/gallery – a kind of MOMA(frica) – and the local community was instrumental in its construction, and remains involved in its maintenance, furnishings, and the sale of  artwork.

A yearly competition amongst local artists gives them an opportunity to present their work to the world, and one winner is selected to paint a chalet in their own style. The bar stools and cowhide hoop chairs in the lodge were made by the local panel beater and tailor. The chandelier is made of beer bottles. The rooms and common areas are bedecked with the crafts of local artists – from crocheted bedspreads to beautifully quilted  wall decorations. PB also gives guests the chance to to mix with locals and see how they live and eat.

The Bar as Crossroads

In the company of a local guide, they can visit Gweta (pop. 2,000) to experience village culture in a relaxed and natural way, while learning about the history and ancient traditions of the Batswana. They can sit under the marula tree with primary schoolchildren during class, witness the day-to-day administrations of the Kgotla (a traditional court that governs the village), or even visit the local healer, a sangoma, to perhaps benefit from the mix of droppings and roots.

And what better way to finish off than a Kalanga meal of sorghum, mealie meal, seswaa (beef stew), wild spinach, mophane worms, and wild beans, then followed by – what else – a baobab fruit milkshake!

Desert Diaries