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Francistown, Botswana - Things to Do in Francistown

Things to Do in Francistown

Francistown, Botswana - Complete Travel Guide

Francistown wakes to woodsmoke and first light sliding over its low-rise skyline. Roosters shout from nearby compounds. Blue Jacket Street clatters alive with kombis and rattling shutters. Jacarandas drop purple petals on cracked sidewalks. Evening air mixes braai smoke with sweet sorghum beer drifting from backyard drums. Second-hand bales spill across dusty verandas. Kids boot scuffed footballs past faded colonial façades. The city feels lived-in, not polished. It kept growing after the gold rush faded. Most visitors pass through heading north. Stay for sunset behind the Tati ridge. Everything turns the colour of old copper. Worth it.

Top Things to Do in Francistown

Tachila Nature Reserve

Five minutes from downtown the tar turns to dirt and guinea fowl scatter. The bush smells of wild sage after rain. Walk the 3 km loop alone. Kudus slip through acacia shade. Cicadas rattle overhead. A raised hide overlooks a small pan. At dusk the water mirrors molten orange. Hippos grunt in the distance. Bring binoculars.

Booking Tip: Arrive by 3 pm. The gate shuts at sunset. Pay the entry fee at the thatched kiosk. Cash only. No cards. Walk slow.

Supa Ngwao Museum

The museum occupies a 1900s railway bungalow. Floorboards creak under your boots. Beadwork still smells of woodsmoke and cowhide. Tap the drums. No one stops you. One room recreates a Kalanga kitchen. Sorghum porridge scent lingers after daily demos. Out back a traditional grain bin towers. Climb the ladder. Tin roofs roll toward the old miners' hospital.

Booking Tip: Weekday mornings are quietest. School groups tend to swarm after 11 am.

Domboshaba Ruins

Drive forty minutes north-east. Granite boulders stack into a hilltop fortress. Leopard's Kopje builders worked here around 1400 AD. The climb is short but calf-burning. Wind tastes of sun-warmed quartz. Herders' bells tinkle below. Scan the rock for faint herringbone patterns. Late afternoon light makes them jump out.

Booking Tip: Hire a kombi at Ntolo garage opposite the main bus rank. Negotiate for the driver to wait. Return transport dries up after 4 pm. Be firm.

Birds and Game Botswana

The rehab centre sits on the old Tati road. Walk within metres of orphaned cheetahs. They purr like outboard motors. Feed times are 10 am and 3 pm. Fish eagles swoop inches overhead. Wing-rush is louder than you expect. Between enclosures giant eagle owls blink from fever trees. Crush a leaf. Wild mint rises.

Booking Tip: Phone ahead that morning. Volunteers sometimes lock up for school visits. No call, no cats.

Kuminda Farm Produce Market

Saturday dawn behind the railway station the lot erupts into colour. Tarpaulins sag under pyramids of tomatoes still warm from the field. Women in bright wraps shout prices in Ikalanga. Ground-chili dust stings the nose. Try the roasted groundnuts. Smoky, oily, hot. Paper cones soak through almost immediately. Eat fast.

Booking Tip: Carry small pula notes. Most vendors can't break big bills before 8 am. No ATM within walking distance. Plan ahead.

Getting There

Air Botswana touches down at Francistown International four times daily from Gaborone. The flight is fifty minutes over thorn-scrub that looks like crushed velvet. Skeletal Airlink still runs the Jo'burg-Francistown hop three days a week. Overland, the A1 is tar all the way from Gabs. Intercape and smaller coaches do the five-hour run day or night. Self-driving from Ramokgwebana border is only 80 km of good road. Watch for donkeys after dark. They don't yield.

Getting Around

Shared kombis painted school-bus yellow cruise Blue Jacket and Phoenix. Hop on, squeeze three-to-a-seat. Hand over a handful of coins. Locals still call it "change." Metered taxis queue at the main mall. Twice the kombi price, still cheap by European standards. Drivers know every shebeen in town. Car-hire desks huddle inside airport arrivals. A small sedan handles city pave and the gravel spur to Domboshaba. Heading to the salt pans later? Get something taller.

Where to Stay

Tati River Lodge offers thatched rondavels tucked among riverside fever trees. Crickets roar after dark. Sleep well.

Cresta Thapama frames a poolside bar where truckers and NGO crews swap stories. Wi-Fi is steady. Cold beer flows.

Adelaide Hotel - 1950s railway relic near the station, creaky but atmospheric

Peermont Metcourt - casino complex on the edge of town, neon and weekend DJs

Self-catering flats at Galo Mall - handy for long stays, close to Shoprite

Lamp Campsite - basic backpacker tents under morula trees, communal firepit

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Food & Dining

Locals duel over best seswaa in Francistown. Fingers converge on the open-air kitchen behind the main taxi rank. Women pound beef in three-legged pots from dawn. For bush-flame-grilled steak hit Kudu's on Blue Jacket. Their smoky rump arrives hissing on cast-iron and costs less than fast-food back home. Craving Zimbabwean sadza and stew? Duck into the unmarked container café opposite the post office. The proprietor ladles marrow-rich oxtail until the pot empties, usually by 2 pm. Indian-Batswana families run the upstairs food court in Galo Mall. Chilli-bites are greaseless and fiery. Chase them with a mango lassi that tastes like the tropics gate-crashing the Kalahari.

When to Visit

May through August delivers cool, dry days. Walk Tachila without hauling litres of water. Nights turn cold. Lodges roll out gas heaters. September and October crank the heat until tar bubbles. Diesel hangs in the air. Birding is loudest as migrants return. November storms rinse dust off jacarandas. The city smells of wet cement. Pack a jacket. Downpours hit fast. December to April paints everything lush and green. Prices dip. Lodges upgrade you free because business travellers stay away. Enjoy the space.

Insider Tips

Weekends drain most ATMs dry. Stanbic at the mall refills Saturday mornings. Arrive before 9 a.m. Cash in hand.
Say yes to a shebeen invite in Satellite township. Khadi flows sweet and strong. Bring vetkoek. Hand it over. Instant goodwill.
The railway museum lives at Mr. Mpoeleng's whim. Tell the station gate guard to radio him. He pedals over within twenty minutes. Doors open. History awakens.

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