Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sleeping & Eating
Majestic Five Hotel $$$
( 492 1222;
www.majesticfive.co.bw
;
Hwy A1; d/f/ste from P1300/2100/2500;
)
A few kilometres south of the centre on the road to Gaborone, and opened in 2011,
Palapye's newest hotel has well-appointed rooms and is overall the best deal in town. The
evening buffet (P150 per person) is also Palapye's best place to eat.
HOTEL
Cresta Botsalo Hotel $$$
( 492 0245;
www.crestahotels.com
; Hwy A1; r US$135; )
This once-lovely
place is living on past glories. Although marketing itself as a business hotel, the phones
weren't working and the wireless signal was weak when we were here. If the bar's full,
noise can also be a problem. Thankfully, the rooms remain excellent, with air-con, cable
TV and comfy beds. The hotel is next to the Caltex petrol station, about 50m north of the
junction along the highway.
HOTEL
Getting There & Away
Buses along the route between Gaborone (P52, four hours) and Francistown (P30, two
hours) pass through Palapye and stop at the chaotic Engen Shopping Centre. From this
shopping centre, shared taxis and combis also go to Serowe (P12, 30 minutes) and Orapa
(P96, 4½ hours).
Serowe
POP 57,600
The historically significant town of Serowe is worth a detour if you're in the area - ignore
the modern town centre and instead spend time in two monuments to the past.
In 1902 Chief Khama III abandoned the Bangwato capital in Phalatswe and built
Serowe on the ruins of an 11th-century village at the base of Thathaganyana Hill. Serowe
was later immortalised by South African writer Bessie Head, who included the village in
several of her works, including the renowned
Serowe - Village of the Rain Wind
. This
book includes a chronicle of the Botswana Brigades Movement, which was established in
