Maun

Maun
Maun from the air in 2007
Location of Maun in Botswana
Coordinates: 19°59′S 023°25′E / 19.983°S 23.417°E / -19.983; 23.417Coordinates: 19°59′S 023°25′E / 19.983°S 23.417°E / -19.983; 23.417
Country	Botswana
District	North-West District
Population (2001)[1]
- Total	43,776

Maun is the fifth largest town in Botswana. As of 2001, it had a population of 43,776.^[1] It is an eclectic mix of modern buildings and native huts. Maun is the "tourism capital" of Botswana and the administrative centre of Ngamiland district. It is also the headquarters of numerous safari and air-charter operations who run trips into the Okavango Delta.

Although officially still a village, Maun has developed rapidly from a rural frontier town and has spread along the Thamalakane River. It now has shopping centres, hotels and lodges as well as car hire, although it retains a rural atmosphere and local tribesmen continue to bring their cattle to Maun to sell. The community is distributed along the wide banks of the Thamalakane River where red lechwe can still be seen grazing next to local donkeys, goats and cattle.

Maun is 30 kilometres (19 mi) distant from Toteng.

History

Since Maun's founding in 1915 as the tribal capital of the Batawana people,^[2] it has had a reputation as a hard-living 'Wild West' town helping the local cattle ranching and hunting operations. However, with the growth of the tourism industry and the completion of the tar road from Nata in the early 1990s, Maun has developed swiftly, losing much of its old town character. It is now home to over 30,000 people.

Maun is today a thriving tourist town, infamous for its infestation of donkeys and to a lesser extent goats. These animals can be seen standing around town as the local farmers arrive in the innumerable taxis to sell their wares on the curbside.

With the influx of tourism dollars, the typical traditional rondavels have been replaced by square, cinderblock homes roofed with tin and occasionally tiles. Mobile phone service in Maun is excellent out to about 20 to 25 kilometres (12 to 16 mi), depending on weather.

Maun is also becoming a regional transshipment hub for materials and tradespeople who service both the local camps and safari centres and the burgeoning mineral exploration camps in northwestern Botswana. There are a wide variety of services in stores as well as many local entrepreneurs with welding ventures operated from the back of a cart.

Tourists often fly into the Maun International Airport. Often, these tourists hire a fully equipped 4x4 for camping and game viewing in the parks, or otherwise fly to several tourist camps in the Okavango Delta or the Makgadikgadi.

Maun, like most areas in southern Africa, has a protracted aviation history.

Etymology and logistics

The name Maun is derived from the San word 'maung', which translates 'the place of short reeds'. The village started in 1915 as the capital for the Tawana people. The capital was transferred from Toteng after victory over Ndebele King Lobengula.

In a broader sense Maun is a gateway for exploring much of northern Botswana; for example it is the natural hub for visitors from outside the region to explore the Tsodilo Hills and the Makgadikgadi Pans. The Thamalakane River discharges to the Boteti River, whose seasonal high flow reaches the Makgadikgadi.

Commercial Development

(2011) Maun has branches of Barclays Bank, First National Bank Botswana, Stanbic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank with ATM facility. Note that mastercards can't be used to draw money at ATMs (exception Stanbic near airport).

Maun has three main hotels – Sedia Riverside Hotel, Riley's Hotel and Maun Lodge. There are many other accommodations and campsites, oriented towards the safari business like Okavango River Lodge, Thamalakane Lodge, the old Bridge Backpackers etc.

References

• Maun Local History

Line notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "Population of Towns, Villages and Associated Locatlities" (PDF). 2001 Population and Housing Census. Gaborone: Central Statistics Office. April 2002. p. 128. http://www.cso.gov.bw/images/stories/Census/population_town.pdf. Retrieved 5 September 2009. 
2. ^ Maun Local History

External links

Media related to Maun at Wikimedia Commons

• The Ngami Times, Maun's weekly newspaper