Central District

Central District is the biggest piece of Botswana, 147,730 km² running from the Limpopo on the South African border up to the salt of Sua Pan. Serowe is the capital and the seat of the Bamangwato, the Khama family’s people. Close to three in ten Batswana live here (706,135 at the 2022 census). Most visitors only see it through a windscreen on the way to Maun or Kasane, which is a waste.

Getting there

The A1 from Gaborone to Francistown is the spine. Palapye sits roughly halfway, 240 km from Gaborone and 170 km from Francistown, and it is where you turn off for Serowe. Buses between the two cities leave about hourly.

For the north, take the A3 from Francistown to Nata, where the road forks for Maun and Kasane.

The Tuli Block is easier from South Africa through Pont Drift, about six and a half hours from Johannesburg. You cross the Limpopo by vehicle when it is low and by cable car when it is in flood.

When to go

April to October is dry, and May to late August is winter, with cold winds. Rain falls between November and March. Sua Pan fills in summer and holds Nata River water until April or May. The flamingos come to Nata to breed after the rains. Kubu Island has closed after heavy rain before, so ask the trust before you set out.

What to do

Khama Rhino Sanctuary, about 25 km from Serowe, has white and black rhino on 8,585 hectares of Kalahari sandveld. Its roads suit two-wheel-drive bakkies, and rangers run two-hour game drives and morning rhino tracking. Serowe itself has the Khama III Memorial Museum.

Near Palapye the Tswapong Hills run for about 63 km. Rain seeps back out of the cliffs, so the gorges keep pools all year. Moremi Gorge is the main draw, and Cape vultures breed in the hills. Old Palapye has the ruin of a London Missionary Society church, built around 1892 and abandoned in 1902.

Kubu Island is a granite outcrop in Sua Pan, a national monument with old stone cairns and a low dry-stone wall. The Gaing O Community Trust, based in Mmatshumo, runs the campsite and can send a guide to walk you round.

Nata Bird Sanctuary, about 15 km from Nata, covers 230 km² and is run by four villages. A raised wooden platform looks out over the pan.

The Tuli Block has elephant, lion, leopard and cheetah, and Solomon’s Wall, 30 m basalt cliffs on the Motloutse River. Nearly all of it is private game farms and reserves, though. Without a lodge booking you are limited to the main road.

Good to know

• The CDC lists Bobirwa, Boteti, Mahalapye, Serowe/Palapye and Tutume as malaria areas and recommends prophylaxis.
• Livestock and wildlife wander onto the tar. The UK government singles out night driving as a particular risk.
• Kubu needs a 4x4. Rural tracks are not signposted, so take a GPS, a spare tyre, and enough fuel and water to reach the next stop.
• On Kubu, register on arrival. Driving off the tracks is banned.

Last updated 12 October 2026. Sources: Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust, activities (roads, game drives, rhino tracking), Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust, home page (size, species), Gaing O Community Trust, Kubu Island (custodian, office, rules, guided walks), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Botswana traveller health (malaria areas), UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Botswana travel advice (road travel), Mashatu Game Reserve, getting here (Pont Drift crossing, drive times), Wikipedia, Central District (area, 2022 census, capital, sub-districts), Wikipedia, Palapye (distances on the A1, Old Palapye), Wikipedia, A1 road (Botswana), Wikipedia, A3 road (Botswana), Wikipedia, Serowe (Bamangwato capital, Khama III, museum), Wikipedia, Khama Rhino Sanctuary (distance from Serowe, founding), Wikipedia, Tswapong Hills (size, gorges, Cape vultures), Wikipedia, Old Palapye (church ruins, dates), Wikipedia, Kubu Island (national monument, cairns, 4x4 access), Wikipedia, Nata Bird Sanctuary (size, villages, birds, platform), Wikipedia, Sua Pan (seasonal water), Wikipedia, Tuli Block (private reserves, Solomon's Wall, wildlife), Wikipedia, Geography of Botswana (seasons), Wikivoyage, Botswana (driving, signposts, what to carry), Wikivoyage, Francistown (buses on the A1), Wikivoyage, Nata (road junction).