02 Aug 2022

A bush walk for central region has inaugurated in Mmutlane village on Sunday for purposes of showcasing tourism attractions that exist within villages of Bonwapitse and Mmutlane.

Upon arrival at Mmutlane, one is encountered with a beautiful and unique sight of rocks surrounding the village, making it worth a visit.

Chief organiser of the 30km walk between Bonwapitse and Mmutlane, Ikageng Robert said the intention of the event was to educate local communities about tourism and also to unearth business opportunities that existed within the area.

Robert noted that the Sunday event was a pre-walk as a build-up activity towards the main event to be held sometimes in November.

Anticipated to be big, Robert said the bush walk would be an annual event listed on the Botswana calendar of events by Botswana Tourism Organisation.

He also highlighted that the event would be varied with years, not only confined to the walk, but include hiking and cycling.

With such activities, Robert said the aim was to reach out to other people from different parts of the country to come and witness the beauty of Mmutlane and Bonwapitse.

He also said proceeds from such activities would go towards charity.

Member of Parliament for Shoshong, Aubrey Lesaso, who was the chief walker, encouraged local communities to take advantage of natural resources to improve their livelihoods through business opportunities.

He cited examples of camp sites, lodges and any other activities that visitors could undertake at a fee.

The MP emphasised the importance of community-based natural resource management, saying such offered local communities the opportunity to participate in tourism development and natural resource conservation.

He said some projects could succeed in either biodiversity conservation or improved rural livelihoods, citing employment creation, income generation and provision of social services. ENDS