'Good God, an elephant!'

SAFARI: Alexander McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels are putting the spotlight on Botswana

SAFARI: Alexander McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels are putting the spotlight on Botswana. Louise East goes under canvas in the 'model small African democracy'

The flood of tourists prompted by the success of a book or television series can be surprising. Why, for example, would fans of Inspector Morse or Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy rush to Oxford, when they could only reasonably expect a holiday plagued by mysterious homicides or a run-in with an armed polar bear? In Botswana's case, though, the rise in tourism following the global success of Alexander McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series (four million books sold and fans stretching from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Laura Bush), is understandable.

The Botswana beloved of McCall Smith, an Edinburgh lawyer, and his heroine, Precious Ramotswe, is not only one of "shimmering pools", "sweet grass", and "lions with the dry wind in their manes", but also a place where no bad deed goes unpunished, the old ways are respected and most problems are easily solved with a nice cup of tea. You could read the popularity of the series as little more than a nostalgia for the Good Old Days, except for the fact that modern-day Botswana is rather awe- inspiring.

In a piece of timing that must still smart, Botswana was granted independence from Britain in 1966, just a year before the discovery of three rich veins of diamonds. The country is now the world's largest exporter of gem-grade diamonds, and this wealth, together with the firm hand of founding father, Seretse Khama, means Botswana has evolved into a model, small African democracy, with state-subsidised education, low poverty and a good working relationship between elected and tribal government.

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What this means for the visitor is that a trip to Botswana is not the queasily guilty experience of holidaying in a poverty-ridden and corrupt country (although even here, AIDS is a massive problem), but rather an insight into what Africa could be, were it not for the disadvantages, both natural and economic, stacked against it. Tourists also benefit from the foresight of Botswana's young government, who set aside well over a third of the country as either national park or wildlife management areas, ensuring that much of the country, including the stunning Okavango Delta, a bright green glove of water and wildlife lying across the sands of the Kalahari, is unspoilt wilderness.

All this doesn't come cheap. Botswana is firmly aimed at the top end of the safari market, but this, in turn, has allowed companies such as Corporation Conservation Africa, deeply committed to working with both the environment and local communities, to flourish. It also means that while a safari in one of Botswana's rivals - Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa - can leave you wondering who's watching who between the four lions or the 14 safari vehicles, Botswana remains blissfully uncrowded and wild.

Having never set foot in Africa, I had no idea what to expect of Botswana. What I didn't anticipate was that a safari would be less the shock of the new, than the shock of the very familiar indeed. Far from being peculiar, elephants, lions, hippopotami, crocodiles and giraffes are the soap stars of childhood, forever having picture book picnics, getting into scrapes or simply proving that H is indeed for Hippopotamus. So when I saw my first elephant snatching giant trunkfuls of mopane leaves, my reaction was, "Ho hum, an elephant," followed by a loud clicking and groaning as my mind strained ... "Elephant. Me. Ten feet away. Elephant. Me. Good God, an elephant."

Once I got over the shock of just how much access we had to these wild animals, I had to deal with just how much access they had to me. There are no bars or windows on safari jeeps, and if you choose a camping safari, your tent is positioned smack in the middle of the lions' front lawn. This can teach you interesting lessons about your own "fight or flight" mechanism.

On my third night under canvas in Botswana, I was woken by a loud crunching noise some 18 inches from my head, and peering through the mosquito netting during an illuminating flash of lightning, I spied a very large hyena sniffing at the door of the neighbouring tent. Lying back, petrified, I weighed it up; loud crunching, a hyena the size of a Great Dane and lightning versus a very cosy camp-bed, complete with warm duvet and a goosedown pillow. I went back to sleep. In the morning, I was only slightly alarmed to find the tent garlanded with large footballs of elephant dung, together with the remains of next-door's toothpaste tube, used as hyena chewing-gum. Once I'd made the necessary mental adjustments, it was exactly this close proximity which made the safari so exciting.

As well as traditional safari lodges, CC Africa specialises in luxury tented safaris, which means that several hundred miles into the bush, you can expect Frette linen, port and cigars and a proudly-flushing lavatory. Even on the slightly less luxe Pioneer Camping jaunts, everything is smilingly and mysteriously ready when you return from safari - a good, camp-fire-cooked meal, a properly erected tent and a hot water bucket shower.

So all your time can be devoted to Botswana's stunning wildlife and landscape. Initially, it's the big game that gets you - spindly-legged giraffes, as unsure as a 13-year-old in high heels; a lion squatting to drink at the river; herds of up to 30 zebra creating a Bridget Riley print with legs. For one week only, you turn into a wildlife trivia bore. Did you know, for example, that more people are killed in Africa by hippos than any other animal? Or that hyenas have the strongest jaws in the animal kingdom?

After you've ticked off all the big players, it's the less obvious creatures which become fascinating; the peacock-winged, spider-eating wasp, the circling eagles, the lurid-bottomed baboons and the pompous round hornbills, which, with their black and scarlet plumage, looked for all the world like an ET-sized cardinal. In the Okavango Delta, you can take to the water in a dug-out canoe, gliding low through the water lilies and sending water antelopes scattering with the splashy pleasure of a toddler in wellies.

But the biggest pleasure of any safari is simply that of being out in the wilds of Africa, a continent impossible to describe without cliché. Here, indeed, are the sheltering skies, the vast plains, the bleached grass and the trees like up-turned skeletons. In an interview, Alexander McCall Smith has said, "I am trying, as far as possible, to show the positive side of Africa There is so much about the trials and difficulties of Africa and so little about ordinary life there." To find that positive side, you can read his books, or you could go and discover it for yourself.

LET'S GO

Capital: Gaborone
Population: 1.57 million
Currency: Pula (meaning rain) divided into 100 thebe (meaning raindrops)
When to go: Year round. The rainy season (September to April) means lush greenery while the dry season (March to August) is good for spotting wildlife at waterholes

READER OFFER

CC Africa's Botswana Expeditions are being offered to readers of The Irish Times at a reduced rate of €1,485 to €4,293 per person sharing for seven to 12 night safaris. Valid until end June 2005. (Normal price €1,650 to €4,770.) CC Africa's Botswana Okavango Delta lodges, Sandibe Safari Lodge and Nxabega Okavango Safari Lodge are also on offer, from €250 per person per night (normal rate €355). Validity: until Mar 31st, 2005; minimum two-night stay per lodge. Includes all meals, house wines and local brand drinks, all safari activities, VAT, laundry and emergency medical evacuation insurance. Offer open to Irish residents only, and booking conditions apply. South Africa-based Conservation Corporation Africa (CC Africa),  safari@ccafrica.com; www.ccafrica.com; 00-27-11-8094300.