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03/11/2026

THE FORGOTTEN WENELA BRIDGE AT NUNGA RIVER, PANDAMATENGA

To some, Nunga River is simply a seasonal watercourse, crossed today by a modern bridge as its waters make their way towards the Makgadikgadi. Yet, a few kilometres east of the present crossing lies a forgotten piece of history.
Approximately 25 kilometres from Pandamatenga village stand the deteriorating remains of an old bridge, believed to date back to 1945. Constructed with four openings, steel components, concrete and locally sourced quartz stone, this structure is historically associated with the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (WNLA), commonly known as WENELA.
WENELA was established by the South African mining industry to recruit African migrant workers for the gold mines of the Witwatersrand. Its recruitment network extended across Southern Africa, including the former Bechuanaland Protectorate.
The Kasane–Pandamatenga–Francistown corridor formed part of a wider network of routes associated with migrant labour movements, when many African men travelled considerable distances, often on foot, towards recruitment and transport centres.
The bridge therefore invites a deeper examination of how infrastructure, migration and the mining economy intersected in what is today northern Botswana.
There is, however, another dimension to this landscape. Local accounts suggest that the Nunga area was once inhabited by other communities or tribal groups before later settlement patterns took shape. This is an intriguing aspect of the area's human geography, deserving further investigation through oral histories, family accounts. Establishing which tribes lived there, and when, would add another important layer to the history of Nunga.
Today, the old bridge stands quietly in the landscape. The men who once travelled these routes are long gone, the labour system that gave the infrastructure its purpose has changed, and the surrounding environment has reclaimed much of what was built. Yet the surviving stones and steel still offer a tangible connection to a history that deserves to be remembered.

03/11/2026

You can never go wrong with a visit to Kazuma Forest. Just 20 kilometres from Pandamatenga, nestled between the A33 Road and Hunters Road, this wildlife haven never disappoints. The abundance of animals is simply amazing. One of the highlights was spotting a lioness accompanied by her two cubs, believed to be between one and two years old. Moments like these remind you why the African wilderness is so special.

01/11/2026

PANDAMATENGA'S FORGOTTEN HISTORY | AN AMBUSH IN KAZUMA FOREST.

During the turbulent closing years of the Rhodesian liberation struggle in the late 1970s, a Zimbabwean man known as Mkhwanazi was reportedly based in Botswana, assisting the liberation movement by transporting food supplies from Kasane towards Pandamatenga.

His movements along the old gravel road between Kasane and Pandamatenga eventually attracted suspicion. According to oral accounts, information reached Rhodesian operatives that an old-model Ford was making frequent journeys along this route. An ambush was reportedly organised.
One evening, the vehicle was caught in a hail of gunfire.
Inside were Mkhwanazi, his wife and their young child. What was meant to be an ordinary journey became a fight for survival. Bullets tore into their vehicle, and in the chaos, his wife was wounded. Against extraordinary odds, all three survived. They abandoned the vehicle and fled through the surrounding bush until they eventually reached Pandamatenga.
Imagine the terror of that night: a wounded mother, a frightened child and a father desperately trying to get his family to safety in the darkness. It was a family caught in the crossfire of a war that extended far beyond the borders of Rhodesia.

Mkhwanazi later relocated to Francistown, where he eventually settled with his wife, who came from Pandamatenga's Machida family. He has since passed away. We are told that the child who survived that night is still alive and resides in Francistown, now well into adulthood.
Today, this account remains an important piece of Pandamatenga's largely undocumented history. It reminds us that the liberation struggle was not merely a story of guerrilla movements, military operations and political negotiations.

Perhaps the most painful part is that a story of such consequence has survived largely through oral recollection.

Does anyone in Pandamatenga, Francistown or Zimbabwe remember Mkhwanazi, his family or the reported ambush along Kasane - Pandamatenga road?

01/11/2026

PANDAMATENGA: UNEARTHING THE FORGOTTEN LEGACY OF THE CDC

Pandamatenga is historically associated with two significant chapters: the Hunters' Road, dating back to approximately 1868–1871, and the agricultural development projects introduced by the Colonial Development Corporation (CDC) in the late 1940s.
Today, I took time to explore the lesser-known remains of the CDC's operations, particularly the old Boreholes 13 and 15.
At Borehole 13, the surviving structures suggest an organised livestock-handling facility, possibly incorporating a holding area or feedlot where cattle were prepared for the commercial market in Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia). The old dipping facility and concrete-brick water reservoir, with walls approximately six inches thick, are still intact. The former engine-house roof, believed to have been asbestos-cement, has almost completely disappeared.
Borehole 15 tells a different architectural story, with its water reservoir and engine-house structures built using fired clay bricks.
These forgotten structures offer a fascinating glimpse into the CDC's ambitions to develop commercial cattle production in Pandamatenga.

These ruins continue to tell a story worth preserving.

31/10/2026

This vehicle is in Botswana. The tower behind is in Zimbabwe. Where is this place?

30/10/2026

As the evening light began to fade, we watched a herd of buffaloes enjoying a good wallow in the waters of Kaabaree Pan. Mud-covered and seemingly unbothered by our presence, they rolled about in the shallow water, cooling off after a long day in the bush. Just another beautiful moment in the wild, where nature follows its own rhythm and the setting sun brings the day to a quiet close.

30/10/2026

A solitary bull hippopotamus thrives in the remote waters of Kaabaree Pan, an ancient seasonal wetland situated northwest of Pandamatenga in Botswana's. Surrounded by vast expanses of wilderness, this lone giant has made the pan his home, finding refuge in a landscape that has sustained life for generations.
Yet Kaabaree Pan is far more than a wildlife sanctuary. It is a landscape steeped in history and cultural significance. Long before modern settlements and agricultural developments emerged across the region, the area formed part of the ancestral homeland of the Xloro-Khwe, one of the indigenous San communities whose intimate knowledge of the land enabled them to thrive in this challenging environment. For countless generations, they depended on the pan and its surrounding ecosystems for water, food, and seasonal resources, weaving their lives into the rhythms of nature.
The very existence of Kaabaree Pan speaks to a deeper geological story. Formed over millennia through natural climatic and hydrological processes, it stands as a remnant of an ancient landscape that has witnessed the passage of wildlife, the movement of people, and the evolution of cultures.
Today, the pan continues to perform the role it has always played: sustaining life. From migratory birds and buffaloes to the solitary bull hippopotamus that now inhabits its waters, Kaabaree remains a vital oasis in an often-harsh environment.

30/10/2026

DURU PAN: AN IDENTITY OF PANDAMATENGA

Situated south-west of Pandamatenga, Duru Pan is far more than a landmark on a map. It forms part of the historical and cultural fabric of the Pandamatenga community, a landscape woven into our collective memory, heritage and sense of belonging.
Although Duru Pan falls within CH8, a community wildlife management area designated for professional hunting, from April to end of September or Mid October, it lies alongside the outer reaches of cattleposts allocated to the people of Pandamatenga. Its location, history and long-standing connection to the community
make it an integral part of the area's ancestral landscape.
On 28 October 2026, we visited the pan to enjoy a quiet sundowner. What I found was a remarkable testament to the value of responsible stewardship. Through a collaborative effort by commercial farmers, a borehole has been drilled to provide a reliable water source for wildlife during the harsh dry season.
The impact has been extraordinary. Thousands of Egyptian geese now congregate around the water, transforming the pan into a spectacle of life and activity. Elephants, too, continue to arrive in impressive numbers, drawn by the availability of this vital resource.
For the people of Pandamatenga, Duru Pan is more than a place. It is part of who we are. It is an inheritance passed from one generation to the next, a living connection to our past, and an enduring symbol of home.

29/10/2026

At Duru Pan, a few kilometres from Pandamatenga, the first elephant of the day arrived like a chief entering the kgotla. A battle-scarred bull, broad as a boulder and deliberate in his stride, approached the water with the quiet confidence of one who answers to no rival. A gaggle of Egyptian geese lined the marsh, their presence adding colour and song to the scene.

27/10/2026

Imagine this wilderness in the 1860s and 1870s, when elephant hunters and ivory traders travelled ancient routes across the region, a frontier linking the interior to the wider trade networks of southern Africa.
Decades later, cattle would shape another chapter, connecting Botswana’s rangelands to regional markets and, eventually, Britain’s appetite for beef.
Tonight, beneath the same African sky, we follow the trails where hunting, trade and history once converged.

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