These guided excurions are delivered by our friends at Travellers Base Travel & Tours. We can book for you or you can book directly with them. Travellers Base will pick you up from Segaigai Farm and return you back to the farm at the end of your trip. Travellers Base would appreciate at least 24 hours notice for any excursions. Their pricing is for the vehicle and guide rather than per person.
Their phone number is 77985522.
Mmakodu Excursion
BWP 1440 per party (up to 8 passengers)
Mmakodu is a fascinating archaeological site about 75 km from Segaigai Farm.
Bantu people first arrived in-Botswana in the 4th or 5th Century A.D. They arrived with their
own technological package, which included the smelting of iron. In their eyes the Tswapong
Hills would have been an ideal place to settle. In addition to plentiful food and water the
hills could provide clay suitable for pottery, and outcrops of banded ironstone suitable for
smelting.
Mmakodu was the site of a very early iron age village. Iron and steel was smelted and
worked in the shade of enormous baobab trees. The bloomery furnaces were single use
structures. They were smashed to extract the ‘bloom’ of iron after they had cooled down,
and then rebuilt. Pieces of slag, tuyere pipes, and the remains of smashed furnaces can still
be found.
Iron smelting and working came to an end in the 19th Century. The local industry was
unable to compete with cheaper imported goods sourced from Europe, and the village was
abandoned. But even today it is traditional for a Batswapong bride to have an iron object as
part of her wedding trousseau.
Mmakodu is now preserved as a National Monument. You can walk around the site; see the
baobabs and picture the days when it was a busy metal working village. Climb the hill above
to see the pits from which the itronstone was mined;and visit the nearby Gupo Spring. Set
in a shady glade, this is one of the perpetual springs that made the Tswapong Hills an
attractive place to settle.
The tour ends with a drive to the top of the Tswapong Hills to enjoy the view.
- The excursion leaves Segaigai Farm at 8 a.m. and returns at around 14:00.
- Snacks, water and cold drinks provided
- Fully escorted by a professional guide
- Travel in an air conditioned and comfortable minibus
- Pricing is for a party of up to 8. Larger groups can be accommodated on request,
with a maximum of 28 people - No minimum age, and suitable for all fitness levels
Toutswemogala Hill Excursion
BWP 1440 per party (up to 8 passengers)
Toutswemogala Hill is an isolated, flat topped hill about 70 km from Segaigai Farm. It rises
about 80m above the surrounding forested plain.
The natural prow at the western end is a favourite with children: strongly reminiscent of
Pride Rock in ‘The Lion King’. It offers panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.
Surrounded by steep cliffs, and with just one path to the summit plateau, the hill was an
ideal natural kraal protected from lions and other big predators. It was an obvious choice
for one of the very earliest Bantu settlements in Botswana. The small village on the plateau
was occupied for more than 1000 years. Archaeological excavations mean that we know a
surprising amount about the inhabitants, and the hill has been proposed as a UNESCO
World Cultural Heritage site by the Botswana government.
The hill also has a lot of geological interest. The finely laminated siltstones hold beds of
beautifully preserved Glossopteris leaf fossils. There is also an enigmatic diamictite outcrop
at the western end of the hill, penetrated by an arch.
- The excursion leaves Segaigai Farm at 8 a.m. and returns at around 14:00.
- Snacks, water and cold drinks provided
- Fully escorted by a professional guide
- Travel in an open safari vehicle
- Pricing is for a party of up to 8. Larger groups can be accommodated on request,
with a maximum of 28 people - Minimum age 2 yrs. If you have younger children let us know well in advance.
Children will need to be closely supervised near the cliffs. - Stout shoes are recommended. The track up the hill is steep
After rain the siltstones of Toutswemogala Hill become very slippery. In the event of bad
weather, you can choose between either a full refund, or an escorted trip to Goo-Moremi
Gorge in the Tswapong Hills.
