20 Jun 2016

The tourism social media space was recently abuzz with the hash tag #ThisisChobe, an online media campaign to promote Botswana as a destination of choice.

Driven by the marketing manager of Chobe Game Lodge, Mr James Wilson, the campaign is an opportunity to get the online travel community talking about their past experiences of Botswana and their impressions about the country to create awareness.

Mr Wilson brought on board a pair of award-winning husband-and-wife travel writers, Mr Daniel Noll and Ms Audrey Scott to experience Botswana first hand and share their experience with the rest of the world through their travel blog “Uncornered Market.”

Most notably, the Germany-based duo were also engaged as co-hosts of a live Twitter safari chat with the hash tag #ThisisChobe to create conversations about Chobe and Botswana on the online space. 

“We engaged people from our key markets around the world and the participants will forever continue to be ambassadors for the country from the experiences they learn through the Twitter chat,” explained Wilson after wrapping up the live chat.

The involvement of key players such as Lonely Planet, which has three million followers and well renowned travel writers also boosted the reach of the campaign significantly. 

Most noticeably, Mr Wilson noted, was the engagement of tour operators who actively sell Botswana and whose participation is expected to yield significant results in attracting future travellers to the country.

The involvement of the two celebrated travel bloggers, who refer to themselves as ‘chief story tellers’ is a cherry on top of the cake as they are expected to pen down and share interesting content about their experiences in Botswana through  social media channels and website.

Having visited more than 90 countries so far, Botswana was their 92nd adventure and yet surprisingly, their goal is not to necessarily visit all the countries in the universe as one might expect with such a record.

“For us, it is not about quantity but about the quality and the experiences we get to have with each place we visit,” explained Mr Noll.

The pair has traversed the world for eight years now, married for 16 years and coincidentally share their anniversary with Botswana, on the 30^th September.

Their aim is to provide a human face to most of the countries they visit, to connect the world through people, food and adventure.

Their four days in Chobe gave them that and much more, from the usual game drives and boat cruise to an impromptu stopover, observing locals harvesting and packaging sorghum, to taking part in traditional basket weaving in the heart of Chobe Enclave, Kachikau, their tour of Chobe could not have been any more unstaged.

It was clear from the start that their interest was not in the obvious, but in the unknown stories of Botswana that are reflected through the lives of the individuals they came across.

From Connie and Lynn, who are part of the all-female guiding team at Chobe Game Lodge, to Albert Ndereki, who is a walking and (might we add) entertaining encyclopaedia about the history of Chobe district and of Chobe Game Lodge, to Kachikau-based Ms Mercy Mothoka who spent six hours preparing a truly authentic traditional feast for the visiting writers, to Ms Lilian Kaisara who taught Ms Scot a thing or two about the art and skill of traditional basket weaving.

Everyone had a story to share, in enriching the duo’s perceptions about Botswana and Ms Scott said she has a fresh appreciation and perspective on basket weaving now after her first attempt.

For a country that is trying to diversify its tourism product, introducing visitors to hands-on basket weaving and the inclusion of a truly traditional lunch were welcome developments.

The culinary highlights for Mr Noll and Ms Scott seemed to be the sour milk, tswii and setampa with Mma Mercy’s home-made baobab yoghurt a hit with everyone.

For the duo, it is from experiences like these that they connect the dots about Botswana and about every country they visit.

Reflecting on the experience, both felt it had been authentic and unscripted, which is what stood out for them and what resonate with their motto to “travel wide, live deep.”

The informal side chats comparing cultures with issues relating to marriages, the choice to have children, food, relationships and everything else also gave the pair an opportunity to appreciate Botswana through its own people.

They were shocked to learn that weddings in Botswana generally have larger crowds sometimes an entire village!

“We only had a handful people at our wedding,” exclaimed Ms Scott. ENDS