Shakawe

{{Location map|Botswana|lat=-18.36916|long=21.84584|caption=Location of Shakawe}}

File:Shakawe (2019), Version A.jpg (right)]]

Shakawe{{Pronunciation needed}} is a village located in the northwest corner of Botswana at the beginning of the Okavango Delta, close to Namibia and Angola. Shakawe is awakening from its former status as a sleepy little outpost on the Okavango. For travellers, Shakawe means a Botswana entry or exit stamp or a staging post for a visit to the Tsodilo Hills, 40 km away. For Southern African holiday-makers, it is most often the start of a fishing trip in the Okavango Panhandle. It also provides access to the Caprivi Strip.{{cite web

| url=http://www.cso.gov.bw/html/census/dist70_71_72_73.html

| title=Distribution of population by sex by villages and their associated localities: 2001 population and housing census

| accessdate = 2007-12-07 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071124145529/http://www.cso.gov.bw/html/census/dist70_71_72_73.html |archivedate = 2007-11-24}} The record high temperature ever registered in Shakawe was {{convert|39.6|°C}}.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203143334/http://www.weather.info.bw/resources/entry_fs.html |archive-date=3 December 2008 |url=http://www.weather.info.bw/resources/entry_fs.html |title=Botswana's Climate |publisher=Meteorological Services Botswana |access-date=18 July 2021}} The lowest temperature registered in Shakawe was {{convert|-6.1|°C}}.

Infrastructure

File:Tented Lodge in the Okavango Delta.jpg near Shakawe (2017)]]

The village is served by Shakawe Airport. It is the gateway to the northern part of the Okavango Delta and the Linyanti area. Direct charter flights are operated to the aerodrome, with the main airline in the area being AirShakawe. Flight is the most efficient form of transport in the area.{{citation needed|date= October 2017}}

Travel by road is slow. Tarred roads have been constructed but have deteriorated over time due to under-maintenance. Bus transport is available to the main city of Maun, but this is a 5-hour travel. The large village has also been connected to the main electric grid. A bridge is also under construction and is due to be finished around the end of 2019. Various lodges and tented camps have been constructed. The main ones are Xaro Lodge, Drotsky's Cabins and Shakawe River Lodge.{{citation needed|date= August 2018}}

Shakawe is growing rapidly starting with two shopping centers or malls. Each mall has a well stocked supermarket. Also had developed a few safari lodges. A new medium-sized shopping center is being constructed.{{citation needed|date= October 2017}}

Demographics

As per the 2011 national census, the population of Shakawe and its associated localities was 7,506. The village of Shakawe on its own had 6,693 people.{{Cite web |title=2011 Botswana Population and Housing Census |publisher=Botswana Central Statistics Office |url=http://www.cso.gov.bw/media/2011%20Census%20_Alphabetical%20Index%20_Population%20of%20Villages.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150923211953/http://www.cso.gov.bw/media/2011%20Census%20_Alphabetical%20Index%20_Population%20of%20Villages.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy}}

References

Category:Populated places in Botswana

Category:North-West District (Botswana)