Botswana

Antoine's view

The South African Republic has beautiful parks, Zimbabwe as well, but the most spectacular, most natural are those of Botswana, one of the most prosperous countries in Africa: after 80 years of British protectorate under the name of Bechuanaland, the country gained independence in 1966 ... just as was discovered the largest diamond deposits on the planet ! This wealth, and its leaders? wisdom (they had opposed from the start South Africa?s apartheid) made the country one of the most stable on the continent. Well-managed parks attract many visitors, in the delta of the Okavango, the Moremi Reserve, or on the banks of the Chobe River. One can watch there at all times an impressive variety of animals, which seem indeed to live harmony: Elephants, hippos, lions, giraffes, crocodiles, zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, antelopes of all kinds, and an incredible variety of colored birds.
In 1990 I discovered this modern paradise: a top French publisher had asked me to join the launch of an encyclopedia by installments devoted to wildlife. My mission was to write a song on this theme, to record it, and go shoot a video for the song in a country of my choice, rich in wildlife. I took the advice of my old friend Jacques Laine, a great adventurer, who often directed television programs, especially for French legend Nicolas Hulot : he immediately suggested Botswana, whose extraordinary Okavango Delta also soon give its name to a series of programs by Nicolas. I?ve gone back several times since, to Botswana, and every time I?ve admired the wise management of the natural environment of this country: at each visit, wildlife seemed richer, and the vision of harmony in which they lived closer to the image that we had children, of the Garden of Eden.