Manyelanong Game Reserve

About the park

This small reserve near the village of Otse, between Gaborone and Lobatse, protects a sandstone hill whose sheer southern cliff holds one of only two Cape vulture breeding colonies in Botswana. It is not a game-viewing reserve: the point of a visit is to watch vultures riding the thermals off the cliff and coming in to their nest ledges, along with Verreaux's eagle, black stork and lanner falcon, which also breed here. The cliff and the wooded slope below it are fenced to keep people away from the nests, so you watch from outside the fence with binoculars. It suits birders and anyone driving the Gaborone–Lobatse road with an hour to spare. The catch is that the colony has shrunk a great deal since the 1960s, and entry beyond the fence needs permission from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

Highlights

• Cape vultures circling the breeding cliff as the morning thermals build
• A pair of black stork that has nested on the cliff in most seasons since 1941
• Verreaux's eagle and lanner falcon breeding on the same cliff face

Good to know

• Sandstone hill just southeast of Otse, between Gaborone and Lobatse
• One of only two Cape vulture breeding sites in Botswana; an Important Bird Area
• Cliff and lower slope fenced off; watch from outside the fence
• Free entry; sign in at the wildlife department office at the Otse turn-off
• Open all year; no accommodation