Kgale Hill, Gaborone Game Reserve and Mokolodi Wildlife

Few capitals let you scramble up a troop-patrolled granite mountain before breakfast, watch kudu and zebra ten minutes from your hotel at midday, and track wild white rhino on foot before sunset. Gaborone's trio of outdoor reserves wraps around the city from the eastern wetlands to the southern hills.

Hiking Kgale Hill (The Sleeping Giant)

Rising to 1,287 metres on the southern edge of Gaborone right behind Game City mall, Kgale Hill (Thaba Kgale) takes its nickname from a profile that resembles a figure lying on its back. Start at first light from the trailhead off the Western Bypass near the Kgale quarries, when the granite is cool and groups of local runners and hikers are on the slope. Three main painted-marker routes climb the 280 vertical metres in roughly 45 to 60 minutes up: the straightforward main path following the ridge, a slightly steeper gully scramble over pink granite boulders, and a longer loop trail. Along the way you will almost certainly cross paths with troops of chacma baboons and agile rock hyraxes (do not carry visible food bags). From the white summit cross, the panorama takes in the full curve of Gaborone Dam to the south-east and the CBD towers to the north.

Gaborone Game Reserve: plains game inside the city

Tucked into a 500-hectare wedge between Broadhurst and the Notwane River off Limpopo Drive, Gaborone Game Reserve is one of the most compact urban wildlife parks in southern Africa. You can drive your own saloon car or 4x4 along its flat dirt loops to see impala, kudu, blue wildebeest, plains zebra, eland, ostrich and troops of vervet monkeys grazing against a backdrop of city acacia woodland. Stop at the elevated wooden observation hides overlooking the central marsh and reedbeds, which attract African fish eagles, malachite kingfishers, saddle-billed storks and hundreds of waterbirds. Bring your own drinking water and binoculars, and check what to wear for dusty tracks.

Mokolodi Nature Reserve and Crocodile Pools

Fifteen kilometres south of central Gaborone along the A1 highway toward Lobatse, Mokolodi Nature Reserve protects 3,700 hectares of rocky hills, seasonal streams and sweetveld savanna established by a non-profit wildlife education trust. Because there are no lions or elephants on the open trails, Mokolodi is famous for guided on-foot white rhino tracking led by experienced rangers, alongside open-vehicle game drives where you can spot giraffe, zebra, kudu, gemsbok, hippo and warthog. Book your activity ahead and linger for a bush braai or sundowner overlooking the waterhole.