Maun, Botswana

Coordinates: 19°59′S 023°25′E / 19.983°S 23.417°E / -19.983; 23.417
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Maun
Country
 Botswana
DistrictNorth-West District
Founded1915
Elevation
927 m (3,041 ft)
Population
 (2022)[1]
 • Total
85,293
ISO 3166 codeBW-NW
ClimateBSh

Maun is the second-largest village in

A3 highway. Maun is also the headquarters of numerous safari and air-charter operations who run trips into the Okavango Delta
.

Although officially still a village, Maun has developed rapidly from a rural frontier town and has spread along the

red lechwe can still be seen grazing next to local donkeys, goats and cattle.[3]

History

Maun Airport (top) and Mack Air aircraft at Maun Airport (bottom).

The settlement was founded in 1915 as the tribal capital of the

Wild West' town which was the economic center of local cattle ranching and hunting operations. However, with the growth of the tourism industry and the completion of the tar road from Nata
in the early 1990s, Maun has developed swiftly, losing much of its old town character. It is now home to over 55,000 people.

Maun is today a thriving tourist town, infamous for its infestation of donkeys and to a lesser extent goats. These animals can be seen standing around town as the local farmers arrive in the innumerable taxis to sell their wares on the curbside.[5]

With the influx of tourism dollars, the typical traditional rondavels have been replaced by square, cinderblock homes roofed with tin and occasionally tiles. Mobile phone service in Maun is excellent out to about 20 to 25 kilometres (12 to 16 mi), depending on weather.

Maun is also becoming a regional

entrepreneurs
with welding ventures operated from the back of a cart.

Tourists often fly into the

Makgadikgadi
.

Climate

Maun has a

hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh). On 7 January 2016, Maun recorded a temperature of 44.0 °C (111.2 °F), which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Botswana.[6][7]

Climate data for Maun
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 44.0
(111.2) 		39.4
(102.9) 		39.5
(103.1) 		37.2
(99.0) 		35.6
(96.1) 		33.3
(91.9) 		32.2
(90.0) 		36.1
(97.0) 		38.6
(101.5) 		42.8
(109.0) 		43.3
(109.9) 		42.2
(108.0) 		44.0
(111.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 31.5
(88.7) 		31.3
(88.3) 		31.0
(87.8) 		30.5
(86.9) 		27.9
(82.2) 		25.2
(77.4) 		25.4
(77.7) 		28.5
(83.3) 		32.3
(90.1) 		34.6
(94.3) 		33.6
(92.5) 		32.2
(90.0) 		30.3
(86.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 25.4
(77.7) 		25.1
(77.2) 		24.2
(75.6) 		22.6
(72.7) 		18.7
(65.7) 		15.7
(60.3) 		15.8
(60.4) 		18.8
(65.8) 		23.1
(73.6) 		26.6
(79.9) 		26.4
(79.5) 		25.8
(78.4) 		22.4
(72.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 19.4
(66.9) 		18.9
(66.0) 		17.5
(63.5) 		14.6
(58.3) 		9.5
(49.1) 		6.2
(43.2) 		6.2
(43.2) 		9.2
(48.6) 		14.0
(57.2) 		18.5
(65.3) 		19.3
(66.7) 		19.3
(66.7) 		14.4
(57.9)
Record low °C (°F) 8.9
(48.0) 		8.9
(48.0) 		10.0
(50.0) 		3.3
(37.9) 		−1.7
(28.9) 		−6.4
(20.5) 		−5.3
(22.5) 		−4.4
(24.1) 		−0.6
(30.9) 		6.1
(43.0) 		9.4
(48.9) 		11.1
(52.0) 		−6.4
(20.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 104
(4.1) 		95
(3.7) 		81
(3.2) 		25
(1.0) 		5
(0.2) 		1
(0.0) 		0.5
(0.02) 		0
(0) 		1
(0.0) 		17
(0.7) 		43
(1.7) 		81
(3.2) 		452
(17.8)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 13 12 8 5 1 0 0 0 0 3 9 10 61
Average
relative humidity
(%) 		60 60 60 51 48 49 45 38 32 34 43 52 48
Mean monthly sunshine hours 263.5 209.1 257.3 279.0 313.1 300.0 306.9 331.7 306.0 297.6 261.0 244.9 3,370.1
Mean daily sunshine hours 8.5 7.4 8.3 9.3 10.1 10.0 9.9 10.7 10.2 9.6 8.7 7.9 9.3
Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst,[8] (January record only)[6]

Etymology

The name Maun is derived from the

Ndebele King Lobengula.[9]

Commercial development

Sedia Hotel in Maun

Maun is a gateway for exploring much of northern

Makgadikgadi
.

In 2011, Maun had branches of

Standard Chartered Bank
with ATM facility. Maun has three main hotels; Sedia Riverside Hotel, Riley's Hotel and Maun Lodge. There are many other accommodations and campsites, oriented towards the safari business like Okavango River Lodge, Thamalakane Lodge, the old Bridge Backpackers and others.[citation needed]

Education

Maun Senior Secondary School is located in Maun.

Healthcare

The Letsholathe II Memorial Hospital is the main referral hospital in Maun. Another one, Maun Private Hospital, located on the Sedia road, opened to the public in July 2021.

Sports

Maun hosts the

football (soccer) team promoted to the Botswana Premier League in 2013-14.[10]

The

series 10), which aired in 2007, includes segments in Maun.[11] Maun was featured again in the series finale of The Grand Tour in 2024, during which Jeremy Clarkson's Lancia Beta and James May's Mercedes-Benz 230E
from the special were present, having been found a few years earlier.

The sixth and seventh legs of the 22nd installment of the American television program The Amazing Race took place in and around Maun.[12]

The music video for "Am I Wrong" by Nico & Vinz, was filmed in Maun, as well as in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

The 2012 TV series Bush Pilots was filmed in Maun.

References

  1. ^ "2021 Census". Archived from the original on December 27, 2012.
  2. ^ "Statistics Botswana". Statistics Botswana. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  3. ^ "Maun - Capital City - Botswana..." www.botswana.co.za. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  4. ^ "Maun Local History". Archived from the original on 2008-10-26. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  5. ^ "Maun History, History of Maun, Maun City Information :: Traveltill.com". Traveltill. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  6. ^ a b "Botswana: Heat Wave Breaks Maximum Temperature Records". Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Weather Data: Botswana, Maun, 2016, January". Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Klimatafel von Maun / Botsuana" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Maun - Capital City - Botswana..." www.botswana.co.za. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  10. ^ "Botswana Premier League :: Sankoyo Bush Bucks". Botswana Premier League. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  11. ^ Shekhar 2020.
  12. ^ Sutherland 2013.

Works cited

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