Toteng

Toteng is a village in the North-West District of Botswana, sandwiched between Maun and Sehithwa, where the Nghabe (Nhabe) and Kunyere rivers join and flow into the north-eastern edge of Lake Ngami, a seasonal lake that fills during the Okavango's annual flood. Toteng is historically significant: archaeological finds here provide the oldest directly-dated evidence of cattle herding in southern Africa, and the village was once the capital of Ngamiland before the Batawana relocated their seat to Nokaneng and later Maun. The village has a hospital and a school. An open-pit copper mine (the Boseto mine, later referred to as the Zeta project) operated near Toteng from 2012 until being suspended in 2015, with periodic talk of reopening as an underground operation; unemployment is a real local issue, and many younger residents move to cattle posts or to Maun for work. Toteng is also part of the Lake Ngami Conservation Trust, a community grouping of six villages around the lake working on conservation and tourism.

By Plane

Maun International Airport (MUB) is the nearest airport, north-east of Toteng along the road to Sehithwa.

By Car / Road

Toteng sits on the tarred road between Maun and Sehithwa, roughly midway.

Walkable within the village. A vehicle is needed to reach the lake and neighbouring villages.

• Nghabe and Kunyere rivers — the two seasonal rivers that join at Toteng before flowing into Lake Ngami.

• Lake Ngami — when water levels are high (dependent on the Okavango flood reaching it), the lake attracts flamingos and other waterbirds.

• Birdwatching — the Lake Ngami basin, in years the lake holds water, is a recognised wetland for migratory and resident waterbirds; the Lake Ngami Conservation Trust groups Toteng with five neighbouring villages on lake conservation.

• Maun — north-east along the tarred road, the region's tourism hub.
• Sehithwa — south along the same road.
• Lake Ngami — accessible from the village when water levels are high.