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No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Tour: Precious Ramotswe's Investigation Locations in Gaborone
4.9
15 Ratings
Gaborone
Embark on a literary tour of Gaborone and explore the investigation locations of Precious Ramotswe, the beloved detective from the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Follow in her footsteps as you visit Zebra Drive, the Anglican church, Speedy Motors, and more. Optional extra: Tea at the Mma Ramotswe tea corner.
Embark on a literary tour of Gaborone and explore the investigation locations of Precious Ramotswe, the beloved detective from the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Follow in her footsteps as you visit Zebra Drive, the Anglican church, Speedy Motors, and more. Optional extra: Tea at the Mma Ramotswe tea corner.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Three Chiefs’ Statues - Here we start the Story of Botswana where we find Obed Ramotswe’s story in Botswana’s history and why cattle were/are such an important part of Botswana and Precious’s life.
- Zebra Way - Referred to as Zebra Drive in the Book Series, this street is where Mma Ramotswe would have had her house. We cannot access the house,…
- Three Chiefs’ Statues - Here we start the Story of Botswana where we find Obed Ramotswe’s story in Botswana’s history and why cattle were/are such an important part of Botswana and Precious’s life.
- Zebra Way - Referred to as Zebra Drive in the Book Series, this street is where Mma Ramotswe would have had her house. We cannot access the house, it is private property but we will appreciate the neighborhood and its architecture. From here we head off to the Old Tlokweng Bridge, where at the Notswane River she solved her very first case as a detective. Crossing the river puts us in the village of Tlokweng, home of ‘the Orphan farm’ (visits can be arranged by request), and ‘Speedy Motors’. The drive takes us back into Gaborone passing Riverwalk Mall and through Grace Makhutse’s ‘suburb’ in the city before she got married.
- Gaborone - We visit some of the places around the city where Mma Ramotswe solved her first few mysteries.
What's Included
- Bottled water provided
- Air-conditioned vehicles
- Bottled water provided
- Air-conditioned vehicles
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- Tea and coffee
- Lunch
- Tea and coffee
Additional Information
Embark on a literary journey exploring the various locations in Gaborone where Precious Ramotswe unraveled her mysteries. Enjoy a scenic drive to ‘Zebra drive’, make a stop at the Anglican church where the actual Trevor Mwamba served as bishop, visit Speedy Motors, among others. Optional add-on: Enjoy a cup of tea at the Mma Ramotswe tea corner. Kindly…
Embark on a literary journey exploring the various locations in Gaborone where Precious Ramotswe unraveled her mysteries. Enjoy a scenic drive to ‘Zebra drive’, make a stop at the Anglican church where the actual Trevor Mwamba served as bishop, visit Speedy Motors, among others. Optional add-on: Enjoy a cup of tea at the Mma Ramotswe tea corner. Kindly note that the television set used for filming the short stories is currently non-operational and not open for tours.
Traverse the paths blazed by Precious Ramotswe and experience her thrilling tales.
Location
Three Chiefs' Statues
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(15 Ratings)
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Nicola
Jul 19, 2024
A great day out in Botswana - This experience was excellent. It brought the places in the stories to life and made me enjoy them all over again. I was also given the history of Botswana, lots of local insight and I was introduced to local food and craft producers. An excellent day out. My guide was exceptional in every way.
Review provided by Viator
Travelling_tweeter
Jun 30, 2024
See the book places for real - This gave me a very helpful overview of the history of Gabarone and Botswana as well as seeing some of the places mentioned in the books. We drove to Zebra ‘drive’ to see the outside of the house that gave inspiration for Mma Ramostwe’s home, and also saw a garage on Tlokleng Road which sparked the location for J L B Matekone’s work location and the later detectives’ office.
We also drove round the university, past the civil servants’ training centre / secretarial college (much larger than I was expecting) and went near the orphan farm (obviously not actually going there as there are vulnerable children inside!)
My favourite bit was going to the Anglican cathedral as we were able to explore inside.
It would have been nice to finish at the President Hotel but that wasn’t an option to book on TripAdvisor so I went separately on another day.
Definitely a good way to get an introduction to Botswana and learning the history really helped give me some context for me week working in this lovely country.
Can thoroughly recommend the tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mary_n
May 26, 2024
Best tour of entire 30 day trip - Andy read portions of the book as we approached the sites. But the real highlight was Andy and his wife Auto who owns the company, their kindliness and insights about life in Botswana
Review provided by Viator
Zalawo
May 8, 2024
Mma Ramotswe and history of Botswana - We were lucky to have two guides for the two of us! Both Andy and Oto were super friendly and knowledgeable and they were responsive to our many questions about Botswana.
The trip was focused on Number One Ladies but also had lots of history and cultural information and references. There isn’t really enough to fill 3 hours just about Mma Ramotswe and Co but it was a good hook to hang the tour on.
We really enjoyed our 3 hours and would recommend this trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anna_p
Nov 9, 2023
The world of Mma Ramotswe brought to life. - Andy was such a wonderful guide. We were totally immersed in the world of Mma Ramotswe. We really appreciated learning about beautiful Botswana. We found that, as Canadians, we had a lot in common with the people of this land, believe it or not.
Review provided by Viator
Barbara_p
Jul 30, 2023
A+ No. 1 Tour!!!! - My mother and I went on this tour together with the wonderful guide Andy!
We had an amazing time! Andy’s tour was above and beyond what we imagined it would be. Andy was so fun to talk with about life in Botswana in general, and birds! and of course the Mma Ramotswe books - you could tell he was really into the books and sharing information about the people and places the stories were based on. Thank you so much Andy! Your tour really was a great way to experience Gaborone and get a behind the scenes look at the inspiration for the books.
(Viator’s options for “who came with you” weren’t applicable since we are family but no teens or young children)
Review provided by Viator
Malcolm_p
May 23, 2023
A Good Tour - We were picked up from our hotel and taken on our Ladies’ Detective tour in a very comfortable car. The tour guides were nice friendly people who had a good knowledge of the subject. They seemed to know how best to treat their guests. It was a good tour
Review provided by Viator
Anne_c
Jan 10, 2023
A great tour - Guide Andy and his professionalism and knowledge. Efficient, courteous and interesting. Knows his craft, presents well takes feedback on board and has a development plan.
Review provided by Viator
Peterosazuwa
Dec 24, 2022
Amazing Gaborone! - It was pleasantly nice to trace some part of the famous Mma Ramotswe investigative stories! The tour was a blend of No. 1 Ladies Detective... and Botswana cultural history, which we found very interesting and informative. Andy, our tour guide provided excellent narrative through out as well as being able to accommodate questions from children or younger quests! Well worth the visit!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jansnj
Nov 28, 2022
A nice tour in a very friendly city - Our guide, Andy, was very friendly and knowledgeable about Botswana history. We were able to see the house on Zebra Way where McCall-Smith wrote the first book, and we met one of the guys who was the inspiration for JLB Matekoni. We also drove around the university area and the hospital, both of which featured in the series, and went to the Anglican cathedral where Mma. Ramotswe worshiped. There was a bit more general history and a bit less about the books than I expected, and it would have been nice to see the mini mall where her office was supposed to be, but in general the tour was interesting and worthwhile.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
