We’re sitting down with Melanie “Maps” van Zyl, curator of the Explorers Lounge at The Chobe Safari Lodge.
Melanie, this is a beautiful room. Tell us about it.
Thank you. I love this space!
When we began talking about this Lounge, we knew we wanted to tell the story of the Lodge, but we also wanted to anchor it firmly in its context — not just physically here in Chobe as the first tourism lodge, but culturally and historically too.
The Chobe Safari Lodge has stood here for over six decades, and the stories of Botswana are woven into every brick and beam.
So our challenge was to come up with innovative ways to share these stories, and we’re using maps, installations, scrapbooks, photomontages, display cabinets and, of course, the Botswana bookcase.
Can you tell us more about that?
Well, in a lot of public spaces like this, people tend to put a bookshelf to decorate the space, and they put books in to decorate the bookshelf. It’s pretty, but there’s no real purpose or intent behind it.
In this case — excuse the pun! — the bookshelf is home to a carefully curated collection of books dedicated to Botswana, and we’ve bookmarked some of the more interesting passages.
We have 10 sections on subjects such as the early European explorers, the political history of Botswana, the great Botswana love story, [guide books], and a wide variety of fiction written by Batswana authors or set in Botswana.
I see there’s also a shelf devoted to Botswana’s formidable women writers.
Yes, Botswana has such a rich history of strong women writers. We have books by Bessie Head, who arrived in Botswana as a political refugee in the 60s. She became one of Africa’s most widely read novelists, with most of her work set in Botswana. She became the first internationally recognised Motswana writer in the mid-20th century, and you should definitely check out the Bessie Head display at the Khama III Memorial Museum in Serowe.
There are also books by the indomitable Unity Dow, tales from the Okavango Delta by visual artist Ann Gollifer, and more contemporary voices on all sorts of topics from science fiction to feminist commentary.
And of course, the irresistible Mma Precious Ramotswe. We have a full collection of Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency novels, generously signed by the author.
So many kind people have contributed and as people visit us, we keep learning. This is a living library, where we can keep adding voices and stories. So if anyone reading this has suggestions, I want to hear them!
It’s not really a traditional library, is it?
Exactly. We designed the Explorers Lounge to spark ideas rather than overwhelm you with dusty shelves. It’s a story-room, a curiosity den. A place to offer starting points in various subjects so that people can follow their interests as deeply as they choose. You can spend 5 minutes in this lounge, or 5 hours, or even 5 days.
And you discover something new every time.
Perhaps you start at the map table, notice the Three Dikgosi, wander to the political shelves, uncover Botswana’s iconic love story between Ruth and Seretse Khama, and head home determined to rewatch A United Kingdom.
That’s my dream for this place: gentle discovery, layered learning, and, most importantly, joyful surprise.
Tell us more about the maps. You obviously have a passion for them – there are quite a few in here.
And more to come!
I grew up exploring Botswana, road tripping dusty tracks with my family. And anyone who adventured here in the 1990s remembers Veronica Roodt’s legendary Shell Map. Maps are like time capsules, and the way they change over time reveals different stories.
For example, the very first “map” of Botswana didn’t really include Botswana at all. It was just a void labelled Country Unknown. Then there are the maps of hunter’s routes threading between great baobabs. Then the railways arrived, then gravel roads, then pipelines and parks. Every layer tells a story.
Here in the Lounge, we use maps to explore Botswana’s human history, its conservation and ecology, and even the economy.
So how did you get involved in all of this?
This is a project many years in the making. It started with some freelance media work for the Lodge, when I discovered they were about to turn 60.
There had been some old history boards that told the story of the Lodge, but these had been misplaced. So I set about creating a new series of information boards which are on display up in the Bush Lodge area.
The displays were very well received by guests and staff alike, but there was so much more to tell. During my research, I came across so much fun information, cool photos and great maps, plus letters and documents and menus. I was really keen to make these stories more accessible to the guests.
So when the team began planning the redevelopment of the main Safari Lodge area, I jokingly asked for, “Rooms, air-conditioned rooms! At least three. And beautiful! Please.”
Three rooms? I thought the Lounge was only one room?
Yip, the Explorers Lounge is one room but the story of this hotel is told throughout the property.
The old steamboat paddle outside? It’s from Botswana’s first safari boat and we’ve got old photos of her at work on the Chobe River.
Treetops Lookout Deck? It tells the tale of the Lodge’s first owner and Sedudu Island.
Even the décor in the Safari Rooms tells stories of this place through things like an old cocktail menu which is my favourite piece of framed memorabilia – it lists “painkillers’ as available by special request!
But the focal storytelling points are the Explorers Lounge, celebrating our adventure and safari heritage; the Elephant Centre, which tells Botswana’s conservation story; and the Chobe Gallery, which celebrates Botswana’s rich cultural wealth.
You are involved in all of those?
Oh yes! But I’ve been really lucky to work with some amazing people and institutions.
We set up the Elephant Centre from scratch with Dr Tempe Adams and survey material supported by organisations like KAZA.
In the Chobe Gallery, we’re working with the Kuru Art Project, Gabane Pottery and others to tell their stories, and we put examples of their work in our new rooms to really tie everything together.
Wow. You really are showcasing all of Botswana.
Exactly! The best of Botswana all in one place!
Our themes are “Celebrate Botswana” and #BotswanaProud.
And these themes extend all the way from the spaces we talked about, to traditional food incorporated in the menus, to the signature cocktail, which includes a mopane worm, and there’s still more to come!
So we aren’t just using static information boards or writing a big coffee table book; we’ve really tried to bring these stories to life in a variety of tactical and interactive ways.
So, back to the Explorers Lounge. What’s your favourite piece?
Well, remember those missing information boards?
Finding the original missing history boards during the renovations — created by artist and Kasane local Gonda Chadwick — felt like striking gold. The Chadwick family once owned the Lodge and Gonda’s artistic fingerprints are still all over the property.
So I really love that we haven’t tried to replace what came before; instead, we’ve tried to honour it and build upon it.
Well, I think you’ve done an absolutely amazing job in honouring the heritage of this place and telling the story, not only of this hotel, but of our country.
That’s very kind of you – thank you. Ke a leboga! I hope your readers will come visit us soon!