Date Published: 5th March 2026

– Day 1

Alexander McCall Smith returns to Botswana, the country of his heart.

Yesterday was the first day of Alexander’s 2026 visit. During the day he took guests (readers from across the world who have joined him in the birthplace of Precious Ramotswe) on a guided tour of Gaborone, taking in landmarks from The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books from Zebra Drive to African Mall, browsing Mma Ramotswe’s favourite bookshop and pausing for coffee at the Presidents hotel. From there, they travelled on to Sanitas Plant Nursery to wander its lush gardens and meet its visionary founders – two Swedish brothers working to ‘make the Kalahari bloom’. He and his guests then went on to Ann Gollifer’s Art Studio, where she explained how she uses pigments from Mma Ramotswe’s home village in her work.

In the evening, he visited the National Museum for a very special dinner and an award presentation to David Slater – The No.1 Lifetime Award for Music. While there he saw an exhibition by one of the most talented and successful artists working in the country right now, Wilson Ngoni. Alexander was very taken with his work and wanted to share some it with you here.

Over the next few days we will continue with our posts ‘Alexander McCall Smith returns to Botswana’ to give you a flavour of his visit.

Alexander has returned to Botswana. This is a guided tour for readers from all over the world, with Okavango Delta Explorations. Alexander receives no fee for this adventure but benefits from the company of readers from around the world who share his love for the country. He is travelling in the company of his great friend, journalist and film maker Mats Ögren Wanger and in the footsteps of his much loved character from The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Precious Ramotswe. As ever, we are grateful to Mats Ögren Wanger for his photography and videos which help to bring this journey to life.