Standing its ground
It is the only hill that is a part of this city. But that is just one sense of it. Another is that fame came to it in an unprecedented way: it is the only place in this country that has ever given rise to a Hollywood-like name for itself.
But since 2008, this brief claim to movie-making (about a fearless woman sleuth) is no more – confirming that pop names are intrinsically ephemeral, although in their wake, we may be left with memorable performing artistry!
What still remains though is that the top of this hill is the only place that offers a near perfect view of the Gaborone Dam, Mokolodi nature reserve, the A1 highway, the quarry and the city’s skyline. Amazingly, even on its ground, you also get one of the best flat views of the city as you enter it from the south on the dual carriage highway.
The name Kgale has an easy pronunciation with this country’s desert, Kgalagadi. Gaborone, the city and capital that it abounds on its southern fringe, is a gruff name made mellifluous by the constant reference of the city’s residents and visitors. It may be that the name Kgale - in English, the place that dried up - is an appropriate moniker for this hill – the entire country itself is a dry place anyhow! But whatever the season of the year or the hour of the day, on its hilltop the sun has virtual dominance as the city below the hill is both topographically and literally flat.
At all times, and despite past and current human encroachment, Kgale Hill stands its ground at the edge of the city! In turn, it always renders it virtually impossible to regard the city as existing beyond the hill itself.
I do not know why Kgale Hill is the only hill that constitutes a part of the city. Perhaps it is because its presence in the city compensates for something that lacks in the city itself or in life in the city. In any case, some great cities of this world, such as Rome, have been called by the number of hills they have.
Perhaps, if this city had not been called by its present name, it could have been called by this hill. It may also be that Kgale Hill has a structural and necessary purpose in the affairs of Gaborone, comparable to a river, the Notwane River, that flows through this city.
Perhaps it was the reasoning then, that the only natural way (and thus, the best way) to see most of the proposed city, once it was built, would have to be above the hilltop of Kgale. This is an idea that would be a fortifying reason for promoting tourism, hiking and cultural projects in a place such as the city.
Kgale Hill is not only a place’s geography, nor is it only a metaphor for a city’s bounded limits. It is also a representation of the connection between people and their surroundings.