Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Central Kalahari Game Reserve In Botswana

Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana is the second largest wildlife reserve in the world, home to the powerful and elusive black-maned lion. It covers over 50,000 square kilometers, of which most are inaccessible. It is the sheer sense of desolate, pristine landscape and untouched isolation that gives it such appeal, and the area is only seen by only a handful of visitors every year, making it ideal for those looking for a very private and peaceful African safari experience.

It dominates the center of Botswana, the area mostly consists of grass and bushland albeit with shallow river valleys and sand dunes and is occasionally punctuated with larger trees, like Kalahari apple, acacia, silver Terminalia sand veldt, and mopane.

The Central Kalahari National Park is the largest protected area in Africa and the largest sand basin in the world.

The Kalahari also supports a great diversity of wildlife, with many of the animals have adapted to not drinking water, but rather getting their water needs from the food they eat and limiting water loss through various adaptations.

The reserve was closed for about 30 years until, in the 1980s and 1990s, both self-drive and organized tours were allowed in, albeit in small, tightly controlled numbers.

The name Kalahari is ingrained in many peoples’ minds from an early age, holding revered status and indicating a vast desert land. What you may not know is that the Kalahari is not a true desert for it gets a higher rainfall than the average classification for a desert. It is only in the southern reaches where the sand dunes show any sign of barrenness but for the rest, the Kalahari is a vegetated area of rolling dunes and grass.

The landscape is dominated by silver Terminalia sand veldt, Kalahari sand acacias, and Kalahari apple leaf, interspersed with grasslands and dotted with occasional sand dunes, pans, and shallow fossil river valleys.

Unique Attractions

Unique desert-adapted wildlife – the semi-arid environment of the Kalahari ensures some unique adaptations by the animals that live in the area and learning these from a guide is truly fascinating. These animals have numerous ways of dealing with the lack of water in order to survive.
Interacting with ancient wisdom – the Central Kalahari is synonymous with the Bushmen people and learning of their way of life is one of the most memorable experiences in Africa.

In the harsh desert environment large concentrations of herbivores, such as blue wildebeest, oryx and springbok, can be seen at the water-filled pans in Deception Valley after the rains. Eland, greater kudu and red hartebeest can be found in smaller numbers, and following this migration are the black-maned Kalahari lion and cheetah.

Central Kalahari National Park is pure, untrammeled wilderness. The inhospitable desert habitat doesn’t support the wide variety of safari animals found in greener destinations – but sightings in this arid landscape are special.