The Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The Central Kalahari is one of the most inaccessible, remote safari destinations of Africa, and the largest protected area on the continent. This vast sand sheet which dominates the centre of Botswana isn’t actually a desert at all, being vegetated by grassland, islands of acacia and the remains of ancient riverbeds which have changed little over the course of 65 million years. Here you can at last feel alone and truly insignificant in the vastness of the universe. The region was until recently closed to the public although small bands of San have roamed the region for millennia. Healthy albeit hardy populations of game move seasonally in search of grazing, followed by large predators such as cheetah, hyena, wild dog, the legendary Kalahari black-maned lion and even leopard. During the summer months, following rain, the pans fill and the desert is transformed into a lush, flower-filled landscape alive with gemsbok, springbok and blue wildebeest; steenbok, red hartebeest, giraffe, ground squirrels, meerkats, and bateared foxes can also be spotted. Whatever the season, this is an alluring, intensely photogenic landscape whose evocative locations, whether Deception Valley or Sunday Pan, will draw back its faithful disciples year after year.
