Central Kalahari

The name Kalahari is derived from the Tswana word kgala, meaning ‘the great thirst’, or kgalagadi, ‘a waterless place. The Kalahari is characterised by vast, gently undulating thickets and grasslands, underpinned with loose sands. Many have questioned the use of the term ‘desert’ when it comes to the Kalahari, preferring the term ‘thirstland’ to describe the majority of the environment. This is due to the fact that rainfall throughout most of the Kalahari exceeds the defined maximum of 200 millimetres per annum – the general association for a desert. In fact, the bulk of the Kalahari receives a wide range of rainfall, with a variation of 200 millimetres in the extreme south-west of Botswana to over 600 millimetres on the northern border. However, and most importantly, the evaporation rates of most of the habitats in the Kalahari are extremely high, reaching a figure of approximately 2,000 mm per annum. This is five times the average rainfall input, and results in a situation where there is virtually no surface water available for most of the year. Hence, the Kalahari is often referred to as a desert.

Some iconic Kalahari desert animals include lions, cheetahs, leopards, springbok, oryx, wildebeest, giraffe, bat-eared foxes, brown hyenas and meerkats.

Every season provides a different safari experience. In the dry cooler winter, the wildlife congregates at the permanent water sources, while in summer the avian migrants arrive, and all the antelopes calve, which brings amazing predator action. 

The enormous Central Kalahari Game Reserve is situated in the heart of Botswana.

Morning and evening game drives can be cold in the dry season, but the afternoons are usually warm, so it’s best to dress in layers. A hat is essential and bring closed shoes if you intend to go on walks.

The Kalahari Desert is around 900,000km², or 222 million acres. Within that, the protected Central Kalahari Game Reserve is 52,000km², or 12.8 million acres. It is larger than Denmark.

The temperatures in the Kalahari are extreme. Daytime temperatures in summer can reach highs of 46 °C (114 °F) but average temperatures are 25°C to 35°C (77°F to 95°F). The nighttime temperatures in winter can plummet to below freezing.

The Kalahari is home to unique desert animals and plants, biodiversity found nowhere else. It is also the ancient homeland of the San people, and many rock art sites, thousands of years old, are found in this region.

The original people of the Kalahari were the San, hunter-gatherers who traversed Southern Africa long before the Bantu-speaking peoples moved south into the region.