The Central Kalahari Game Reserve Holidays
Why you should visit the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
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Experience great wildlife concentrations after the rains
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Walk, hunt and gather with the San Bushmen of the Kalahari
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Experience unusual wildlife species on a tailored safari
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Visit the Makgadikgadi Pans and sleep under the stars
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Embrace the Baines Baobabs of Nxai Pan
Our specialists ‘Must Do’
It is imperative to visit the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the deception Valley in the green season from January to May. The short rains flush the sweet grasses and herbivores and ensuing predators are abound. This huge park which is home to the hunter gatherer clans of the San Bushmen has to be experienced to be believed. In the dry season between June and November there is little that equals the thrill of traversing the Makgadikgadi Pans on a quad bike to sleep under the stars on Kubu Island.
A little more about the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is vast and remote. If you are looking for the most incredible vistas, scenery and night skies, then this region will overwhelm you with its sheer size and beauty. Incorporating over 52,000 square kilometres, it is the second largest wildlife reserve in the world.
Many desert species are found here including springbok, gemsbok (oryx), eland, bat-eared foxes and brown hyena. Other common Kalahari species include wildebeest, zebra, kudu, red hartebeest and predators such as the legendary Kalahari black-maned lion, cheetah and leopard.
During and shortly after the summer rains, the desert truly comes to life, attracting large herds of plains game such as springbok and gemsbok. At this time of year, the lush green landscape and endless skies are in direct and stark contrast to the rest of year.
The vast space and remote nature of this reserve is truly breathtaking and a sight to behold. When combined with the Okavango Delta, Chobe and Linyanti regions, the sheer diversity of Botswana is all the more astounding.
The Makgadikgadi Pans are the surreal remains of the world's largest super lake. The salt pans are like nowhere else on earth, there is neither a bush nor tree, nor blade of grass to be seen. With only two permanent camps allowed in the whole area, you might be one of only 28 guests in a region that is bigger than Switzerland!
With the coming of rains (November), the pans fill with water, and the sweet summer grasslands surrounding the pans germinate, attracting the last significant migration to survive in Southern Africa. During these rains, Stone Age tools and fossils of extinct giant zebra and hippo emerge from the sandy surface. Tens of thousands of zebra and wildebeest arrive to eat the luscious grass, with predators following in their wake. During the dry season, the grasslands turn to gold and only the hardy, rare and fascinating desert adapted species, unique to the Kalahari, such as the brown hyena, meerkat and springbuck remain.
Nxai Pan is a great park for watching herds of plains game; it is well known for its huge springbok population and, once the rain has arrived, elephant and zebras migrate to the region. After good rains the lush green grasslands teem with great concentrations of Burchell’s zebra, blue wildebeest and springbok and large herds of giraffe (often over 40 strong) are found moving across the pans.
The famous Baines' Baobabs which overlook Kudiakam Pan are a spectacular sight and the night skies are phenomenal. When combined with the lily-dappled Okavango Delta, the sheer diversity of Botswana is evident.
When to go
The best time to see the most abundant wildlife in the Central Kalahari, Nxai Pan and Makgadigadi Pans is between January and May every year; however, the region is home to many desert adapted wildlife too which reside here all year round. The Makgadikgadi Pans are best traversed like Livingstone in the dry season between June and November.
For more information on holidays in Botswana please contact our Botswana specialists on 01285 650 011.