Central Kalahari Game Reserve: Respite for the Spirit

It’s an adventure to call your own, as no two journeys into the Central Kalahari Game Reserve are the same. The one constant is the untamed beauty that man alone can never equal. The Kalahari exudes it, from the wide-open sky to the virgin earth, at times teeming with life and at others stark with the scent of survival. Therein lies its magnetism. Your spirit is temporarily suspended, free for a moment from the rush of the rat race and privy to the wonder of nature at work.

Some species move with the seasons, browsers and grazers seeking the sweetest pastures, with predators in attendance. Others live where opportunity allows, along with the plants. Open pans which sway with grasses one year, are parched the next. Countless creatures dwell in this desert, that stretches across the plains of Botswana.

You will likely thrill to the heart-stopping roar of a lion and his harem, just as you’re climbing into your tent at night. Then there are the little guys, no less fascinating: tough honey badgers, shy porcupines, bold jackal, busy ground squirrels and endearing bat-eared foxes – to name a few.

Antelope abound, from regal gemsbuck to dainty Steenbuck, and all kinds of birds. Frequent sightings of goshawks and lilac-breasted rollers are punctuated with the flight of tawny eagles and the flutterings of fledgeling coursers, their parents incomprehensibly courageous in protecting them.

You may even be lucky enough to spot cheetah, hyena or graceful giraffe.

Stunning Kalahari sunsets and the advent of darkness signal a whole new world. Enchanting nocturnal animals emerge from their dens – the elusive aardwolf, smaller cats and owls hooting in the moonlight.

This is one of few remaining wildernesses, where timeless hours of contemplation contrast with the vivid excitement of life in the wild. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve offers, simply, a respite for the spirit.