Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Come here during the later green season months (January – April) and the open plains turn a brilliant green against blinding blue skies. Huge herds of white-faced springboks and long-horned gemsbok spill into the open landscape, giving birth to their young while hungry cheetahs and lions follow close by. During the winter (May – October) the landscape fades yellow and brown as antelope herds thin out in search of food.

Sunsets here sink slowly through the sky, growing pink and red the closer they drop to earth. Here, you can watch the sun hit the ground from almost anywhere, with only an acacia tree or two lying between you and the horizon.

The grasslands of the Kalahari are an open stage, changing from hour to hour and, even more dramatically, from one month to the next. A plain lying empty during the morning might be watched over by birds of prey by the afternoon. As the light sets on the day, you might find bat-eared foxes and scavenging jackals trotting across your field of vision instead. Or, if you’re really lucky, you just might catch one of the Kalahari’s big cats strolling past as antelopes freeze into statues waiting for whatever comes next.

Good To Know

Best Time To Travel

November – March, traditionally the wet season. Game viewing and birding, at its best not forgetting the desert flowers that bloom after the rains.
Rain water collects in seasonal water holes, attracting the herds and then predators.
April – October, traditionally dry season, the game viewing is easier due to low grasses.
Winter is much cooler which often suits the international travelers and the clear night skies are spectacular

What To See

Species specialized in extreme aridity eg. Springbok, Gemsbok,
Brown Hyena, Mongoose, Meerkats, Ostrich, the Kalahari black maned lion
CKGR is renowned for Raptors

What To Do

Being a Game Reserve, the lodges are restricted with regards activities
Game Drives, day time only
Sleep-out decks / Star beds, (within the lodge area)
Star gazing
Bushman Experience, often conducted by members of staff that now work within the tourism industry, but wish to keep their culture and traditions alive.

What Makes This Area Unique

The contrast between dry and wet season in the Kalahari is an extreme one, with the first rains the rough semi-desert transforms into a green paradise
In the Kalahari you will experience the absolute solitude, the endless vastness of the bush and admire the amazing starlit skies at night
The unique experience of travelling through truly untouched wilderness of seemingly unending dimensions, is the biggest draw to the Kalahari environment!

Expert Travel Tips

CKGR can have extreme temperatures, 40 degrees in October and freezing early mornings & evenings in July-August. CKGR can be 10 degrees higher / lower than the rest of Botswana depending on season. Be prepared
Book the Star Bed / Sleep-out deck if offered at the lodge and truly experience those night skies and the vastness of CKGR.
Self-drivers a good map, satellite phone is advisable, plenty of fuel and water is essential as these are not available within the park.
Traveling in convoy is highly recommended

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