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The Kalahari is without doubt breathtaking: a bushy desert with a good wildlife.
There are less tourists than in the most popular parks, but spotting animals can be harder.
Very isolated - camp sites miles from each other and really in the bush with very few amenities. Birding species limited due to dry conditions - however there are plentiful and specials for the area.
Alan J Castle
Visited:
September 2009
Reviewed: Jan 6, 2012
A huge area with lots of wildlife but sometimes it's frustratingly difficult to get near to it as you can't go off road. Good camping but very minimalist sites.
Katrin
Visited:
April 2012
Reviewed: Sep 10, 2012
Big game, bigger sky
The CKGR is a magnificent park! Right in the heart of Botswana, this enormous reserve is home to the finest of southern Africa's wildlife, and provides an unparalleled bush experience.
My fellow travelers and I drove down from Maun, and left the grid and pavement behind very quickly. With limited paved roads and power lines, it's a real pleasure to arrive at a beautiful lodge nestled into the softly graded terrain. Botswana's national emphasis on quality over quantity is abundantly apparent in their approach to tourism, and I felt that my money was very well spent.
I saw my very first lion hunt in the CKGR, and am inspired to return again to enjoy seemingly endless game drives under the enormous sky - bright day, or brilliant night.
An enormous, spacious, uninhabited, dry, cold and hot, real African landscape
The Central Kalahari is enormous. Driving through this Reserve, only on dirt roads, is quite an experience.
Maybe 2 or 3 other cars can be seen daily. There is a lot more chance to see wildlife than humans.
Don't expect to see animals every 10 minutes. Sometimes you have to drive some distance to see them.
Overall Botswana gives much more bush - wildlife experience than the touristic areas in Kenya.
A video of this trip can be seen on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BWD5I6YrIo
Leslie Bialik
Visited:
February 2013
Reviewed: Apr 23, 2013
It was everything we imagined about the Kalahari Desert - wildlife everywhere and intense heat!
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no radio, no tv, but did have power points where we could charge our computers and cameras. There is no air conditioning, but with the thatch-roofed huts and the ceiling fan, we were able to stay reasonably cool during the 110F heat of the day. We weren't expecting such attention from the staff and were treated like royalty. I'd recommend Kwando Safaris and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve to anyone. It provided us with a lifetime of memories to cherish.
evimeyer
Visited:
January 2015
Reviewed: Apr 11, 2015
The blooming desert filled with wildlife
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more difficult to spot than during Botswana's winter. But a good guide can make up for that and enable you to observe some very interesting hunting and eating behavior.The scenery was beautiful due to the vegetation and blooms. We experienced rain in the afternoon once in four days, but I understand that it can rain daily. Since our Land Cruisers had a sun/rain roof and very comfortable ponchos, we really were not affected at all by the rain. The temperature was very hot during the middle of the day, but all game drives took place either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The hottest time was siesta time at camp. In the Central Kalahari Game Reserve night drives are not permitted and all vehicles have to be back at camp when it gets dark.
We stayed at the Kalahari Plains Camp, which was a nice basic camp with really delicious food. The "tents" were clean and comfortable, the shower only salt water, with one fresh water faucet at the bathroom sink.
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve was our first of three camps in Botswana, and definitely a great introduction to the country.
Dee Lange
AU
Visited:
January 2014
Reviewed: Apr 18, 2015
Email Dee Lange | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Vast,remote undisturbed plains, a real safari experience.
The wildlife was totally amazing, i came expecting nothing and saw it all. I loved the non tourist atmosphere, we only saw the jeeps from our camp it was a real adventure. We landed on a dirt airstrip where we were met by our safari jeep, our camp was fabulous with a small pool and views over the Kalahari where you could see lions roaming. The food was good considering how remote we were. Our guides and staff were amazing and so friendly. you could sleep under the stars on top of your canvas safari unit if you wished. I was 69 when i took this trip and it was one of the best experiences of my life.
CKGR = real backcountry Botswana
March wasn't the best time to go for wildlife viewing, or at least this time around due to recent rains and the high grass. We made the trek from the north all the way down and through Kutse. It's a very long way, and some hairy 4x4 off-roading. Not sure I'd make that trip again, but certainly portions of the park are worth seeing and experiencing, including camping at one of the many backcountry campsites.
Ian
GB
Visited:
February 2017
Reviewed: Apr 4, 2017
Email Ian | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
For what we wanted to see we had to go in the rainy season, but this season was really wet.
Our previous safaris had all taken place in what I would describe as typical bush, even when we were in the Okavango Delta. But the wide-open plains of the Kalahari were a welcome change and immediately we could see our hoped-for sightings were a distinct possibility. The game drive section gave us a number of excellent bird sightings, but as we got into the Deception Valley area there were Springbok, Black-backed Jackal and three male Lions that we were to get to know quite well in our 4 night stay.
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The opening day was mainly a bird sighting day and what was immediately noticeable was the number of Pale Chanting Goshawks about. Another fascinating discovery was that the juveniles are very confiding, but the adults will fly before the vehicle has even come to a halt. Aside from the birds we had some delightful encounters with Ground Squirrels doing their Meerkat impersonations, young male Springbok play-fighting and huge herds of Oryx (Gemsbok) the like of which we’d never seen before. The day ended when we encountered three Bat-eared Foxes in the middle of a track, but in fading light. The length of the grass due to all the rain gave them plenty of cover and they are very nervous anyway, so mainly all we saw were ears.
Day Two was to yield Hartebeest, a charming Scrub Hare and the one thing I wanted to see, Cheetahs. Not only did I see Cheetahs, I finally got to witness a Cheetah successfully hunting and see for myself the stunning acceleration these cats can generate. This probably was the highlight of the trip for me, but there were other encounters that came exceptionally close. We also witnessed the amusing sight of a Clapper Lark. These birds take off vertically with a sound not dissimilar to the drumming of a Snipe, but then issue a whistle as they dive back to the ground.
Our final full day in the reserve was by far the best and gave us memorable sightings of three male Lions. They are three brothers aged around 30 months and have yet to grow manes. They were a joy to be with as they play fought with each other in the early morning, but our evening encounter with them was more memorable. The sight of all three trying to climb a tree in failing light was one to behold and tested our photographic skills to the limit.
Before that we had seen the same Cheetah with her two cubs as the previous evening and this time had made two further kills. One was left for the Jackals, to distract them from the main kill, which was being gradually eaten by the cubs. The nearby trees began to fill with Vultures, while they waited for their turn to come in and clear up the remains.
Moving back to pick up the Lions again we found a tower of 30 Giraffe in an open area, all very relaxed and a couple of the younger males practicing their sparring on each other. Approaching this location we were very fortunate to spot an African Wild Cat in the undergrowth. In truth, they look like a longer-legged version of a domestic tabby we are used to, but seeing such a secretive animal was a bonus.
