Multimedia Images.
Source: Southern Africa’s top 21 parks taken from the April 2010 Issue of Getaway Magazine.
Once you’ve done the famous game parks of Southern Africa you might be ready for a pure wilderness adventure. If so, the Central Kalahari in Botswana is just the place. By Justin Fox.
The Central Kalahari is Botswana’s largest game reserve (52800 square kilometres). This is the wild, unforgiving heart of Southern Africa. It’s just about as far off the beaten track as you can get in the region.
The reserve was founded in 1961 under the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland and was intended as a sanctuary for the Bushmen, enabling them to continue their hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
Central Kalahari is characterised by vast plains, salt pans and ancient river beds. Although it can seem like a desert if you travel in the dry season, it becomes a land of plenty after rain. Antelope migrate immense distances to gorge on the sweet grass. Hot on their heels are the park’s famous black-maned lions, along with cheetahs, wild dogs and jackals.
The northern part of the reserve is most popular with visitors because of its proximity to Maun. As most of the pans are in the north, this is where game congregates. There are no lodges inside the park, only campsites. You’ll need a 4×4 and all your own camping equipment and provisions. If you tackle the lonely south, it’s advisable to do so with a second vehicle for backup and go fully prepared. In the northeast corner of the park is Deception Pan, made famous in the book, Cry of the Kalahari, by American researchers Mark and Delia Owen.
They set up camp there in the 1970s to study lions and brown hyenas, but soon came into confrontation with the hunting community and the Botswana government over plans to evict Bushmen from the area.
Today you can stay at Deception Valley Lodge (Skype tel +44-121-286-8393, e-mail res@dvl.co.za, web www.dvl.co.za) just outside the park, where they employ Bushman guides and do excursions to Deception Pan.
Matswere Gate in the north is the main access point for the campsites in the region of Deception Pan and Passarge Valley, while the campsites at Piper Pans can be accessed from either Matswere or Xade in the west. New tracks and campsites have been opened up along the Passarge Valley, where game viewing can be excellent, and south from the Passarge water-hole area to link up with the Piper Pans – Deception road. It is along this route that the most recent campsite, Tau, has been opened.
Plans have been made to put in rustic pit latrines at most of the campsites but, until then, visitors dig their own ‘mini-toilet’ to ensure they leave no sign of having been there. Firewood may be collected from well-wooded areas, but not from tree islands.
The ashes from campfires must be buried before vacating a site, combustible rubbish burnt and all non-combustibles carried back to the dump at the entrance gate. Leave no trace of your passing in this fragile land.
Come prepared
- Travel with a second vehicle.
- Carry a tool kit and basic spares.
- Take a satellite phone if possible.
- Bring more fuel, food and water than you think you’ll need.
- Don’t expect help from the park’s staff: they probably won’t have the vehicles or resources.
Travel adviser
How to book
Book with the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks, tel +267-318-0774 or e-mail dwnp@gov.bw, web www.botswanatourism.co.bw.
