Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Overview
Botswana Parks
Anthony is a renowned Africa expert and author of many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the Botswana & Namibia guide.
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is Botswana’s biggest reserve and is situated in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. This is pure, untrammeled wilderness. The inhospitable desert habitat doesn’t support the wide variety of safari animals found in greener destinations – but sightings in this arid landscape are special.
Pros & Cons
Wildlife
Big herds of desert-adapted antelope, such as springbok and oryx, can be seen walking along the dunes. Predators are easy to spot on the plains. The Kalahari black-maned lions are particularly stunning, and cheetah thrive in this open country. Lucky visitors might even come across brown hyenas or a solitary honey badger.
Scenery
The scenery can be monotonous but the endless horizons – as the sun gets low in the sky and afternoon colors soften – are mesmerizing. The landscape is a mix of straggly bushes, including the desert-adapted silver terminalia, patches of acacias, pans and fossil riverways interspersed with dunes. In the Wet season, the inter-dune valleys transform to green.
Weather & Climate
The desert climate of the Central Kalahari is at its most testing in the Dry season (April to October), with average daytime temperatures peaking at 33°C/91°F. The only exception is early in the morning, when you’ll need to rug up against the chill if you’re doing a game drive. The Wet season (November to March) cools things down with its intermittent showers.
Best Time To Visit
For prime wildlife viewing and fewer crowds, you should avoid the driest times of year and visit in the Wet season (November to March). Besides the low-season prices, this is also when animals make the most of the returning rain by gathering around the pans in Deception Valley. The trade-off is that some roads can turn into muddy bogs.
Want To Visit Central Kalahari GR?
Safari Tours to Central Kalahari GR
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![9-Day Botswana Luxury Tour]()
9-Day Botswana Luxury Tour
$10,031 to $12,226 pp (USD)
Botswana: Private tourTented Camp
You Visit: Maun (Start), Moremi GR (Okavango Delta), Okavango Delta, Central Kalahari GR, Maun Airport (End)
Wayfairer Travel
4.9/5 – 149 Reviews
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![16-Day Combined Chobe & Central Kalahari]()
16-Day Combined Chobe & Central Kalahari
$7,700 to $8,470 pp (USD)
Botswana: Shared tour (max 12 people per vehicle)Camping & Guest House
You Visit: Maun (Start), Passarge, Deception Valley (Central Kalahari GR), Central Kalahari GR, Moremi GR (Okavango Delta), Moremi GR (Okavango Delta), Chobe NP, Kasane (End)
Early Kingfisher Safari
5.0/5 – 21 Reviews
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![4-Day Central Kalahari Game Reserve and Nxai Pan]()
4-Day Central Kalahari Game Reserve and Nxai Pan
$1,714 pp (USD)
Botswana: Private tourCamping
You Visit: Maun (Start), Central Kalahari GR, Nxai Pan NP, Maun (End)
Shipungo Safari & Tours
5.0/5 – 52 Reviews
