Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Summary

Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Adventurous travellers seeking a truly remote African safari will be thrilled to discover it in central Botswana. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the second-largest game reserve in the world and one of the least visited. Yet, nothing can prepare you for the sheer wonder of exploring this vast reserve with its wild, untouched beauty. Sand veld and acacia trees dominate the landscape, and Kalahari apple-leaf, interspersed with grasslands and dotted with occasional dunes, pans and fossil river valleys.

While the Central Kalahari Game Reserve is home to an impressive variety of wildlife, there is one animal that is rather obviously absent, the human being. This lack of human traffic, combined with the park’s lack of infrastructure, makes for a challenging and marvellously authentic African experience. Of course, visitors need to be entirely self-sufficient, but those willing to make an effort will be rewarded.

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Central Kalahari Game Reserve Photo Gallery

Gemsbok, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Caracal, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Springbok, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Map

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From price: NZD0Type: Mobile SafariLocation: Botswana

For the Semi Participation safaris, guests are only required to pitch and fold their own tent. All cooking, cleaning and any other camp chores are taken care of by your safari team, made up of an experienced local safari guide and a camp assistant. We provide 2.1m x 2.1m x 1.75m dome tents and a comfortable 5cm high density foam mattress. We mostly camp in areas with no formal ablutions, and therefore build our own bush toilet and shower when camping in these areas. Guests travel in a custom-built safari vehicle. All safari vehicles are specially designed to offer optimum comfort and maximize game viewing and photographic opportunities for the guests.

Each vehicle has been designed to seat 16 guests but takes a maximum of 12 during Semi Participation Camping Safaris, which ensures excellent game viewing and mobility. Entirely removable side windows along with folding windscreen and canvas roofs enhance game viewing opportunities. 220V/2 pin (round) power points are available on the vehicle to recharge cameras along with a small fridge to ensure guests can enjoy cool drinks at all times. On rainy days or if the air is chilly, perspex windows can be slid on both sides of the vehicle, to simultaneously protect perfectly from the weather while allowing a completely unobstructed sight.

From price: NZD0Type: Mobile SafariLocation: Botswana

From price: NZD0Rooms: 8Type: Safari LodgeSpoken Languages: EnglishSpecial Interests: Indigenous Culture Art, Star Gazing, WildlifeLocation: Botswana

Includes: meals, drinks, all game viewing activities & laundry
Excludes: premium imported wines, champagnes & spirits
Activities: game drives, Bushman experience and full day visit deeper into the Central Kalahari on request.

Tau Pan is situated inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), famous for its breath taking night skies and amazing scenery and cloud formations. Tau Pan Camp is situated on the edge of the beautiful Tau Pan and commands stunning views of the permanent Tau Pan water hole and the endless Kalahari horizon.

Situated on an established sand ridge overlooking Tau Pan, there are 8 custom-built desert rooms under thatch (including 1 family room). All rooms are en-suite and are adapted to the surrounding environment. The main area consists of dining room, lounge area and a viewing deck. The camp also offers a swimming pool, and curio shop. Tau Pan Camp is adapted to the surrounding environment and runs on solar power.

After the summer rains, CKGR completely transforms as the blue sky fills with huge clouds, and the plains and pans burst with sweet grasses. This is one of the best game viewing areas in Botswana at this time of year and not many people seem to be aware of this so the visitors are few. CKGR is home to animals such as springbok, gemsbok and wildebeest in their thousands and is quite a sight to behold. Predators abound with plentiful lions – especially the famous Kalahari black-maned lion, cheetah, leopard and jackals

Activities include game drives in open 4x4 vehicles, stargazing and guided walks with a San bushman who will explain and entertain you by answering all your questions from birth to marriage to bush survival. Tau Pan is a national park, a very ecologically sensitive area, and for this reason no night drives or off road driving is permitted.

*Please note at Tau Pan all the vehicles have permanent canopies.

Airstrip Transfer Time: 15 minutes

From price: NZD0Type: LeisureLocation: Botswana

The Dune Camp is situated on a vegetated dune overlooking spectacular views of the Kalahari valleys. Camp is on the north-eastern boundary of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in one of the largest private game reserves in Botswana. Deception Valley Private Reserve spans more than 43 000Ha of pristine Kalahari wilderness. Designated waterholes, hidden viewing hides, vegetated dunes, natural pans and an amazing valley, offering incredible game viewing opportunities.