Rated: 62 / 100
The CKGR is the second largest game reserve in the world, larger than a raft of European countries, take your pick from Switzerland, Ireland, Denmark, or the Netherlands.
A giant slice of land in the empty centre of Botswana, it’s very existence is still a source of controversy. Previously home to a smattering of San people, many of the community voluntarily relocated upon the formation of the game reserve around the time of Botswana’s independence in the 1960s. However the few that remained were forcibly relocated in the early 2000s despite vociferous protests. For those unaware the situation is a disheartening read about the marginalisation of an indigenous community, I could not attempt to do it justice here. What remains is one of the largest slices of uninhabited land in the world.
The Kalahari desert is not how you imagine it. To start with it’s not a true desert, areas can expect 300-500mm of rain a year. In context London receives around 600mm a year, and it’s hardly known as a desert. However in the Kalahari ground is a deep sandy basin, any water that does fall doesn’t hang around long, and any rainfall is concentrated in the summer rainy season when temperatures top 40 degrees on a daily basis.
Most of the landscape is dominated by low lying scrub bushes, trees appear large but are actually small, stunted by the lack of water in dry season. Wildlife is also seasonal, migrating to permanent water sources during the dry winter months. These great Botswanan migrations have been subjects of seminal academic study with the vet fences erected to control animal diseases in the 1950s causing untold damage to hundreds of thousands of migrating animals. A great primer on the subject is the Cry of the Kalahari, a must read for anyone interested in the area.
Wildlife and Environment
Scenery
There’s a certain beauty to the isolation of the Kalahari desert. However, there is no getting around the fact that a lot of the landscape is pretty monotonous xeric scrubland. The fossil riverbeds offer the best chance of spotting game with great sightlines, Passarge valley in particular is a beautiful if desolate place.
Variety of Game
Species are limited to the few hardy souls who can go a long time without water. Oryx and Springbok are the primary antelopes. Giraffe were surprisingly abundant. Carnivore wise there are Lion prides around, especially at Sunday Pan and Piper Pan, but Deception Valley is eerily devoid of anything. Bat Eared Foxes, Black-backed Jackals, and Honey Badgers are common in the late afternoons.
Amount of Game
The lack of water in the dry season means that most game has migrated away long before May.
Sightings
We were fortunate enough to spot a Brown Hyena, and an African Wild Cat. A brown is quite a difficult spot, and the Central Kalahari is known as a great place to find them due to the lack of their spotted cousins. The bestseller Cry of the Kalahari by the controversial Mark and Delia Owens documents their time in Deception Valley researching these little seen carnivores.
Wildlife & Environment Rating
18 / 40
Infrastructure
Access and Roads
The access road from Rakops is in dreadful condition in the first 10km towards Matswere gate. If you come this way be sure to persist past the power lines where the road suddenly improves dramatically. All the roads we covered in the Game Reserve were in great condition and we rarely used 4WD. Deep sand is only an issue towards Piper Pan. We understand the Kuke Corner cut-line is in much better condition and is a preferred access route if you can verify it.
Campsites
DWNP sites are cheap (30 Pula pppn ~£2) , Bigfoot sites are not (350 Pula pppn ~£22). The DWNP sites have a long drop toilet and a bucket shower facility (mostly without bucket, but a good frame to hang your own solar shower). Bigfoot sites at Passarge, Letiahau, and Lehkubu do not have any facilities whatsoever. Hidden in thickets the views aren’t great, the price is wrong but the isolation is fantastic. Water is not available at all in the CKGR, be sure to carry all you need in your vehicle.
Game Loops
The roads were in great condition, and there are certainly many hundreds of kilometres of routes to explore. When tracking the Sunday Pan lion pride we ran out of road on a couple of occasions and did not get a sighting, but it’s difficult to be overly critical of the lack of game loops because there simply isn’t the density of visitors here to justify it.
Crowdedness
The CKGR was one big community, in our whole trip we never met so many kind, generous, and friendly people. The desperate nature of game tracking here brings out the best in people and we made good friends with self-drivers and guides alike. For a “full” park we saw no more than a couple of other vehicles per day.
Infrastructure Rating
29 / 40
Administration
Entry Price
At 190 Pula per person per day (~£11), plus a vehicle fee of 75 Pula (~£4), the park entry fee is as cheap as anywhere in Botswana. For the well maintained roads and wilderness access this represented good value to us.
Staff and Administration
Frustratingly DWNP and Bigfoot staff will persistently tell you that the campsites are full, rather than actually check for bookings. In May when were were there most campsites were free, including Sunday Pan which we had inquired about but were rebuffed as it was “full”. Annoyingly when we visited to look at the site, the only tracks of visitors from the night before were from a large pride of lions.
Administration Rating
15 / 20
“Feel”
Our subjective star rating not impartial at all.
We loved it in the CKGR and would go back in a heartbeat. Whilst it doesn’t score highly on any of our objective metrics, there is something magical about the Kalahari and having the sense of being in utter wilderness. As a self-drive destination it’s possibly not for first timers, it’s difficult to spot any game, there is limited traffic to assist any stuck vehicles, and the distances involved are quite heroic. That being said, the sense of community among campers was second to none, and the beauty of a Kalahari sunset to yourself cannot be overstated.
Overall Rating
| Wildlife & Environment | Infrastructure | Administration |
| 18 / 40 | 29 / 40 | 15 / 20 |
62 / 100
Small Holiday Big Dream 