BOTSWANA - Kalahari Plains Camp, Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Kalahari Plains Camp is situated on a concession in a remote part of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) – one of the largest protected areas in Africa that dominates the centre of Botswana. The area offers some of the best summer wildlife viewing opportunities in Africa. The CKGR is also home to the Kalahari black-maned lion as provides exceptional cheetah viewing.
Kalahari Plains Camp is a Safari & Adventure Co. camp. The camp is perfectly situated overlooking an immense pan.
ACCOMMODATION:
There are 10 en-suite canvas tented rooms, each with a sleep-out above – wonderful for enjoying the night skies and sounds of Africa.
The main camp area has a lounge and dining area, a swimming pool and large deck. All living areas are built off the ground for cool air circulation and good views. Kalahari Plains is a 100 % solar powered camp.
WILDLIFE:
The Kalahari Plains concession is comprised of vast, flat grasslands and undulating vegetated dunes.
At certain times of the year, the area teems with a multitude of antelope species and large predators. The seasonal pans, wooded acacia islands and scrub covered dunes provide a wide diversity of habitats. These and the fossil riverbeds ensure healthy game populations move through the area.
With the advent of summer rains (end of November to April) the desert comes to life and the plains game such as springbok and gemsbok gather in their thousands to graze.
Wildebeest, steenbok and red hartebeest are followed by the predators - lion, cheetah, and jackal. All this is perfectly complemented by lush green landscapes, floral displays and endless skies often providing the life-giving rains that transform the area. Cloud formations and the light at this time provide spectacular landscape photography too.
Sightings of the almost mythical black-maned Kalahari lion are then complemented by superb cheetah viewing. Black-backed jackal and bat-eared fox often occur, and wild dog and leopard are occasionally seen. Other possibilities include steenbok, red hartebeest, giraffe and the charismatic ground squirrels and fascinating meerkats (suricates).
In the winter months, the Kalahari is more typically a desert-type system: warm and dry.
Game viewing remains productive and moves into the vegetated dunal belt and pan systems surrounding the valleys; a series of ecologically placed waterholes enhance wildlife viewing at this time. After sunset the Kalahari is alive with the sounds of roaring lion, White-faced Scops-Owls and the calls of barking geckos.
There are good populations of regionally threatened bird species such as Kori Bustard and Lappet-faced Vulture. The vivid colours of Crimson-breasted Shrike and Violet-eared Waxbill provide a startling contrast to the stark surroundings.
ACTIVITIES:
Activities at Kalahari Plains Camp include:
- Twice daily game drives in open side 4x4 vehicles. Full-day excursions can be requested. Some restrictions must be adhered to as this is a National Park e.g. off-road driving and night driving.
- A "Bushman Walk" where Kalahari Plains Camp staff portray the traditional lifestyles of the Bushman people through dress, activities and a short walk in the immediate camp area.
A visit to Kalahari Plains Camp is very important for those adventurers who wish to truly experience the diversity of Botswana's wilderness areas.
Kalahari Plains Camp has actively engaged the local Basarwa (Bushman) people to integrate them into the potentially mutually beneficial ecotourism industry. The majority of staff members were sought out in the villages of the dusty Kalahari and first trained and employed in the Wilderness Safaris Okavango and Linyanti camps prior to deployment back to the Kalahari.
A number of local Bushman clans, also known as the Basarwa, have been resident in and around this area for thousands of years. Originally nomadic hunter-gatherers, their lifestyle has gradually changed with the times and they now live in settlements, some of which are situated within the southern half of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.