Central Kalahari

Spanning an area bigger than Denmark or Switzerland, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve is a 20,773-square-mile game sanctuary that ranks second in the world in size.

The area for the sanctuary was set aside in 1961 for the San people, also called Bushmen, to allow them to continue their traditional lifestyle of hunting and gathering. While most San have since moved from the reserve, some Botswana safaris offer opportunities to walk with a local San who will demonstrate bush skills.

Characterised by vast open plains, saltpans, ancient riverbeds and sand dunes to flat Bushveld in the central area, the Game Reserve is the second largest game reserve in the world. Although the reserve is accessible throughout the year, only limited access is allowed to visitors under permit.

The people known as the Bushmen have been resident in and around the area for thousands of years. Nomadic hunters and gatherers, their lifestyles have 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.

No accommodation or other facilities are offered within the park. Visitors to the park get a chance to view predators like the lion, cheetah, leopard, spotted hyena, brown hyena, wild dog, aardwolf, caracal, black-backed jackal, honey badger, African wild cat, black-footed and striped polecat, common genet, bat-eared and Cape fox, meerkat and banded, yellow and slender mongoose. Other animals include springbok, hartebeest, gemsbok, wildebeest, duiker, springhare, porcupines and Brants's whistling rat

The area is a Birder's paradise. Bird species includes raptors, secretary bird, martial eagle, giant eagle owl, falcons, goshawks, kestrels and kites. Thriving on eggs and smaller birds and rodents are reptiles such as the Cape cobra, boomslang, puff adder and rock monitors. Smaller reptiles include geckos, lizards and skinks. Scorpions and insects abound.