Kalahari Desert Experience

About this journey

Step beyond the well-trodden safari circuits and into the raw, untamed heart of the Kalahari — one of the world's great desert ecosystems and a landscape that stirs the soul. This 6-day adventure explores two of Botswana's most enigmatic wilderness areas: the Makgadikgadi Pans, a vast expanse of shimmering white salt flats that stretch to the horizon, and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the second-largest game reserve in the world. At Makgadikgadi, walk alongside habituated meerkats as they emerge from their burrows at dawn, sleep under a canopy of stars on the pans themselves, and learn ancient survival techniques from San Bushmen whose ancestors have lived in this landscape for over 20,000 years. During the green season, witness one of Africa's least-known great migrations as vast herds of zebra and wildebeest traverse the pans. In the Central Kalahari, track desert-adapted predators — black-maned Kalahari lions, brown hyenas, and cheetahs — across golden grasslands dotted with ancient fossil riverbeds. The vast open spaces, dramatic skies, and profound silence of the Kalahari offer a safari experience entirely different from the lush delta or the game-rich savannah. This is Botswana stripped back to its primal essence — wild, remote, and deeply moving. Accommodation ranges from luxury desert camps to authentic mobile bush camps, ensuring comfort while maintaining the spirit of adventure.