The name “Kalahari” is derived from the Tswana word Kgalagadi, which means “land of thirst.” This name reflects the region’s scarcity of fresh water, as finding drinkable water without salt in the Kalahari is extremely difficult.
Nothing prepares you for the vastness of this reserve, nor its wild and mysterious beauty. You’re immediately struck by the sense of infinite space and the feeling that you have the entire reserve to yourself.
Waist-high golden grasses stretch endlessly, broken only by scattered dwarf trees and scrub bushes. Wide, empty pans appear as vast, white, saucer-flat expanses of earth, blending into a soft, blue-white sky. At night, the stars dominate the land, their brilliance and proximity completely captivating.
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) is the largest remotely located reserve in southern Africa and the second-largest wildlife reserve in the world, covering an area of 52,800 sq. km—larger than Denmark, Lesotho, and Eswatini combined.
During and shortly after the summer rains, the flat grasslands in the northern parts of the reserve teem with wildlife, drawn to the best grazing areas. These include large herds of springbok and gemsbok, along with wildebeest, hartebeest, eland, and giraffe. The landscape is characterized by silver terminalia sandveld, Kalahari sand acacias, and Kalahari apple leaf trees, interspersed with grasslands, occasional sand dunes, pans, and shallow fossil river valleys—the most famous being Deception Valley and Passarge Valley.
CKGR is unique in that it was originally established in 1961 as a sanctuary for the San people, allowing them to live their traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the heart of the Kalahari without intrusion or outside influence. The reserve remained closed to the public for about 30 years. In the 1980s and 1990s, limited access was granted for self-drive and organized tours, strictly controlled to preserve the area.
Deception Valley in the north is one of the reserve’s main highlights, thanks to the high concentration of herbivores that are drawn to its sweet grasses during and after the rainy season—followed naturally by predators. This area is also the most frequented part of the reserve, featuring several public campsites and close proximity to the eastern Matswere Gate. The other two gates—Xade and Tsau—are located on the opposite side of the reserve.
