Black-maned Kalahari lions also famously patrol the latter two protected areas.This is a tale of two climates. ![]() Meerkats make their home on the edges of these pans, as we observed, but also in the scrublands of the 52,000-sq-km Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) and around the red dunes of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in Botswana’s far south. We skirted along the edge of the Ntwetwe Pan (one of many salt pans around Makgadikgadi Pans National Park) on quad bikes, passing herds of zebra and wildebeest (and the odd ostrich), before spotting some rare brown hyenas on a sunset 4WD wildlife drive. Remarkably, life does exist in this inhospitable terrain, and safaris here turn up some memorable encounters. Step over this tectonic boundary and you’re in what the Tswana people call the Kgalagadi, which translates to the ‘Land of Thirst’. As you fly south from Chobe and the Okavango, you can’t help but notice that the transition from the verdant playground to bleak desert is anything but gradual – it’s line in the sand. The Kalahari offers a brutally honest taste of what Chobe and the Okavango Delta would resemble if Mother Nature turned off the taps. The birdlife along the river is impressively varied and omnipresent.Ī meerkat standing guard while hunting scorpions in the Kalahari Desert © Matt Phillips / Lonely Planet Kalahari Desert: salt pans, scrubland and dunes Nothing beats the boats for hippo and crocodile encounters. Whether on land or water, these options allow you close up views of elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, wildebeest, antelopes and possibly lions, leopards and cheetahs. ![]() Safari activities operate year-round and include boat trips on the river itself, as well as 4WD wildlife drives along its banks and floodplains. Not only are the individuals some of the largest on the continent, but at the tail end of the dry season (September/October) the herds can number into the tens of thousands, making them arguably Africa’s largest. The aptly named Chobe Riverfront in the park’s northeast, which spreads out on the floodplains of the Chobe River, is renowned for its elephants. Larger than some countries and covering almost 11,000 sq km, the park is made up of three distinct environments – all of which support fantastic populations of wildlife. Like the Okavango, Chobe is one of Africa’s greatest wildlife destinations. The sunset at Chobe Riverfront, Chobe National Park © Matt Phillips / Lonely Planet Chobe National Park: river, marshes, lagoons and floodplains We had the pleasure of encountering one of the newbies (a rather large white rhino) on an early morning wildlife drive from Mombo Camp. The project has recently moved over 100 rhinos from parks and reserves in South Africa to the delta in an effort to protect them from poachers – it’s thought that the remoteness of the delta and lack of roads is the best deterrent. And thanks to the much-hyped Botswana Rhino Reintroduction Project, both black and white rhinos are now here too. Lions and leopards are longtime residents on Chief’s Island, and (as we found out) a pack of wild dogs has recently arrived. ![]() ![]() Safari activities are more traditional here, with wildlife drives in open-topped 4WD vehicles. There are a few permanent islands within the Okavango such Chief’s Island, which are rich in wildlife year-round, though concentrations reach epic proportions when surrounding waters are at their highest. A tower of giraffes with their eye on a predator, Chief's Island © Matt Phillips / Lonely Planet
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