Kalahari
The Kalahari Desert meaning "thirst land" or "thirsty land is a large semi-arid sandy savannah in Southern Africa extending 900,000 square kilometres (350,000 sq mi), covering much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa. As semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains, the Kalahari supports more animals and plants than a true desert, such as the Namib Desert to the west. Thanks to a modest measure of rainfall the landscape is well vegetated with a variety of trees, shrubs, camelthorn, red ebony and other acacias. In springtime the plains are covered in blankets of flowers and grass while the summer rains bring a fair share of greenery.
This physical beauty only enhances the real, true allure of the Kalahari – the liberating silence and solitude found in so much open space. Visitors describe their visit as an almost spiritual experience and emotionally enriching.
And of course, no visit here is complete without meeting the proud San Bushmen. Tour operators will respectfully make such introductions with the tribe where you can learn about their traditions, origins and knowledge of living in the bushveld. In some cases you can still listen to their unique use of ‘click’ language, a wonderful experience in itself.
