The Kalahari

The Kalahari Desert, about 38 000 square km, is partly in Botswana, but certain parts of the desert are within the boundaries of South Africa and Namibia.

There, you can find some of the most impressive National parks, one of which is Central Kalahari Game Reserve. When we talk about a desert, we think about huge amounts of sand like in the Sahara. The Kalahari however is a different desert.

Here, we have a very short rainy season. It rains only about 175 milliliter in a year, but that’s enough for plants to grow and animals to survive. In the hottest months of the year temperatures can rise up to 45 degrees Celsius. It is a very harsh life for animals in the Kalahari.

Central Kalahari

The Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) is the largest nature reserve of Africa (bigger than Switzerland!). Originally, the San people lived here for thousands of years, but these days it has become a wildlife area.

The reserve mainly excists out of big saltpans, with bush surrounding them. Only few people visit the Game reserve because there are no ablutions or any water supply.

So for a lot of people it’s too wild. And that’s exactly why I love it!

You will not get as many sightings as in the Masai Mara, but the upside is that when you get a sighting, you will almost always be alone. It hardly never happens that other people are at the same sighting.

If you see a lion in the Masai Mara, you will probably have 50 cars or more around… Despite the harsh circumstances, a lot of animals know how to survive here, such as lions, cheetahs, leopards, brown hyenas, oryx, springbok, kudus, eland, black backed jackals, bat-eared fox, caracal, serval, genet, cape fox, honey badgers, and lately even elephants have been spotted!

Deception Valley

The most famous place in CKGR is Deception Valley.  This is where Mark and Delia Owens did their research how brown hyenas and lions were surviving in this harsh climate. Their book ‘Cry of the Kalahari’ is a must-read!

Thousands of years ago there were a few rivers in the Kalahari. One of those fossile rivers created this valley in Northern Kalahari, which we now know as Deception Valley. A variation of grasses, acacias, thorny bushes and many other plants survive in this arid environment. Tsamma melons and Gemsbok cucumbers are the biggest water source for the animals in dry season.

We will visit the Kalahari in the end of the rainy season, when everything is lush and green. Springbok, Gnu and Oryx give birth to their babies. And this is just in time for the big cats to survive. The young antelope are easy prey, so they have suddenly an abundance of food.

Every now and then it can rain, but mostly it just gives us spectacular clouds which are fantastic for photography.

We will camp in 4 different camp sites, so we have a better chance of seeing more wildlife.

After 8 nights in the park, we drive to Maun, where we will go shopping for food and drinks, and get Diesel. From Maun, we drive to the northern part of the Kalahari, Nxai Pans and Makgadigadi Pans.

The saltpans are dried up lakes that only hold water on years when there has been a lot of rain. This was the case in 2008 and 2009, but most years they stay dry. The rest of the Makgadigadi exists out of grass and dunes.

If we are lucky (depending on when the rains come), we might see the world’s second largest zebra migration. About 25000 animals that stay in the Okavango Delta during dry season, come to the saltpans in rainy season.

Makgadigadi Pans

Here we stay at the edge of the saltpans. We camp one night, and sleep in cosy little houses the second night.

I have arranged a photo session on the pans with the well- known meerkat family. They are used to people, so we can get really nice shots of them. Get ready to lay down on the ground, probably in the mud, because you want to be eye-level with those cute little meerkats.

The rest of the time we will explore the salt pans, looking for wildlife. This will only be possible if the rains haven’t been too heavy. In the camp we have access to the largest pool of the Kalahari, so bring a swimsuit!

Khwai

Khwai is an area in the Okavango Delta, just outside the National Park.  There are no facilities, so we camp out in a ‘camping spot’ which is actually just a spot in the bush.  We camp near the river, where there is an abundance of wildlife.  Lions, elephants, wild dogs, hyenas…  But Khwai is especially famous for leopards! We have a really good chance to spot leopards there.  It is a totally different area then what we have seen before, only 4 hours from Maun.  

Photography

The purpose of this trip is not only to experience this amazing adventure, but also to make beautiful photographs.

Carole will be switching between the 3 cars every day, so she can assist you with your photography. We also have radios between the 3 cars.

With a 300 mm you can get some nice shots, but I would recommend 400 mm or more. If necessary, you can hire a lens, so you don’t miss out on great opportunities. A wide angle and tripod is a must to photograph the milky way at night.

After lunch, we always take some time to look at the images, and Carole will give you tips and tricks on how to improve. She will give some Lightroom and Photoshop lessons, when there is time. During game drives she will assist you on how to use aperture, depth of field, which lenses to use when, composition, panning, landscape etc.

Our professional guide will also switch cars every day, so he can teach you 4×4 driving, and help us when a car gets stuck or when we have a flat tyre. He will explain the do’s and don’ts of camping in a wild area, and keep us safe at night. His knowledge about the bush is extensive, so don’t hesitate to ask him everything you want to know.

Accommodation and transport

We rented 3 Toyota bush campers, completely kitted out with everything you need to camp in the wild. This will be our house for the next 17 days. Every car has a rooftop tent, a kitchen, water tank, etc.

You will be driving a real 4×4 route, where we will encounter deep sand and mud and water.

Every evening we park the cars on the campsite, put up our tents, make a campfire and cook a delicious meal.

We take only 2 people per car, plus Carole and our guide. That way everyone has enough space to photograph.

I have made sure we have the best camping spots in the parks, literally in the middle of nowhere…

In Maun and Makgadigadi we spend the night in rooms. Would you like a room to yourself, and a ground tent to sleep alone in the parks? Then you can choose the single option.

Climate

It is the end of the rainy season, so you will need clothes for warm weather and rain and keep in mind it might cool off in the evening.

Is this photography trip something for you?

Camping in the wild

Camping in Africa is not nearly as daunting as it may seem. And the chance to get up close and personal with nature is more than enough reason to give it a try.

If you have never camped in the wild before, rest assured, it is completely safe. As long as you keep in mind the do’s and don’ts, you will be absolutely fine. It is a very liberating feeling to live among wildlife. And the animals, they really don’t care about us. As long as we don’t bother them, they will not bother us.

There is no water or ablution block in CKGR. So we have to bring all the water for drinking, coffee, showering and washing. That means we have to be very careful not to waste any.

Itinerary

3/4 – Arrival

You arrive in Johannesburg in the morning, and Carole picks you up at the airport. We drive to the lodge, and after freshening up a bit, we get picked up by Bushlore to fetch our cars. They show us how the cars work, how to put up the tent and how to operate the fridge. From the Bushlore carpark, we drive for the first time towards our lodge. In the evening, we have a simple meal and go to bed early.

4/4 – Driving the jeeps…

After a really nice breakfast, we load everything into the cars and drive in convoy to Grobler’s bridge, the Border of Botswana (about 4,5 hours’ drive).

We stretch our legs and get our passports stamped. After getting diesel, we have a quick lunch and drive off towards Serowe, to arrive in Khama Rhino Sanctuary, about 2 hours later.

Here, we will be driving in the bush for the first time. If we are lucky, we will see rhinos at the waterholes, hopefully with babies! But we will also see Zebra, Gnu, Giraffes, Eland, Kudu, Springbok… and many more! Get your camera ready, because here the adventure begins. Some parts have soft sand, so you can test your driving skills immediately.

In the evening we camp for the first time. We will have a sundowner around our self-made fire, and cook together. There are no large predators here, but what would you say if a black rhino came to visit the campsite?

5/4 – To Central Kalahari

We get up before sunrise, make coffee and breakfast, pack away the tents and go looking for rhinos.

After the morning game drive we leave the park and drive to Rakops (3 hours) where we fill up our tanks for the last time. Then we take the bush road into the park towards the entrance of the park (3 hours).

After checking in, we drive towards our first campsite in Deception Valley, where we will stay for the next two nights. Get your camera’s ready!

After sunset, we have sundowners around the campfire and prepare a nice meal together. We go to bed early, because the next day we get up again before sunrise.  The campsites are in the bush, away from other campsites, so you will feel like we’re the only people in the world…

6/4 – After coffee and breakfast we go hunting for predators!

They are more active early morning, so it’s easier to spot them. We will explore different pans.

After lunch we have some time to rest or to discuss the images. Carole will explain how she processes her pictures in Lightroom and Photoshop, depending on how much time we have. Around 3h30 pm we go on another game drive.

This is what every day will look like, depending on the sightings and the weather.

7/4 – 8/4 – towards another valley

this valley has only one campsite, so we will be all alone!  from there we will explore other valleys as well.

9/4 – 11/4 – Deeper into the park

Today, we drive deeper into the park. This is my favorite place in the Kalahari, that’s why we stay there 3 nights. It’s a longer drive, but hopefully on the way we find lots of game to photograph. There is a waterhole, where I often see cheetahs and lions. The area has 3 pans.

12/4 – Deception Valley

Today we drive back towards Deception Valley, but we spend the night at a special campsite, where we will be alone. There is a waterhole in the area where we can take nice pictures of animals coming to drink.

13/4 – Maun

After a last game drive, we drive out of the park, towards Rakops where we will get diesel again. After another 4 hour drive, we arrive in Maun. Here, we will do some shopping, have lunch and relax at a nice campsite of Island Safari Lodge with a swimming pool and a bar.

14/4 – 15/4 – Nxai Pans National Park

Today, we leave Maun early towards Nxai Pan National Park. It’s about a 4 hours drive, but a big part of the road is famous for its potholes! Actually more potholes than road so we will be going very slow, zigzagging between the holes, to avoid flat tyres. The road into the park is mainly soft sand, so be careful not to get stuck!

This is how you learn how to drive 4×4!

The sunset at Nxai Pans can be magical, every evening elephants gather there around the waterhole. Here we camp again, but for the first time we have proper ablution blocks, that are very well maintained. What a luxury!

16/4 – 17/4 – Makgadigadi Pans National Park

South of Nxai Pans, we have Makgadigadi Pans National Park. There, we will camp the first night at Planet Baobab, at the edge of the pans. The second night, we will sleep in cosy houses. We will have dinner at the restaurant, and breakfast. There is a nice bar and the biggest swimming pool of the Kalahari.

On the 15th of April I have organized a trip to see the meerkats in the morning. They are habituated, so we can photograph them from the ground and close-up! The rest of the time we will explore the salt pans looking for the zebra migration. Everything depends on how soon or late the rains have come.

18/4 – Khama Rhino Sanctuary

Today, we drive about 6 hours back to Khama Rhino Sanctuary. Hopefully we find the rhinos again and get some fantastic shots of them. This is our last night camping in the bush.

19/4 – return home

After the last morning game drive, we drive back to Johannesburg. We deliver the cars at the airport and fly home.

De Kalahari

De Kalahariwoestijn, ongeveer 38 000 vierkante km, situeert zich voor het grootste deel in het land Botswana, maar delen van de woestijn vallen ook binnen de grenzen van Zuid-Afrika en Namibie.

In de Kalahariwoestijn bevinden zich meerdere indrukwekkende natuurparken. Het meest populaire park is het Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

Wanneer we aan een woestijn denken, dan stellen we ons enorme zandvlaktes voor en een extreem droog gebied. Dat zal je zeker vinden in bijvoorbeeld de Sahara, maar de Kalahari is een heel andere woestijn. In deze woestijn regent het namelijk wel eens. We hebben het niet over liters, maar over nog geen 175 millimeter op jaarbasis.

De hitte is wel kenmerkend voor een woestijn. In de heetste maanden van het jaar kan de temperatuur oplopen naar 45 graden Celsius. Veel water verdampt dus, en dat betekent dat het bijzonder schaars is.

Central Kalahari

Het Central Kalahari Game Reserve is het grootste natuurreservaat van Afrika (groter dan Zwitserland!). Oorspronkelijk was het gebied een reservaat voor de Bosjesmannen (San) die hier al duizenden jaren wonen, maar tegenwoordig ligt de nadruk veel meer op het wildlifebeheer.

Het natuurreservaat bestaat voor een groot deel uit kale zoutpannen. Het enorme Central Kalahari Game Reserve wordt slechts door zeer weinig mensen bezocht.

Ondanks de barre omstandigheden weten veel dieren hier toch te overleven, waaronder enkele bijzondere soorten zoals leeuwen, bruine hyena’s, cheeta’s, luipaarden, gemsbokken, springbokken, koedoes, elanden, jakhalzen, en sinds kort zelfs weer olifanten!

Met wat geluk kan je ook caracal, serval, genet, Afrikaanse wilde kat, de honingdas, de pangolin (schubdier) of de grootoorvos zien!

Deception Valley

De bekendste en meest bezochte plek in het reservaat is Deception Valley, dat grote bekendheid verworven heeft om z’n bruine hyena- en leeuwenpopulatie. Duizenden jaren terug kronkelden er enkele rivieren door het droge reservaat.

Een van deze fossiele rivieren zocht zich ca. 16.000 jaar geleden een weg door de noordelijke Kalahari en sleet hierbij een vallei uit die tegenwoordig bekend staat onder de naam Deception Valley.

Een variatie aan grassen, acacia’s, doornbossen en andere planten gedijen goed in deze droge omgeving. Tsamma meloenen en gemsbokkomkommers zijn de grootste waterbron voor de dieren in het droge seizoen.

Deception Valley is het gebied waar Mark en Delia Owens ooit hun onderzoek naar de bruine hyena deden en waar het boek “Cry of the Kalahari” is geschreven. (aanrader!)

Wij gaan op het einde van het regenseizoen, wanneer de dorre Kalahari is omgetoverd  in groene vlaktes. De jonge wildebeesten, gemsbokken en springbokjes worden geboren, waardoor de roofdieren een overvloed aan eten hebben. Af en toe kan er een bui vallen, maar meestal blijft het bij spectaculaire wolkenluchten, die een fantastische achtergrond bieden voor je foto’s. Stel je die fantastische zonsondergangen eens voor…

We kamperen op 4 verschillende kampplaatsen in het Central Kalahari Game Reserve, waardoor we verscheidene kansen hebben om andere dieren te zien.

Makgadigadi Pans

Hier overnachten we aan de rand van de zoutvlakten.  We logeren 1 nacht op de kampplaats en 1 nacht in huisjes.

We gaan stokstaartjes fotograferen, die mensen gewoon zijn, zodat we ze goed kunnen benaderen. De rest van de tijd ontdekken we de uitgestrekte vlaktes, (indien het niet te veel geregend heeft) en zoeken naar de zebra’s en roofdieren.

Er is een groot zwembad waar je een frisse duik in kan nemen.

Khama Rhino Sanctuary

Het Khama Rhino Sanctuary is een gemeenschapsproject met de focus op behoud en beheer van de natuur. Het werd in 1992 opgericht, in de eerste plaats ter bescherming van de bedreigde neushoornsoorten en om economische voordelen te realiseren voor de lokale gemeenschap in Botswana door middel van toerisme en het duurzame gebruik van natuurlijke hulpbronnen.

Dit stukje Kalahari ongeveer met een oppervlakte van zo’n 8.585 hectare is en uitstekende habitat voor zowel de witte als de zwarte neushoorn, net als voor meer dan 30 andere diersoorten en meer dan 230 vogelsoorten.

Het ligt dicht bij de grens tussen Zuid-Afrika en Botswana, en we overnachten daar 2x op weg van en naar Johannesburg. Zo hebben we een goeie kans om neushoorns te fotograferen die nog in het wild leven!

Fotografie

Het doel van de reis is niet alleen om een ongekend avontuur te beleven, maar ook om met mooie, onvergetelijke beelden naar huis te keren.

Carole zal om beurt meerijden in 1 van de 3 Toyota’s om te helpen met de fotografie. Via radio’s communiceren we tussen de 3 auto’s. Onze gids rijdt ook mee om ons veilig overal door te loodsen.

Met een 300 mm-lens kan je al mooie beelden maken maar indien nodig kan je een grotere lens huren. Een breedhoeklens is zeker een must voor het landschap en de sterrenhemel. In maart kan er soms een hevige regenbui vallen, wat dikwijls zorgt voor een spectaculaire wolkenhemel.

Tijdens de middagpauze is er tijd om de genomen beelden te bespreken en eventueel te bewerken. Tijdens de ‘game drives’ besteden we aandacht aan diafragma, sluitertijd, scherptediepte, welke lenzen wanneer te gebruiken en verschillende compositietechnieken, ook panning, landschap- en sterrenfotografie komen aan bod.