Central Kalahari Region
Central Kalahari region in Botswana
The Central Kalahari in Botswana forms part of the 2.5 million square metre large Kalahari Basin, one of the largest coherent sand expanses worldwide. The central parts of the Kalahari Basin consists of the Kalahari Savanna also known as the Kalahari Desert.
Geography and climate of the Central Kalahari
The most extreme climatic variations can be found in the Kalahari Region. Whereas temperatures of 35°C are common in summer, which can also easily climb up to 45°C, the Kalahari winter is characterised by significant temperature fluctuations. It is not uncommon that during the night temperatures fall below 0°C whilst during the day they again rise to around 25°C.
The Central Kalahari has too high a vegetation and average rainfall of 300 mm (often less in the south) to actually qualify as a real desert. The desert character is achieved by the absence of surface water in most months.
Flora and fauna of the Central Kalahari
Thanks to its relatively high rainfall the Central Kalahari has a very diverse flora. The San (Bushmen) who have lived in the Kalahari for centuries know more than 1000 useful plants. The wildlife is also of unique abundance.
Places of interest - Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the second largest game reserve in the world and covers an area of 52,800 square kilometres, which is almost 10% of Botswana's land area.
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Places of interest - Khutse Game Reserve
The Khutse Game Reserve is an area with only a few visitors during the dry season. But when the time of the mighty Kalahari thunderstorms comes, the number of animals increases and so does the number of visitors.
Khutse Game Reserve
Accommodation in the Central Kalahari region