The expansive scrublands of the semi-arid Kalahari Desert extend some 900,000km² across Namibia, South Africa, and a large portion of Botswana. It forms part of the larger Kalahari Basin that – including the desert – also supports various wetlands such as the Makgadikgadi Pans and Okavango Delta of Botswana.
Although the Kalahari Desert cannot be correctly classified as a desert because of the amount of rainfall it receives annually (somewhere between 12-25 centimetres), the parched earth greedily absorbs any moisture that remains after the wet season. The desert’s rust-coloured valleys of sand dunes, peppered with scrubland in some parts, are considered the largest continuous expanse of sand on the globe. The endemic fauna and flora have learnt over aeons of acclimatisation to survive in this sun-baked wilderness.
The indigenous San bushmen have called the Kalahari home for 20,000 years and although many have begun to live sedentary lifestyles in towns, some can still be found living on the fringes of the desert. Visitors can experience the true essence of the Kalahari landscape by visiting the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The wider Kalahari Basin in Botswana includes the abundantly fertile Okavango River Delta and other verdant landscapes further north such as the Chobe National Park and Moremi Wildlife Reserve.
