Arnoud Quanjer Wildlife Photography

The Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) is located in the center of the country. The Kuke fence runs along its Northern border and in the South it borders the Khutse Game Reserve. The CKGR is the largest protected region in Africa and it spans a total of 52800 square kilometers. Althoug it is a huge park it only has three entrances which you can use to enter the park. In the North there is Matswere gate, in the West there is a gate at Xade and there is a gate at Khutse. Most people enter the park through the Matswere gate as it is the closest gate to Maun.

Best season to visit

The best season to visit the CKGR is the rainy season (summer). During this time the grasses are green and huge herds of springbok and oryx can be found in the North of the park. During the rainy season there will be frequent rainstorms but generally they don't last long and the enormous thunderstorms are a sight to see and an awesome background for photography. The rainy season can be a challenging time to drive through through the CKGR. The roads on the pans will be very slippery and very muddy so drive with care and be prepared to dig your vehicle out when you get stuck.

In the dry season the scenery isn't as attractive as in the rainy season. The wildlife will also be more difficult to find as it is not concentrated on the pans like in the rainy season. I was in the CKGR in November 2006 and not one of the pumps at the artificial waterholes was working, and by the looks of it the pumps had stopped working long ago. This means that in the dry season you don't have the option of sitting at a waterhole and waiting for the wildlife to come for a drink. The CKGR is the remotest place I have ever been. Commercial operators enter through Matswere gate and camp at Sunday Pan or Deception Valley which is about 60km from Matswere gate. If you go further west like I did then you won't see any vehicles or people for days. I stayed in the CKGR for eight days and during that time I saw nine vehicles, seven of them were commercial operators camping at Deception Valley. The fact that you hardly ever see people means that you hardly ever have to share a sighting with other vehicles. During my stay in the CKGR I didn't have even have to share a single sighting with other vehicles.

Camping

A camping spot in the CKGR consists of some trees that give you some shade and if you're lucky a long drop toilet and a bucket shower (check the photo gallery for pictures). All the campsites have trees that will give you the necessary shade, but not all of them have the long drop toilet and bucket shower. A bucket shower sounds nice, but of course you have to bring your own water. In the rainy season make sure that the tap of the bucket shower is closed, that way if it rains you will catch some water in the bucket and you can use that to wash or shower. Camping spots in the CKGR are for you alone, there will not be other campers on the same campsite. In the popular area of Deception Valley and Sunday Pan the campsites are a couple of hundred meters apart and in the remoter areas they are many kilometers apart. One of the campsites I stayed at was Kukama Pan in Passarge Valley. The closest other campsites to kukama pan was 17 kilometers to the East of me. The fact that other campsites are so far away gives you the idea that you're the only living soul in the park which for me was an awesome experience.