LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: Secrets of the Kalahari
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TWO WEEKS / KGALAGADI TRANSFRONTIER PARK TO TSODILO HILLS
This route is only accessible by 4WD vehicle. Throughout the trip, you will have to be completely self-sufficient, and fully confident in your navigation and survival skills. For the less adventurous, tour operators in Maun can help you organise a custom safari.
If you’re looking to leave the khaki-clad tourist crowds behind, the off-the-beaten-track option in Botswana takes you straight through the heart of the Kalahari.
Many travellers start their journey in Johannesburg and head north for the border. If you cross at Bokspits, you can enter the enormous Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, a binational park that encompasses parts of northwestern South Africa and southwestern Botswana. The park is one of the only spots in the Kalahari where you can see shifting sand dunes, though the highlight of Kgalagadi is the pristine wilderness and low tourist volume.
From Kgalagadi head east towards Gaborone and then loop back on yourself to enter the southern gates of the utterly wild Khutse Game Reserve. From here, traverse north through some exciting 4WD territory into the adjoining Central Kalahari Game Reserve, where you can navigate one of the continent’s most prominent topographical features via an elaborate network of GPS points. Before leaving the reserve, spend a night or two in Deception (Letiahau) Valley, renowned for its large populations of brown hyenas.
Heading north from the central Kalahari you’ll pass through D’Kar, where you can pick up some beautiful San crafts. Then press on for the remote Gcwihaba (Drotsky’s) Cave, renowned for its 10m-long stalagmites and stalactites as well as its large colonies of Commerson’s leaf-nosed bats. Finally, at the furthermost tip of the country you’ll come to the mystical Tsodilo Hills, which continue to be revered by local communities and are a treasure chest of painted rock art. Many of the paintings date from the late Stone Age to the Iron Age, and are attributed to San communities that once roamed the area.
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