The Kalahari Desert hasn’t changed much geologically in the last 65 million years. About 25cm deep, these sands have suffered far less extinctions than other areas, resulting in an amazing diversity of plants, birds and animals. The Kalahari is currently in the wet period of its 65-million-year history. Its living desert supports an astounding diversity of life after good rains. The Okavango Delta alone has as many species of trees as the whole of Western Europe.
At some stage in the last 65 million years, large rivers flowed into the Kalahari Basin and created a giant lake. This giant lake emptied into the Indian Ocean via the Limpopo River. About 50 000 years ago, numerous fault lines in the area caused all but the Okavango River to divert, thus causing the lake to shrink. About 10 000 years ago, another fault effectively dammed the Okavango River, created the Okavango Delta. This in turn caused the lake to become one of the largest salt flats in the world – the enormous, shockingly white Makgadikgadi Pans.
Within the Kalahari Desert, one will discover the ancient and unique culture of the San or Bushmen. Having been roaming Southern African for the last 30 000 years, the desert is their last refuge as the San are now on the verge of extinction.
The Kalahari’s mature age, slow development and enormous size makes it no wonder that you will find incredible history and beauty in its natural surroundings and its inhabitants of both the two-legged and four-legged variety.
The jewel of the Kalahari
Surrounded by wilderness, the 15 000 square kilometer Okavango Delta is fed by the Okavango River, which rises in the Angolan highlands and flows southeast into Botswana.
Forming swamps, streams, islands, reed beds, flood plains and long stretches of cool, crystalline water, this, the world’s largest inland delta, contains 95% of all of Botswana’s surface water. Over time, the Okavango River has spread its rich sediment over a huge, almost flat area, forming the shape of a giant panhandle.
The Okavango Delta peoples consist of five ethnic groups, identified by their different languages and identities. One of these, the Hambukushu “river”bushmen inhabit the pan handle, certain parts of the caprivi strip, Angola and Zambia. Less than 500 of them exist today. The Hambukushu are unique because they do not raise cattle, due to the conditions of the okavango delta. Instead they are known as fishermen and gatherers.
Towns and Villages
Providing tourists with an ideal location in the middle of Southern Africa, the village is is slowly growing and a few safari lodges have cropped up over time.
Tribal women in the villages of Etsha and Gumare are noted for their handmade baskets made from Mokola Palm and local dyes, which are generally woven into three types – large, lidded storage baskets, large, open baskets for carrying goods on the head or for winnowing threshed grain, and smaller plates for winnowing pounded grain.
The town contains a hospital, school, small community of overseas aid workers and a thriving business centre. There is also a small curio shop that sells local baskets at reasonable prices that is worth visiting.
The Maun airport offers a combination of transfers between the city and the safari camps of the Okavango and these promise breathtaking views of Botswana’s prize jewel.
The village of Nokaneng contains a colourful blend of cultures, such as the Bayei, Basarwa, Baherero, and more recently, the Bahambukushu. Nokaneng is also a gateway to the renowned Drosky Caves or Qhwihaba Hills.
Camps set on their very own islands in the swamps of the Okavango are close by and offer fantastic sights of wildlife amidst spectacular scenery.
Also close by is Lake Ngami, an endorheic lake that is seasonally filled by the Okavango River and the Taughe. One of the fragmented remnants of Lake Makgadikgadi, the lake is an important habitat for birds and animal.