Visit Ghanzi, Botswana

Ghanzi, also known as 'the capital of the Kalahari' is one of Botswana's most intriguing towns situated in the middle of nowhere and separated from the rest of the world by hundreds of kilometres of road.

Much of the landscape is pretty monotonous. For the most part the terrain is flat and featureless with some scrub bushes, thorn trees and grassland. In the summer the heat is sweltering, in winter the climate is made more tolerable by cooler temperatures. There is a certain beauty to be found in the eerie sunsets and in the desert's overwhelming canopy of stars. Once inhabited by the Bushmen who had perfected survival strategies for living in this inhospitable land, today there are over 200 cattle farms.

Kanana Wilderness

Not far from Ghanzi is an area known as the Kanana Wilderness which has game in abundance. Herds of over two hundred eland can be seen and other Kalahari species such as gemsbok, springbok, red hartebeest, blue wildebeest, kudu and zebra thrive, whilst giraffe, duiker, steenbok and warthog are all common. Predator species such as leopard, cheetah, wild dog, jackal, caracal, civet, brown and spotted hyena occur and although elusive, are occasionally encountered.

Birdlife, reptiles and the small mammals

The arid areas of Africa continue to surprise those whose interest is birdlife, reptiles and the smaller mammals. The Kanana pan system attracts thousands of sand grouse together with flocks of guinea fowl and doves which in turn sustain the raptors — bateleur, marshal and other eagles, with vultures, goshawks and kestrels in close attendance.

Tortoise and other smaller and lesser known species are there to be discovered, with the giant ostrich overseeing this panoply.