Category: Kalahari

5 arid parks worth visiting in the Northern Cape

1/3/2017

By Roxanne Reid
It may not be home to Table Mountain or the Kruger National Park – two of South Africa’s most well known attractions – but the Northern Cape is still one of my favourite places. It has open spaces and blue skies, mountains and semi-desert landscapes crammed with wildlife big and small. Here are 5 arid parks worth visiting in the Northern Cape.

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8 best things to do on safari in Botswana

8/2/2017

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By Roxanne Reid
Landlocked in the heart of Southern Africa, Botswana is one of the most diverse safari experiences on the continent. Every day will reveal something new and thrilling. Go for a bush walk or game drive in the soft early morning light, watch the sky turn red at sunset, and listen to the sounds of the African night. Here’s my pick of the 8 best things to do on safari in Botswana.

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Voices of Botswana: honey badger vs black mamba

27/10/2016

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By Roxanne Reid
The honey badger, also known as a ratel, is a relatively small animal. It weighs only about 12kg but has long claws curved like knives, powerful jaws for crushing, and a giant-sized attitude. I’ve seen documentaries in which it stands its ground against much bigger animals like lions and leopards, or is bitten by a puff adder without long-term effect.

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The Kalahari in bloom

26/4/2016

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By Roxanne Reid
Anyone who tells you that the Kalahari is just red sand and lions either hasn’t visited or simply wasn’t concentrating. In fact, it’s full of fascinating small creatures like whistling rats and barking geckos. After good rain in summer the dunes are dressed in a jacket of green grass and a throng of colourful flowers will just about slap you in the face. This, then, is the Kalahari in bloom.

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6 travel highlights of 2015

30/12/2015

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By Roxanne Reid
There’s nothing I love more than a road trip, whether it’s a weekend just 100km from home or a multi-week journey across different countries. And 2015 has been a wonderful year of roadheart – defined by author Mary Sojourner as ‘The much to be desired condition of suddenly finding everything astonishing, fascinating, and unique the second you are on a roadtrip … so that even the local gas station becomes full of characters and stories.’ Here are my 6 travel highlights of 2015.

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Stop fracking in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in Botswana

7/12/2015

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By Roxanne Reid
The Botswana government has sold rights to frack for shale gas in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, one of Africa's largest protected conservation zones. Do you love the Kgalagadi as much as I do? Are you as outraged by this as I am? Read on to find out how we can work together to stop fracking in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in Botswana.

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Road trip in and around South Africa's national parks

17/11/2015

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By Roxanne Reid
‘This is a delicious book. It evokes things we love about the country around us. It conjures up places that soothe the soul. Its huge fault is that ... well, people are going to read it. And then where will all our best-kept secrets be?’ So said author and TV presenter Denis Beckett in his foreword of A Walk in the Park, which takes readers on a road trip in and around South Africa's national parks. Now an updated 2nd edition e-book has been published.

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5 favourite campsites in South African parks

16/6/2015

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5 favourite campsites in South African parks

By Roxanne Reid
South Africans are supremely lucky to have so many game reserves, national parks and nature reserves across the country. As regular readers will know, these are my preferred places to get away from the city, recharge my batteries and get my fill of nature and wildlife. Here are my 5 favourite campsites in South African parks for atmosphere, setting and rustic simplicity.

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The Kgalagadi lions, the leopard and the camelthorn tree

29/4/2015

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By Roxanne Reid
As any regular visitor to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park will know, it can be dry or green, hot enough to fry your brain or cold enough to freeze your blood, but it’s always rewarding. Take as an example the entertainment put on by the lions, the leopard and the camelthorn tree in the Auob riverbed when we visited in March 2015.

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Sounds of the Kalahari

15/4/2015

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By Roxanne Reid
Visit the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park or Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve once and it’s a fair bet you’ll be back, it’s that addictive. From the sight of wildlife big and small, to red dunes and night skies strewn with stars, there’s much to cast a spell. But perhaps one of the most evocative experiences is to open your ears and listen to the sounds of the Kalahari. Here are 10 of my favourites.

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