Sounds of the Kalahari

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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1. Barking gecko 

A guide plays show and tell with a tiny barking gecko before putting it back at the mouth of its burrow

I love to listen at dusk to the clicking of the barking geckoes, more voluble in summer than in winter. You haven’t really experienced the spirit of the Kalahari until you’ve heard it. You don’t see the little creatures often because they hide away in their burrows during the day after plugging the entrance for protection against predators. And when the males call out from the entrance of the burrow at dusk, they only stick their heads out so they can scurry back into the hole if they’re disturbed. The clicking is apparently very sexy to the females of the species.

2. Spotted hyena 

Spotted hyenas are excellent mothers to their tiny brown cubs

There’s nothing like the giggling or lilting whoo-oop of spotted hyena to make you feel like you’re in the wild. The calls are their way of staying in touch and communicating with their clan. The giggling hints at a mix of excitement and frustration, and you’ll hear it when the animals can’t get to something they want, whereas the characteristic whooping is hyena-speak for, ‘Here I am, over here.’ Mums and cubs also communicate through assorted groans and murmurs. Spotties have at least 14 different vocalisations – making theirs one of the most complex vocal systems in mammals, including primates.

3. Black-backed jackal 

Black-backed jackals will scavenge carrion but are good hunters of small mammals, reptiles and birds

The yelping complaints of the black-backed jackal add a touch of melancholy as they slice through the Kalahari night. The animals give a short yell followed by a few shorter yelps when they’re calling to family members over some distance.

4. Lion 

A roaring lion doesn't look fierce; when they open wide and show their teeth they're simply yawning!

I love to hear the roaring of lions so close that they vibrate the ground under my feet - when I’m safely tucked away inside a fenced camp. If you’re in one of the unfenced camps in Botswana, though, having it come closer and closer in the darkness can be unnerving (see Lion causes an adrenalin rush at Polentswa, Kgalagadi). Lions roar to advertise their presence and communicate with other lions. A few deep, long roars usually trail off into a series of shorter ones and may be heard from up to 8km away if the wind is right.

5. Namaqua sandgrouse 

Namaqua sandgrouse drink peacefully shortly before a falcon swoops in to try to catch one on the wing

Sit at a waterhole in the Kalahari during the early morning or late afternoon and you may hear the liquid call of Namaqua sandgrouse as they fly in and away again, ki-ki-keeu. It’s as soulful a sound as you can hope to hear in the bush, instantly calming. There might be only one or two of them at first, then another, and another. Soon the air is alive with them, swooping down to drink, strutting in to soak up moisture in their chest feathers to take to chicks many miles away. Then they take off again in a staggered chorus, first one small group then another, calling as they go.

6. Thunderstorm 

Thunder, lightning and rain have vanished, leaving behind a double rainbow

If you travel to the Kalahari between December and April you may be in for a treat – a percussive electric thunderstorm. First the skies darken. Then thunder booms – rumble … cra-a-a-ck! A flash of lightning streaks down to the ground, raindrops begin to fall in fat splodges and in a matter of minutes the ground is awash with pools that quickly turn to squishy mud. Then, in the blink of an eye, the downpour is over, the sun peeps through the clouds, and the shallow pools start to dry up. Such storms are wonderful when you’re back in camp in the early evening, but even more spectacular if you’re out in your vehicle with nothing but dunes and camel thorn trees to obstruct your view.

7. Owls 

Keep your wits about you and you might spot a Verreaux’s eagle owl sleeping in a tree

Sit around the campfire at night and you’re sure to hear the call of one or two of the Kalahari’s owls – the African scops-owl’s penetrating whistle prrrrp at four-second intervals or the ku-ku-kuku-ku-whoo-oo of the whitefaced scops-owl. Listen for the spotted eagle-owl’s deep woo followed by a lower pitched hoo and you might spot it perching on one of the chalets, silhouetted against the darkening sky. During the day you’re more likely to hear the tiny pearlspotted owlet’s piu-piu-piu-piu, rising in volume, followed by a high-pitched peeeu repeated a few times.

8. Meerkat 

Meerkat are endlessly active, interactive and entertaining as they go about their daily business

Turn your engine off and lower your windows. Sit quietly with a family of meerkat and soon you’ll hear their soft chitterings as they forage. Wurruck-wurruck. Watch carefully and you’ll realise they have a repertoire of different calls – one just for keeping in touch with their family, an alarm call for airborne predators like eagles and a different one for land-based threats like snakes. If there’s a food fight – say, over a succulent millipede or beetle – you’ll hear them growl and spit. Watch, listen and feel part of the family.

9. Roads

My favourite kind of road - the 4x4 track on the way to Bitterpan wilderness camp

All the roads in the Kalahari are gravel or sand and each has its own distinctive sound. Where there are corrugations, there’s a thumping noise as your vehicle goes over the ridges and troughs, usually setting up a few interior rattles as well. Then you’ll get onto a stretch of smooth sand and you’ll understand that there’s nothing quite like travelling on sand roads that make your tyres sing.

10. Meat sizzling on the campfire

Camp fire burning, sun setting - one of the best times of day at Polentswa

Tsss-tsss. The day has been long and hot, but now the first beers have been opened and the fire is ready. The steaks and sosaties go onto the braai grid with a satisfying sizzle and all is right with the world. Time to crack open another beer and talk about tomorrow…

Agree? Disagree? Share your favourite Kalahari sounds in the comments below.

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