Kalahari Calling

A place of wide horizons, crimson-coloured dunes and desert wildlife, the Kalahari is also the traditional home of the nimble Khomani San

- Keri Harvey

“That’s Douglas. He’s a gourmet and only eats pâté,” says Professor Anne Rasa, pointing to a meerkat. Rasa is feeding raw chopped chicken to a family of habituated meerkats, but Douglas is waiting patiently for bone shavings (his pâté). Douglas is part of this meerkat colony of ‘misfits’. They are orphans, unwanted pets or have been confiscated for cruelty and have now formed their own functional family.

All day, the meerkats are out at the vast Kalahari Trails Meerkat Sanctuary, owned by Rasa, but in the late afternoon most of them show up for food. As soon as they’ve dined, they’re back to the wild. The colony can also be encountered on guided walks and tours around the sanctuary with Rasa, who is a desert ecologist and has studied meerkats for over 40 years.

Deep in the desert

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is 35km further north, and that’s where we’re headed. As part of the Kalahari Red Dune Route of the Northern Cape, Kgalagadi has unique offerings. There’s duneboarding, camel riding, 4x4 trailing, birding, game drives and other naturebased activities to enjoy, with Kgalagadi the heart and soul of the region. It’s the traditional home of the ancient Khomani San and Mier communities, who own a big chunk of the park.