Kalahari - a mystical marvel

It's an ancient land that covers a vast, 900,000 square kilometres of Southern Africa, encompassing virtually all of Botswana, roughly a third of neighbouring Namibia and stretching south to the northernmost tip of South Africa's Northern Province. Meet the Kalahari - a desert like no other that's filled with life and incredible safari experiences...

First up, let's do a spot of science. The Okavango is an inland alluvial fan or endorheic delta formed by a river system that instead of emptying into the sea, flushes its waters into the sands of the Kalahari basin. The entire delta floods every year in the dry winter months in what's known as the annual inundation, caused by rains in the catchment area of the Okavango River in the Angolan highlands region during the summer months (December to February).

The rains slowly drain into the river, reaching the north of the delta in late April before spreading south over the next few months, reaching its peak in the southern most parts around Maun in August. The area around the Khwai River on the eastern edge of the delta rises during the inundation, but is blessed with permanent lagoons and channels, creating a year-round wetland region.

It's these areas of permanent water that attract such a wide variety of wildlife and offer exceptional game viewing throughout the year, as well as the opportunity to explore the channels by mokoro - a traditional dug-out style canoe that's poled from the rear by an experienced guide.

This, then, is the incredible natural canvas on which Feline Fields Vintage Camp has been created.

Life on the dry side

The region of the Kalahari in which we work is one well known by local communities of San Bushmen, Africa's "First People" whose traditional way of life has been shaped by these dry and arid thirstlands. They manage to survive in this challenging environment by working with nature, rather than against it, looking at the way wildlife survives and adapting skills and techniques to meet their needs as hunter-gatherers. 

We have taken their lead in creating Feline Fields Lodge, adapting to the wilderness around us and allowing it to guide and inform us. The only change we made was to introduce permanent water through boreholes, tapping into the subterranean resources that allow life to exist in the Kalahari dunes. In doing so we have transformed the environment around the lodge, improving the number of bird species we see and providing waterholes for the elephants and other wildlife that passes through, which it does on a regular basis.

You won't see the diversity of species that you do in the Okavango at Feline Fields Vintage Camp, but you will see desert-adapted animals and plants found nowhere else and desert-dwelling specialists that make living in such a harsh climate look easy.

Complete immersion

The secret superpower of the Kalahari is its ability to seep beneath your skin and tug at your soul, humbling you while encouraging you to fall helplessly in love with it at the same time. Spending time in this incredible place is a tonic for body, mind and spirit and immerses you so completely in an authentic wilderness experience that you will never want to leave. 

We've taken that superpower and turned it into wonderful activities and experiences that help you absorb the essence of the desert and its many faces. From life-changing sleepouts under billions of glittering stars that literally envelop you in the Kalahari night to walking safaris with the local San Bushmen, learning their survival secrets and traditions as you go, a Kalahari safari at Feline Fields Lodge is guaranteed to change the way you look at the world.

The Kalahari is a natural retreat - a sanctuary that's so far removed from the everyday that it makes extraordinary look tame. This is where you connect with the planet beneath your feet in a unique way, by exploring, discovering and unlocking its secrets, one day at a time. And by doing so you inevitably find yourself!

To really understand the life force that makes the Kalahari so special, you need to come and see it for yourself, with a stay at Feline Fields Lodge. So get in touch and let's get a conversation started!