8 Apr 2019: Trans Kalahari Highway

The Trans Kalahari Highway in Botswana, built entirely on sand, is a massive feat of civil engineering. The Kalahari Desert is the largest continuous stretch of sand in the world. It consists of a sand basin, up to 200 m in depth, extending from the Orange River in the south to the Congolese rainforests in the north. Towns are few and far between, and this makes for good roadside birding. The numerous Kalahari traffic lights - cattle, donkeys, horses – create enough roadkill to support numerous groups of vultures. The more heavily wooded sections of the highway provide for an extraordinary high density of raptors. On the Namibian side of the highway, especially in the Gobabis district, countless families of warthogs replaced the roadside animals of Botswana.

Vultures Cleaning the Highway

Lappet-faced Vulture, Trans Kalahari Highway

Somewhere along the way I had picked up a very virulent stomach bug, resulting in some very fast emergency stops. Bush-cover being a very scarce commodity in the Kalahari, a lot of time was spent balancing on the side-step of the 4x4 and hanging from a seat strap between two open doors. This technique can be recommended as it provides excellent calf and thigh muscle exercises.