With an average of 200mm of unpredictable annual rainfall, the Kalahari is a harsh environment. But, while the land might appear barren, it is home to a multitude of life, specially adapted to the desert conditions.

The Kalahari plants are the foundation of this ecosystem. They consist of perennial plants that provide food and shade for animals throughout the year, as well as annuals, which complete their lifecycle from germination to seeding inside a year. Many of these annuals are programmed to respond to the region’s sparse rainfall so that they germinate, flower, produce seeds and die within a month of a rainstorm, after which the seeds lie dormant in the soil until the next rains.

The most common tree in the Kalahari Desert is the Shepherd’s Tree. Its thickly-leafed branches provide welcome shade for the animals, birds and reptiles of the desert. The prince of desert trees, however, is the ubiquitous camel thorn.

The camel thorn's leaves and pods provide food for many species and its branches are prime nesting spots for eagles, roosts for owls and scaffolding for the massive communal nests of the sociable weaver.  The 78 resident bird species of the region are supplemented by 200 migratory visitors, making the Kalahari a popular spot with birders. 

Many visitors also come in search of the desert’s predators, with the prize being a sighting of the famous black-maned lion. Others Kalahari animals include the cheetah, leopard, hyena, caracal, yellow mongoose, bat-eared fox and even 3 species of frogs that spend most of the year in suspended animation beneath the pans. 

Among the most evocative of desert wildlife is the regal gemsbok with its splendid, scimitar-like horns. Also common in the Kalahari are springbok, desert giraffe and meerkats, which are often seen surveying the landscape from their burrows.