While Namibia is more famous for being the home of the Namib Desert, it must be remembered that much of eastern and southern Namibia is covered by another - the Kalahari Desert. Although it is called a desert, the landscape is surprisingly well-vegetated and most of the region receives a measure of annual rainfall that pushes it beyond the claim of being a true desert. In springtime the undulating, sandy plains are covered in carpets of flowers and green grass while the summer rains transform most of the Kalahari into a verdant park. Acacias and other dry area specialists line ancient water courses and there are great tracts of dry woodland.
 

The only permanent river, the Okavango, flows into a delta in the northwest, forming marshes that are rich in wildlife. Ancient dry riverbeds—called omuramba—traverse the Central Northern reaches of the Kalahari and provide standing pools of water during the rainy season.

In the protected areas game tends to be very good: lion, cheetah and leopard prey on the arid area species like springbok, gemsbok and red hartebeest. Bird watching can be amazing: look out for great raptors all year round and an influx of interesting migrants in the wet summer months.

The best known of the Kalahari's inhabitants are the San Bushmen. The term 'Bushmen' is best known referring to nomadic hunter-gather people, also called 'Basarwa', (in Botswana) and 'San' (in Namibia and South Africa.)