Kalahari desert maps - Kalagadi - Maps of the kalahari desert - Maps desert Kalahari - Road map, vegetation types map, eco-systems map, mean annual raifall map.

Maps of the Kalahari desert:

Map of the Southern kalahari desert showing areas with permanent dunes.

Quick jump to other maps on this page:

| Go to Rainfall seasonality map | Go to Mean annual rain-fall map | Go to Map of vegetation types |
| Go To Kalahari and surrounding areas eco-systems map |

The presence of permanent dunes can be seen in this map of the kalahari desert. The desert kalahari desert map shows that the Southern dune-veld lies almost equally distributed over Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. Also that the direction of the dunes change from almost due South to North in the far South, to close on East to West in Namibia. This is due to to changes in wind direction.

What one cannot see on the kalahari desert map is that one now needs a passport to cross the border between the three countries shown on the map of the desert kalahari. Up to about 1960, one could freely travel from one side to the other. Namibia to South Africa, South Africa to Botswana and back. Then first the Botswana border became closed, and in 1980 the Namibian border as well. This brought great hardship to many peoples of the Kalahari, who now could not travel freely between their home and work.

The good news is, that if you cross the border into the Botswana side of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, but don't exdit on the Botswana side and return to South Africa (in other words you stay within the park), you don't need a passport or visum to Botswana.

In laters map of the kalahari desert, you will find the roads of the kalahari, the tribes living in the Kalahari desert and the major attractions of the Kalahri desert. But, as you can see on the map of the Kalahari desert, perhaps from the absence of place names in large areas, it is not a densly populated area. Even the major centres of the Kalahari, of which there are only a few, may boast under a 100 people. So, when you look at the map of Kalahari desert, and see a name or a dot on the map of the kalahari desert, don't expect to find a town or even some facilities. Places (and people!) in the Kalahari desert is not measured in numerical terms. That dot on the map may be a farm, with, if you are lucky, a farmhouse that isn't deserted. It may also just be a saltpan or a meeting of two roads, or a noteworthy natuarl feature.

On a hot Sunday afternoon in the Kalahari desert, you cannot even expect to find a cafe open at places such as Askham or Andriesvale, so take along plenty of water several litres (and frozen if possible) per person and try and find out when places will be open beforehand. If you ever get lost, or have a break down with your vehicle, which doesn't happen too infrequently in the Kalahri, and watch your meagre water supply dwindle, while you unexplicably becomes thirstier and thirstier, when you realise that the map of the kalahari doesn't lie, that there are only a few people out there in the kalahari desert, you will be very glad of this advice. So study that map of the Kalahari desert, stay on the main roads and stay out of trouble!

Winter time, May to August, is hunting time in the Kalahari

As it is "in season", you may find that there is suddenly a lot more traffic on the roads, and a lot more places open. Your map of the Kalahari desert will now come in handy. It may just be a little more difficult to find an open bed and breakfast, as the few available bed breakfast facilities will be booked to the teeth. Use your map of the kalahari desert map wisely

If you can stand the heat in the Kalahari desert, which can easily reach the high forties (48 degrees Celcius that is, not Farenheit!) even in the sparse shade under a thorn tree, and much higher on open stretches of sand, visiting the Kalahari desert in the off season months, can be a more rewarding experience. Make sure that you have an air-conditioned vehicle. Besides enough water, you must load up on petrol as it is called here or gazoline, whenever you see a pump. Just getting lost a tiny bit, can mean a detour of a hundred miles on unmarked dirt roads. Lack of petrol is one of the common vehicular problems in the Kalahari desert. Flat tyres or punctures are another, as are getting stuck in heavy sand. So be careful about taking that enticing off-road, unless you are an experienced driver and know the area.

Petrol 150 Km to the right! A calamity
if you are caught without a full tank.

The Solution, just accross
the road: Simply head back and fill up!

If you don't have a full tank and come upon a sign like this, please pay heed! Just before you have a heart-attack, first apply some laterall thinking and look for other clues. Almost diagonally accross the road, but facing the other way, was the solution! Fortunately I did turn back, because when I came this way again, I never saw the right hand turn indicated on the sign-post!

So if you can, rather go through the Kalahari desert in a convoy, with at least one other vehicle. Cell phone reception in the Kalahri desert is rather patchy and you may not be able to obtain help. Use your map of the Kalahari desert map wisely and make sure that you know where the next available petrol and water is. If you can see a settlement or farm house, within walking distance, you can walk there for help. But if you cannot see a definitive sign of occupation, you should not leave your vehicle! The Kalahari desert abounds with stories of people who left their vehicle after a breakdown, just to get lost in the sand.

In most case the vehicle is found rather quickly, and if there hasn't been any wind, footsteps can be traced in the sand, even from a vehicle. If the footsteps has been wiped out by wind, and your vehicle is found, police and other search-parties may search for days to find you in this vast area with wild animals, poisonous snakes and poisonous scorpions. So rather stay put in your vehicle where you are protected and have some shade.