I had never been to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve before, and so I really was not sure what to expect. The truth is that you cannot really explain fairly how the “fairy Bushman grass” dances and glows in the light and to the tune of the desert winds, or the vastness, or the magic of what was once a massive inland sea. Although, one thing I can explain fully is the fact that the desert wind was unbelievably cold for our visit. We had the misfortune of arriving at Kalahari Plains Camp at the same time as a cold front, which had just swept through South Africa heralding the end of the World Cup. Although it was cold enough for me to get dressed in bed, we made our way to the early morning fire set in front of the main area of camp where we thawed out with a cup of coffee. Whilst we were remarking on how quiet the night had been for animal sounds, the roar of a lion interrupted us. Another lion accompanied him and both were clearly visible on the plain. We headed out and Mike was just in time to get a pre-dawn shot of the two magnificent beasts walking in front of camp.

That then was the start of one of the coldest, but most rewarding, game viewing days of my life. With the icy cold came clarity of colour in the pale blue sky of the Kalahari that is a delight to any photographer. Aside from massive herds of springbok and oryx, honey badgers, giraffe, red hartebeest, kudu, steenbok and warthog, we managed to get the closest I have ever been to a juvenile Martial Eagle.

But that was not the end of it. We took a drive down to Letiahau Pan where we came across a brown hyaena feeding off the remains of a dead lion. Two days earlier, a territorial battle had ensued and two lions had succumbed. That was the second kill we witnessed that day; the first was a lanner falcon on a Hornbill and the final one was a pale chanting goshawk on a black korhaan kill.

Of course the birds were spectacular too and our special sightings included an ant-eating chat and swallow-tailed bee-eaters. Lots and lots of pale chanting goshawks (affectionately known as PCGs) are a feature of the area.

During our three-day stay, we found what we believe was the black-maned lion responsible for the territorial fight. He was strolling along with a lioness and two sub-adults. It was a fabulous sighting of what we considered THE perfect black-maned lion of the Central Kalahari. We also saw bat-eared foxes and an aardwolf up towards Deception Valley.

The weather finally warmed up so we could do the cultural walk with two Bushmen or San people, which is an activity I can recommend to anyone. We were fascinated when they demonstrated how to catch a spring hare using their elongated reed sticks that had a hook on the end made from the horn of a steenbok. They also demonstrated how they read the signs of the wilderness as well as their tracking and fire-making skills.

After a fantastic three days, we agreed that it would be our wish to make a pilgrimage to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve at least once a year – it is that special. We also agreed that our future visits will not be less than three nights at a time as that way we will be able to cover a larger territory and to get a better feel for the Reserve.

Our thanks to Basha, Russel and the team at Kalahari Plains who made our stay so memorable.

Basically it is an antelope with twisty horns and there are lots of them from the family Tragenlaphinae. They include, in descending size order, bongo, greater kudu, lesser kudu, sitatunga, nyala and bushbuck. Some twisted enthusiasts include the eland but there is a lack of consensus as to this vast creature’s taxonomy. Interesting but irrelevant – the eland, spiral-horned or not, has been farmed for milk.

In southern Africa we find greater kudu, nyala, sitatunga and bushbuck.

Only the bulls have horns except on very rare occasions when females are strangely horned – these are the bearded ladies of the antelope world.

Special mention

The bongo, although not occurring on the sub-continent, deserves a special mention because it the biggest and rarest. The bulls mass up to 400 kgs. It is endangered and only occurs in the tropical rain and alpine forests of central, west and east Africa.

What’s interesting?

A lot of white.

The spiral-horned antelope have white chevrons on their faces, white stripes down their sides and bright white under their tails. The bulls also tend to have white tips to their horns. The reasons for these adaptations are a source of some debate.

As far as the chevrons on the face go, they are probably there to reflect light into the eyes. Most of the spiral-horned antelope live in dimly lit, thick bush. The white chevrons apparently reflect light into their eyes which in turn helps them to see marauding predators.

The white stripes on the flank? These help with camouflage in the dappled light of their habitats. It’s no surprise that species living in the thickest vegetation have the most obvious striping – compare the picture of the nyala which lives in thick riverine vegetation and the kudu which lives in more open woodland areas.

Fluffy white tail? Most features that draw one to look at the back end (think waterbuck ‘targets’ and erect warthog tails), are following mechanisms. When on the run from death at the teeth of a predator, the antelope flick their tails over. This allows their companions, especially if they are young calves, to follow.

The spiral-horned antelope are also known for their loud, low frequency alarm bark that sounds like a mixture between a huge dog and an irate baboon. Apparently a lower frequency sound penetrates more deeply in dense vegetation.

What do they do?

Like most creatures, they eat and breed.

Greater kudu are savannah woodland species and so will not live in desert, forest or grassland. That said, they can live in very dry conditions such as those prevalent in the Karoo or the Kalahari. They tend to live in small groups of up to twenty. The older bulls like to live alone or with a number of young apprentices.

Nyala only occur in the eastern parts of southern Africa, they occupy thicker woodland than do their larger kudu cousins and are probably most at home in riverine vegetation. Mature bulls are shaggy, grey while cows are completely dissimilar chestnut brown.

Bushbuck, which are more solitary than their larger cousins, live in the thickest vegetation. They are also water dependent and need to drink regularly. That said, where the right habitat exists, they occur readily – the bushbuck is the most widely distributed antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sitatungas are adapted entirely for marsh and papyrus. They have specially adapted feet for living in the wet. The two cloves of their hooves can splay wildly which allows them to walk on mud and floating vegetation islands without sinking. You can see these rare and highly specialised animals at Jao Camp, Xigera Camp, Kwetsani Camp and Jacana Camp.