For those who think my title is confusing, I mean that our family (and pretty much everyone else we met at our camp) was in the Kalahari to see meerkats (which, BTW, are not cats whatsoever).

Before we visited the meerkats, we took a very interesting journey to our second camp. To get to the Kalahari desert, we took a tiny plane that could only fit 12 people, and along the way, the airplane stopped to drop people off (this is where the term ‘airbus’ really comes in :D), took off again only to land 15 minutes later to drop more people off, and then finally it arrived at our camp’s “airport”, which some people might call a welcoming tent next to a dirt landing strip. Already, just by looking at the landscape from above and from sitting in the tent, we could see that we were no longer in Chobe. Instead of a river that connected Namibia and Botswana with trees shading the riverbanks and paths, there were short dry grasses dotted with termite mounds and palm trees, along with white sand paths and ostriches.

Our hotel here was also extremely different than where we stayed in Chobe. Camp Kalahari was more of a camp than a hotel. We slept in tents, but the tents had two real beds, wooden floors, a toilet, and a shower. It wasn’t just like a forest camping tent. The best thing that we were introduced to at the camp was bush babies! Basically, they are hot water bottles that are really good for cold mornings and nights (and by cold, I mean freezing🥶). The first night, when I was reading on my Kindle on my bed, I felt a lump inside my bed. I was very curious to see what this lump was, so I reached under my covers to find a warm bush baby, and when I was lying down under my covers to go to sleep, I found another one under my feet!

Every evening in Botswana, we did something called a “sundowner,” which ranged from sunset boat cruises to short game drives with a drink to my personal favorite at a little spot that overlooked the Makgadikgadi salt pan (see How 2 Pronounce section). We had a drink and looked around, and then our guide, Friday, gave us a short (though for us children, it was a little long😑) lecture about Botswana, its landscape, its people, government, etc. The best part of it (to me) was when we extinguished our campfire, turned off all our flashlights, and looked at the sky. There were so many stars because we were basically in the middle of nowhere, and the only light we could see was from Friday’s laser pointer. My dad also said that we were very lucky, because there was no moon and the closest light was at least a mile away.

Over the next few days, we were busy with different activities that were exclusive to the Kalahari, including a walk with the San tribe. They taught us how to make a fire by rubbing sticks together, how to set a trap for guinea fowl by tying a string to a stick, how to get water from a plant that is kind of like a potato, and how to play a confusing game that looked like slapping the ground and grabbing twigs. The other main activity we did besides going on game drives was quad biking through the Makgadikgadi salt pan. It was interesting how there was almost nothing around, except for the salty crust of the pans and us. We were so far away from anything that even some palm trees far away looked like a mirage! Some people actually try to camp in the Makgadikgadi, but it is really dangerous because everything looks the same. Coming back, my headscarf thingy flew off (Mia rescued it), and I was finding salt in my ears for the rest of the day.

And now… for the big finale… drumroll, please🥁… we visited a colony of MEERKATS!!! The reason we even took a trip to the Kalahari was that Mia saw one picture of the meerkats, and BOOM, it was on our Africa safari itinerary. We drove out to quite literally the middle of nowhere when we alarmingly saw another 4×4 jeep driving away from a man who was wandering around, looking at something in the dirt. Gratefully, the man was the meerkat colony handler(he was looking at the meerkats), and the jeep was just another crew of meerkat lovers who had finished their experience. The handler’s job is to be with them from before they wake up to after they go to bed, and to help us get meerkats to stand on each of us! The meerkats were specially trained, though, so they didn’t run away or attack us. To have a meerkat stand on you, it feels very ticklish, but if you laugh or squirm, it will jump off of you and start in search of another lookout or food. Meerkats are carnivorous, or insectivorous, so they spend a lot of time digging through the ground looking for scorpions or other insects to eat. For the part of the time that the meerkats weren’t climbing on top of us or finding a place to sleep for the night, they were furiously digging for food to fill their stomachs.

Kat with a k! Also, you can see the background scenery with nothing at all…

Now that we have made our second-to-last stop on our trip to see some ‘kats, what do you think of the Kalahari? Is it what you imagine when you think of the word safari, or is it something totally unexpected…?

Kalahari staaaaaats!

Instead of a deer in headlights, these are lions in headlights🦁

Fun fact: For a handler to train a meerkat, they need to be with them every day for 2 years, just standing and watching them so they become comfortable around humans.

Where we stayed: Camp Kalahari

How 2 pronounce: ca-lih (like california)-har-ee, ma-caw-dee-caw-dee (pronounce it as one big long word… Makgadikgadi)

Here for the kats with a k

Kalahari staaaaaats!

I’m not lyin’, I saw a lion!