Dinaka

AREA & ACTIVITIES

Habitat & Wildlife
The Central Kalahari is an area of semi-desert, where trees, bushes and grass do exist within an otherwise hostile desert environment. This allows a variety of birds and animals to exist in the region, including the rare brown hyaena, lion, cheetah, leopard, wild dog, giraffe, oryx, red hartebeest, eland, kudu, wildebeest, springbok, steenbok, black-backed jackal, meerkat, ostrich and a variety of smaller game including the nocturnal species such as aardvark, aardwolf, honey badger, bat-eared foxes, serval, caracal, porcupine, African wild cat and genet. There are no elephant, hippo or buffalo in the region (very occasionally an elephant wanders through, looking a bit out of place). The Dinaka Concession is large and private, and excellent for game-viewing, with good lion and white rhino populations. Birdlife is superb and varied, and night drives offer the chance to come across rarer species.

Activities
Activities include morning, afternoon and night game drives taken in open safari vehicles with a maximum of four guests per vehicle. Alternatively, guests can learn more about the Bushman culture through an interpretive walk or explore more of the reserve on foot with guided bush walks. An underground bunker and a hide, both overlooking water holes, offer excellent photographic opportunities. Birding is particularly good at Dinaka with over 200 recorded species. At an extra cost, there is the opportunity to spend the night on a sleep out deck, which operates from 1st April until the 30th November (located about 20 minutes from camp overlooking the plains – pre-booking is essential to guarantee availability). The deck has a bed ‘under the stars’ and basic bathroom facilities (flush loo and hand basin). Your armed guide sleeps in a tent a short distance away. For guests particularly keen on walking, at extra cost it is possible to book a specialist walking guide to focus on exploring the area by foot (a walking adventure can be combined with a night at the sleep out deck).

Seasons
Dinaka is open all year and in contrast to most areas in Africa, game viewing is pretty consistent throughout the wet and dry seasons. During the green season the game avoids the thicker bush and congregates in the more open areas where they feel safer and there is plentiful grazing, often making it easier to see the animals. During the dry season when the landscape is more barren, game spreads out, however animals are much more reliant on limited water holes which brings different opportunities. This is one of the big advantages of Dinaka – whilst the main Central Kalahari Game Reserve is best visited during the rainy season from December to March, Dinaka can offer superb game-viewing year round, including during the long dry season.