Its 5AM, the thought of climbing out of bed to partake in reserve upkeep and security at this hour seems like madness. To make matters worse I can't feel my feet and my head is tucked under the duvet for warmth. Yes this is the morning start to a Kalahari Winter during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Finally I had the courage to climb out of bed, run across the cold tiled floor to my cupboard in search of warm clothing before I head over to start boiling the kettle. Its dark outside with the sun only expected to rise just after 7AM. I carefully reach over to the sink to add water to the kettle for a nice warm cup of coffee for myself and my girlfriend when all I hear is air pumping through the pipes and a small trickle of water followed by nothing. ALL THE WATER in the pipes is completely frozen. Luckily we had bottled water inside the fridge to make a cup of coffee to start the day off.
Dressed up like we are venturing out in the North Pole, we start our security patrols with an open Land Rover and no heater, luckily the windscreen was our saving grace - well if you were a passenger as the driver has no door so the cold comes in anyway. During the winter months in the Kalahari, temperatures can be as cold as -9 degrees Celsius in the evenings and early mornings, (that's just the temperature) I don't even want to mention the chilly winds experienced in such an arid region. However it is 100 percent worth it for what you get to see and I'll do it again and again for the sightings experienced below.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has gone across the world, international and provincial tourism at the reserve I work at came to a halt at the end of March 2020. Today as I write this blog, South Africa is about to go into level 1 of our lockdown phases and will hopefully open up borders to welcome back international guests. The reserve is opening up in a months time but the question is what happens to guides when there no guests? When there's nothing to do? No where to go?
Many smaller companies and lodges have been affected to a great extent by this pandemic, some retrenching staff, some completely closing down. The tourism industry has taken a massive dive and all the guides along with it. Luckily up in the Kalahari the guides were placed into different departments, mainly security and upkeep of the reserve. Conducting daily patrols at many different hours to keep the reserve running while all the guests patiently wait at home for their chances to travel again.
Sadly now as I write this post, the Kalahari winter has come to an end and what a season it has been especially being my first. Sadly I couldn't get the opportunity to spend it with guests but I'll just have to show you what I got up to during my patrols throughout the reserve and sometimes on my off times.
The Kalahari boasts many species that guests wouldn't see in an ordinary safari. In actual fact better to say many species that guides have never seen guiding in areas for their whole careers. Species such as Aardvark, Pangolin, Aardwolf, Bat-eared Foxes, Meerkats and many more. Some of these species are strictly nocturnal meaning they are only active at night, but in the Kalahari its different.
A Kalahari winter is experienced between May - August. The air temperatures drop between 6-8 degrees Celsius and many insect species cannot feed or for some, cannot survive these temperatures. Termites and Ants are effected by these temperatures - the reason I mention Termites and Ants is because the most sought after species to find namely Aardvark and Pangolin feed on Termites and Ants. With this sudden drop in temperature nocturnal species are forced to be active during day light hours to search for food like Termites and Ants as mentioned, as the night time and early morning temperatures are far to low for any activity.
Below I have attached some images from my adventures in the Kalahari this last winter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What a season it has been to experience and photograph some of these rare and nocturnal species that I have never seen before. I hope you've enjoyed reading this blog and keep following all my blogs, sign up to my newsletter and head over to my social media pages to see what I get up to, what I see on a daily basis. You never know, maybe one day I'll see you on your safari.
Keep safe and healthy all.
Cheers,
