The black-maned lion of the Kalahari — a king resting in an emerald flush of post-rain grass.
This is where my journey began.
All photos ©Alexandra George
Flying low over Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) to Tau Pan in a small bush plane is a surreal and beautiful experience – almost like gliding over an ancient, hidden world in the heart of Botswana. It was February, after the rains, and we saw ancient pans, a sea of waist-high grasses and scattered acacia trees.
From the air, the CKGR resembled a golden sea. On the ground, it pulsed with life: oryx, springbok, giraffes, ostriches, bat-eared foxes and the legendary black-maned Kalari lions that make this safari region of Botswana so iconic. We landed on a gravel runway near Tau Pan Lodge – one of Botswana’s most remote and breathtaking eco-lodges where the real adventure would begin.
Our flight into the CKGR was piloted by Ruby, a 24-year-old Botswanan whose calm precision made the landing on the remote Tau Pan airstrip feel effortless. Like many of the highly skilled young pilots flying bush planes across Botswana’s safari camps, she had trained in South Africa before returning home to navigate some of the wildest skies on the continent. Her steady hands brought us safely into the heart of the Kalahari wilderness, setting the tone for an unforgettable Botswana safari adventure.
Ruby, 24, who flew us to Tau Pan, one of the remotest eco-lodges in Botswana.
As we approached Kwando Safari’s Tau Pan Lodge, perched on an ancient ridge beneath a sky that stretched endlessly over the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, it felt as though we’d arrived at the edge of the world. One of the only permanent safari camps in Botswana’s CKGR, the Tau Pan Lodge offers breathtaking views across the vast Kalahari plains and a permanent waterhole just below – an iconic vantage point.
A Welcome in the Wilderness: Tau Pan Lodge, Central Kalahari
Upon arrival, I stepped out onto the main deck and looked out over the lodge’s waterhole, a key gathering spot during the dry season when wildlife – including leopards, cheetahs, black-maned lions, black-backed jackals, bat-eared foxes, herds of oryx, springbok and flocks of birds – converges in search of water. But now, just after the rains, the waterhole stood quiet.
This, our guide KB explained with a smile, was actually a good sign: the surrounding land was still lush and green, the pans brimming and animals were dispersed throughout the landscape. They were out there – hidden in the tall, shimmering grasses of the Kalahari wilderness – and the thrill would be in finding them.
The main area of Tau Pan Lodge (left). View from deck including waterhole.
Adrenaline and Awe: My First CKGR Lion
The day began with a soft knock at 5 a.m., a warm fire and a quick breakfast — then we set out on our first morning game drive in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Everyone who travels to this vast, untamed wilderness shares the same hope: to encounter one of the legendary black-maned lions of Botswana.
These lions, famed for their imposing size and dark, regal manes, are the undisputed icons of the Kalahari safari experience – symbols of raw power solitude and the primal beauty that defines the CKGR.
Just an hour into our drive near Tau Pan, our guide spotted him — the resident black-maned lion of Tau Pan. He was stretched out in the emerald flush of post-rain grass, like a monarch surveying his realm. This didn’t feel like a typical wildlife sighting in Botswana – it felt like a private audience with royalty. A rare and regal moment in a land that seemed more Eden than desert.
And in that moment, Shakespeare’s words came to mind, reborn in Kalahari dust and sunlight:
This royal throne of kings, this sun-drenched pan,
This lion’s realm, this sacred earth, this Kalahari.
We were spellbound. For the rest of the morning, we followed the black-maned lion and his consort as they moved together through tall grass and golden shrubs — a quiet procession across the heart of Botswana. Enraptured, we spent the entire morning following the royal couple promenading around their kingdom.
The Tau Pan king and his consort enjoy a leisurely walk in their kingdom.
Youth, Power and Tenderness on the Kalahari Plains
Three of the six pride members – subadult lions, lanky and full of adolescent swagger –wandered through the tall grasses of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, weaving between low shrubs, pausing to rest, groom and tumble lazily in the green flush of the land.
These young lions sparred playfully under the open sky — still growing, not yet kings, but already showing hints of the power that defines the legendary black-maned lions of the Kalahari.
Subadult lions spar in the verdant grass of the Kalahari — still playful, not yet kings.
The CKGR is not just a safari destination — it is a realm ruled by lions. With no human settlements, no fences and only the wind to break the silence, this vast wilderness belongs wholly to the wild. It is one of Africa’s most pristine and remote reserves, where time slows and raw nature takes centre stage.
One of the most tender scenes we witnessed was the black-maned lion’s consort brushing her head gently against him, her body curving into his in a quiet gesture of trust and connection.
Love and tenderness on the open plains of the Kalahari
Moments like these reveal the powerful social bonds and emotional intelligence of lions — reminding us that even in the heart of one of Africa’s most remote and unspoiled reserves, connection and affection endure. In the wilderness of Botswana, love and kinship remain at the centre of life.
After the thrill of witnessing a day in the life of the Tau Pan pride, we returned to camp for a different kind of encounter — one that explored the deep human roots of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. We set out on a “Nature Walk with a Bushman”, guided by our experienced tracker, to learn about the ancient survival skills and cultural traditions of the San people who once thrived in this primal landscape.
It was a powerful reminder that the Kalahari’s richness lies not only in its wildlife, but also in its ancestral wisdom.
Kindling Fire, Kindling Memory
Our San tracker demonstrated the ancient art of Bushman fire-making — a skill passed down for generations in the CKGR. Using a slender stick and a softwood fireboard, he spun the stick rapidly between his palms, building heat through friction. As fine wood dust began to smoke, he gently placed a glowing ember into a nest of dry grass and blew until a flame sprang to life.
Fire-starting demo during “Nature Walk with a Bushman”. KB, our guide (left), KP, our tracker (right)
It felt like a living echo of what Sir Laurens van der Post wrote in The Lost World of the Kalahari, a classic that left a lasting impression: “In the Bushman’s heart was the oldest living memory of man, the first dream of the human spirit.” Watching our San tracker coax flame from dust and wood offered a fleeting glimpse into that timeless world of the Kalahari, where ancestral memory and survival skills still echo beneath the surface.
The Tau Pan King at Rest
Later that afternoon, we encountered the Tau Pan King once more — this time resting in the shade of low Kalahari shrub, his black mane catching glints of light through the grass.
The King of Tau Pan resting in the shade of low Kalahari shrub, his consort nearby. A deserved respite after a day of leisurely strolls.
The black-maned lion of Tau Pan, regal even in repose, was a fitting reminder that in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the natural world still reigns.
In Part II new tracks take us to Deception Valley – to the island of trees where Delia and Mark Owens lived for seven years chronicling Kalahari lions and brown hyenas, stories later captured in their book, Cry of the Kalahari. Their legacy lives on as this book first stirred the dreams of so many who came after. The day-long drive delivered some of the Central Kalahari’s most thrilling wildlife encounters.
Watch the Book Video!
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