Great Tsau Hill – Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana (by Jen Weimann)

Posted on 18th November 2022

Standing 200 meters above the vast flat expanse of the central Kalahari, Great Tsau Hill has no doubt served as an important navigational aid to humans since our time on earth began. The first people of Southern Africa, the indigenous Bushman, have traversed this seemingly dry and barren land for approximately 100 000 years, using nothing but the stars and natural geographical formations such as Great Tsau to guide them.

The sky at night above Great Tsau Hill 

The Kalahari Desert, a massive, flat, semi-arid savannah covering 900 000 squarekilometers, spans most of Botswana, and parts of north-western South Africa and south-eastern Namibia, too. Much of this desert has no surface water, and survival in such a challenging environment for these nomadic hunter-gatherers required a deep connection with the land, the animals, and each other, nurtured over thousands or years.

The similarities between the African Bushman and other First Nation peoples around the world, such as the Aborigines of Australia, the Maoris, the Indians of the Americas, Mayans, and Inuits, cannot be denied.  They all harbor age-old knowledge passed down verbally from generation to generation, as well as a level of spiritual connectivity mostly unknown in the New World. Equally, the hardship and persecution these peoples have suffered at the hands of other men cannot be forgotten. 

View of the Camp

With all this in mind, having the opportunity to spend time with a genuine Bushman clan in the Central Kalahari is not only a unique experience, but a chance to leave our material modern consumerist world behind and, to the extent possible, take a step back in time.  Although the Bushman people are now restricted from living their traditional life within what is now a National Park, they are transported from their new settlement areas to Great Tsau Hill, to graciously spend some time with visitors.

Learning from the Bushman people 

Whilst there are numerous camps and lodges that offer Bushman ‘experiences’ it can be acknowledged that there is quite easily a tendency to veer towards a touristy sheen. Finding a balance between authenticity, whilst respectfully providing these humble people with a much needed monetary income now that their traditional way of life has been destroyed, is no easy feat. 

Roots & Journeys have managed to bridge this divide at Great Tsau Hill. For anyone really interested in the Bushman history and their traditional way of life, I would highly recommend a visit to this camp. Bushman expert Clive Horlock has been engaged as a specialist training consultant, working with the Roots & Journeys professional guides, as well as with the Bushman clan. His function as a linguistic ‘bridge’ as well as imparting his vast knowledge to the guides, has ensured that this immersive experience is both genuine and highly educational, whilst also being a lot of fun!

A visit to Great Tsau Hill will include (as pre-booked/requested) a morning spent walking with the Bushman clan exploring the local plants and their uses as food and water sources, learning about the poisons they use for hunting arrows, the medicinal purposes of local flora, and much more.  At their traditional temporary homestead set in the bush near the camp, the Bushman clan will conduct an evening trance healing dance and you will likely be invited to return on another morning to spend time with their family, as they relax, play games, and make body ornaments.

Great Tsau Hill also offers a specialised five day stay hosted by Clive Horlock for those desiring a more intense, fully immersive, Bushman experience.

Located on a 400 square kilometer private concession within the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Great Tsau Hill guarantees an exclusive holiday with numerous activities to be enjoyed, including day and night game drives, walking, star gazing, e-bikes, and a skywalk up the female hill, finishing with stunning sundowners from the summit, overlooking the smaller male hill to the west. Wildlife sightings include elephant, giraffe, oryx, hartebeest, springbok, lion, brown hyena, bat eared fox, and much more. A refreshing swimming pool, overlooking the vast Kalahari plains below, completes this beautiful desert safari camp, run by one of the finest safari teams I have encountered in Africa.