Kalahari safaris struggle in drought - 11th March 2020

Animal deaths on this Northern Cape game farm have numbered in excess of a thousand in recent months.

It's the same story across southern Africa's Kalahari region, which has been blighted by one of the most catastrophic droughts in living memory.

Burger Schoeman manages Thuru Lodge resort; "we are trying to go on as we are at the moment, but it's only going to be so long before all our resources are out and we don't have any money left to do what we do."

Dependent on international trophy hunters visiting, Thuru Lodge has seen trade dry up owing to the inhospitable conditions and a scarcity of healthy animals to hunt.

Burger Schoeman: "unfortunately the drought forced us to place all our bookings on hold. We can't book a guy coming from overseas having the safari feeling and trying to give him the best safari he ever had but the animals that are here are very skinny and is dying."

At present, just keeping their livestock alive through the crisis is costing the lodge a monthly average of $14,000 and farm workers, normally reliant on wealthy tourists' tips, are also battling to hang on.

Despite the rainy season offering a brief respite, the area requires a year-long, sustained recovery and unfortunately, during this time, a significant number of businesses are set to fail.