But the year after the British lowered their flag, diamonds were discovered beneath the Kalahari sands.
Pressed into the soft Kalahari sand, the big paw prints were clear for all to see.
Tsholotsho is home to hardwoods such as the teak, these being found in the Kalahari sands.
The Kalahari sands are surprisingly good for cattle rearing though they need massive investment in terms of reliable water provision and disease prevention.
Most of the roads are however unusable due to the extensive Kalahari sands covering the district.
The resulting data is capable of revealing the rather faint gravity signals associated with Kimberlite pipes buried under the Kalahari sands.
A flood moves down the river reaching a flat region, formed from Kalahari sands, about five hundred kilometres across.
But everywhere the land was shaped by tracks, the footsteps of animals and birds overlaid in the white Kalahari sands.
The village was constructed on the flat Kalahari sand that covered the area for a hundred miles around.
When Kit didn't vanish like a shimmer of heat over Kalahari sands, Malcolm started breathing again.