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Write a User ReviewDesert splendours
This is one of largest and most unusual national parks in southern Africa, and one of my favourites, despite being difficult to incorporate into most itineraries due to its remote location on the border with Botswana and Namibia. The two outstanding features of the park are the stunning landscapes of rolling red dunes, and the wildlife that congregates along the pair of normally dry watercourses – the Auob and Nossob – that demarcate its main game viewing circuits. The environment is harsh and uncompromising, but it is also a place of singular beauty.
I’ve always had great game viewing here, particularly where predators are concerned – not only lion, cheetah and leopard, but also smaller nocturnal species such as bat-eared fox, African wild cat and caracal – while common antelope include gemsbok, springbok and eland. It is a great place to see the ground squirrel, but meerkats (suricates) are not as common as they used to be. The interesting birdlife includes plenty
On our most recent visit, we observed that the more westerly of the two main roads, connecting Twee Rivieren and Mata Mata rest camps via the Auob, was by far the most productive for wildlife, yielding daily lion and bat-eared fox sightings, as well as regular encounters with a reintroduced population of giraffes. Unless you are in a very high-clearance vehicle, the Nossob Road is more frustrating, as it is sunk within elevated verges that obstruct the view to the sides.
I’ve always had great game viewing here, particularly where predators are concerned – not only lion, cheetah and leopard, but also smaller nocturnal species such as bat-eared fox, African wild cat and caracal – while common antelope include gemsbok, springbok and eland. It is a great place to see the ground squirrel, but meerkats (suricates) are not as common as they used to be. The interesting birdlife includes plenty
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of raptors and dry-country birds, including swallow-tailed bee-eater, pygmy falcon, and the sociable weavers whose labyrinthine communal nests perch precariously on the treetops.On our most recent visit, we observed that the more westerly of the two main roads, connecting Twee Rivieren and Mata Mata rest camps via the Auob, was by far the most productive for wildlife, yielding daily lion and bat-eared fox sightings, as well as regular encounters with a reintroduced population of giraffes. Unless you are in a very high-clearance vehicle, the Nossob Road is more frustrating, as it is sunk within elevated verges that obstruct the view to the sides.
Big cat country
The Kgalagadi is South Africa’s biggest and most remote park, and one of my personal favourites. At over 3.5 million hectares, this arid and ancient stretch of land – which crosses the border between South Africa and Botswana – is double the size of Kruger. The first thing that I always notice driving into the park is the total and overpowering silence of the place.
While it may seem an unforgiving and inhospitable landscape at first, the Kgalagadi is actually a rich and complex ecosystem alive with interesting flora and fauna. In particular, the park has developed a reputation for its big cat sightings. There are an estimated 40 lion prides in the park. Leopards and cheetah are also around, though harder to spot. All three of these iconic big cats look particularly striking against the Kgalagadi’s backdrop of red sand dunes and big steely blue skies.
My most memorable visit to this park was spent at !Xaus Lodge, which is wonderfully isolated and offers
While it may seem an unforgiving and inhospitable landscape at first, the Kgalagadi is actually a rich and complex ecosystem alive with interesting flora and fauna. In particular, the park has developed a reputation for its big cat sightings. There are an estimated 40 lion prides in the park. Leopards and cheetah are also around, though harder to spot. All three of these iconic big cats look particularly striking against the Kgalagadi’s backdrop of red sand dunes and big steely blue skies.
My most memorable visit to this park was spent at !Xaus Lodge, which is wonderfully isolated and offers
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the chance to interact with the fascinating Kalahari Bushmen who in fact own the lodge. You can organize guided bush walks or star-gazing activities here – the Kalahari night sky has to be experienced at least once in your life. The South African National Parks wilderness camps are also great, but book up months in advance.The Best of the Kalahari
I’m always surprised by how few people visit the Botswana side of this transfrontier park. Lots of South Africans know about it, but the salt pans on the Botswana side of the frontier are some of the richest wildlife terrain in the Kalahari. The park’s signature species is the black-maned Kalahari male lion – the park is home to nearly 500 lions – but I’ve also always been lucky with cheetah, greater kudu, bat-eared foxes, brown hyenas and even meerkats (which aren’t at all habituated to humans like those of Makgadikgadi Pans National Park in northern Botswana, which makes them a real prize).
But this part of the park is also really pretty. The pans here – Khiding (where I saw my meerkats), Mpayathutlwa and Mabuasehube – are quite superb, especially at sunset when the views from the often-elevated campsites are among the loveliest anywhere in the Kalahari. Birds are also a highlight; I especially treasured the inquisitive Kalahari scrub robin and the rather
But this part of the park is also really pretty. The pans here – Khiding (where I saw my meerkats), Mpayathutlwa and Mabuasehube – are quite superb, especially at sunset when the views from the often-elevated campsites are among the loveliest anywhere in the Kalahari. Birds are also a highlight; I especially treasured the inquisitive Kalahari scrub robin and the rather
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lovely violet-eared waxbill. Best of all, the park is reasonably accessible from main-road Botswana but blissfully remote once you’re there.South Africa’s Premier Desert Safari
The 38,000 km² Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is one of the few conservation areas of this magnitude left in the world and this gigantic protected area allows wild animals to migrate throughout the Kalahari ecosystem in search of food and water as they have done for millennia.
The South African sector of this massive wilderness area lies sandwiched between the perennially dry watercourses of the Nossob and the Auob rivers, and the wildlife tends to focus on the waterholes interspersed along the length of these riverbeds. If you’re after the stereotypical Big Five safari experience, then the Kgalagadi will no doubt prove disappointing. After all, this parched dunescape is a harsh environment devoid of rhino, buffalo and elephant, where the leopard and majestic Kalahari lion are probably the only members of the Big Five you’re likely to encounter while on your desert safari.
The Kgalagadi is, however, famous for its incredible diversity of carnivore species
The Kgalagadi is a special place and one of my absolute favourite parks in Africa.
The South African sector of this massive wilderness area lies sandwiched between the perennially dry watercourses of the Nossob and the Auob rivers, and the wildlife tends to focus on the waterholes interspersed along the length of these riverbeds. If you’re after the stereotypical Big Five safari experience, then the Kgalagadi will no doubt prove disappointing. After all, this parched dunescape is a harsh environment devoid of rhino, buffalo and elephant, where the leopard and majestic Kalahari lion are probably the only members of the Big Five you’re likely to encounter while on your desert safari.
The Kgalagadi is, however, famous for its incredible diversity of carnivore species
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and unbeatable predator-viewing, which is to me – along with its superb raptor viewing – the ultimate attraction of this exceptional safari destination. The black-mane lion tops the safari sightings menu, but I’ve seen cheetah on every one of my ten park visits to date, along with great leopard, caracal, brown hyena, aardwolf and Cape fox sightings. From my experience, safari-goers stand an excellent chance of enjoying quality viewing of a wide array of African predators – both big and small – during their visit.The Kgalagadi is a special place and one of my absolute favourite parks in Africa.
A taste of the Kalahari
If you’re not planning to visit Namibia or Botswana during your stay in southern Africa but would like to get a feel for their dramatic desert landscapes, this borderlands park is a good choice. In theory, you can wander through the park into Botswana, but I like most visitors have only experienced the South African side as this is where the camps are located. One cautionary note – I wouldn’t visit Kgalagadi without a 4WD vehicle, as the tracks are sandy.
Deep in the Kalahari desert, it’s a huge park with dizzyingly wide vistas. Copper coloured dunes, dessicated grasslands and plains dotted with camelthorn trees stretch for miles under endless skies. At first glance, wildlife might seem scarce, but with patience you can see meerkats, gemsboks (oryx), birds of prey, cheetahs and dark-maned Kalahari lions.
Africa’s First Peace Park
The Nossob, a river that flows perhaps once every century, forms the border where South Africa and Botswana meet in the Kalahari Desert. On one side lay South Africa’s Kalahari Gemsbok national park, and on the other side, like a mirror image, was Botswana’s Gemsbok park. But in 1999, inspired by the vision of the South African-based Peace Parks Foundation, the two parks were joined together to form the Kgalakgadi Transfrontier Park – the first natural refuge in Africa where conservation takes precedence over sovereign borders. This means that visitors arriving from South Africa can now also explore the 160-mile Gemsbok Wilderness Trail, winding deep into the park’s Botswana section.
Although this is the most remote park in southern Africa it protects an area bigger than Ireland and is well worth a visit, especially during or just after the winter rains that fall between December and April. This is when the desert blooms, transforming the brick-red dunescapes of the
Although this is the most remote park in southern Africa it protects an area bigger than Ireland and is well worth a visit, especially during or just after the winter rains that fall between December and April. This is when the desert blooms, transforming the brick-red dunescapes of the
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Kgalakgadi as pink-and-white vlei lilies spring up overnight and the sand river valleys of the Nossob and Auob are carpeted with the yellow flowers of devil thorns. Desert it may be, but it’s home to an impressive variety of animals great and small, from meerkats and Cape foxes to gemsbok, cheetah and magnificent Kalahari lions – all of which I saw on my last visit. The same goes for birds, with big flocks of finch larks, doves and Namaqua sandgrouse, and raptors ranging in size from martial eagles to pygmy falcons.Kalahari Wild
This is my favourite national park in all of South Africa, it keeps drawing me back, time and time again. However it can be a very harsh environment, with extremes of temperature, and sometimes feels more like an endurance test rather than a holiday.
Although more and more popular, and pretty much fully booked all year round, it never feels particularly busy and you can have sightings all to yourself. There are no water-dependent species here, so no elephants, buffalo or zebra, but you should see wildebeest, springbok and the beautiful gemsbok. It is one of the best places to see big cats, including black-maned lion, leopard and cheetah. However these can prove hard to find (always remember to check the sightings boards in each camp). It is also possible to see the more unusual desert specialities, such as bat-eared foxes, Cape fox and the shy brown hyena. This is also a great park for birders, with a fantastic variety of raptor species and the iconic sociable weaver nests. The wildlife
Although more and more popular, and pretty much fully booked all year round, it never feels particularly busy and you can have sightings all to yourself. There are no water-dependent species here, so no elephants, buffalo or zebra, but you should see wildebeest, springbok and the beautiful gemsbok. It is one of the best places to see big cats, including black-maned lion, leopard and cheetah. However these can prove hard to find (always remember to check the sightings boards in each camp). It is also possible to see the more unusual desert specialities, such as bat-eared foxes, Cape fox and the shy brown hyena. This is also a great park for birders, with a fantastic variety of raptor species and the iconic sociable weaver nests. The wildlife
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is sparsely distributed, and you can go for hours and hours, and indeed days, not seeing very much, but when you do finally get lucky, the sightings can be very close to the road and not cluttered by vegetation, which makes for great photographic opportunities. Be warned – the KTP can become addictive!Desert Adventures for Beginners
I love a road trip to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. As deserts go, this one is very accessible and you don’t need to prepare for a full-on expedition to head out here. The accommodation in the park is comfortable and very reasonably priced. Camping is a great option too (as long as you come prepared because nights can be very cold). It would be advisable to bring most of your food, but it’s no problem if you’ve forgotten something as there is a well-stocked shop on site. You don’t even need a 4x4 to visit Kgalagadi. If you deflate your tires as recommended at the entrance, a sedan car with adequate clearance can navigate the sandy roads with no problem.
Despite all the excellent facilities, Kgalagadi is a pristine wilderness destination. Game drive roads follow the Auob and Nossob riverbeds flanked by rolling red dunes. Although harsh in the midday sun, this stark scene provides a stunning backdrop for early morning and late afternoon photography. Kgalagadi is perhaps
Despite all the excellent facilities, Kgalagadi is a pristine wilderness destination. Game drive roads follow the Auob and Nossob riverbeds flanked by rolling red dunes. Although harsh in the midday sun, this stark scene provides a stunning backdrop for early morning and late afternoon photography. Kgalagadi is perhaps