Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

An arid wilderness heaving with wildlife

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) is a really special place. It is extremely arid and hot, yet the wildlife and bird life (raptors in particular) are extremely abundant.
The park basically consists of two roads that run along the two (dry) riverbeds that run through the park, the Nossob and the Auob. Along the rivers, vast views are limited because they are both surrounded by the famous red dunes of the Kalahari, but that is not an issue because the water points are all along these rivers which attracts all the wildlife, plus the dunes really are beautiful.

I gave a 5 star rating for everything and I'm tempted to warn readers that I gave these rates based on an arid savanna benchmark where seeing a lion and a few birds within a few days is a good trip but that is far from the case in the KTP as you will find loads of wildlife!

Accommodation wise, I have camped at Mabuasehube on the Botswana side which was awesome (lions came in to drink our dirty shower water and would cause shivers right down our spines as their deep calls vibrated right through us in the night)! As well as in a research camp within the park close to Twee Rivieren, this camp is unavailable to tourists so not much use in me telling you about it. I also can't really speak for the rest of the accommodation as I have never stayed at any of the other camps. I can however, recommend going as deep into the park where there are less people and you can enjoy the true essence of being out in the bush. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter because you'll want to spend every woken moment out there game viewing.

If you are reading this and on the fence about wanting to go to the Kgalagadi Tranfrontier Park, do it. You will not be disappointed.

Enjoy!

Brendon.

one of the best park where to see animals

3 nights at Twee Rivieren

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the park with Kalahari Tours and Travel. I had a busy schedule so I could only spend three nights at Twee Rivieren, from which we drove up towards Nossob and Mata Mata. My guide Dennis was incredibly helpful and great at spotting wildlife that I would otherwise have missed.

The wildlife was very impressive, with large numbers of the typical herbivores as well as a few giraffe, southern kudu and red hartebeest. We enjoyed fabulous views of a leopard, two cheetah groups and several honey badgers, but we were unsuccessful with lions and hyenas. The night drive was well worth the small fee and cold temperatures, with six wildcats, a bat-eared fox and many springhares and spotted eagle-owls.

Observing the small birds was difficult as we were confined to our vehicle. However, this was more than made up for by the number and diversity of raptors, including tawny eagles, bateleurs, goshawks, secretarybirds, black-shouldered kites, lanner falcons, martial eagles and jackal buzzards. We also saw the majority of my other targets, such as kori bustard, Burchell's sandgrouse and both southern yellow-billed and African grey hornbills. The scenery was beautiful and provided a great backdrop for photos.

All in all a great trip, although a longer stay would have been great for seeing more of the park's inhabitants.

The best for raptors and Migratory Raptors and Carnivore, in Kalahari setting, Magic Sunsets and Sunrises

Excellent Mammal sightings and the opportunity to have accommodation in the desert

This park is the best park for seeing and spending time with the large cats of Africa. The entry is limited so is tends to be quieter. Seeing the animals surviving in the dessert environment is humbling.

Remote not as busy as Kruger.
Large vistas in semi desert makes game views easier.
Large herds of springbok and the ever present silhouetted Oryx catching the breeze on the summit of sand dunes.

Kgalakadi is where less is more. The South African camp sites are crowded and noisy but have 24/7 access to hides at Mata Mata and Nossob.

Getting a booking on the Botswana side is winning the mini lotto so you have to plan one year in advance. The camp sites are about 170m apart with six at Rooiputs and 3 at Polentswa. If you have Monopoly money (USD or Euros) then stay at the Luxury lodges on offer.

A park experience beyond your Wildest dreams

I loved my trip to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park - it exceeded every expectation. I was able to see lions, cheetahs, giraffes, gemsboks, springboks, blue wildebeests, red hartebeests, sociable weavers, crowned plovers, fiscal shrikes, brubrus, African drongos, tawny eagles, meerkats - and so much more. As a child, I dreamed of being close to wild lions; at the Kgalagadi, this dream came true - two lions were only feet from our vehicle!

My group arranged to stay at a barracks in the middle of the park - don't worry there was a fence - which means we were surrounded by the sounds of the night. A sight I will never forget is seeing the Kgalagadi yawning open around us as the sun rose. This location also gave us the opportunity to rise early and to view parts of the park before other tourists could reach them.

The services provided at the main points of entry were more than enough to meet the needs of the average visitor - clean bathrooms, postcards for sale, and even ice cream! There is nothing like a cool treat in the heat of the Kgalagadi.

I cherish my memories from the trip and look forward to returning to such a beautiful place one day soon.

Awesome Breathtaking Game Park. The best kept secret in southern Africa.

I went to the park on a Photographic Safari. We had Two vehicles and 10 photographers, with Mellisa and Willie as our guides. The weather was exceptionally cold that year, reching to -10 degrees celcius in the mornings. I stayed at Twee Revieren and at Nossob Camps. Nossob Camp was our main camp and we did daily drives from the camp to the various watering holes and spotted many wild game species during the early morning and late afternoon drives.

Wildlife spotted the Lion, Cheetahs, Leopard, Wildebeest, Gemsbok, Springbok, Meerkats, Jackals, Ostriches, Owls, Eagles, Goshawks, Bee-eaters, Kories.
The desert scenery and the skies are spectacular, especially the quality of the light and the air as this area is not inundated with any form of pollution. The evening skies are clear and the stars shine in the night sky. The Nossob Camp has a hide and a webcam. The hide is well visited by different animals at night, and during the day. We took the self catering camps so we carried our own food and cooked on the site our meals. The little shop is stocked with the bare necessaties and is a little expensive, as they have to cart the supplies in from quite a distance. The Twee Revieren Camp is the main entrance camp and the store is more stocked up with groceries.
Transportation, we had two game vehicles and guides. The game vehicles were perfect for the photography course. One can self drive through the park, but parts of the areas are accesible only via 4x4 vehicles.

Our guides were very knowledgable about the ecosystem and the fauna and flora of the park.

Higlight for me was the spotting of the young male leopard.

Regards
Prakash.

Awesome Kgalagadi, The best kept secret in Southern Africa abundant wildlife, birding, range of acco

The sceneray and the wildlife in is park are spectacular. There is a range of accomodation types to suite every budget. The roads within the park are accesible to all, but some areas you will need a 4x4. The camp I stayed in on the first day was Twee Riveren. The accomodation was comfortable and the self catering chalet was well appointed. Te supply store was adequately stocked. This is your main entrance into the park from the nearest town of Uppington, arriving from Kimberley, JHB, or Bloemfontein, Bethlehem,Harrismith, PMB and Durban.

The weather experiened was unusually cold. The self catering chalets was well appointed to be able to make your own food. I experienced this park as part of a Photographic Couse run by Peter Craig Cooper and Emmanuel Maria. Our guides were Melissa and Willem. They were excellent guides and were very knowledgeable about the fauna and flora of the region.

The special highlight for me was the spotting and photographing the young male leopard on a orning drive from the Nossob camp. In the evenings there is a Hide at the waterhole fed by a borehole pump, that attracts a range of animals at night to this hide. Nossob Camp is also well appointed.

One does get the goodfeeling of being in the bush sort of get the bush vibe. The spectacular morning and evening skies are unmatched in beauty.
My best photos are posted here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31649747@N08/sets/72157622309088405/
havev a look.

All in all as a local resident of the country it honestly a wonderfull place to experience a diiferent biome of Southern Africa.

Regads
Prakash Bhikha