Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

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.

A completely unique, unrivalled experience!

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) is a long way from civilisation, but the trip is definitely worth it.

We stayed for approx. 10 days and in that time we saw a stunning selection of animals and birds, ranging from cheetahs, leopards and lions to springbok, wildebeest and tiny field mice.

The weather during our stay was just about right. Being winter in the desert, it did get cold at night (about -6 degrees Celsius), but temperatures reached 25-30 C during the day.

We stayed only in the three main camps of Twee Rivieren, Mata Mata and Nossob. The accommodation was comfortable, well equipped and clean. However, remember that the shops only have the bare essentials, so it is advised to take all supplies with you.

Of course, the highlights of the trip are always what you see not necessarily where you stay. Suffice it to say that you never know what is around the corner, but you can almost guarantee that every day will produce at least one stunning sighting - be it a cheetah kill, hyenas tending to their cubs, honey badgers foraging or bat-eared foxed frolicking in the dusk light.

The other sight that must be experienced is the African night sky. With no light pollution, the high altitude and clean air, the view of our universe is unbelievable. Look up at night and you will see satellites, falling stars and with some help from binoculars even some planets such as Saturn.

I can only recommend the KTP. I will definitely be returning in the future, hopefully many more times.

You got to see it at least once in your lifetime - put it on your "wildlife bucket list"

Amazing

Kgalagadi was an amazing experience, self drive Safari in beautiful locations. We stayed one night in Twee Rivieren, 1 night in Mata Mata, 1 night in Nosob, and one night at Biterpan Wilderness camp. Mata Mata and Nossob are the best places to stay, especially in the river chalets in mata mata. Bit Nossob was amazing base for wildlife. Saw so many Lions! Would recommend going back and will be again!

Experience outstanding wildlife in a semi-dessert like nowhere else.

You can't compare Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park with any other park because it is special in its own way. It has its own special charm and atmosphere. The springboks Oryx and wildebeest are abundant. So is a number of predator birds. If you are lucky you will see lions cheetahs and leopards.

The camps have bird hides where you can see predators drinking water at night. Facilities at the camps are very good.

It is recommended to take the night drives. One out of three is usually very good.

It is dry and hot during the day and can get very cold at night.

Kgalagadi: wonderful experience

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park has become in last years a cross-border park, that includes part of the territory in Botswana and has a border station to Namibia. You can enter the park from a country and exit it to another one.
The Botswana side is very wild, there are only a few camping sites and is mandatory to drive a 4x4 vehicle. We didn’t go there.
In the South African side there are some rest camps (3 of them with bungalows, the others are smaller with only 4-6 tents), only one of them has a restaurant inside. We spent 6 days in the park, sleeping in 4 different rest camps.
The park is 4 hours drive far from Upington, the only medium-sized cities in the area; to go there you have to drive along a nearly deserted but in good condition road. This means that the park is frequented mainly by South African people or by most motivated among foreign tourist.
The special feature of the park is the natural environment, which is described as “arid savannah” and is very different from other african park’s landscape. There is an expanse of red sand dunes with a little grass and bushes, some trees and only a few waterholes, largely artificial. Wildlife in the park is astonishingly varied, we sighted springbok, hartebeest, wildebeest, jackal, giraffe, lion, oryx, meerkat, mongoose, ground squirrel and many birds, but we weren’t so lucky to sight also cheetah, leopard and eland.
One morning, at dawn, we met one lion, two lionesses and a cub walking along the road, they keep on walking among cars for half an hour. It was so exciting!

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

South African part is now with the new tared road to Twee Rivieren more visited as Botswana part wich needs 4x4 car

Kgalagadi feels wild and remote.