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Tomas Mazon
ES
Visited:
February 2015
Reviewed: Apr 17, 2015
Email Tomas Mazon | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It is the wilderness paradise, lonely, large, and far from anywhere.
Elaine
Visited:
October 2014
Reviewed: Apr 17, 2015
Animal sightings were tremendous - Gemsbok. Not crammed with people, rolling thunderous storm that hit the plains - incredible.
thewildlifephotographer
GB
Visited:
December 2015
Reviewed: Apr 26, 2016
Email thewildlifephotographer | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Utterly fabulous, if you like that sort of thing
Kgalagadi is a superb place to visit at any time of the year, but November/December marks the transition from the end of the dry season as the rains can come at any point. It's hot, very hot, but worth is to see some incredible wildlife at close hand. The heat and lack of vegetation means a lot of action around the waterholes - great for predators but not so much fun for the prey. The landscape is, at times, breathtaking (if you like it dry and empty). Steer clear of the madding crowd around Twee Rivieren, head up to Mata Mata and/or Nossob for a wonderful and exciting experience but be prepared for basic accomodation.
I'm a pro wildlife photographer and I've been three times now (December, March and June). It's my favourite destination and I just love this park.
jean-marc
BE
Visited:
January 2016
Reviewed: May 18, 2016
Email jean-marc | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great desert and wildlife experience
The KTP is full of different species and it's a great experience to see the animals in their life space. The best at the KTP is the experience of the Gharagab tented camp. We are alone on this camp and the road is a single track to the camp, a bit more difficult than the normal tracks but truly 4x4. The view is without any limit and we can have an idea of the dimensions of the Kalahari desert. Wildlife is everywhere and there is always some animals to observe.
matreze
Visited:
June 2011
Reviewed: Sep 18, 2011
A completely unique, unrivalled experience!
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
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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.
Wild Images
Visited:
December 2014
Reviewed: Apr 1, 2015
Best ever visit to this wonderful place of red dunes and its wonderful denizens!
The accommodation in the three main camps are great to adequate - Twee Rivieren, Nossob and MataMata. The best is Twee Rivieren. Some of the Nossob accommodation is hot and cramped but it is still better than camping. There are also the wilderness camps, quite a few and some really remote that have a bit more luxury and is normally small but well kept and maintained. Be warned, it is hot and the gas fridges cannot always cope fresh food may go off quickly.
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Summer can get >45ºC in the afternoons and winder is below zero at night. But the place makes up for this with its wonderful wildlife and photographic opportunities. There is an adequate shop at Twee Rivieren selling the basics. Be aware the park is 250 km form Uppington, the largest town in the area and one should come prepared and stocked-up with what you need. Take your own water as the water in the camp tastes funny to horrible, depending on your palate. It is clean and potable, it just does not tastes nice. Roads needs to be taken with patience as it is very corrugated. They pull a tyre grader behind a tractor on a regular basis but rather come in a 2X4 and not a normal sedan vehicle. Long stretches of the road, especially between Melkvlei and Nossob, runs in a deep rut which makes it nearly impossible to see anything adjacent to the road. We never make use of guides because we are citizens and do our own driving. Please note the following about open vehicle driving - it is charming, but it is dusty and can get quite cold. You cannot necessarily stop as long as you want at what you want to, especially if you do photography. The dust is a real problem - do not try to changes lenses!
Al this said, we always have a great time. This is the place to see the Cape Fox, the Bat-eared fox, honey badger and brown hyena. Cheetah and lion is nearly a guarantee and this is one of THE places where you may see a cheetah kill. We have seen two cheetah chases ending in a kill and numerous cheetahs at a kill. Then Kalahari lions are THE king of the lions with their black manes and large feet. There are also resident raptors and other birds that are more readily approachable if you do photography than what you will encounter elsewhere in SA. Overall. as we say : I f once the red sand of the Kalahari got into your socks, your will always want to come back. This is one of the best safari destinations in the world!
Corrado
CH
Visited:
July 2017
Reviewed: Aug 4, 2018
Email Corrado | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful destination off the beaten path
Entry and exit via Mata-Mata was easy and stress-free. For exploring the park by your own, a 4WD vehicle is highly recommended, as there are many sandy passages. The campsites on the South-African side of the park were very-well maintained and while Nossob, Mata-Mata and the wilderness camps give you a great and authentic experience, Twee-Rivieren is busier but still recommended for a night stay in order to explore the surroundings. The heat during the day was bearable in July but be prepared for the cold to freezing nights during the winter months.
Overall, this park is highly recommended if you
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want to enjoy unspoiled nature and can live with the fact that you won't be able to see the big fives.
giuliolib
IT
Visited:
August 2008
Reviewed: Dec 16, 2011
50-65 years of age
Kgalagadi: wonderful experience
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
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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!
Sleep with a lion or hyena outside your tent
This is one of the few places where you can pitch your tent in the wilderness without having a fence to protect you from the wildlife. It is wild, very wild and you must be careful not to be included in the diet of the lions of which there are usually plenty.
This is typical Kalahari with very hot summers and pleasant cool to hot winters and is situated in the summer rainfall region. There are not any mountains and the scenery is grasslands with camel thorn trees which is heaven for a lover of the Kalahari.
Accommodation is camp sites, some with long drop toilets and cold showers and others with nothing, just the bush.
Mabuasehube can be reached from Nossob a rest camp in the South African part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park via a dune route of about 170km. This road is strictly for 4x4 vehicles with high ground clearance. The other options are from Tsabong in the South which is the route
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we took. This route is also just for 4x4's. There are also roads from the North and East but we have never tried them. There is no fuel available at Mabuasehube and at Tsabong we had to wait a day for the petrol to be delivered. Taking extra fuel is recommended.The following items are not available at Mabuasehube:
1. Drinking water - take your own
2. Food - take your own
3. Diesel
4. Petrol
3. Doctors
4. Pharmacies
5. Garages
You must take along whatever you will need.
Be careful to not leave any food or anything else outside at night. Our cooler bag with cold drinks and picnic bag with all our cutlery was stolen by hyenas. Luckily we picked up cutlery stolen from previous visitors otherwise we would have had to eat with our hands. We used plastic bottles cut open for plates.
The wild life is typical Kalahari which means Springbok, Oryx, Lions, leapard and a few other antelopes as well as smaller cats and jackal. You will not find elephant, buffalo or rhino.
Kelly C.
US
Visited:
April 2012
Reviewed: Jul 3, 2012
Email Kelly C. | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari