The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a nature conservation area situated in the Kalahari Desert. It lies within South Africa and Botswana and occupies an area of 14,668 square miles (37,991 square km), about three-quarters of which is in Botswana.
Location of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Africa's first formal trans-border conservation area, Kgalagadi, was established in May 2000, combining the Kalahari Gemsbok Park in South Africa and Gemsbok National Park in Botswana. This is one of Africa's largest reserves, incorporating desert and semi-desert landscapes.
History and Establishment
The Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa was established on 31 July 1931 mainly to protect the migrating game, especially the gemsbok, from poaching.
In 1948, an informal verbal agreement was made between the then Bechuanaland Protectorate and the Union of South Africa to set up a conservation area in the contiguous areas of the two lands. Prior to its official establishment in 2000, it had been unofficially acknowledged since 1948 through a verbal agreement between the governments of the two countries.
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In June 1992, representatives from the South African National Parks Board (now SANParks) and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Botswana set up a joint management committee to manage the area as a single ecological unit. A management plan was drafted, reviewed, and approved in 1997. The parties agreed to cooperate in tourism and share equally in park entrance fees.
On 7 April 1999, Botswana and South Africa signed a historic bilateral agreement whereby both countries undertook to manage their adjacent national parks, the Gemsbok National Park in Botswana and the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa as a single ecological unit. The boundary between the two parks had no physical barriers, although it is also the international border between the two countries. This allowed for the free movement of animals.
In October 2002, the governments set aside 580 km2 for the use of the native peoples, the Khomani San and Mier communities. This was divided between 277.69 km2 of San Heritage Land and 301.34 km2 of Mier Heritage Land. The South African National Parks (SANParks) manages the land under contract.
Visitors wishing to enter and leave the park from different countries (i.e., Botswana and South Africa) need to clear immigration at Twee Rivieren on the South African side and Two River in Botswana.
Wildlife Photography in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park - Motion Photography
Landscape and Climate
The park is located largely within the southern Kalahari Desert. The terrain consists of red dunes, sparse vegetation, occasional trees, and the dry riverbeds of the Nossob and Auob Rivers.
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With endless dunes rippling over 38 000 km² of the park, it is a wonder you see any game at all as they easily disappear over the horizon between South Africa and Botswana. Even giraffe look tiny although they are the largest animal in the park. The unforgiving hardened land filled with dust and dotted with vegetation takes no prisoners. Day after day animals live to survive. Eat or be eaten. Everything happens in extremities.
It consists largely of reddish dunes, with species of acacia growing in the riverbeds. Quick grass, gemsbok cucumber, and such shrubs as driedoring and raisinbush provide forage for large herds of gemsbok (subspecies of oryx), gnu (wildebeest), springbok, and some red hartebeest.
The rivers are said to flow only about once per century. However, water flows underground, providing life for grass and Vachellia erioloba trees growing in river beds.
The weather in the Kalahari can reach extremes. January is midsummer in southern Africa, and the daytime temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F). Winter nights can be quite cold, with temperatures below freezing. Extreme temperatures of −11 °C (12 °F) and up to 45 °C (113 °F) have been recorded.
Temperatures vary greatly from -11°C on cold winter nights to 42°C in the shade on summer days when the ground surface temperature reaches a sizzling 70°C. During the winter months, when frost is common, the ground surface temperature can be 25°C lower that the temperature of the air. Winter in the Kalahari is a cool, dry season from September to October and then a hot, wet season from November to April.
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Wildlife
Springbok in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
With over 470 documented species, the park has abundant wildlife, including lion, cheetah, African leopard, spotted hyena and brown hyena.
Among other wildlife are lions, the smaller cats such as caracals and servals, wild dogs, black-backed jackals, and ostriches and numerous other birds.
Migratory herds of large ungulates, such as blue wildebeest, gemsbok, springbok, steenbok, southern giraffe, common eland, greater kudu, warthog, klipspringer and red hartebeest also live and move seasonally in the park, providing sustenance for the predators.
It’s considered amongst the best places to catch a cheetah hunting, the Auob riverbed offers the carnivores an endless supply of meat.
Other inhabitants include ground squirrels, suricates (meerkats), pangolins and honey badgers. All kinds of reptiles, rodents and insects can be spotted here.
More than 250 species of birds have been observed and recorded. They range from the biggest bird, the ostrich to the heaviest flying bird, the Kori bustard. Other birds that can be spotted are the pygmy falcon, swallowtail bee-eater, the ever-chanting goshawk, and many others. Among the shy and ever eluding owls that can be found in the park are the tiny Scops owl, as well as the pearl spotted owlet.
Table of Key Wildlife Species
| Category | Species |
|---|---|
| Predators | Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Hyena, Jackal, Wild Dog |
| Herbivores | Gemsbok, Springbok, Wildebeest, Hartebeest, Giraffe, Eland |
| Birds | Ostrich, Kori Bustard, Pygmy Falcon, Bee-eater, Goshawk, Owls |
| Other Mammals | Ground Squirrel, Meerkat, Pangolin, Honey Badger |
Accommodation and Facilities
The park has three traditional tourist lodges called "rest camps". These are fully serviced lodges and include amenities such as air conditioning, shops, and swimming pools.
There are also six wilderness camps in the park. There are three self-catering wilderness camps, Bitterpan, Grootkolk and Kalahari Tent Camp. Of these the most characterful is Kalahari, with its rather stylish tented accommodation and - important in that desert climate - a swimming pool. Each camp has at least one wheelchair-accessible room, chalet or tent.
The main camps do have drinking water albeit very mineralised. The Wilderness camps do not have potable water and one should provide their own drinking water.
Nossob and Mata Mata are also quite organised but not as big as Twee Rivieren and don't have a swimming pool. Twee Rivieren is the largest camp with a restaurant, cell reception, and 24-hour electricity. Other camps that are smaller and offer an intimate bush experience are Urikaruus, Bitterpan, Kieliekrankie, and the Gharagab Wilderness Camp.
The travelling time from the entrance gate at Twee Rivieren to Nossob Rest Camp is 4.5 hours and to Mata Mata is 3.5 hours.
A wonderful experience for reasonably self-sufficient visitors would be to rent a good four-wheel drive vehicle (complete with all camping gear) and do the 4-day, 3-night escorted Nossob 4x4 Eco Trail. A real adventure, you get to drive yourselves through the deep Kalahari, with interesting and informative interpretive stops, and setting up camp every night, deep in the bush.
It is not essential in the South African part of the park, as long as you are not going over the dunes to some of the wilderness camps. However it is highly recommended, even by SANPARKS and they advise you to deflate your tyres too. Please heed this as it preserves the roads for just a little bit longer. All three of the main camp sites have fuel stations with air where you can repump your tyres when you need to.
Kindly note that the roads in the Kgalagadi are not sedan friendly and that sedan vehicles find it difficult to cope with the road conditions and that some roads might not be accessible when wet, although management intervenes to maintain the roads on a regular basis.
Cultural Significance
Sizeable populations of Khoisan still live in the arid Kalahari Desert, first inhabited by their ancestors. Encountering the descendants of the San communities that have lived in the unforgiving Kalahari region for thousands of years, is a fascinating experience.
!Xaus Lodge's existence allows the cultural practices of the ‡Khomani San to continue in a few ways. The cultural village near the Lodge allows the local people to create and sell their crafts. This is both a way for them to emulate and remember the culture of historical ‡Khomani San, and a way for them to express the changes in that culture.
Visiting the Park
The park is quite remote from any direction, lying deep in the Kalahari. It is a drive of about 3 or 4 hours from Upington, and the easiest way to get there is to fly to Upington and rent a car.
There is a great deal of preparation when planning to spend time in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, whether it be the milder South African side or the wilder Botswana side.
Shoes are essential on summer evenings for protection against the possibility of scorpion stings.
Keep an emergency supply of 10 litres water in your vehicle.
In the event of a breakdown, remain in your vehicle - it is the safest place.
Roads in the park have gravel surfaces. In other words, there are no tarred roads.
It is worth taking a few tools, a puncture repair kit, some duct tape and a medical aid kit and maybe a few extras.
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