OnlyMeOirish

Hi Michael,
I've been doing a bit more research and have found references to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park including your fabulour trip report! I've done some searching re malaria and different websites give different information - SAN Parks says it's a low malaria risk, while kidscantravel and 2by2 holidays say it's malaria free!!! I have emailed SAN Parks to clarify but me being impatient me, I'm wondering if you can help? ... Looks like a FAB park!!!
Imelda

OnlyMeOirish

ttt

thit_cho

Sorry, I missed this question, but I would guess the area is malaria free. There is very little standing water. You can also post the same question on the www.sanparks.org forum (there is a forum for arid parks), and you'll get a reply in less than a day, likely from Jannie, their Kgalagadi guru.

matnikstym

Hi Michael~ I read some of your postings on this and wondering if you'd recommend this park compared to Kruger?
Pros: No fences
Cons: No elephants
Thanks,
Dennis

cary999

NO elephants?
Elephants were the highlight of our Kruger time (4 nights ) in September. Everyday we had great elephant sightings with twice being in the midst of large breeding herds. I hope the Kruger park service has the elephant population under control. I'd hate to see Kruger look like some parts of Botswana.

regards - tom

thit_cho

Dennis

Kgalagadi is very different from Kruger, and to a great extent, the visit is about the landscape, weather, and solitude, not just the wildlife.

I would not welcome it for an initial safari, buts its a very nice change for someone who has been on multiple safaris. I enjoyed the isolation and enormous scope, and also the very different types of animals.

While you won't see any elephant, buffalo, rhino, hippo or crocodile (and very few giraffe) in Kgalagadi, you will see large groups of oryx and springbok, many more raptors, and lots of small predators (bat eared foxes, cape foxes and african wild cats).

And there are longer periods when you drive in Kgalagadi and see no animals.

But, Kgalagadi does offer excellent smaller camps, like Kalahari Tented Camp, where I stayed one night -- its self-catering, but the tents are very similar to Wilderness Safaris' five-paw tents. The three larger camps in Kgalagadi (Twee Rivieren, Nossub and Mata Mata -- I only stayed at the first two) are similar to Kruger's larger camps, with Twee Rivieren being the least attractive. Nossub is pretty nice, very quiet with a nice waterhole (mostly small predators). But you really feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.

Its a very easy three-hour drive from Upington's airport.

I spend one night in Upington on my return, at Le Must (they have two places, and I stayed at the nicest) and its a very nice place to break up the trip. They also run a restaurant in Upington that is supposed to be one of the best in South Africa -- it was excellent.

If you visit, you won't miss the elephants.

But, you would need to recognize that you will not see nearly as much wildlife as you saw in Kruger.

I have also done a self-drive in Etosha, and there's a lot more wildlife, including elephants and rhinos, than in Kgalagadi. I haven't been since they renovated their rooms, and I understand they have some very nice rooms now -- when I visited, the lodging was very basic.

I would return to do a self-drive in any of Kruger, Kgalagadi and Etosha. I have also done a self-drive in Hluhluwe, and while I enjoyted it, I'm not as eager to return, mostly because its a much smaller park and you can see much of it in a short visit.

You can get a lot of info on Kgalagadi on sanparks.org -- that's where I did all of my research, and I used their forums -- one of the employees in Kgalagadi was very active, and she helped me reserve night drives (freezing) in Kgalagadi.

Michael

matnikstym

Thanks very much Michael. Decisions, decisions!

canadian_robin

If I may add my two cents here...my husband and I have visited Kgalagadi twice - in November 2004 and July 2007 - the park is a favourite of ours - for exactly the reasons Michael gives - the landscape and isolation, although the animals too are great. We are returning in August 2008. We have also visited Kruger - and although the diversity of species in Kruger is greater, we still love Kgaglagadi for its remoteness - it is a very different atmosphere from Kruger. I would recommend staying in the wilderness camps - they accomodate only 8 people in four twin-bedded tents, which are lovely. You will need a 4x4 to get into Bitterpan and Gharagab, but both camps are worth the extra expense of the 4x4 vehicle. At Gharagab, we had a leopard come into the camp's waterhole on four different occasions. At Urikaruus, the giraffe feed off the acacia trees which surround the tents - it felt as though they were peering in our tents. Wonderful! The itinerary we have booked in August 2008 is:
2 nights Kieliekrankie (coming from Upington - a much nicer camp than Twee Rivieren!)
1 night Nossob - a bigger camp, but it is difficult to get to Gharagab in a day, so this is really a stopover - however, the predator sightings in the Nossob area are excellent - we have seen leopard, cheetah and lion
1 night Nossob - the drive into Bitterpan takes 5 to 6 hours at a liesurely pace, so it is wise to spend a night in Nossob before venturing into Bitterpan
2 nights Bitterpan - isolation at its best! - a wonderful camp
1 night Kalahari Tented Camp - on our last visit, we had 3 spotted hyena wake us up in the night - they were howling just outside our tent
2 nights Urikaruus - great for giraffe
out to Upington
For elephants - we start at Addo NP and then drive to Upington (via Meringsport Pass), with a night at Karoo National Park - a lovely spot!

In Upington, we stay at La Boheme - a fabulous B&B - lovely rooms, wonderful staff, great breakfasts! I would highly recommend it! Happy planning! Robin

Sorry - re the malaria - the first time we visited in 2004, we were told that it was a low-risk area, so took mefloquin - the second trip, in 2007, we were told that it wasn't a malaria area, so we didn't take drugs - seems to be a point of debate. Not sure what we'll do for 2008 - we will be guided by the SANParks website. Robin

matnikstym

Thanks Robin! As far as needing 4X4 to get to those camps, do you need a 4X4 driving class before setting out?

canadian_robin

We've never taken one - the roads in Kgalagadi are not that bad - nothing like the roads in Botswana - just a couple of tricky dunes. We are doing a self-drive through Chobe and Moremi (both in Botswana) in August 2008, after our visit to Kgalagadi, and we are going to take a 4x4 course in preparation for that trip, despite our prior 4x4 experience - but you'll be fine in Kgalagadi without a course. Robin

atravelynn

In case you don't see my response on a different thread, linked below, I am hoping you'll check this one.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...4&tid=35088999

Celia

My husband and I will visit Kgalagadi in April 2008. We were greatly helped in our planning by the posts in this forum by Michael. Here's our plan:

1 night Twee Rivieren
3 nights Nossob
3 nights Kalahari Tented Camp
3 nights Kielie Krankie

We're really looking forward to the remoteness of the place, but hope to see leopards, as I've only seen one in my whole life, and Jim has only seen two. I tried to reserve a night or two at Urikaruus, because of the leopard who regularly frequents the place, but it was all booked for the possible times we could get there.

Our total time in SA will be three weeks, and we think we'll spend some time in the Northern Cape, since we've not been to that part of SA before.

(Also some time in Cape Town, obviously!)