MDF Magazine Issue 72 December 2023

park. Later in the trip, on the Auob river side, we made it
as far as the Dertiende Boorgat.
On our second afternoon in Nossob the proverbial heavens
opened and we experienced a massive rainstorm
lasting for nearly two hours, which flooded the campsite
and created a small moat around our chalet. This provided
us with perhaps the rarest sighting of all when we sat
in the Nossob bird hide (easily accessible) and watched
the Nossob river flow by! It was an extraordinary scene,
followed a couple of days later by the appearance of flowers
in the veld on bushes which days earlier had looked
stone dead. We were really privileged to witness this.
Since this was our first trip, we probably covered more
kilometres than normal, averaging 160 km per day. Certainly,
on future trips (and there will be future trips) we will
probably be spending more time at chosen destinations.
For this trip, however, the comfortable daytime temperatures
(they never exceeded 35 degrees) and good road
conditions allowed us to go exploring and cover areas of
the park we had never imagined possible for us or our
vehicle. The rains brought water and mud into the equation,
but those too were manageable with deflated tyres
and a bit of momentum!
We enjoyed wonderful sightings along both of the river
roads. Lions were never in short supply although they did
spend most of their time doing what lions do best, sleeping
under trees. The cheetahs were more accommodating
and we encountered them everywhere ‒ under one of the
trees at Melkvlei, prowling the open basin of Gemsbokplein,
and on a sand berm at Kaspersdraai, which was
a really close encounter. The giraffes of the Auob riverbed
provided us with endless entertainment as they
strode majestically down this sand superhighway or,
much to our shock and horror, galloped down the sand
dunes, or chose to browse amongst the trees, eye to eye
with some rather startled sociable weavers. We had
countless sightings of gemsbok, springbok, wildebeest,
hartebeest, kudu, brown hyena and steenbok, and even a
fleeting glimpse of a badger!
The birdlife was a particular treat, even for a couple who
do not consider themselves to be dedicated birders. It
would be an understatement to say it was plentiful, with
everything from the little finches and weavers through to
the hawks, falcons, big crested eagles, secretary birds
and about a million kori bustards! The park literature indicates
that there are approximately 200 resident kori bus-
tards. We think they might have omitted a zero in the
typesetting!
The landscapes were simply breathtaking! The open riverbeds,
red dunes, sprawling waterholes, gnarled trees,
rocky escarpments, and of course those expansive views
topped by huge thundercloud skies. Our wide-angle lens
saw a lot of use, and we even managed to try our hand at
some star photography of the crystal-clear, unpolluted
night skies. And the light ... that amazing Kgalagadi light,
which seems to mark every photograph with its unique
stamp.
The disabled accommodation is adequate although manageable
only with assistance. The bathrooms were
equipped with grab rails and folding shower seats, but
SANParks still makes use of elevated toilet seats, which
hopefully will change as the units are upgraded, so I can
look forward to sitting on the loo with my feet actually
touching the ground! Access into the units was also manageable,
although both Twee Rivieren and Nossob suffer
from the same problem of not having a paved parking
area linking the access ramp to the motor vehicle, which
would allow for safe transfer into and out of one's vehicle.
It must be noted that sand is a notable obstacle around
the camp sites and something which has to be taken into
account when planning a trip.
It has to be mentioned that the staff at Kgalagadi were
most helpful and when requested sought to make our
stay as comfortable as possible.
After twelve fantastic days we sadly had to depart, feeling
that we could quite easily turn the car around and do it all
again in a heartbeat. We had stepped out of our comfort
zone, tackled new ground and, thanks to the support and
encouragement of friends, had succeeded beyond our
expectations. A friend of ours had said that once we experienced
the red Kalahari sand between our toes we
would always want to return. He was certainly correct!
It was an outstanding trip, more an adventure than a holiday!
This article previously appeared in issue 60 of this magazine,
December 2019.