Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

To the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, 14 september
In the morning we leave for the Kalahari Gemsbok Park. It is quit far, through endless plains without vegetation. Except for some withered grasses, that is. On the way we see huge weaver nests on telegraph poles (or whatever poles they are). It won't be telephone poles because we have left civilization behind at Upington. Here is nothing. No electricity, no telephone, no newspapers, nothing... And, for the time being, not even a pretty landscape, nor any sign of human or animal life.

Except thus for those weaver nests. They are sort of haystacks in the poles that, according to our information, contain hundreds of little bird's nests.

As we approach the Kalahari Gemsbok Park we now and than see some bushmen. They are almost naked in spite of the coldness. They have build little reed tents beside the road, that serve as tourist shops. In a time, fortunately long ago, bushmen were considered half human/half animal en they were hunted down by white men, as the "other game" of Africa was. Horrible!

Around noon we arrive at the park. The sign at the entrance indicates the new name: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. But we find that such a difficult name that we stick with Kalahari Gemsbok Park. Alas! All the accommodation is full but the campsites are quit empty. Yes of course, it is freezing during the night! But luckily we didn't carry our camping gear for nothing.

Kalahari Gemsbok Park has a simple design. There are three camps, from which Twee Rivieren is just past the entrance gate. From there two gravel roads past, of course, two rivers (twee rivieren) to the north. One a little northwest to Mata Mata, the other north to Nossob. Than there is one east-west connection that connects those two roads and that is it.

We follow the Auob River to Mata Mata where we will stay the next two nights. You cannot call it a river, for that matter, since it didn't contain any water for many years. The river is actually sort of a narrow valley, by which you can't see very far. All the wildlife walks on that dry river bed, which at this moment actually is kind of a grassy plain. Here and there are natural or artificial wells, where much wildlife gathers from time to time.

On the way to Mata Mata we see a large herd of wildebeest, lots of springbucks and oryx. It is also teeming with ostriches and jackals. We watch a jackal hunting for birds. He sneaks to a shrub, suddenly jumps up and takes a bird from a branch just like that.

The campsite appears to be fenced and we choose a spot near the fence with a view on the night lit waterhole. We put the entrance of our tent in the direction of the fence, hoping that we will see some game later. While we are busy putting up our tent we are being observed by a lot of curious ground squirrels.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, 15 september
Last night we were very very cold. But the sun rises at 6.30 AM and that is when the gates open. We start our safari as soon as they open. What a strange idea that we are now actually on safari, just the two of us. We'll be anxious to know what we will come across.

The Kalahari Gemsbok Park doesn't have the great diversity that characterizes other game parks in Africa. At first we drive to Nossob. Our plan is to drive from there to Twee Rivieren for lunch and than drive back to Mata Mata.

On the connecting road we see an ostrich couple with fifteen (!) chickens. From our field guide we learn that a male ostrich has several females. They all lay their eggs in the same nest, after which the male and the dominant female hatch and raise the chickens.

The bed of the Nossob River is much sandier as the Auob. We get the impression that there's not so much wildlife here. Beside that the shoulders are quit high by which there isn't always a good view, even with a high clearance Toyota Condor.
We see a group of eighteen adult ostriches. We never saw that many ostriches together and we wonder if that is rare.

It is quit exhausting, all that peering from the car. At most of the park you are not allowed to leave the car, so we have to drive and drive and drive. We see a strong amount of fanatical bird-watchers or professional wild life photographers, since we see many people with huge telelenses of thousands, maybe ten thousands, of dollars. Some even have a car in which the passenger seat is converted into a large "tripod", by which the lens is pointed out of the window. These people have to shift their cars to allow the lens to be pointed in the right direction. These sure are no ordinary tourists.

The visitor center of Twee Rivieren has a diary in which everybody writes down the sightings of important game. Many a one saw the famous black-maned lions today, but we did not unfortunately. A couple of the described waterholes are on our route so we will we be extra alert when we arrive there.
The restaurant is closed because of low season, but at the sports bar we can eat a hamburger and fries, before we leave for Mata Mata.

Unfortunately we don't see lions or other predators, but towards sunset we see a hyena with offspring. The lay a bit far away under a shrub, but we can see them quit clear through our binoculars.

The sun has almost set and we still haven't reached Mata Mata. We wonder what will happen if we arrive after the gates are closed. But luckily we arrive just in the very nick of time. The distances in such a game parkare longer than we expected.

To Keetmanshoop, 16 september
After yet another terrible cold night it is time to go to Namibia. We hope with all our hearts that we can spend the next night in a warmed room.

On the way to Twee Rivieren we see a lot of wildlife.
Pretty soon after we leave Mata Mata a van points out that there is something on a sand dune. At first sight we see nothing, but when we use our binoculars, a group of lioness gets visible. It appears to be one male and three females.
A little further lies a dead giraffe that attracts a couple of vultures and jackals. Would this giraffe be killed by those lions we saw just now? Yesterday evening we were at this spot too, but this giraffe wasn't here than. At the next waterhole we see the rest of the group of giraffes.

We are glad that this last morning in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is so fruitful. But after a couple of miles it appears that the highlight of the day still has to come.

We see four vans standing still under a tree and that means a sure hit.
And indeed, 10 feet from the road lays a lioness with prey. She's very lazy after dinner, as it shows, since her face and claws and red with blood. We stare our eyes out, but if we finally look around us, we see all the other people look up into the tree. We don't see anything and we wonder what could be more interesting than a lioness at ten feet?

A little later we get the opportunity to move our car a little and than we see it: there is a leopard in the tree!! This is everybody's safari dream. Especially if you know something about the behavior of animals and thus the chance of seeing a leopard. And here we are, ten feet from a lioness and a leopard at the same time. A dream... This leopard has probably killed the springbok, after which the lioness took it and chased the leopard into the tree. Normally a leopard runs away when people approach, but with this lioness under the tree it didn't dare to.
We are so close to the leopard that we can clearly see that is has a transmitter around its neck. He is obviously observed by scientists.

We stay here as long as we can, hoping that the lioness will leave and the leopard will come out of the tree but that doesn't happen. If we didn't have to go to Namibia we sure would have waited for that, even if it had taken a day, but now we move on after a while.

At 3.15 PM we arrive at the border. First we have to leave South-Africa. Not many people use this border post at Rietfontein. There is a barrier and a wooden cottage, so we step out of the car. We walk into the building and are greeted by a friendly man. He needs his computer to let us through so he has to start up the aggregate. This takes a while, so that gives us the chance to conversate with the man.
Of course our conversation concerns the attacks in the USA and we are being updated by the latest developments, although there aren't many. After we receive some stamps in our passports we can get through the barrier.

A couple of miles further are another barrier and another building. At this Namibian border we see no-one. We walk into the building and call and call, but no-one make's an appearance. We see some papers, so we start filling them in. After quit some time a man and a woman arrive and we ask ourselves what they have been doing all this time, here in the middle of nowhere. After some paperwork and stamping the woman holds up the barrier and we enter Namibia.

We have gotten a paper that we have to deliver at a gas station, 14 miles further up the road. It is sort of a road-tax (?) of 70 Rand. In the next village we indeed find, after some searching, a little government office. A woman sits at a table, receives that paper and cashes the money. We ask ourselves if someone would find out, if we don't pay, but just this experience it worth the 70 Rand.

It is almost evening when we arrive in Keetmanshoop where we get a double room for the price of one at the Bird's Mansions Hotel. Next to the hotel is an internet café, with a very slow connection, but at least we can write an email and surf a little. The hotel room has a television set but CNN is not common in Namibia. Only form 6.30 to 7.00 AM they broadcast a special News Edition of CNN. The attacks in the USA and its consequences are no longer a news item here. The Namibian television has reports about the local sack-race and more of that kind folklore and there is also nothing in the local newspapers. Internet is our only source of information at this moment.

We have dinner on the terrace of the Bird's Mansions Hotel. Unfortunately they can't cook and just open some cans.

Next: Keetmanshoop and Sossusvlei