Save on the Park Expense and other Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, South Africa Things to Do Tips

Buy a “Wild” Card and Save Money
The Wild Card program has been recently introduced in the South African National Park system to make the parks more affordable for those making multiple entries. The card has a small computer chip in it that stores and process information. South African residence may buy a card specific to one region or “clusters”. For instance the Bushveld Cluster would include Golden Gate, Kruger, Mapungubwe, and Marakele National Parks. International tourist pay the same no matter what. The price is good for one year no matter how many parks or how many times you visit.

For all parks South African Residence pay R195 for individual, R335 for a couple, and R440 for a Family.

For International tourist the card is R795 for individual, R1395 for a couple, and R1795 for a family.

Other benefits like 5% cash back on accommodation, car rental, refreshments, etc. may also be available with the card.

Kruger and Kgalagadi Parks costs R120 a day per person. Other parks are less expensive, but if you are planning to spend a lot of time in the South African national Parks, absolutely get the card.

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The Aoub River runs along the west side of the park from Twee Rivieren Camp up through Mata Mata Camp and into Namibia. It is a narrow and deep river bed and offers a slightly different experience than the Nossob River bed. The river bed tends to be a little more green than the Nossob River and larger species of thorn tree is present. As you get closer to Mata Mata the dunes get a more reddish orange. There is a variety of woodland birds here including the hoopoe, pied barbet, swallow tailed bee-eater, cardinal, glossy starling, lilac breasted roller, yellow faced canary and , crimson bou bou. Raptors that may be spotted nesting are the gaint eagle owl, martial eagle, and black breasted snake eagle.
The Aoub River is also where you may find the rare giraffe that has been recently introduced. I have seen more meerkat along the Aoub River as well. Lion may be found up and down the river bed, especially close to Mata Mata.

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Address: Kgalagadi national park

The Nossob River is more shallow and wider than the Aoub River. The Nossob River runs from Twee Rivieren along the Botswana boarder through Nossob Camp and then to Union’s End through to Namibia. It is possible to spot large herds of impala and gemsbok in these river beds. Common raptors found here are pale chanting goshawk, African hawk eagle, tawny eagle, secretary bird, and martial eagle. I also spotted a lappet faced vulture and a barn owl near Nossob. Up further north near Union’s End spotted hyena may be found. Lion can be found up and down the river bed, and black backed jackal is very common.

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Address: Kgalagadi National Park

There are two dune roads in the park that connect the Nossob and Aoub River roads. The dunes are the classic rolling piles of orange sand with very little vegetation. There are not many large animals to be found out here away from water but you may find the kori bustard, black bustard, redcrested korhaan, as well as the occasional black back jackal and gemsbok. Be on the look out for cheetah as they have been spotted sitting on a high spot looking out over the dunes. The northern dune road is the longest at 55 km and the southern road is 35 km.

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Address: Kgalagadi National Park

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is the middle of the Kalahari Desert. It has sparse vegetation and most of the water is found in the dry riverbeds of the Auob and Nossob Rivers. This is a fantastic park to find predators and to see large herbivores that constantly search for water and sweet grasses. Lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena, brown hyena, honey badger, black back jackal and bat-eared fox are some of the predators you may find here. Springbok, gemsbok, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, steenbok are common and eland and giraffe uncommon. Ground squirrel and suricates (meerkats) are prevalent. There are no larger game here such as buffalo, elephant or rhino, but the amazing landscapes and the better opportunity of spotting predators make up for that lacking.

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Address: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Directions: Everywhere!

One of the highlights of any trip to an African park is to see lions. Here in the Kalahari the adult male lions sport a huge black mane which is a unique to this region. Apparently due to the lack of scrub vegetation the lion's mane stays healthy and long.

The lion population is quite healthy here in the Kalahari unlike other famous parks such as Kruger, whose lions are suffering from tuberculosis due to the ailing buffalo populations. Many parks stock their own lions from the Kalahari whose breed is genetically diverse and disease free.

Although the density of lion is significantly less than in Kruger (about a tenth), the sparse vegetation and water constriction make the lion here fairly easy to spot.

When doing game drives, look frequently at the road to find lion tracks. They are everywhere. My first spotting of lion was due to tracking them along the road for several kms. They really like using the roads to move quickly and may have just gotten out of the road upon hearing your loud vehicle. They could be just meters away in some golden grass.

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Address: All over the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Website: http://www.parks-sa.co.za/

Meerkats, also called suricats, are a busy animals. They are small like mongoose but are much more entertaining. They are found in dry open country and live in dens in large packs of 30 or more. They are always busy sratching at the earth looking for invertebrates, digging out their dens which are sometimes share with squirls and other small mamals or standing guard looking for danger. They stand on the hind legs using their tail as a kick stand to hold them up. There are plenty of birds of prey, jackals, hyena and other large predetors to look out for.

They are very social creatures and constantly interact with one another. If you get lucky and spot a den, which are occasionally right off the road, sit and watch these creatures for awhile. They will not disappoint.

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Address: Kalahari

The gemsbok, or Oryx, is a large antelope with very strait serrated, horns. They are grayish with black and white markings and have a horse like tail. They are quite common.

The uniqueness of this species of antelope is its adaptation to the desert climate. It survives on meager amounts of water mainly by eating wild melons and cucumbers. They are efficient users of water and can go with out urinating. They have a unique way of cooling their blood in their sinuses as air breathed in passes across arteries for heat exchange.

For a big and dangerous looking animal, these gemsbok are very skittish.

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Address: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

The Red Hartebeest is the third most common antelope in Kgalagadi behind the springbok and gemsbok. It has very flat head from its forehead to its mouth. It is a large antelope weighing 280-500lbs (130 – 230 kg) and stands nearly 5 feet tall (1.4 m)

The coat is red to reddish brown and has a white rump and black tail. There are some black marks on its upper legs. It’s mouth and forehead are black and the horns are “V” shaped and curved behind.

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Directions: Common in the park in small herds

Honey Badgers are among some of the most interesting carnivores you may see. They are busy creatures constantly searching for food. They are found in semi-deserts as well as savannas and forests all over Africa. They are strong creatures with very thick, loose skin. They have a set of sharp teeth with powerful jaws. If attacked they can quickly turn on their attacker and bit due to the looseness of their skin. The Honey Badger covers quite a distance each day (around 20miles/ 35 km) looking and digging for food. It is an avid digger and likes to eat larvae and honey. It will also find an easy meal out of snakes that apparently are not threat.
Height: 9-11 inches (22-28 cm)
Weight: 18-25 lbs (8-16 kg)

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Directions: All over the park