The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a conservation hotspot and rarely visited, making it one of South Africa’s hidden gems. You will not find the Big Five here, but there is plentiful wildlife, including the black maned Kalahari lion. The park features on two of Acacia Africa’s new small group safaris
In 2000, South Africa’s Kalahari Gemsbok National Park and the Gemsbok National Park in Botswana were combined to form the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Covering 3.6 million hectares, it is now one of the largest conservation areas of its size in the world, and despite its harsh climate the park is home to a surprising variety of wildlife. Located in the Southern Kalahari Desert in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province, the landscape consists of rolling red sand dunes, dry grasslands and dry riverbeds, and this huge eco-system is relatively free from human interference.
Visited on two of Acacia Africa’s latest adventures, the desert backdrop is not mainstream game drive territory so you can safari without the crowds, and with rainfall averaging around 200mm per year, the scant vegetation covering the semi-arid terrain will do little to spoil your view.
Home to the black maned Kalahari lion, the park rivals the Kruger for its big cat numbers, and leopard sightings here are said to be ‘the stuff of legend’: the Nossob camp one of the best locations to spot the park’s predators in action. Herds of blue wildebeest and other antelope migrate to the life-giving waterholes in wet season – pronking springboks excited by a clap of thunder and the striking black and white masked gemsbok often encountered en masse.
Meeting the meerkats, seeing raptors soar across the skies and watching giraffes run down a red sand dune more than make up for a safari without the Big Five.
Acacia Africa’s new 5-day Transfrontier Kgalagadi Accommodated Safari includes stays at the Twee Rivieren, Mata Mata and Nossob camps. £695pp (two sharing) plus local payment from £95pp including transport, twin share accommodation, most meals and services of a tour leader/driver. Excludes return flight. Starts Upington, ends Upington. Year-round departures. Alternative camps in the same area may be booked depending on availability.
Images © South Africa Tourism
Acacia Africa – 020 7706 4700; www.acacia-africa.com
