SANParks Blog

16 November Sunday morning broke gently over the dunes.  The air was fresh and crisp – the time of day when one forgives the sun for its merciless rays when it sits in the noon sky.  With renewed energy, I walked to the kitchen area, anticipating to see a bag of rusks I had left [...]

  14 & 15 November (Part II) Since my childhood, which was spent in the veld, I have had an acute sense of tuning into the delicate web of nature.  It something akin to a sixth sense and it is not reserved for animals only, landscapes tell me stories.  In the Kgalagadi, it took a [...]

14 & 15 November (Part I) What do we deem as luxuries in life?  And by the same token, is not the everyday things we take for granted, that becomes precious in its own right? We arrived back at Nossob by mid-afternoon and by some touch of magic, camping site 19 was available, dark with [...]

  13 November We arrived at Gharagab wilderness camp at lunch time, lethargic from the 45 degrees temperature.  Our morning started early, a return visit to Union’s End and the picnic site for better lighting had us on the road as the sun peeked from the east.  The sandy surface of the road was scattered [...]

  12 November (Part II) We were both quiet on our return to Grootkolk, it was as if stillness of the landscape had come to settle deep within our beings.  In the east, an almost full moon was rising and in the west, a brilliant sunset coloured the horizon.  At Union’s End water hole I [...]

  Overview of Nossob From the onset, I am embarrassed to confess that I never took one photograph of any of the chalet interiors at Nossob, but I will try my best to describe what is on offer at this camp.  Nossob is an approximate three and half hour drive from Twee Rivieren – that [...]

  10 November The aftermath of the storm met us at first light.  Garbage cans were upturned and its contents strewn all over the site, branches were broken off as if they were mere twigs and a thick layer of mud made moving somewhat difficult.  The washing line at the ablution block was sighing under [...]

  9 November (Part II) Two Rivers and Samevloeiing water holes were strangely quiet for the time of the afternoon.  Usually a springbok or two came to drink, but there was nothing to be seen, except for the brooding clouds on the horizon.  Close to Leeuwdril we found the first evidence of the storm that [...]

  9 November (Part I) We left silently in the semi-darkness of dawn for an early drive before our work for the day started.  The dunes surrounding Kielie Krankie bore the evidence of life-giving rain – desert rose was blooming in red splendour, the yellow straw grass replaced with juicy green sprouts and judging from [...]

  8 November Much of our evening at Nossob was spent cleaning up and re-arranging after the Mabuasehube trail, but by 21:00 we called it a day.  We were exhausted – the heat was getting to us.  Although camping was a little harder work than staying in the comfort of a chalet, we missed the [...]