SANParks.org Forums

Hello everybody...

I'm not sure if this is a good or a silly topic
..but i know that i would love to hear your best..funniest.. beautiful,and AMAZING Kgalagadi story's...

Enjoy...

I'll tell the first story...

We visited the park in April 2006l...We went to Mabuashube and pitched our tents for a stay of 3-4 days..As the sun set and the Kalahari night took over..we made our fire and started to make some food..We went with two couples...The one couple went to the shower(the ice cold shower)and the other ate as well...we were all(us and the one couple) sitting at the fire enjoying our Kalahari meal and we were facing away from the camp towards the veld...we could only see until the boarder of the camp light behind us'about 3 meters wide...
Suddenly a LOUD whooooooop-whooooop came from dark area behind the camp light,and made all of us jump in our chairs ...
The couple in the shower screamed and all of us were on the top of our toes.. Someone took another loose spotlight and shined it into the long grass in front of us...and there were 2-3 Spotted hyenas..staring at us with their big round eyes...

That was so cooL**

Nice topic, did the couple walk back from the showers or did you have to go and fetch them with a vehicle. Luckily they were already in the shower when the hyena started calling

Was it the cold water or the hyena that made them scream?? great topic

Hi..
thanx...

The couple cAme running to the tents...haha

I think it was both...

Hope you enjoy the storys...

This is not really a story..but i think most of the people who love the Kalahari have these feelings, toughs,end experiences...

**********************************************
How do you know...?

It starts when your feet touch the red sand...
The lion roaring in the distance...
The solitude you experience...
The dry Kalahari wind softly whistling around the corners of you tent...
And the fresh animal tracks each morning...waiting to be discovered...
Everything tells a different story...
Vultures usually death...and a small green leaf..The promise of life...
The million dollar sunset...
And a billion dollar sunrise...
From the small whistling rat to the king of the Kalahari...
If you have those thoughts, feelings or experience..

That is when you know you have fallen hard for the soft Kalahari dunes...

And that Bibronsgecko is why I LOVE this place....

Any more campfire stories?
Come on, there must me more.....

Hope I can add some in 2 weeks' time

Nina

@kgalagadi guru
I know, i dont love the place im inlove with it...

Nina**
Yes there are many more...i'll post something...can't WAIT to hear yours

Hope you like this one…

When we were in Kgalagadi this December, we went to Nossob, Kalahari tented camp and Mata-Mata…
The last morning of our stay at Mata Mata me and my dad went for a drive…We really wanted to see some leopard so he kept his eyes on the trees and the ridges...then just before the Craig Lockhart waterhole he saw a cream colored Tawny eagle in the one tree on his side of the road…As we slowed down I looked at the side of the road he was looking at and saw two beautiful young male lions walking in the same direction we were driving…I thought he was looking at them but when he drove past them, I yelled LION and he came to a SUDDEN stop…he reversed and saw the two brothers walking side by side …I took a lot of photos of them and then they crossed the road(into the riverbed) That is when I saw the third brother also coming from behind us…and the another female lion..It was the most beautiful Kalahari picture...the rainy clouds above our heads and the two brothers walking side by side, lifting the same leg that made them look like only 1…I then noticed the big heard of springbok in front of them and the lion heading straight for them…(now I took the photo I always dreamed of) all of the springbok looking in the same direction, worry in their big round eyes and when the lion crossed their safety boarder they all turned around and started running…(now you only see all of their horns from the back)my dad had the brilliant idea of driving past the springbok to come in front of them and the lions, then I took the amazing picture of all the springbok getting out of the lions path and the 3 fierce looking brothers walking together keeping their eyes on the waterhole…I took some photos and then we found our spot at the waterhole…The 3 brothers came and drank the water filling up their tummies so that you could hear the water gurgling…the Female joined and the most beautiful thing to see was the four faces lapping up the water with their pink tongues, sitting in a neat row next to each other…

Hope you enjoyed the story…
I also want to hear some stories…

Hi Guys
We stoped over at Mabua last year in November and camped for two nights. The second afternoon we couldn't find my friends towel that he hanged out to dry earlier the day. We didn't make much of it until my father also declared his towel missing later that night. The next morning while packing up to leave, i went to the shower and while staring over the beautifull surroundings, i saw something hanging high up in a tree about 30m into the open veld. IT WAS ONE OF THE TOWELS!! We took it down by using a tent pole and found that it had been torn. We also found some fibres on the tree all the way up. As there is no monkeys / baboons in the Kalahari, it could only have been the leopard we saw just outside of kamp on the first morning. We also saw his spoor all over kamp. This is what camping wild is all about. Hope you enjoyed my story as much as i enjoyed re-living it again in my mind.

Bibronsgecko, you keep talking about all the lovely photos you took - where are they? Nice stories capturing the essence of the Kalahari.

Jabes, weren't you afraid the leopard was still around when you retrieved your towel?

Hi Onewithnature
We knew right from the start that this leopard keeps in that area. I believe it to be a male as he is quite large with a dark yellow skin. It does make you do regular checks with a spotlight around kamp at night. We also checked out the area before venturing too far away from the car. But i guess that he could have been right under our noses without us knowing it.

Hi Jabes

That is an Amazing story...hope we get some visit like that one day...

Onewithnature
I cant tell you how much i want to post them but first i have to find out how...

I'm glad you like the stories..

Hi Bibronsgecko

To post photos, Follow the link for instructions. Works great. I did it for the Augrabies Falls photos and videos

Board Index >> NEW VISITORS: Read Here >> Using Flickr on the forums for your photos.

Looking forward to seeing them

Glyn