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When we arrived at the New "Pearly Gates" of TR (sorry, I meant New Entrance to Kgalagadi) on a very HOT 24th December 2010 after driving from Brackenfell, CT in air conditioned sub 20˚C (mistake), I senced the excitement in the plus 40˚C hot Kalahari air, when we alighted (to use a Kruger Park frase) from the vehicle!



We marvelled at the beautiful (and air conditioned) new reception area and the wonderful upgrade that took place since our previous visit in June of 2009 to the new entrance.



We decided to do a camping experience for the first time and pitched our camp while consuming all of our 9 litres of cold water by the time the camp was put up! The balance of the water (one litre) , evaporated in the bottle!



Acknowledgement: Photos that is marked with a BB, was taken by my Son-in-Law, Brendon!

After a quick 'cool down' in the TR swimming pool and with our damp 'cossies' on and wet towels around us, we "rushed" slowly to the Samevloeiing waterhole where we saw leopard KRUIPER, one of Maja's twins, last year ....but no Leo to be seen!

A BBJ at the waterhole is not excactly a leo, but any wild creature is an excitement on the first view of a very dry KTP!



But what we saw at Samevloeiing, was not a bad promise of what was to come in the next 9 days! The surprise to us, was the partly opening of the Nossob road from Samevloeiing to Leeudril!



.....and then this Oryx knelt down for a drink!



A great speciman of a PCG not far from the Leeudril road was well worth a stop for this photo!



We were like children in a candy shop and Kgalagadi was ours for the taking, so we decided to take the dune road to have our first view of the Aoub River bed!



Red 'Hartebeeste' and a lone Oryx on the far dune is a typical KTP scene that is engraved in my memory bank of this Park!



We went as far as Achterskolonie where this fellow gave us an irritated look and wondered what we were doing on his turf!



At Munro this very serious dispute were being resolved with home made weapons while the springbok referee just ignored the fight and walked away!



At past six that afternoon it was still so hot that under almost every tree a group of springbok were taking shelter in the shade from the heat!




Driving on the dune road to TR these two springbok (and some others) claimed the road just for themselves without worrying about us.



We planned our trip so that we could spend Christmas in Twee Rivieren camp in and arround the pool. We went to the TR restaurant on Christmas evening and were entertained by the TR staff singing through the camping area after the singing of Christmas Carols near the shop. The next morning we packed up early and took the winding road to Mata Mata!

We came accross a fair amount of new born springbok.



.....and then four lions in the shade at Veertiende Boorgat!





They became interested in something to our left, but we were not sure what could have triggered their curiosity? A third one joined them all now staring intencely to our left!





We manoeuvred our car so that we could see what they were looking at........ and this is what we saw! A small car tried to get closer to the lions for a better view and off the road and got stuck in the sand! With 4 hungry lions about 20 meters away!

A guy in a 4x4 came te the rescue, but someone had to get out of the car to tie the rope to the tow knob of the 4x4! On the first attempt the tow rope broke and the whole excercise had to be repeated with the lions at striking distance from him, at some stage, he was under the car and very vulnarable!



....to be continued !

A wonderful start to another KTP trip report

Did you erect that whole campsite for just one night?

Lionspoon: Thank you for the compliments and the commentary!

Dreamer: Well, well, well, fortunately for them, there was a good Samaratan around with a 4x4 and not a Parks official, but I do think the lions were getting ready to help him!

GavinW: No, we actually stayed for two nights at TR and not one night only! We also “practiced” two week-end camp jobs before we came to KTP to pitch the camp under an hour! (One at Beaverlack & one in Ceres) Note, I have a ‘roof tent’ trailer specially made for events like this and it certainly improves the speed of setting up camp! It takes us only one hour to ‘erect’ our camp and an hour to be on our way again.

Dreamer: Thank you also and much appreciated!

OK, this story had a happy ending! The car was safely pulled out of the deep sand and nobody was eaten by the lions, although I had my video camera ready to do the YouTube thing!

To avoid any more misunderstandings, we spent the following two nights at Mata Mata!

Now for the next episode: Two Gestapo lionesses decided to do a precision march pass to Veertiende Boorgat across the road from us, just as we were going to go back to Mata Mata! We stayed!!!



Both photos taken by BB!



We could hear the other two lionesses playing the Great March of Aida from under the trees!
After a while, 'Near sighted Nelly' walked across to check out if the sign said anything about field Toilet?



Well, that’s what it said, white on blue! AaHhhhmmn……, nobody around!



Now I can join the rest to quench my thirst again, but why is it so difficult to drink water when you have a big P?



Goodness, look at the time and about 30 odd K’s to go and we all (six cars) have to get to Mata Mata gate on time ……and all six cars were watching one another to maintain within the speed limit! We made it just as the sun went down and I even had time for this………..



It was getting dark and the temperature dropped one degree from 38˚C to 37˚C – I think! At this point I must just point out that we actually like the warm whether. My wife is originally from Namibia when it was still South West Africa and when there is a temperature drop to below 35˚C, she starts looking for a jersey!

Evening view of our ‘one hour’ campsite at Mata Mata!



Then we heard ‘someone’ laughing on the other side of the fence near where the old waterhole was and we knew he was there again like last June! Only then he took some ones towel off the fence and tore it in shreds.



We went to bed satisfied with what we have seen and my wife without the jersey!

The next morning the Kalahari temperature started off where the thermometer got stuck the previous evening! We went for a drive as far as Urikaruus and to-day it was cheetah day! Three lots to be exact!



They were on the side of the river bed just where the road enters the dry river bed beyond Urikaruus! One had a collar, maybe Elena and the boys?



….and he was looking straight at us!



It was time to take the jerseys off again! The temperature reading from the ‘cockpit’!



Even this secretary bird knew what was best! There were two of them not wanting to leave the waterhole!



Brendon took this “Sunrise in the Kgalagadi” photo early the next morning while driving to Dalkeith!



…..and then more lions or rather the “Gestapo” brigade and ‘Near sighted Nelly’ checking out the spelling for T-o-i-l-e-t again! Yes, white on blue!



…and another lady came closer for a really good look!




……..more at a later stage!

Where the heck is ‘Near sighted Nelly’? Well we will just have to look for her closer to the Field T-o-i-l-e-t Sign - white lettering on a blue back ground!



She was definitely here not too long ago! I can smell her alright, but I wouldn’t say it is “Wonder Dew Au de Cologne ” that I smell!



Oh my goodness…….. that’s not too fresh, maybe she died yesterday already! Toothbrush please!



Excuse me please, I am going to sneeze, with that smell, she is definitely dead!



Behind that car maybe? She must be around somewhere?



Did I hear you laugh perhaps?



We will just hang around the “Blue and White Sign” and wait, she’ll come!



…….and wait!



We left the ladies at Dalkeith and retired to the Kalahari Tented Camp for our fifth night in KTP! We scored an hour to – day! No Camp pitching!



But boy, was it HOT this afternoon! Off to the pool and while we were there, it started raining and the outside temperature dropped one degree C again! We stayed in the luke warm pool water.



That evening we had a braai at KTC and just finished in time before a real Kalahari thunder storm from across the Namibian border rolled in. We sat on the stoop watching the storm come nearer and nearer, until the heavens opened and we went off to sleep dreaming of enormous roaring Lions!

SO (without the jersey) and me, after a good night’s sleep at KTC with distant ‘roaring’ throughout the night, just before leaving for Nossob over the top dune road from Kamqua on the Aoub River to Dikbaardskolk on the Nossob River. 53 kms over the top dune road! Already anticipating what to-day might present.



Although we have travelled up and down, to and from Mata Mata several times during the last three days, we did not see the Longnecks! How can they possibly hide those large lopsided bodies in this dry River bed for so long?

It was well after ten when we stopped at the “Owl Tree” overhanging the winding Aoub road and this youngster was still wide awake. Must have just ‘come in’ after a long night out! He even gave me a ‘silly’ smile looking straight at the camera!



……..and there they were…….at Craig Lockhart……..seven of them altogether!

What a LUCK! We did however ask the HEAD GAME RANGER and “KEEPER of all Nature” to kindly show us all the wonderful Kgalagadi animals at close range before we left Cape Town! HE obliged! We did sneak in a Brownie and a Leopard on our “ask list” as well, just before we pressed the “Send Button”!



Three of them right at the waterhole drinking alternately, while the other two keep ‘cavy’! Who knows where the Gestapo lot are?

I feel like my hips are breaking out of their ‘sockets’ and why is the water so shallow to-day?



Notice the natural tattoo on this “Polsmoor” Giraffe’s neck! (My markings for easy viewing) I will certainly look for “Polsmoor” in future trips to KTP!



I’ll say this a little ‘tongue in the cheek’, but I am certainly the most handsome guy around here!



What about me, don’t I qualify for that title? – “Absolute Awesome Aoub Animal”



On our way we decided to go lion hunting and we (for the first time) took the dune road passed Dalkeith waterhole and NOT the loop!

We shot six lions! Scattered in all directions under the trees!



Including a big male lion on the far side……all dead!



To –day, luck was on our side, because just at the next waterhole, in the loop at Veertiende Boorgat, we saw these two cheetahs right next to the road…..and we still had to go all the way to Nossob AND pitch our “One hour Camp”! Only it took almost two hours with cooling off in the swimming pool in between.



No collar!



…and the same here, but distinctly male!



Now we really had to hit the top dune road to Nossob and we still have the loop at Dertiende Boorgat, Kampqua waterhole, 53 kilos passed Vaalpan, Moravet and Eland waterholes and then a P…..it Stop at Dikbaardskolk! We have been in the car for a few hours already and we will just have to ignore the loop, the waterholes, the cheetahs and lions now, otherwise we will surely make new waterholes on the way!

We closed our eyes at Kampqua and again at Vaalpan, Moravet and Eland, but we just HAD to stop at Dikbaardskolk! We increased our speed at the same rate as the degrees went up on the thermometer as we were approaching the Nossob River and Dikbaardskolk! 42 – 43 – 44 – 45 – 46! That’s where we left the thermometer!

We stopped at Dikbaardskolk under the trees near the toilet, all eyes fixed on the the wonderful private building across the pathway, when we wanted to open the doors of the car al at once! STOP! There he was, under the tree, next to the picnic table……



………….. and four meters from the car!!!!



No one could remember why we had to stop at Dikbaardskolk…….so we went off to Nossob to pitch our Camp, running to and from the swimming pool!



Brendon got this from the bottom of the swimming pool (with a pool net that was lying there next to the pool)…….so now we also forgot what we were going to do at the pool as well!



It soon rained a little after some promising electric display and the Nossob temperature dropped by one degree C!

Our Prayer List was fulfilled that evening, the 29th at about 9.35pm at the waterhole!

Brendon captured these wonderful memories! The Brownie came out of the dark for a drink, when after a while he became anxious and stared into the dark, puffing himself to about double size!



From somewhere in the dark, this Leo stealthily approached the waterhole where the Brownie also suddenly forgot why he came to the waterhole…..he left in a hurry!



Someone shone a spotlight and he looked up ………. and !



Please watch this space for more soon!

Stand by for my second last posting on the TR!

The last day in Nossob we took the North bound road past Cubitje Quap to Kwang! A slow drive with our eyes peeled to the wide river bed! Our first sighting, other than Springbok and BWB…….was this! Actually two of them, male and female!



Not too far from there we came across two cheetahs with a kill (Springbok) in the river bed about 5 k’s from Nossob and about 200 meters off the road.



The cheetahs have had their fill by the time we arrived and a BBJ took the scraps from them!



Heavy clouds threatened to whip up a storm, but all it did, was to give us our first experience of a ‘mother’ of a dust storm, that lasted more than a half hour! We drove into it!



It cleared from time to time!



Near Cubitje Quap we saw a huge male lion and some lionesses with a BWB kill. Unfortunately too far and too much dust for quality photos!

Not far from there we witnessed another first for us! We came across a heard of BWB’s with about 5 young ones and one that was in ‘labour’ on the ground.



I captured this ‘amazing’ episode on video of the birth taking place at the Cubitje Quap open air maternity Ward! After a while, the new born tried to get up with a few “assistant mothers” guiding the him/her from behind!



First steps with mother and Auntie BlueWB supporting on either side of his wobbly young leggs!



Just before Gate Closing time, we set off to Marie se Gat, where we came across a huge solitary male Lion. Too dark for descent photos!
It rained that evening and we were safely in the Guest House for our last night in Nossob!

Good – bye to Nossob ………….!!!



………. and back over the Top Dune road to Mata Mata, where we will exit KTP via Namibia to Cape Town! An excitement of a new kind!



Hope we are not held up by lions, cheetahs or giffs to-day, because our destination is Giants Play Ground and Quiver Tree Forest Lodge near Keetmanshoop, about 260 k’s from the MM border! Then to Seeheim Hotel, 46 k’s from Keetmanshoop on the B4 to Luderitz.

The running takeoff of this Korri Bustard, took far too long, to finally get him airborne only a meter in front of the windscreen, almost made me swallow my camera!




But alas, as soon as we came into the wonderful Auob River bed at Kamqua – Six lions including some young males ‘forced us to stop! Look between the markings on this picture!





I’m watching you ……and can you see I’m growing up, look at my long beard!


……and the second young male with his female sleeping partner in the back ground!



I’m so tired!


It must have rained a lot since we left KTC for Nossob……water everywhere….and a bit cooler…….now below 40 and the grass much greener!



We did the necessary border checking out at MM and again in at the Namibian Border Control point!



The “transit” went smooth and we were soon on our way on this really well maintained road – The C15 and then after 89 kms, left on the C17 to Keetmanshoop! This is the SITZAS shop just 200 meters from MM on the Namibian side. Well stocked with good meat etc (cheap) and the Border Officials will allow you to walk across to buy there if you camp in MM!



The winding road continue all along the Auob river, only now there are fences and no Springbok….and a Lodge here and there!

When on the C17, there are countless dunes for the first 20 Kms or so! Like these below!



Then we came across this remote and not your “everyday visiting” Coffee Shop sign on the C17 at Koës in Namibia!



For those potential overseas readers (read: foreign) of my TR, that are not so familiar with the ‘Lingua Franca’ of us South Africans, this sign says something about one’s “far away living, Mother”!



Closer to Keetmanshoop we just missed the tail end of an ominous looking thunder storm! We turned off the C17 to the Mesosaurus Camp Site (tiny fossils were discovered here) that lived in this area near Keetmans millions of years ago! But unfortunately it was too wet to pursue this. We did however got to see how they were fossilised into rocks in this area!



Just a few kilos further towards Keetmans on the C17, these amazing rock formations can be seen. GIANTS PLAY GROUND



......and they were not piled by human hands!



Giants Play Ground is situated on the farm that is part of the QUIVER TREE FOREST LODGE. To visit it, a permit must be obtained from QTF Lodge office!



Have you ever slept in an Iglo?



…..and enough photo opportunities amongst the Quiver trees!



.......and these phenomenal trees have been here for centuries!



Just displaying their rustic beauty to this arid sun drenched environment.



.....and a potential postcard model from any angle!



….and holding on to the rock for dear life………!



……almost there…….one more posting........then I will have to return to KTP for more inspiration! To be concluded soon!

OK, let me give this TR the final ‘Coup De Grace’!

We were a little concerned about the dark thunder showers between us and Keetmans, but fortunately the C17 was a very solid gravel road. We had to stop at newly formed “rivers” rushing across the road a few times, but we managed to get through the water without launching the rubber ducks!



Look how wet and dark it was behind us and now only mid – day!



We were feeling quite uncomfortable on the tarred road, now for the first time after many hundreds of kilos of gravel and dirt roads, entering Keetmanshoop!



20 years ago, this ‘town’ was the pride ‘city’ of the Namibian south!



From Keetmanshoop we took the B4 just south of the town, to Luderitz! 46 k’s to Seeheim, where we will sleep to-night, our destination! What a wonderful surprise in the middle of nowhere awaited us on arrival! A beautiful hotel, full of character and history, privately owned and run by Zirkie Klopper(s)! ( I’m not sure about the “s”).



On the right, a beautiful large new Lapa over an open stoop for the ‘sundowners’ and a lounge that reminds one of days gone by, with a swimming pool just to the side of the Lapa!



You can be lucky to overnight here, with the pool on your front door!



Before we left home and when I initially planned the trip, I saw on Google Earth that a railway line runs over the Fish River not too far from the Hotel, (the Hotel is actually at Seehem Station) so SO and me took a nice afternoon walk all along the railway line to the steel railway bridge. View to the west……and the very narrow steel pathway over the bridge required a little concentration!



….and the view from the opposite direction and back towards the Hotel.



Next morning, on New Year’s day, we hit the gravel road again for another 200 odd kilos – the C12 this time – Canion Roadhouse and the Fish River Canyon our destination! But on the way, we had to cross the Fish Riverbed, again without the rubber duck!



We were approaching the turn off to the D601 at Holoog and en route to Canion Roadhouse.



For a moment we thought we were back in KTP when first we saw Springbok and then this herd of Oryx!



Now for a nice cup of tee at the Canion Roadhouse…..another very pleasant surprise!





We left Canion Roadhouse rejuvenated and arrived at the Hobas entrance to the Fabled Fish River Canyon about a half hour later.



From Hobas another ten Kms of this…….



……and Voila!



The newly built lookout since our previous visit.



……and the awe inspiring fabulous View of the Fish River Canyon!



Me, Elméne, Brendon & Ilse on the verge…….



Now we are off, direction Ai Ais and south towards the Noord Oewer border with South Africa!



This is Mt Elena, near the farm KANABEAM just south of the Ai Ais turn off, where we always stop to admire the vastness of southern Namibia!



The view towards the south from Mt. Elena from where one can observe the days and nights approaching if you concentrate!



……with our Kgalagadi “One hour Camp” on tow!



The Orange River and the New South African Customs and Border Post!



The Orange River in flood and the Nababiebs Mountains behind!



Our final night we will be staying at the Oewerbos Resort on the South African side of the Orange River about 11 kms downstream from Vioolsdrif.

The road to Oewerbos Campsite on the banks of the Orange River!



Oewerbos with the Felix Unite Camp on the opposite side of the Great Gariep!



Wait here for your Pitza……..



And finally…..we know we are home safely when we see Table Mountain after a very rewarding trip to KTP. Now I can file this wonderful experience in the MEMORY FILE and press SAVE!



I have just read news from Kgalagadi Guru, that the Auob River is flowing and that the water is about 11 Kms from Mata Mata! Maybe, just maybe, I should pack up to do an inspection trip on this amazing happening! Can you imagine water coming down the AUOB…….knee deep through Mata Mata Camp Site?

Hallo…hallo….. is that SANParks Reservation Office……….?

Get on that phone!!! Wonderful TR - have loved reading it and your pictures are fantastic! What an experience. Would love to do such a trip some day - as a matter of interest, does one need a 4WD or can you go in a car? Have only recently read TR's from that area and they all seem to talk about the dunes so am wondering whether a 4WD is the wayor the only way to go! Info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip with us!

Pala :: To answer your question: No, a 4WD is not at all necessary, my daughter and 'hubby' went there in a VW Polo. It will only help if you go in a "higher" vehicle to enjoy a better view!
The roads are generally in a good condition but can be corrugated! Thereare a couple of wilderness camps that one cannot reach with a Cedan, but the main camps are easily reachable! Go out and do it! Thanks for the visit in my TR!

PetraJ: and vgstephens: Thank you for visiting and reading my TR! Also for your kind remarks!