SANParks.org Forums

Hi friends,
Sorry to bother you about that, but I am still in doubt. When I enter in the amazon website from here, I find only the following list of devices:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... 0+Watts%29

There I do not find exactly the same shown by Jo. What of these would be preferable?

With this I can charge all of these equipments?
Canon Rebel T3
JVC Handicam
Notebook Dell

All the best
Charbel

Hi friends,

I have reservations for Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park from June 1st to June 13th and I am now planning for the activities. I wrote Kgalagadi Guru asking about two sunset drives, at Kalahari Tented Camp - June 4th and
Nossob - June 7th.

But I remember reading in a TR about a midnight drive, but I did not find reference to it in the Kgalagadi site. Moreover, I remember reading somewhere that there would be something like exclusive drives in the park... I am curious about what they are, just the people that reserved in the car?

I'd like also to ask which forumites will be in the park from June 1st to 13th. Maybe we meet in some camp. Here is our plan for the trip:
1 June 2013 - Twee Rivieren
2 June 2013 - Kieliekrankie
3-4 June 2013 - Kalahari Tented Camp
5 June 2013 - Twee Rivieren
6-8 June 2013 - Nossob
9 June 2013 - Gharagab
10 June 2013 - Grootkolk
11 June 2013 - Nossob
12 June 2013 - Twee Rivieren


Cheers
Charbel

Chabrel

have a look here

in member logde
meet and greet
"when will I........ (excluding KNP)

I would contact KG regarding a midnight ride, to see if he has a guide who is prepared to get frozen! If there are enough takers, I am sure he will put it on.

Dear Bush Baptist,



I just wrote to him about it!

Cheers
Charbel

Hi all,

A friend of mine is going to KTP in June. He's borrowed a pint sized 2 man caravan, one that you can only sleep in. Its not an offroad van as I understand. It has 10inch wheels.
He's booked in Twee Revieren, Mata Mata and Nossob.
I've told him that if it were me i would not tow a caravan through the park on those roads (even though I did tow a 6foot trailer with 10inch wheels some years ago no problems).
I know the park very well but I'd like as many opinions as possible in particular from folks who have towed caravans through the park.
(Forgive me if this is covered elsewhere.)
Thanks

Not sure about your particular query Tony, but there is a topic here where you might find some info.

Thanks Dotty.
It's my friends first visit to the park and I wanted to find out if a caravan will survive on the KTP roads. I just wanted to hear from people who have attempted towing vans that are non offroad.
The thread you pointed me to looks promising. Thanks once again.

o to the park for 9 nights from this Thursday, am so looking forward to it, twee riverien, nossob, bitterpan and the tented camp.

Is the recommended route from Joburg still via Upington?
What are the check in / check out times for the camps in the park?

Hi Simonbee,

Regarding your second question...........

Check in time for accommodation is 14Hoo and check out time is 9Hoo.

I'm sure one of the other mites will be commenting on your first question soon.

Enjoy your stay and I do hope you"ll have some stunning sightings!!!!......

Dear friends,
Sorry to bring the subject better, but I still did not make my mind and the car charger became a crucial item for my trip to Kgalagadi because I will be staying many days in wilderness camps with no AC plugs available. I definitely need a car charger. The indication sent here for a Tripp Lite Auto Inverter was great. it has an output that evidently fits into the equipments I need to charge: a camcorder, a notebook, and a Canon DSLR camera.

But then I began reading the forums and there is a lot of comments about using a high output (in Watts) car charger and how this could exhaust the car battery (something very complicated in KTP), and also if the power output would be enough to charge such and such equipments. In the end after reading a lot the only outcome is that I am more confused.

So, I'd like to ask you for your opinion between two chargers:

Tripp Lite PV150 Portable Auto Inverter 150W 12V DC to AC 120V 5-15R 1 Outlet
http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-PV150- ... +100+watts

(this has the advantage of less wattage, it seems, for the extent that I really understood the issue, that this saves more the car battery. There is a disadvantage, however, that Amazon does not send it outside U.S., so I will have to find another provider. Amazon is very reliable and i give preference to it)

Tripp Lite PV375 Portable Auto Inverter 375W 12V DC to AC 120V 5-15R 2 Outlet
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... PDKIKX0DER

(this has the advantage that it ships outside U.S. but is more powerful and then I came to fear the health of the car battery).

All this boils down to three questions:

1. Can I buy a 375W inverter and, yet, do not harm the car battery?

2. If I buy instead, a 150 W inverter, would this be enough for camcorder, notebook, and DSLR camera (not at the same time, one at a time, the inverter has a single output), or do I need the 375W?

3. Are these tripp lite inverters compatible with a Toyota SRX 4x4 2011 model (this is the car we are renting for KTP)?

I thank in advance for the tips and advice of the more experienced KTP travellers here!

All the best
Charbel

1 June 2013 - Twee Rivieren
2 June 2013 - Kieliekrankie
3-4 June 2013 - Kalahari Tented Camp
5 June 2013 - Twee Rivieren
6-8 June 2013 - Nossob
9 June 2013 - Gharagab
10 June 2013 - Grootkolk
11 June 2013 - Nossob
12 June 2013 - Twee Rivieren

Just buy any.
You will not be using 375W!

I bought one of 150W max, for the enormous cost of R250, and it worked like a charm. It has a USB port, so the phones and other USB stuff could be charged with it as well. Not as fast as with a regular charger, but still...
Buy yourself a little extensioncord, so you have two sockets to use. I actually got a little plug that gives that.
That way you can charge both normal batteries and camera batteries for instance.
A little extensioncord for the 12V can be very handy too, then you can stow the inverter out of the way.

All inverters are compatible, 12V is the only standard worldwide. And all new models of inverters have a safety that keeps it from draining the battery.

. how many days in wilderness camp ?
how many cameras and how many batteries for each camera ?... that is the question

normaly I stay 3/4 nights at Grootkolk (and at the other) with 2/3 batteries for the principal camera, 2 for the other camera
I never see my pictures... except for the last day, when I'm sure there is enough battery for the next day

and I use my laptop, to save all the pictures of the 3/4 days at the next camp... Nossob (Mata Mata and Twee Rivieren). In the desert we have to work a little bit differently

A Grootkolk, for exemple, is better to seat on the terrace to watch the waterhole instead of working with a laptop, idem for all the other wilderness camps

Dear DuQues
Thanks for the answer. I tend to buy the 375V because this is the one that ships to Brazil.
But I will wait for some time more, maybe some forumites have other tips...

thanks

Cheers
Charbel

Dear Anne-Marie

[quote="anne-marie"]. how many days in wilderness camp ?

1 in Kielikrankie followed immediately by 2 in Kalahari tented camp (thus, three days here without AC), and then 1 day in Gharagab and 1 in Grootkolk (2 days without AC).

how many cameras and how many batteries for each camera ?... that is the question


1 camcorder, which exhausts the battery quite fast, 30 minutes filming and it is gone. I plan to buy no extra batteries for it because I am planning to buy the inverter and charge the camera on it. It charges directly. A Canon Rebel EOS T3, with two batteries, and a separate charger, so I can use one, while charging the other. And a Dell notebook.

normaly I stay 3/4 nights at Grootkolk (and at the other) with 2/3 batteries for the principal camera, 2 for the other camera
I never see my pictures... except for the last day, when I'm sure there is enough battery for the next day

I cannot resist seeing the pictures....

Cheers
Charbel