SANParks.org Forums

Hi yoann from france, welcome!

About the night/sunset/morning drives.....when we were there in January, they were only doing sunset drives (leave about 1,5 hours before the gates close and return 3 hours later). They were not doing night drives - which in Kruger, leave at about 8pm.
I have only done 2 night drives at Nossob - seen bat-eared fox, brown hyaena, owls, african wild cat etc; and 1 at Twee Rivieren - seen cheetah, wildcat, genet etc. With the sunset drives, like anything in the park, you just have to be in the right place at the right time!!!
Unfortunately I haven't done a morning drive so can't help you with that....but i am sure people with more experience of Kgalagadi will give you some advice soon!!

Enjoy your trip!!

Could anyone give me a list of all the roads accessible with normal sedans?
Which camps do you recommend for a 8 day stay (first time visit)?

Thanks

Hi S&J

The roads that are accessible to sedans are the:
- Mata-Mata to Twee Rivieren rd
- Twee Rivieren to Unions end via Nossob
- Lower Dune rd past Kieliekrankie
- Upper dune rd

Although they are accessible for a sedan, sections of these roadscan be very corrugated and the verges can be quite high, but you will get through. What season are you going in? Rainy season will make it difficult for a sedan as these roads are all dirt and turn very muddy after a large thunderstorm.

Camps to stay in....uuuummmm.....I would try and stay in a couple of wilderness camps - there are only about 4 huts and an attendent's hut, unfenced on a waterhole. Ones that are accessible to sedans:
- Urikaruus
- Grootkolk
- Kalahari Tented Camp
- Kielikrankie
They are more expensive than the main camps (Nossob, Mata Mata, Twee Rivieren) which are also accessible to sedans. There is NO camping at Wilderness camps only main camps, which may influence your decision.

Have a look at the Kgalagadi map and decide on a route around the park then see which camps are on that route. Also check out the Travel Tales thread to get an idea of the camps and roads.

Good luck on the planning and enjoy the park!!

Hi Stephan & Junita

We went to KTP in a Yaris sedan in December last year. We only stayed at Twee Rivieren for 7 days and had a fantastic time - we saw everything, lions everyday, leopard for 5 days, cheetah. On the Nossob road we drove up to Melkvlei, and on the Mata Mata road up to Auchterlonie. We also drove the lower dune road. We had no problems but it did not rain once. The roads in the Twee Rivieren appear to be in a better condition than those further up. The roads are a bit hard on a sedan's suspension though. If you take it slow then it should be no problem though. The biggest issue we had was height, we missed seeing a leopard killing a springbok, people in the higher vehicles could see.

It is possible in a sedan but just take it easy and don't try keep up with the SUVs and 4x4's.

Thanks guys,

We drive a X-trail 2.0 Petrol 4 x 2 (No difflock). If we go it will be in July.

Advice please?

Hi S & J - been there twice with my XTrail, no problems at all - just drive slowly over the bad bits. Just watch out for thorns - picked up a slow leak last year.

And in July it is dry, so no worries over getting stuck.

Hi S & J - it can go down to -10C at night, days will vary, some quite cold, others sunny and pleasant. (The answer is to sleep 3 in abed )

The main camps are fine for your toddler - not so sure about the unfenced wilderness camps tho

Hi,

I have a Nissan 4 x 4 double cab. Would there be any benefit in removing the spare wheel slung under the body for the deep sand parts for the Mabuasehube/Nossob routes?

Thanks.

Trevor

I've driven a Nissan 4x4 Hardbody through deep sand and I've never felt the need to remove the spare wheel for more clearance.

Only time I've seen the under-body sparewheel cause a problem is when a friend's land cruiser sank in deep mud. It went down on top of a big rock that went right into the wheel well. We had to jack the cruisers and dig out the rock.

One piece of advice I could give is to keep the "Spark" lubricating spray handy. We spent an hour on the side of the road in Namibia with the same friends and the same cruiser when the spare got stuck because of rust and dust. Thankfully another car pulled over and between five of us we managed to dislodge it.

HI Trevor
For info - I have just completed the Gemsbok Wilderness Trail which takes one from Polentswa to Kaa gate and back. There were sections (particularly South of Kaa) which were very sandy and the "middel mannetjie" was quite high. I drove a Jeep and we were basically leveling the middle mannetjie with our steel protector plate under the transfer box.
So, in my opinion the wheel underneath "could" cause a problem, and furthermore the grass is currently very long and you will have to stop ever so often to clear out the undercarraige..you don't want to go up in flames !

Enjoy your trip...the Park is looking stunning at present
DuneRider

Hi guys!

This weekend my SO and I will decide about KTP in 2010. The itinerary is well planned and if SO agrees we'll move on to booking. However, I read so much about the corrugated roads (although on the pics in the TR they don't look that bad) that I'm a bit worried now. The reason for this is that my SO had a disc prolapse two years ago. He's much better now (due to very disciplined work out) but still aches occassionally under certain conditions. I figured that the roads in KTP might be one of those circumstances.

Does anybody have any experience with this or can you just comment on wether this might be a problem or not? I'd love to see KTP but I can't keep it a secret to SO if it might cause him trouble...

Thanks for your help in advance!

Lionspoon

My father has disc problems in his neck and back, and he only complained of feeling uncomfortable after we had driven to Bitterpan which is on a 4x4 route. This road was FAR worse than the rest of the roads in the Park. If you take it easy on the other roads, drive slowly, maybe take him a cushion/blanket to sit on, then the corrugations shouldn't be too bad. Take his anti-inflammatories/painkillers/heat packs with in case of a flare up etc to keep him comfortable.

Enjoy KTP!

Thank you, Jo! He's got a particular wedge for the car to sit on anyway and we always take it. It's compulsory. Otherwise I make him get some painkillers as he doesn't need them anymore on a regular basis.
Maybe we just avoid the 4x4 route to Bitterpan and all will be well.

Lionspoon: Avoid the one to Gharagab as well!

Yoann: doing TR/Mata Mata/Nossob and straight back to upington is a lot of kilometers in a short time. You can do it, but it maybe a good idea to concentrate on a smaller area. If accomodations are still available, you could try to sleep in a wild camp like Urikaarus or Killie Krankie. A little bit more expensive, but what an experience!
With only 4 days, I would stay between TR and Mata Mata. Or stay longer!
Still, what you planed is doable.