Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

SOUTH AFRICAN SAFARIS AND THE KGALAGADI TRANSFRONTIER PARK

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park covers a total area of 38 000 m2 and is typically characterised by warm sand dunes, bare vegetation and dry river beds. The dry river beds from the Nossob River and Auob River are always waterless unless there is a thunderstorm causing the river to flow temporarily – offering much needed water to the Kgalagadi animals. It is believed that these rivers only flow properly every 100 years; however water does flow under the river beds feeding the grass and sparse trees along the river banks – providing shelter and nourishment for some of the Kgalagadi animals…

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park consists of two national parks found in two different countries; the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (South Africa) and the Gemsbok National Park (Botswana). Only a quarter of the total park lies in South Africa but even this offers a huge area for game watching and safari drives. There are no physical barriers between the two national parks and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is treated as one ecological unit. Some parts of the park can be reached by a normal car, but a lot of the area is dry and unstable and is therefore better suited for 4x4 driving and 4x4 safaris.

This Transfrontier Park was established on the 31st July 1931 in order to protect the wildlife and the migrating game from poachers. The Kgalagadi’s main goal was to protect the gemsbok and allow them to live and breed in safety. In 1999 SANParks (South African National Parks) and the Department of Wildlife set up a management unit to treat the park as one area instead of two international zones. The park derived its named from the Makgadikgadi Pans with Kgalagadi meaning ‘thirst-land’ - aptly describing the general dry area of this national park…

There is a wide selection of wildlife that can be found in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park such as; black manned Kalahari lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, blue wildebeest, springbok, eland, hartebeest, eagles, buzzards, secretary birds, ground squirrels, meerkats, bat-eared foxes and so much more. Game viewing is best at the riverbanks after rainfall when the animals all flock together to get water.

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park suffers from extreme weather – extreme heat during the day in summer and extreme cold during the day & night in winter. The best time to travel to the Kgalagadi area would be between the March and May; neither the summer nor the winter extremes will hamper your holiday!

Have a look at our South African Safaris that include the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park … There are also other South African attractions beneath that you might want to visit on your South African Safari.

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