Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

At the edge of the Kalahari Desert stands Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, home to varied wildlife. While on a tour, don’t miss looking for the Gemsbok –the desert antelope-, Suricate, Black-maned Kalahari Lions, weavers and falcons.

Location

Located in the Kalahari Desert, Kgalagadi spreads across two countries: South Africa and Botswana. Of the total area of 38000 sq km / 14,668 sq miles, only a quarter is located in South Africa.

The closest town to the park is Upington, located at 250 km/ 155 miles, while Johannesburg is located at 904 km / 561.7 miles.

How to get to Kgalagadi

Upington airport is the closest airport to the park. If you are an international traveler, you should fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town and then take a domestic flight to Upington.

Once you arrived at the airport, there is the possibility to rent a car and drive to the park.

Climate

Because of its location, the weather in the park can reach extremes. In January, when it’s summer in South Africa, the temperatures can easily reach and exceed 40 C / 104 F, while the winter nights are very cold, temperatures dropping to well below freezing point.

The Wildlife

Located mostly in the Kalahari Desert, the park’s terrain consists of sand dunes, sparse vegetation, some trees and dry riverbeds. The wildlife is abundant and varied. The park is home to lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, blue wildebeest, springbok, eland, red hartebeest, eagles and buzzards.

Activities

There are several 4 x 4 routes available for the tourists, among which we can list: Nossob 4 x 4 Eco Trail, Bitterpan trail, Mabuasehube Wilderness Trail, Wilderness Trail and Leeuwdril 4 x 4 Loop.

Only game drives at Twee Rivieren are available until further notice.

You can read more about the game drives available at Kgaladi at their official website.

Facilities and Accommodation

Restaurant, swimming pool, shops and picnic sites are available at the camp sites around the park.

There are three rest camps in the park, each offering different types of accommodation:

• Twee Rivieren Rest Camp: you can stay at a one of the 2 camp sites or you can choose among the family cottages or chalet.
• Mata Mata Rest Camp: you can stay at the camp site, in one of the park homes or in the chalet.
• Nossob Rest Camp: you can choose between the camp site, chalets, the family cottage or the guest houses.

There are also 6 wilderness camps available and a luxury camp.

You can read more about the types of accommodation available on the Kgalagadi official website.

Live webcams

If you want to see what’s happening at Kgalagadi, you can visit the official website and look at one of the webcams.