Political
boundaries can be deadly for wildlife. Protections offered by one
country may be ignored by others, and physical barriers between
countries can block migration routes and prevent wildlife from reaching
feeding grounds or watering holes. Africa's Transfrontier
Conservation Areas seek to dissolve these barriers and manage
ecoregions as one unit.
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is one success story. The
governments of Botswana and South Africa have joined forces to manage
Botswana's Gemsbok National Park and South Africa's Kalahari Gemsbok
National Park as one ecological unit. Together, the parks
protect
3.6 million hectares of the Kalahari desert.
In
this arid land of red sand
dunes and dry riverbeds, big cats - cheetahs, black-maned lions and
leopards - hunt migrating blue wildebeest, red wildebeest,
springbok
and eland. Ground squirrels and meerkats or suricates are
plentiful,
and more elusive honey badgers, bat-eared foxes and scaly anteaters or
pangolins are also present.
Kgalagadi
is one of the best
places in Africa to watch birds of prey. Tawny and blackbreasted
snake
eagles, bateleurs and whitebacked and lappetfaced vultures soar above
the Nossob and Auob riverbeds.
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| Kgalagadi
has six camps located in South
Africa. The
three traditional camps - Twee
Rivieren, Mata Mata
and Nossob - all
have basic food shops and petrol stations. Twee Rivieren and
Nossob are located on |
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the Nossob riverbank; Mata Mata is
on the Auob
Rvier. All
three traditional camps offer alternatives to camping.
Choices range from six bed family chalets to two, three and four bed
cottages. Some offer air conditioning and full kitchens.
Twee Rivieren has cell phone service and 24 hour electricity.
Wilderness
camps are Bitterpan, Grootkolk and the Kalahari Tent
Camp. At Grootkolk, an unfenced camp, chalets are constructed
from sand bags and canvas. The camp has a communal kitchen and
gas for cooking. The Kalahari Tent Camp's offerings include a
luxury tent for honeymooners and two tents for mobility-impaired
travelers.
DIRECTIONS:
Kgalagadi is a twelve hour drive from
Johannesburg. The entrance at
Twee Rivieren Gate is 260 kilometers north of Upington. For a
shorter drive, fly to Upington from Johannesburg or Cape Town.
In Botswana, entrances to the park
are at the Gemsbok/ Boksplits and Makapong Border posts and at
Middelputs and McCarthy's Rest.
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