Tour 8: 9 Day Kgalagadi – Mokala National Park Wildlife Tour

This tour covers 3 National Parks and 4 Reserves/conservation areas

DAY 01 Upington – Kgalagadi Trans Frontier Park
Time of departure will depend on clients’ travel schedule to Upington. Flight schedule to be finalised. (Flight not included)

Depart from Upington on a 03-hour drive through the Kalahari duneveld (“veld” means natural vegetation), passing various pans (dry lakes), to the Kgalagadi Trans Frontier Park,

The word Kalahari derives from the word Makgadigadi, meaning salt pans (salt lakes) in the language spoken by the Kgalagadi people living in the Kgalagadi Region in south-western Botswana. The word Kgalagadi means salt pans too in their language. More than 1 000 pans are scattered throughout the park. The Kalahari is the largest area of sand in the world, covering 2.5 million square kilometres from the Orange River in South Africa in the south to slightly north of the equator. The area referred to as the arid Kalahari covers some 900 000 square kilometres in the south and covers parts of South Africa and Namibia and most of Botswana. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is situated in the southern part of the arid Kalahari in South Africa and Botswana and is jointly managed by South Africa National Parks (Sanparks) and Botswana Wildlife.

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park covers 37 000 square km, which is one of the largest conservation areas in the world and one of the last truly unspoilt ecosystems.

Endemic game such as gemsbok, springbok, eland, giraffe, blue wildebeest and red hartebeest roam the sparsely vegetated red sand dunes and the dry river valleys of the Nossob and Auob where a variety of acacia species thrive.

The Park is well known for good sightings of lion, leopard and cheetah and spotted – and brown hyena are common residents. Because of an abundance of prey in the form of mice, whistling rats, birds and insects, smaller predators thrive in the park. The park is home to caracal, honey badger, black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox, cape fox, African wildcat, mongoose and the ever-popular suricate (meerkat).

Kgalagadi is a bird watcher’s paradise with more than 300 species recorded including at least 20 larger raptor species. The world’s heaviest flying bird, the Kori bustard and the stately secretary bird patrol the riverbeds while the noisy northern black korhaan rule in the dunes.

Check in at accommodation at Twee Rivieren. Depart on an afternoon game drive. The Twee Rivieren area is known for lion, leopard, cheetah and meerkat sightings.
Optional 3 hr sunset drive and 3 hr morning guided walk with Sanparks guide at own cost
Overnight: Twee Rivieren
Meals: B, L & D (Full Board on all days)

DAY 02 Kgalagadi Trans Frontier Park
Morning and afternoon game drives. The route will be determined by reported sightings, rainfall, game migration and pre-booked overnight accommodation.
Optional 3 hr sunset drive and 3 hr morning guided walk with Sanparks guide at own cost
Overnight: One of the camps in the Park
Meals: B, L & D

DAY 03 Kgalagadi – Molopo Kalahari Lodge
Game drive until late afternoon. Exit the Park at Twee Rivieren Gate and depart to Molopo Kalahari Lodge 60 Km south of Twee Rivieren. The Molopo Lodge is situated on the banks of the dry Molopo River and is a real oasis in the desert.

En route stop at the last indigenous San tribe in South Africa, the Khomani. Today these earliest residents of the Kalahari, living here for 40 000 years, consist of only 400 people and are resident in an area between 40 and 70 km south of Twee Rivieren. Clients will have the opportunity to view and purchase their handcraft at one of the roadside stalls. (The presence of the San at the roadside stalls can’t be guaranteed.)
Overnight: Molopo Lodge
Meals: B, L & D

DAY 04 Molopo – Augrabies Falls National Park
Depart to Upington. Wine tasting at the tasting room of the Orange River Wine Cellar in Upington, the second largest cooperative wine cellar in the world. Except for wine and grape juice production, the lower Orange River Valley is the major raisin production area – and one of the major table grape production areas in South Africa.

Depart to the largest inhabited inland island in South Africa, Kanoneiland, where virtually every inch of soil is under irrigation. Continue to Tierberg Nature Reserve in Keimoes, from where one has a beautiful view of the lush green Orange River Valley.

Proceed to Kakamas on the Rockery Route, a scenic gravel road south of the Orange River, passing through a large quiver tree forest. The route passes the Persian Water Wheels at Kakamas.
Stop at Die Pienk Padstal (The Pink Road Stall) in Kakamas, which stocks a variety of dried fruit products and local delicacies.

Continue to Augrabies Falls National Park, which covers 60 000 ha. Visit the Augrabies Falls, which is the sixth largest waterfall in the world when South Africa’s largest river, the Orange is in flood. The word Augrabies derives from the Khoi meaning “Place of great noise”. Although Augrabies is essentially a scenic park, game such as giraffe, springbok, gemsbok, eland, kudu red hartebeest, Hartman’s zebra and klipspringer survive in this unique riverine ecosystem. Fish eagles and black eagles are common residents and the Rest Camp is home to a variety of bird species.

The fall is illuminated until 10:00 p.m. Clients can re-visit the fall at their own time and pace.
Optional 2 hr sunset drive with Sanparks guide
Overnight: Augrabies
Meals: B, L & D

DAY 05 Augrabies Falls National Park
Do a relaxed 2km morning walk to a beautiful viewpoint on the Augrabies gorge, Arrow Point.

Do a scenic game drive in this moon landscape-like land to awesome viewpoints such as Ararat, Oranjekom on the Orange River Gorge and the “Swartrante” (Black Hills) from where one has a great view of this arid rocky desert landscape.

Continue on a circular drive to the Western Section, where the chances are good to see Hartmann’s mountain zebra and eland. There are many quiver trees along this route.

Afternoon at leisure. Augrabies Falls can be explored in full along the stilted walkways and viewpoints.
Overnight: Augrabies
Meals: B, L & D

DAY 06 Augrabies – Witsand Nature Reserve
Depart to Upington. Continue to Witsand Nature Reserve. Few eco-destinations in the Northern Cape are as scenic as Witsand Nature Reserve. Only Witsand can offer you sensual, flowing white dunes – twenty to sixty metres high, surrounded by copper-red Kalahari sand, Acacia woodland and the Langberg Mountain Range. Home of the famous “Brulsand” or Roaring Sands of the Kalahari. Under the right conditions, these dunes utter an eerie rumble when disturbed.

Witsand Nature Reserve is a scenic reserve teeming with bird life. More than 150 species have been recorded, including the Namaqua sandgrouse, sociable weaver and Africa’s smallest raptor the pygmy falcon. Gemsbok, springbok, red hartebeest, common duiker and steenbok are residents. Afternoon scenic drive and/or hike. The reserve can be explored on mountain bikes too. Sand boarding down the dunes for the young. Bikes and sand boards to rent at reception.

Small spotted genet and common duiker are regular visitors to the chalets. Dinner is a traditional “braai”.
Overnight: Witsand
Meals: B, L & D

DAY 07 Witsand – Mokala National Park
Depart via Griquatown and Douglas to Mokala National Park. Mokala National Park is South Africa’s newest park and is situated 80 km south of the diamond city Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province. The land of the previous Vaalbos National Park near Barkly West was handed back to local people and in a huge operation more than 800 head of game was trans-located from Vaalbos to Mokala. The grassy plains studded with camelthorn trees and isolated dolerite hills give Mokala a typical African feeling.

Mokala is home to many endangered species including black- and white rhino, Cape buffalo, roan antelope, sable antelope and tsessebe. Other species include black & blue wildebeest, giraffe, eland, kudu, gemsbok, red hartebeest, Burchell’s zebra, waterbuck and mountain reedbuck.

Various bird species, including a white-backed vulture breeding colony numbering 200 birds and many lizard species can be seen in Mokala and leopard tortoises are common sightings in summer. Afternoon game drive.
Optional activities include sunset drive and San rock art drive
Overnight: Chalet at Mosu Lodge / Camping at Motswedi with private ablutions
Meals: B, L & D

DAY 08 Mokala National Park
Morning and afternoon game drives in Mokala. Both Mosu Lodge and Motswedi Campground overlooks a waterhole.
Overnight: Chalet at Mosu Lodge / Camping at Motswedi with private ablutions
Meals: B, L & D

DAY 09 Mokala – Kimberley
The duration of the morning game drive will depend on clients’ departure schedule from Kimberley. Depart to Kimberley. If time allows and clients are interested we can visit one or more of the Anglo Boere War battlefield sites en route. A visit to Kimberley has to include a tour of the Big Hole and recently renovated Kimberley Mine Museum. The Big Hole is the largest hand-dug excavation in the world and the Mine Museum takes one back to a diamond-digging era more than a hundred years ago. Visit Kampher’s Dam where greater flamingoes and the largest population of lesser flamingoes in Southern Africa, numbering about 25 000, are residents.

Continue to Upington/Kimberley to be in time for departing flight or drop-off at accommodation. Flight schedule to be finalised. (Flight and/or accommodation not included)
Meals: L

It is expected from clients on camping tours to assist with pitching and packing up camp and with general camping duties on request. Accommodation can vary from the itinerary depending on availability

Rates on request:
E-mail: dantes@kalahari-tours.co.za or click on CONTACT US.