Monday, January 3, 2022

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park - Botswana

Most of our campsites had A-frame sun shelters with lots of lizards and always a resident wasp

We're back from 15 days of camping in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP). I'm so happy to have a room with an actual toilet again, not sand and a shovel. We had long drives to and from the park. Our initial drive was from Khutse to KTP's Mabuasehube gate, which is Botswana's east entrance to the park. We left our campsite at Khutse about 6 a.m. and got to the Mabuasehube gate by mid-afternoon. The last 100+ kilometers that we drove took well over 3 hours because of the heavy sand and corrugation. In some places we had stretches of sand deep enough to slid the rig back and forth, then sideways up the steep edges of the ruts and tracks. Richard got out after a few bouts of sand and lowered the tire pressure to give us better traction. My job was lookout for wild animals while he did the work. When we left the park, we made sure to leave in the early morning while the sand was still cool and more compacted. The afternoon made for a harder drive when we came in.

The first night we stayed at a camp just inside the main gate. It seemed easiest, since we didn't know what the driving conditions would be like in the park. We pulled into camp, set up, ate, had a drink under the A-frame, and then slept like logs. We also got some practice getting into the rig quickly when, early the next morning, a hyena strolled through camp. He hardly gave us a glance as he carried on his way. After he passed, we got out of the rig and finished breakfast and coffee, keeping an eye out for any other surprise visitors. Then we packed up and headed to our campsite on the Monamodi pan. 

This sweet mom and baby wandered through our first camp, too

I liked the Monamodi campsite quite a bit because it had water (yay!), the only one of our camps that did. It also had a long-drop toilet. I should have been grateful, however, after noting a few of the toilet's  occupants, I opted for a shovel. Beetles, random spiders, and ants are not exactly what I want to sit over when I need to concentrate. I'd rather dig. It's funny how quickly modesty goes out the window. 

We stayed at the Monamodi campsite for four nights. Just beyond the trees was the open stretch of the Monamodi pan. It was still fairly dry when we visited. There was a small watering hole, though, and we stopped a few times to sit and watch the animals that were out. There were oryx, lots of birds, eagles, and always one lone wildebeest. While at Monamodi, we also got the first of many late afternoon storms that rolled through the desert. These were stunning, if a little concerning at times. The weather aways cooled off tremendously after one of these storms blew in.

Storms at Monamodi


One of the storms rolling in...

Storm's here


Monamodi was a peaceful camp. We didn't see any big animals, but there were lovely birds, striking contrasts of sand and sky, and the pan with its watering hole that was just beyond the trees. One of the biggest surprises I had as we started driving around the pans and from camp to camp was how much vegetation there is in the Kalahari. I had imagined stretches of sand and rock, and though there's a ton of sand and lots of rocks, there are also a lot of trees and bushes, and almost everywhere are fields of dried grass. 

The watering hole on Monamodi pan -- not much water yet


The Monamodi pan - it was nice to just sit and watch to see who visited

More Kgalagadi to come... next campsites: Khiding and Bosobogolo





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