Kalahari Tented Camp

We visited the Kgalagadi Transfontier Park in 2014 which forms part of the Kalahari Desert region of Botswana and South Africa, bordering the Namibia to the west. Here we stayed at Twee Rivieren, Mata-Mata and the Kalahari Tented Camp which was an amazing experience. This area is characterized by rolling red dunes and dry rivers.

You have to go through border control into the Transfrontier Park.

The first place we stayed at was Twee Rivieren in stone cottages fully equipped with small kitchenette, bathroom facilities and bed. This is the largest rest camp and forms part of the administrative headquarters. This area had loads of little meercats roaming around with a wishful faces looking for food. Each cottage has its own designated braai area which was fantastic sipping on a gin and tonic listening to the animal cries as the sun set over the dunes. Bliss!

We enjoyed early morning drives to view the animals in the park - we found this to be one of the best times to go animal spotting as it is not too hot yet. We also enjoyed many breakfasts within the park at designated picnic areas.

We then made our way to Mata-Mata which is approxiamtely 2.5 hour from Twee Rivieren. This camp site boarders Namibia with a slightly more thorny bushveld. Here we again enjoyed a small cottage with kitchenette facilities, bathroom and bedroom but this side was desert squirrel heaven and boy were they brave. If you weren't careful they would be on your lap eating from the other side of your roll.

We decided to treat ourselves to a night game drive where the instructor was very helpful and educational. We learnt about tracking the animals and how they generally survive the extremely harsh conditions in the desert.

The pièce de résistance to our trip was the Kalahari Tented Camp which is situated high up on a red sand dune which overlooks a waterhole in the dry bed of the Auob River. There are 15 tents which each accommodate 2 people with a private bathroom and shower and small kitchenette with braai area. These tents are located in a private area accessed by residents only. With this in mind you also need to be organised as there is no shop or fuel apart from a 3km drive to Mata-Mata. You need to provide your own wood, charcoal and drinking water. What makes this camp site extra special is that it is NOT fenced off to the animals and at early hours of the morning you can hear the groans of waking lions. INCREDIBLE!

Over looking this waterhole we spotted a leopard, a lion made home to a dune behind our tent, meercats, warthogs and a variety of bucks.

Another highlight of our trip was the lion encounter where a herd of lions roamed between the cars and bathed in the afternoon sun. It i not every day you get to spend in the wild which is a truly humbling experience. This is was a true adventure fueled with African spirit in arid conditions!