Kgalagadi s rougher side This is the second and final part of Scott Ramsay s series on the Kgalagadi transfrontier park. In the first episode, he focused on the South African side of the park. In this article, he discusses the Botswanan side, and also writes about a leopard identification research project Text and photography: Scott Ramsay T he wildest part of the Kgalagadi is on the Botswana side, which makes up 75% of the transfrontier park, or roughly 28 000 square kilometres. Far fewer people venture to the Botswana area than to the South African side. This is partly due to the terrain, which lacks the dry river beds and comprises mostly endless dune fields covered in grass, camelthorn and shepherd s trees. In the east, at Mabuasehube, there are several huge pans, which make great camping spots. Although you don t see as much wildlife as in the dry river beds in the west, the sense of wilderness on the Botswana side is one of the finest in southern Africa. There are no gravel roads, just sandy tracks that must be negotiated in a fully-equipped 4x4 that has high ground clearance. Always travel with at least two vehicles in the group, because the sand can become very thick and you don't want to get stuck on your own in this remote place. A huge thunderstorm over Mpayathuthlwa pan heralds the onset of summer rains in Mabuasehube Game Reserve, in the eastern sector of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. 90 91
Contacts The new semi-luxurious lodges on the Botswana side of Kgalagadi have spectacular locations and great views. Both lodges are just to the east of the Nossob Road. Ta Shebube Rooiputs is about 20 kilometres north-east of Twee Rivieren, but unfortunately it has been built within sight of the traditional campsite, so the wilderness atmosphere has been compromised somewhat. Nevertheless, it makes a good alternative for those travellers with a bit extra budget who dont want to stay at the busy (and sometimes noisy) Twee Rivieren. Visitors entering the park from SA don t need passports to enter the Botswana side of the park, as long as you don t leave the park into the rest of Botswana. n To book campsites on the Botswana side, contact Department of Wildlife and National Parks at www.mewt.gov.bw/dwnp or e-mail DWNP@gov.bw or tel +267-318-0774. Camping costs from 50 pula per person per day (a little over R50) surely one of the most cost-effective wilderness experiences in Africa. n To book at the private lodges of Ta Shebube Rooiputs or Ta Shebube Polentswa (from R2720 per person per night, including accommodation, meals, game drives and local drinks), contact African Anthology on www.africanantholoty.co.za, e-mail Charlene@anthology.co.za or tel 011-781-1661. n For Botswana s booking office, contact www.tashebube.co.bw, e-mail astrid@tashebube.com or tel 267-316-1696. Botswana Two Rivers Office 054-561-2060 Kaa Gate Tel +267-370-7200 Mabuasehube Gate Tel +267-653-0081 There are two new semi-luxury lodges on the Botswana side of the park, close to the South African section. Both lodges are known as Ta Shebube. In the south is Ta Shebube Rooiputs, located just east of the Nossob River road. In the north is Ta Shebube Polentswa, several kilometres from the Botswana campsite at Polentswa, which is located on the Nossob River bed. Both lodges have superb views at Rooiputs over the dunes and at Polentswa, over the Nossob River bed. However, the wilderness feel has been compromised by the building of the lodges near the popular campsites. At Rooiputs, the campsite and lodge are within sight and earshot of each other, while at Polentswa, they can see each other s lights and campfires. Nevertheless, the Ta Shebube lodges offer a memorable experience for those who don t have their own 4x4s and don t want to rough it and do their own catering. When I stayed at the lodges recently, there were some teething problems, but the owner assured me these were being overcome. Ta Shebube Polentswa is located high up on a dunefield on the eastern side of the Nossob dry river bed. Unlike the lodge at Rooiputs, it s situated a few kilometres from the traditional campsite at Polentswa, but you can still see the campfires of the campers at night, and campers can see the lights of the lodge at night. But it s still one of the best places in the Kgalgaadi to see predators...and is probably my favourite area in the park. 92 Important GPS Points Camps Rooiputs Camp S26 19.668 E20 44.307 Polentswa Camp S25 05.241 E20 25.661 Mabuasehube Gate S25 04.983 E22 09.415 Mpayathutlwa Camp S25 03.967 E21 58.832 Mabuasehube Camp S24 58.825 E21 59.627 Kaa Gate S24 21.511 E20 37.526 Thupapedi Camp S24 24.305 E20 21.195 Gnus-Gnus Camp S24 36.965 E20 14.854 Turn-off from Nossob Road to Mabuasehube Access Road S25 23.821 E20 35.826 Turn-off from Nossob Road to Kaa Access Road S24 53.854 E20 12.078 Private Lodges Ta Shebube Rooiputs S26 19.583 E20 44.658 Ta Shebube PolentswaS25 03.312 E20 25.513 93
The leopards of the Kgalagadi While lions are the Kgalagadi s iconic animal, leopards are arguably more popular with visitors. And although the park is not known for its prodigious number of leopard sightings, there is one area that is becoming increasingly well-known for reliable sightings. According to Dr Matthew Schurch, the Auob Road between Urikaruus Wilderness Camp and Monro waterhole about 40km to the south is a good place to see some of the resident leopards. It s this type of knowledge that has come to light thanks to a citizen science leopard identification research study, initiated and managed by Matthew. Visitors are encouraged to take photographs of the leopards they see, and the location, and send these details to Matthew, who has compiled a database of the leopards of the Kgalagadi. (His doctorate is in astronomy, but he has an equal passion for leopards!) Matthew hopes to figure out the approximate size of the total leopard population in the park, how they are distributed, and the extent of their home ranges. Also, what is the gender ratio of the population, and the average lifespan? And where do sub-adult leopards go to once they leave their mothers? So far, a database of 39 leopards has been documented on the South African side of the park. Recently, several leopards have also been photographed and identified on the Botswana side at Mpayathutlwa pan in Mabuasehube. On my last evening, I stayed at Urikaruus Wilderness Camp, and early the next morning I was lucky enough to spot a young female leopard walking down the Auob riverbed. I was alerted to her presence by the warning calls of a herd of springbok, all of them staring in her direction. I was all alone with the leopard, and watched her walk along the riverbed to drink at the Rooibrak waterhole. She then ambled right past my Ford Everest, and started scratching her front claws on a camelthorn tree alongside the road. After 20 minutes of patrolling the area, she disappeared over the dunes. What price, that sort of experience? I sent the photos to Matthew, who identified the young female as Miera, a regular patron at the Rooibrak waterhole. Submit your leopard photographs to ktp. leopards@gmail.com or go to www.ast.uct. ac.za/~schurch/leopards/index.html Facebook: www.facebook.com/ktpleopards For me, the best reason to stay at the lodges is their location within prime predator territory. You are almost guaranteed to see lions on the game drives with the two excellent guides, Keitumetse Mogale and Kebonyemodisa Mosepele. There are no night drives from the lodges at present. Guided drives on summer afternoons are challenging, because it is still way too hot for game viewing as late as 7pm, by which time the guests have to be back at the lodges. Early morning drives tend to be more productive in summer. While the private lodges and wilderness camps are special, my favourite places to stay in the whole of Kgalagadi are the unfenced Botswana campsites just to the east of the Nossob River. Polentswa campsite is best, because of the views and its reputation for lion sightings. On my recent trip there, we saw three male lions chasing another male out of the area. At one stage they burst straight through the camp, within metres of us! Rooiputs campsite is also famous for lions, but the construction of the nearby Ta Shebube lodge and staff quarters has spoiled the atmosphere. It is, however, close to Twee Rivieren, so when you enter the park, Rooiputs makes a good alternative to staying at the noisy entrance camp. My second favourite campsite is Mpayathuthlwa Pan, in the far east near Mabuasehube. This small, unfenced campsite has superb views over the huge pan. You get One of the best campsite in Mabuasehube Game Reserve is Mpayathuthlwa Pan, which has great views over a huge pan, and also has one of the few working showers and taps! It s also the place where the resident pride of lions like to come snooze during the day - so zip up those tents. Entering Mabuasehube Game Reserve on the Botswana side of Kgalagadi. there via Nossob, and should allow at least five hours for the 158km drive on a sandy track (4x4s only!). This is the only campsite in the area with a working tap and shower. When I arrived there, I met up with the Daley family from Hermanus in the Western Cape. They love Mpayathuthlwa so much that they had driven two full days (about 1400km) to spend just four nights there. For three days we were the only visitors in the whole of the eastern part of the transfrontier park. The Daleys told me that on a previous visit to Mpayathuthlwa the resident pride of about 12 lions had come to lie in the shade of their campsite, surrounding their tents The Kgalagadi s greatest fans? One of the reasons I love my work is because of the people I meet. During my trip to Kgalagadi, I bumped into Isaac and Liesel Jocum, who know the park better than most visitors. They were on their 99th trip to the park! Hailing from Vryburg in the North West Province, they drive to the park whenever they can to take a break from their cattle farm. I met Isaac and Liesel at the Lijersdraai waterhole one day, and we watched a spotted hyena drinking her fill. We had a long chat, and connected straight away. I ended up camping next to them at the beautiful Polentswa campsite. Isaac and Liesel are kindred spirits of the Kgalagadi, and told me many stories about their travels there, starting back in 1996 when they drove a Toyota Cressida sedan towing a trailer! These days they drive a Land Cruiser, and Isaac was quick to raid his fridges for a couple of Black Labels. The Jocums also helped me with some diesel when I ran out of fuel driving back from Gharagab to Nossob. My Everest ran dry at 680km, whereas I normally get 900km from the 110-litre tank. That thick sand on the track to Kaa soaked up much more fuel than I thought it would. I took the chance to quiz Isaac and Liesel about their experiences... Favourite part of Kgalagadi? The area north of Nossob camp. It s wilder, more remote, has fewer tourists and always delivers great, surprising wildlife sightings. Favourite campsite? Polentswa is the best, particularly sites 1, 2 and 3. It s very quiet and private, and we ve had brilliant animal encounters there. It has a magnificently serene, endless vista over the dry river bed. Best wildlife sightings? This is almost an impossible question to answer, because we have had hundreds! The park will deliver a great sighting in four out of every five days. Once at Polentswa, a male and female lion walked up to our campsite within three metres of us, stopped, looked at us for a while, and then moved on. We once spent seven hours alone with a leopard in a tree near a waterhole, watching her all day as springbok and gemsbok came to drink. We also watched two bataleur eagles fighting for about an hour. We once saw a jackal bite a Cape wolf snake in half, and while the jackal was eating the tail half, the other half was still alive, trying to bite the jackal! And one morning we saw 21 Cape foxes, between Rooiputs and Melkvlei. Why do you love the Kgalagadi? For many reasons. It s a challenging place for animals and plants to survive in, yet they do, and they flourish. The open desert terrain provides an endless viewing range, and allows for sightings from the smallest insect to the largest animals and birds. The photographic opportunities are marvellous. The contrast of the seasons between summer and winter are very distinct. The differences in life and colour are amazing, especially the sunrises and sunsets. Because it s so quiet at the remote campsites, the sounds of the night are incredible. It s only in the Kgalagadi that we can experience the true wilderness of Africa. No two trips are the same, and we always learn something new. Every trip into the Kgalagadi has its own dynamics. Maps are a must When you visit Kgalagadi s Botswana side, you must take a GPS with Tracks4Africa map software. There is little signage and although the tracks are easy to follow you can get disorientated if you don t have a decent GPS. If you re old school and prefer printed maps, Tracks4Africa also sell a very good Botswana country map (R175 from www.tracks4africa.co.za). It has all the Kgalagadi tracks on it. Another excellent paper map is Veronica Roodt s Kgalagadi map, published by Shell (R80 from www. botswana-maps.co.za). Look out for it at the Twee Rivieren shop, tel 072-316-9712 or e-mail veronicaroodt@lantic.net. 94 95
I spotted these two black-maned lions with Botswana guide Kebonyemodisa Mosepele from Ta Shebube Lodge at Rooiputs. To check out the video of them roaring, go to www.yearinthewild.com. Despite being a semi-arid area, with highly sporadic and variable rainfall, the Kgalagdi is a diverse wilderness, especially in summer when the first thunderstorms arrive. From top clockwise: A black-backed jackal lunges for a pigeon at Polentswa waterhole. The Kgalagadi can seem monotonous at first, but look closely, and the flowers and insects add marvelous detail to the landsape. Two red-necked falcons feast on a pigeon that they caught The park is one of the best places in Southern Africa to see brown hyena. Bottom left to right: Bird life is superb in summer. This martial eagle posed calmly for us, while kori bustards are as common as chicken on a farm. And what would the Kgalagadi be without meerkats? and vehicles. The family had to spend the day confined to their tents before the lions finally departed that evening! Mabuasehube, farther north, is another beautifully situated camp. The views are superb, but the showers and taps weren't working during my visit. Perhaps they have been fixed by now, but don't bet on it. Always take your own fresh water with you. In the far north is the Kaa region, which is more densely wooded than the southern and eastern areas. There are also several pans there. Two of the better campsites are 96 Thupapedi and Gnus-Gnus, but they have no facilities at all. As you will have gathered, the Botswana camps are very basic, and the showers and taps don t always work. The long-drop toilets take some getting used to, and the A-frame wooden shelters tend to get very hot. But if you are fully equipped, the campsites offer an unparalleled wilderness experience. You need permits to drive on the 4x4 access route to both the Kaa and Mabuasehube regions, and for the Mabuasehube and Polentswa 4x4 wilderness trails. Groups must 97
Cape Union Mart review Night time temperatures in the Kgalagadi can drop below freezing, while the days are usually very hot. I ve worn Cape Union Mart s Domino Zip-Off trousers since the start of Year in the Wild, because I can take off the lower leg when I get hot, and turn the trousers into shorts. And when temperatures drop again at sunset, I can zip the lower leg section back on. Convenient and easy! The light cotton is cool during the day but warm enough on windless winter nights. R449 from www. capeunionmart. co.za. Year in the Wild, 2013-14 Following on from his first Year in the Wild, photojournalist Scott Ramsay is travelling from July 2013 to October 2014 to some of the same parks (but in different seasons) as well as to many new parks and nature reserves in SA and the transfrontier parks in southern Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Again, his goal is to create awareness about protected areas and inspire others to travel to these natural wonderlands. Ramsay s partners include Cape Union Mart, Ford Everest, Goodyear and K-Way, with support from WildCard, EeziAwn, Frontrunner, Globecomm, National Luna, Outdoor Photo, Safari Centre Cape Town, Tracks 4 Africa, and Vodacom. For more information, go to www. yearinthewild.com. Vehicle essentials If you re going to explore the Botswana side of the park, it s essential to have a fullyequipped, high ground-clearance 4x4 similar to my Ford Everest. n Remember to deflate your tyres to between 1 bar and 1,2 bar so that you have better traction in the sand. I use Goodyear Wrangler All Terrain tyres, and didn t have a single puncture in three weeks in the Kgalagadi. Correct tyre pressure is critical, however. n An awning is vital for shade, especially in summer. I use an EeziAwn Bat, which gives me 270 degrees of shade around my Ford Everest. It is really easy to set up. Along with my EeziAwn rooftop tent, I feel quite at home once I have set these up. n A water tank is important, because there is a lack of fresh water on the Botswana side, and the water at Nossob Camp is very brackish. I use a rear foot-well tank that carries about 40 litres of fresh water. This doesn t take up much space. (My Everest can t be fitted with an inbuilt water tank.) n Take two spare jerry cans of fuel. The sandy terrain makes your vehicle work very hard, and you ll use more fuel than you expect. Fill up at Nossob camp before you head off into the Mabuasehube or Kaa regions. There is also fuel at Mata-Mata and Twee Rivieren. n A Garmin mapping GPS along with Tracks4Africa software is important. I use a Garmin Oregon 550 with Tracks4Africa, and it s a very useful tool. n A satellite phone gives you peace of mind. I use an Inmarsat Sat Phone, rented from Globecomm SA. It s an amazing piece of technology, and a must-have emergency item on any trip to the Kgalagadi. n A portable fridge is also vital, otherwise it s impossible to keep your food and drinks cold. My National Luna 90-litre stainless steel fridge is powered by a dual battery system, and it kept my meat frozen and my beers cold throughout my stay. However, considering the high temperatures, you ll need to drive the vehicle every day to keep the second battery charged. My fridge is on a Frontrunner fridge slider, which makes for easy access. n If you re looking for extra packing space, think about a Frontrunner drawer system. Mine slides out from the back of the Everest and makes packing efficient and easy. Top, right: Camping in the far northern part of the Botswana side in the Kaa region. The campsite at Thupapedi consists of only a clearing in the camel thorn woodland, but if you go prepared, then there are few better places to camp in the park. The Kaa region is probably the least visited part of the whole park. Right: My campsite at Mpayathuthlwa Pan in Mabuasehube. Perfection. 98