1

I'm assuming you are a family of 4 including kids so you can't say at the Wilderness Camps. These make for a fantastic game viewing experience with just 4 2-person units around a private waterhole.

Otherwise try and stay at Mata Mata or Nossob instead of Twee Rivirien if you can. They are nicer camps and have better game viewing. But TR may be all that is available as Xmas will be very busy.

You can fly to Upington and rent a vehlcle there but it will probably be more expensive than in Jo'berg.

If you are staying more than 4 or 5 days look into getting a Wild Card if you don't already have one. It may work out cheaper.

Re the car 4WD isn't strictly necessary in the majority of the park. There are a few tracks that are 4WD only such as the Gharahab loop and access to Bitterpan but these are signposted and you can't drive either unless you have accommodation booked there. Otherwise the roads are corrugated and you may get some water in December but they are not challenging so much as a bit uncomfortable at times. What is important is that you have some decent clearance so a soft-roader of some kind will be OK.

And as you probably know it will be HOT in December. Don't underestimate driving distances/times - it is a huge park. The SAN Parks website has a useful map and drive times between camps.

It's a fabulous park and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

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Thanks!
The kids are boys of 18 and 19 so is that ok? We actually have booked nights at Kalahari tent camp, Gharagab, Mata-Mata, Nossob, Urikaroo and Twee riveren. I still have some questions:
1. Is it going to be cold during the nights? do we need jackets or pullovers?
2. How much can you actually go out of the car (to pee for example?) and not become lion food?
3. Should we get a guide for some night or early morning hikes?
Would it be a nice drive from J-burg or would it be wiser to fly closer to the park?

Thanks again!

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We were in Kgalagadi in July. The roads were VERY corrugated so travel is quite slow. As mentioned, it is a very big park so it will take quite a long time to travel around it. Most car rental companies will not permit you to take a 2WD into this park because of the bad conditions of the roads. So check on that before renting.

The places to pee are few and far between. We chose a wide open space where we could see a long way, then kind of hid behind the door while we did it quickly. You are not supposed to do this but when you gotta go....

There are very few lions in Kgalgadi. I know the park is "known" for them but a guide there told us he had not seen one in months. The park that you can drive around is bordered by vast open spaces so the animals have lots and lots of space to disappear into. We talked to them and the guides had not found anything we had not found on our own so probably a waste of money in this park. We saw lots of oryx, wildebeest, ostrich, birds. We spent 2.5 mos traveling around S Africa, Namibia and Botswana. I would say that Kgalgadi was the least interesting.

If you are interested in our experience, http://www.lifewellspent.com