Kgalagadi – Urikaruus

It is easy to understand why Urikaruus usually books out within less than an hour after the bookings open. It is simply spectacular!

The entire camp is is built on stilts, with the units interconnected by raised walkways. Each unit consists of two tents – a lower tent, containing the kitchen/dining area, with a balcony and braai overlooking the river bed and waterhole. The upper tent contains the bedroom and bathroom, with second, smaller balcony, also overlooking the river bed and waterhole.

The lower balcony is perfectly placed to photograph anything that happens at the waterhole. Such as a Kori Bustard coming for a drink:

Or a Black-backed Jackal doing the same:

Or even the elegant little Cape Fox that came trotting by just after sunset!

Later that night, well after dark when we were finishing our dinner, two massive male Lions strolled up to the waterhole for a quick drink, and strolled away again up the river bed.

Much later still, just after 3am, we were jerked awake by the sound of lions roaring. We assumed it was the same two we saw earlier, but unfortunately we were unable to catch a glimpse of them.

In the end we went back to bed, only to be woken again, about 20 minutes later, by more roaring. When we finally managed to go to sleep again, there was barely more than an hour left until we needed to get up again. However, anyone who has spent time in the African bush knows that it is impossible to get upset when you are kept away by sounds like that!

The nest morning, as we were sitting on the balcony with our coffee and rusks, trying to wake up after getting very little sleep, we were treated to a Honey Badger trotting across the river bed, straight towards us!

Sadly, this guy is clearly used to getting food at the camp, as he came to a stop right under our balcony and stood looking up at us. He seemed to be analyzing the support structure of the balcony, trying to find a way up, but in the end he stopped at simply growling at us a little and moving on. Talk about a close encounter!

We finished our coffee, loaded the car, and decided to drive in the direction from which we had heard the lions roaring the previous night. We knew our chances of finding them were very slim, but thought it worth a try anyway! And lo and behold – chilling on the dune crest, next to the turn-off to the upper dune road, was one of them!

What an experience! What a camp!

Of course, there were many more sighting and many more photos, but we cannot possibly capture everything without writing a full length novel. Please do visit the trip gallery for more photos from the Kgalagadi!

Kgalagadi – Mata-Mata, Meerkats and Squirrels

I will always remember Mata-Mata for two things – The stunning beauty of the road that takes you there and the Meerkat and Squirrel colonies inside the camp. These little critters are surely the cutest inhabitants of the Kalahari, we spent a long time happily following them around the camp and photographing them as they foraged.

First, there were the squirrels that burrowed near the entrance of the hide, risking their lives and homes among the cars driving and parking in the camping area…

And then there were the Meerkats that burrowed behind our chalet (along with a squirrel or two that were squatting in their burrow). We caught them going out to forage when we were about to leave for Urikaruus, which resulted in our departure being postponed by about two hours!

We ended up arriving at rather late, but the photos were certainly worth it!

Kgalagadi – Gemsbok fight

Very early in the trip we noticed that the Gemsbok bulls were extremely aggressive toward one another. As the days passed by, we became more and more determined to get photos of two Gemsbok bulls fighting. So, when an outsider approached to herd calmly drinking at 13th borehole, we were watchful.

Gemsbok bulls sizing up each other

The dominant bull was also watchful, and decidedly unimpressed with the stranger approaching his herd at his waterhole, and clearly intending to mate with his cows. Within minutes, they locked horns.

Almost immediately, the dominant bull pierced the intruder’s shoulder with its horn. This, however, did not work out as well as the dominant bull would have wanted, when the intruder started turning away, forcing the horn and thereby the dominant bull’s head into a very uncomfortable position. They struggled in that position for a while, and all the time we sat breathless, waiting for the dominant bull’s neck to break!

When they finally disengaged, they reengaged again so quickly, that you could easily have missed it. Except now they weren’t quite locked together and it was just a pure muscle again muscle, horn against horn fight. Possibly one of the most violent things I have ever seen firsthand!

It was the intruder that finally went in for the kill – trying to stab the dominant bull in the side with his horn. The dominant bull realised in the nick of time that he was in trouble, disengaged and took off running. The intruder chased him for a few circles around the waterhole, before he finally gave up and ran for his life across the riverbed.

And that was how the Gemsbok herd at 13th borehole that day, got a new dominant bull.

Kgalagadi – Cheetah brothers

It was bitterly cold when we left Nossob through the Northern gate, just before dawn on our 8th day in the park. We made our way towards Lijersdraai at a leisurely pace, stopping to identify several birds while the other cars from Nossob passed us by and left us behind.

Fortunately, we are never worried about being left behind in the bush (or the desert, in this case!)

Just after Kwang waterhole, our eyes caught a movement on the right side of the road – a cheetah!

Cheetah

And then, to our amazement, a second cheetah appeared, playfully “attacking” the first one, starting a wrestling match!

After a while, one brother got up and strolled across the road, leaving the other one lying (and rolling around) by itself on the sand.

Finally, the second cheetah also got up, crossed the road, and disappeared into the bushes on the Southern side of the road. The entire sequence had taken about 30 minutes. What a sighting! And we would have missed it completely, had we tried to keep up with the other cars, or even if we had passed by that spot a minute earlier!

Cheetah
Cheetah

Kgalagadi – Murder on the Nossob Road! (Whodunit?)

Setting: Bedinkt Waterhole on the Nossob road

The body was discovered early morning, lying in the road next to the Bedinkt waterhole.

Brown Hyaena carcass

Cause of death was determined as having its throad ripped open 

This suspicious character was found loitering near the crime scene –

Lion

First investigations revealed that the suspect had an injured front paw (and a very full tummy) –

Lion

When confronted, the suspect denied that there even was a crime, quoting “The law of the Jungle.” Arrest was postponed to give the investigating officer time to consult with prosecutors about this alleged legislation.

Upon returning to the scene of the crime, it was discovered that the suspect had disappeared. It is suspected that he snuck across the border into Botswana during the night.

The cleanup crew had also already moved in –

Jackal feeding on Brown Hyaena carcass
Jackal feeding on Brown Hyaena carcass

No arrests were made.

CASE CLOSED.