Planning a trip to the Kgalagadi - an Indian photographer's guide
If you’re an African wildlife enthusiast, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park (KTNP/ KTP) is undoubtedly on your bucket list. Heck, who doesn’t want to see those magnificent, muscular, black-maned Kalahari lions?
But if you were to rank hard-to-plan trips, the Kgalagadi would feature right on top. A few reasons:
First, the park is vast. Spread across Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana, it covers an area of 38,000 sq km — the size of Switzerland. It’s often confusing for first-time visitors to make sense of such a vast ecosystem.
Second, accommodation is scarce relative to the park's size. There are only 180-odd affordable units, including campsites, and 30-odd relatively luxurious units. In comparison, the 1,500 sq km Maasai Mara has more than 3000 units! And remember that the Kgalagadi is incredibly popular, so getting the units of your choice is challenging.
Third, there isn’t much easy-to-consume information about the park. Securing the scarce accommodation becomes even more complicated when you factor in the areas you want to explore.
Last, the Kgalagadi is primarily a self-drive destination. Visiting the park requires an essential spirit of adventure, which, as I recently heard on a YouTube channel, is the “respectful pursuit of trouble”! Not everyone’s up for self-driving, and the mental block makes the trip harder to envision than many others.
Muscular, black-maned lions are the main event at the Kgalagadi
Let me put it another way. I’ve been visiting Africa for a decade and a half now. I’ve only managed to slot my first trip to Kgalagadi in September 2025. But I’m rather proud of my plan thus far. Here’s what it looks like.
| Destination | Number of nights | Access to Auob riverbed | Access to Nossob riverbed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johannesburg | 1 night | NA | NA |
| Kalahari Trails Camp | 1-night stopover | NA | NA |
| Twee Rivieren | 3 nights | ✅ | ✅ |
| Nossob | 1-night stopover | ❌ | ✅ |
| Grootkolk | 4 nights | ❌ | ✅ |
| Mata Mata | 4 nights | ✅ | ❌ |
| Nossob | 2 nights | ❌ | ✅ |
| Polentswa | 2 nights | ❌ | ✅ |
| Twee Rivieren | 5 nights | ✅ | ✅ |
| Johannesburg | 1 night | NA | NA |
Of course, this means nothing to the uninitiated. So, over the rest of this post, I’ll explain what it takes to plan a trip to this enigmatic part of the world.
Understand the park
As I’ve already mentioned, the Kgalagadi spans across three countries. That said, most tourism facilities exist in Botswana and South Africa. And while the area on the Botswana side is the largest, the tourism facilities on the South African side are more developed. For reference, out of the 180-odd affordable units I mentioned earlier, the Botswana side has only 30-odd campsites. At the unfenced campsites on the Botswana side, you only get an iconic A-frame shelter for shade, a long-drop toilet and no water or power.
Campsites on the Botswana side, are rather basic
In contrast, the main rest camps in the South African Kgalagadi have powered campsites with ablutions, sculleries and shops where you can buy essential commodities. This leads to an interesting tradeoff. You’ll have far more facilities on the South African side, and the Botswana side will be more rugged and remote.
You can think of the park's tourism areas in four major parts.
The Auob riverbed
The Nossob riverbed
The Mabuasehube area
The Kaa-Polentswa area
When we speak of riverbeds in the Kgalagadi, remember that these aren’t flowing rivers. They’re more fossil riverbeds. Of course, after a good spell of rain, you’ll find temporary pools in the riverbeds, but other than the seasonal blooms that follow, it’s a dry, desert ecosystem.
I’ve created a map that should help you understand the areas I’ve mentioned. The first three areas are most famous for game viewing. Not to undermine the Kaa-Polentswa area, but I suspect that the challenging nature of drives there and the fewer vehicles lead to fewer sightings reported. Since I haven’t studied the Kaa and Mabua areas well, I’ll steer clear of detailed advice about them.
SANParks runs all the accommodations along the Auob riverbed, except for the privately run !Xaus lodge. They also dominate the Nossob riverbed, though there are a few camps and a couple of luxury lodges on the Botswana side. Both riverbeds report great game-viewing opportunities. The Nossob riverbed is wider in parts, so game can sometimes be at a great distance. In contrast, the Auob riverbed is comparatively shorter and provides a smaller game viewing area. Still, the Auob riverbed is narrower, giving you a better chance of finding animals closer to the tracks.
All this said, the Kgalagadi is a desert ecosystem. As someone described it on YouTube,
“The Kgalagadi is like five-day cricket. Nothing may be happening, but something could happen any moment.”
That’s shorthand for saying that time and patience are your besties in these ecosystems. Pick an area, and give yourself enough time to explore and to let the law of averages settle in your favour. Since the park is vast, I assume that anything short of a week to explore either riverbed or the Mabua area will be tight.
The best time to visit
The cool, dry season between May to September is the most popular time to visit. Water sources usually dry up at this time, so it should be easier to stake out predators near the park’s waterholes. That said, many people regard autumn, i.e. March and April, as the most spectacular season to visit the park. If the ecosystem has received decent rain, you stand the chance of seeing a green Kgalagadi. Many flowers come into bloom, and depending on the conditions, the springbok may have a second lambing season at this time, too.
My bias is to make two trips. Do the first one late in the dry season, to give yourself a better chance of seeing predators near water sources and to understand the park well. Make your next trip in autumn, and if you’re lucky, you’ll see the desert blooming!
Plan your anchor locations
Use the Kgalagadi Self Drive book to learn about the park
I like to think of the Kgalagadi as a collection of anchor locations. From a location perspective, there are three main rest camps in SANParks Kgalagadi.
Twee Rivieren rest camp makes accessing the south side of both riverbeds easy.
Mata Mata is at the wee end of the Auob riverbed. You can access the northern Nossob from here.
Nossob rest camp is in the middle of the Nossob riverbed area. It gives you access to both the northern and southern Nossob.
The main rest camps aside, there are five, more secluded, wilderness camps, each with its own charm. SANParks also runs the Kalahari tented camp, which is more of a glamping setup. It’s always harder to secure a booking at the wilderness camps than at the main rest camps, so keep that in mind when booking your stay.
I suggest reading Kgalagadi Self-Drive, Routes, Roads and Ratings by the Van den Bergs and Jaco Powell to learn more about the camps and the routes that lead out from each one. The book will also help you create a wishlist of the places you’d like to stay. My approach was to begin the bookings with a target itinerary and alternatives if I couldn’t get the first options I sought.
Booking your stay
The South African Kgalagadi is relatively more straightforward to book. In theory, you log in to the SANParks website and book the accommodation you need. In practice, there are many gotchas.
Bookings open 11-12 months in advance. SANParks publishes these booking periods on its website.
Phone bookings open a day before the online bookings. On this day, enthusiasts call SANParks to reserve their favourite accommodations.
Availability at camps like Grootkolk, Urikaarus, Bitterpan, Gharagab and Kieliekrankie is usually the first to disappear, and even bookings at the main camps like Nossob or Mata Mata can be difficult to get after the first few hours.
It can take several attempts and hours on hold to reach a booking representative, though you may have better luck with the sales agents listed on SANParks’ website.
If you only rely on online bookings, you’ll most likely get only the leftovers. I suggest you give phone bookings a proper crack and keep calling either central reservations or one of the sales agents until you can get through to a human being.
Hot tip
I bought a 100-minute Skype package to call South Africa at ₹325. It’s a far better option than using your phone for international calls.
Once you’ve got hold of someone, work through your plans with them and book the best available options, even if they differ from your dream itinerary. There are practical reasons for this strategy.
You get a few weeks to pay for these bookings. So you have nothing to lose when you pencil yourself in.
Since many people call on this first day and make random bookings they don’t need, and you’ll see cancellations across the first weeks after bookings open. If you check daily, you’ll likely improve your initial bookings by cashing in on cancellations.
Even in my case, I couldn’t get my bookings in the order I wanted when I first called. However, I improved my situation by checking the SANParks website daily for new availability. SANParks has a liberal cancellation policy, so use this to your advantage!
If you’re keen to visit the Mabua area or even to camp at the DWNP campsites at Two Rivers, Rooiputs or Polentswa, you must plan early and be decisive. I got two nights at Polentswa by emailing DWNP directly. However, since Inter Tourism manages the Mabua and Mpaya sites, you may have to play operator bingo to get your bookings sorted. I suggest working with a trustworthy booking agent instead - Drive Botswana, Ultimate Routes, Endless Africa, or Botswana Footprints should be able to help you out. All agents charge you a small convenience fee in exchange for organising your bookings and vouchers with various operators. You make one payment to them, and they own the coordination hassles. The service is excellent value for money.
Booking your ride
As I’ve mentioned, Kgalagadi is a self-drive destination, and you’ll need a car to get around. Car rentals are the easiest part of your logistics. I recommend hiring a fully equipped camping vehicle if you plan to camp. These come with a kitchen, all the equipment you need to camp and a comfortable rooftop tent. There’s barely any setup, and you’re ready to go in minutes each morning.
Tracks in the Kgalagadi can be uncomfortable if you don’t drive a 4×4
If you don’t camp, rent a regular 4x4. You can even get away without a 4x4, but if you want better ride comfort or plan to visit the Botswana side or drive some of the 4x4 trails, you don’t have an alternative. A Fortuner equivalent will do fine. I trust Bushlore, but car rentals are a very competitive market in South Africa, so I’m sure you’ll find alternatives.
It takes about ten hours to drive from Joburg to Kgalagadi and about 11 hours from Cape Town, so you’ll surely need a night at one of these cities to pick up your rental before you drive out the following day. On my plan, you’ll notice I have a night at Joburg on either end of the trip.
The side shows
As I’ve mentioned, the Kgalagadi ecosystem is enormous. The Kalahari Red Dune route catalogues this ecosystem's most enjoyable stays and experiences, within and outside the park. Culture, wildlife, and landscapes - there’s heaps to see for the intrepid traveller. Since time and money are our biggest bottlenecks, we’re only experiencing one stay outside the park, at Kalahari Trails. However, Kalahari Trails is noteworthy because we’ll do a meerkat interaction before heading to Twee Rivieren. I recently did a similar activity at the Makgadikgadi Pans, and spending time with these critters felt like one of my top 10 wildlife experiences. I won’t mind an encore!
The quivertree forest is a highlight of the red dune route
If you plan a trip to the Kgalagadi, consider how you might want to complement your game drives in the national park with other activities outside the park.
I know I said there isn’t a lot of easy-to-consume information about the Kgalagadi. That said, I’ve found a few great resources on the web, which I’d like to share with you.
Villiers Steyn, a.k.a. “The Safari Expert,” has the best video content about the South African Kgalagadi on YouTube. In particular, watch his top ten tips for visiting the Kgalagadi and his 14 pieces of advice for following up. You can also queue up his first and second playlists to binge-watch.
That aside, Cristina Garcia and Hal Brindley have written several engaging articles about the Kgalagadi on their website. Check out their Kgalagadi guide and the one specifically about camping in Mabua.
And last, I recommend tuning into a few Facebook groups and pages.
SANParks—Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a SANParks-hosted group that discusses and reports on happenings in the South African Kgalagadi.
KTP Bookings Available / Requested - trade bookings with other travellers to build your “perfect” itinerary.
Kgalagadi Sightings is a place to share sighting reports from the park.
Mabuasehube Sightings - a place to exchange information about the rugged Mabua area of KTP.
Kgalagadi Leopards - a citizen science page that reports leopard activity in the park
Although my Facebook usage has diminished over the last few years, these resources are helpful enough for me to swing by occasionally.
There are still 10 months to go before I travel to the Kgalagadi, but my excitement builds up as the weeks pass. I reckon this prolonged wait and anticipation are part of the beauty of visiting a place where you must plan so far ahead. While I hold my breath for my trip, I hope my guide gets you thinking about a visit to this neck of the woods!