Day 30 – Kalahari Tented Camp to Nossob, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – 8 October

We started the morning quite early on as we wanted to catch the animals drinking and we had quite a way to go to Nossob. The drive was again not that exciting, though we did see some foxes, until we spotted six lions just lounging about in the early morning sun, round the Dertiende Boorgat area. They weren’t looking like they were going to move anytime soon so we didn’t stay too long. We had a quick breakfast at Kamqua Picnic Spot before turning onto the upper dune road, where we knew we wouldn’t see too much.

The road is good to drive even though there are some sharp bends and we soon made it to the turnoff at Bitterpan for the Nossob Road. The road to Nossob was if anything about as quiet and devoid of animals as the dune road, with only the occasional gemsbok, and some kudus at the last waterhole before the camp – with some gemsbok that REALLY didn’t like the kudus trying to have a drink at their waterhole!

We got to Nossob not too long after 12:00 and fortunately we could check in and get our chalet. The chalet was once again well laid out, with everything you need, but a little bit worse for wear with a very broken bin and peeling paint in the bathroom, and just slightly dirty. I’m not sure if the camps are individually run, but Nossob just seemed more run down than anywhere else we’ve stayed so far. They also seem to be building quite a few more units as well as more camping spots, though I think they may be better off fixing the existing units before spending money on new ones! The interesting thing about the chalet was that it had a separate kitchen area and sleeping area, where quite often everything is open plan and the kitchen and sleeping area aren’t separate.

We took a drive out to Quap and Kwang waterholes in the hope of seeing more animals and saw the usual lot, as well as lots of birdlife. Overall we saw an incredible amount and variety of birds everywhere in the park and it should definitely be on any birdwatcher’s list of places to visit! There is also a hide in Nossob that overlooks a waterhole but I never saw anything much from it, other than the usual sociable weavers.

We were going to braai some more steak (we couldn’t find nice lamb chops in Upington, just HUGE packs of steak) but the afternoon was getting quite unpleasant with strong wind and the accompanying dust clouds, so we just made dinner in our little separate kitchen and chilled out.