Kgalagadi is Botswana's south-western corner, a huge, thinly peopled district of red sand, camelthorn trees and scattered salt pans reaching to the borders with Namibia and South Africa. Tsabong, the main town, is where you fill up with fuel and supplies. Its winter nights are among the coldest in the country and often drop below freezing, so pack warm layers. Most visitors come for the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, which Botswana shares with South Africa, and about three-quarters of it lies on the Botswana side.
Inside the transfrontier park
The Botswana side feels wilder, with fewer roads and campsites that are unfenced and far apart. Two Rivers, in the far south, sits where the dry Nossob and Auob riverbeds meet and looks across to Twee Rivieren on the South African side. Mabuasehube, on the eastern side about 116 kilometres north of Tsabong, is a cluster of salt pans with campsites overlooking them. Gemsbok and red hartebeest come to the pans, while lion, cheetah and brown hyena hunt the dunes. After summer storms the grass greens and the antelope spread out, and in the dry months they stay closer to the waterholes. Days start at first light with slow drives between waterholes, and the midday heat is for resting in the shade of camp.
Booking on adventuro
North of here, Ghanzi is the base for the Central Kalahari and the San artists of D'Kar, and our guide to the Kalahari covers routes and seasons across the whole desert. Use the Book here tab to see live dates and prices.
