go!

South Africa’s number one travel and outdoor lifestyle magazine. We pay our own way and tell it like it is. We drive back roads and speak to real people, giving you practical information about affordable destinations in southern Africa. Each issue is crammed with excellent photography, honest gear reviews and delicious recipes to make at home or in the bundu. Whether you’re looking to escape for a weekend or a month, your journey starts here.

EDITOR’S LETTER

Go! Kalahari

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

CHECK THIS! • The summer of 2020/21 brought good rain to large parts of the Kalahari, covering its red dunes with green vegetation.

Holy water • In February 2021, the Kuruman River flowed to Askham for the first time in years. Local farmer Barri Knoetze witnessed the spectacle.

To Rietfontein, via Koppieskraal • Drive the back roads of the Kalahari and you’ll see things you never thought possible. You’ll also meet the people who have made this impossible place their home.

IN OTHER WORDS

A world apart • The Nossob 4x4 Eco Trail is one of the Kgalagadi’s lesser-known attractions. Come spend four days in the veld and soothe your soul to the rhythm of the dunes.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Welcome to the Kgalagadi! • A great holiday in the Kgalagadi depends on so much more than how many lions you see. Meet the SANParks staff members who will make your stay memorable.

All eyes on the waterholes • In a simmering world where dust devils stalk the landscape, the waterholes of the Kgalagadi are essential for the animals’survival. They’re the place to be, especially if you’re a photographer.

The Kgalagadi’s for the birds • The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is heaven on earth for a bird photographer. Ed Aylmer shares photographs of some classic local birds and gives tips on how to photograph them.

Trees and shrubs of the Kalahari • Although they’re sometimes few and far between, trees stand out in the arid, open savannah of the Kalahari. Here are 10 species you can see in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and surrounding farmland.

Dunes without borders • The Botswana section of the Kgalagadi – especially the part known as Mabuasehube – is legendary for its lions. Remember that video of the lion licking dew off a tent? It was taken in Mabua…

Mabuasehube section

A park is born • In this edited extract from his book History of the Kgalagadi National Park, Koos Marais tells the fascinating backstory of the land that is now the transfrontier park.

Fresh spoor in the dunes • If you visited Kalahari Trails near Askham any time over the last two decades, you’ll remember the Welsh owner, Professor Anne Rasa, and her rehabilitated meerkats. She passed away in 2020 at the age of 80. Her son, Richard Rasa-Phillips, joined his mother in the Kalahari from England just before lockdown last year and is continuing her work.

Experience one of the wildest parks on earth

Here comes the Kuruman! • The Kuruman River between Askham and Van Zylsrus is just a river in name. The landscape is arid – a succession of red dunes. But sometimes – about twice a lifetime – water wriggles past the dunes, looking for an ancient path…

HEADING NORTH • The Northern Cape is all about long-distance driving. A good place to overnight on the way to your final destination is key. Take a breather next to the Orange River and explore Kakamas, Upington and surrounds before you continue your journey to the red dunes of the Kalahari.

OUTSIDE THE PARK • You can approach this corner of the Kalahari from Upington, Rietfontein or Van Zylsrus. Don’t rush to get to the gates of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – there are lots of places to stay, lots of things to do, and there’s plenty of Kalahari hospitality to experience en...