15-16 Mar 2019: Upington to Kgalagadi

The next two nights were spent at Sakkie Se Ark campsite, next to the Orange River in Upington, as my Ford Ranger had to go in for a scheduled service. Here I received the bad news that the rear blade suspension of the bakkie had flattened out and resulted in a bracket opening a seam in one of the long-range fuel tanks. This meant a trip back to Pretoria so that the tank could be repaired and a new rear suspension fitted. I decided, however, to first spend a few days in the Kgalagadi National Transfrontier Park, about 250 km north of Upington, to find a few birds that I was still missing. At the Twee Rivieren entrance to the park I was told that there was no camping available for that night, as the Cape schools had closed for the holidays and the park was fully booked. They were, however, able to help me for the next two nights at a campsite with no electricity and a few hundred meters from the nearest ablutions. I ended up spending the night at the Kgalagadi Lodge campsite, with superb facilities and a private bathroom, about 5 km from the entrance to the park. Two Emus visited me in Daai Dêng; it would have been a great addition to my African Big Year list if they were tickable!

Emu visits Daai Deng

Emu, Kgalagadi Lodge