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Kgalagadi Safari Holidays to Kalahari Desert Tours Namaqualand Bushmen

Privately Guided Kalahari + Bushmen + Wildflowers, South Africa

Kalahari + Augrabies + Wildflowers - Private Guide
Private Tour Kalahari South Africa Augrabies Namaqualand Wildflowers
10 NIGHTS FROM:
$3,944
Per person sharing
Scheduled flights quoted separately
SPO10U
• South Africa
• Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
• Black Maned Lion
• Meerkats
• Oryx
• Bushmen
• Augrabies Falls
• Namaqualand Wildflowers
• Photography & Star Gazing
• Private Tour, Kalahari

On this wonderful private tour you can explore amazing landscapes & photograph desert-adapted wildlife in the vast Kalahari in South Africa, travelling with your own driver/guide & staying in simple rest camps. We view the Augrabies Falls & seasonal Namaqualand wildflowers (mid Aug to mid-Sept). At other times of year we explore more of Bushmanland. English speaking guide, all park fees & game drives included.

Day 1
You will be met at Upington Airport and transferred to your hotel in this small town that acts as the gateway to the vast Kalahari.
 
Check in and relax under warm blue South African skies.
Day 2
This morning we travel 4-hours through the vast and arid Kalahari, one of the world’s last unspoilt ecosystems and one of Africa’s greatest wilderness areas. In this land of far horizons, marvel at the gigantic nests of the sociable weaver birds set high in camel thorn trees and stop to examine some of the amazing succulent desert plants which have adapted to survive in such harsh conditions.
  
The malaria-free Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a visionary 3.7-million hectare joint venture between South African and Botswana. There are several self-catering rest camps, with accommodation in simple but comfortable air-conditioned chalets and tents. Your guide has an allowance to purchase provisions for breakfast, lunch & dinner each day.
Day 3
Today is devoted to game viewing in the vast Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park with your own driver/guide, travelling in his closed air-conditioned vehicle. You can discuss preferred routings and travelling times with him each day, but we recommend setting off early each morning as the camp gates open (05h30 to 06h00 depending on the season), to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day.
 
Wildlife is plentiful in the red sand dunes and semi-desert of this vast game sanctuary, which is twice the size of the Kruger National Park. Of the many species of mammals and reptiles that have successfully adapted to the harsh desert conditions, the most famous is the black-maned Kalahari lion. Kgalagadi is also renowned for the magnificent oryx, cheetah and leopards - which are more easily seen in the sparse vegetation. You will see some of Africa’s most unusual animals in the Kalahari and many of the “great cats” – lion, cheetah and leopard – but the vegetation does not support elephants, rhino or buffalo.
 
We should see large herds of antelope including springbok, eland and blue wildebeest. We also hope to see the brown and spotted hyena, black-backed jackals, curious meerkats, yellow mongoose, porcupines, honey badgers, bat-eared foxes, Cape foxes, African wild cats and many other interesting animals. Bird life is also prolific with over 260 species, including 20 different raptors.
 
You can spend the full day on the road, or return to your rest camp for breakfast and some relaxation, before setting out again at the time of your choice (usually the late afternoon) for another game drive.
 
Note: Vehicles are not allowed to drive off-road in any national park in South Africa.
Day 4
Today we transer to our next rest camp in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, game viewing along the way.
 
After checking in, we can enjoy a late afternoon game drive in a different part of this vast wildlife conservation region.
Day 5
Enjoy morning and afternoon game drives in a different sector of the great Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, with its  fascinating desert adapted wildlife and majestic black-maned lions.
 
Predator sightings are usually excellent. You can also enjoy the many smaller mammals of the park as well as its bird life. In the evening relax around the campfire and be dazzled by the stars above.
Day 6
A full day on the road today as we leave Kgalagadi and travel 5.5-hours through Bushmanland to Augrabies.
 
Along the way we enjoy an included picnic lunch and stop at a Bushman craft stall to give you the opportunity of supporting the local community by buying one of their hand-made products. Please be aware that Bushmen will expect a small tip for photographs taken of them.
  
At Augrabies Falls - “The Place of Great Noise” - the mighty Orange River dramatically crashes over the rim of a granite canyon during the summer flood, to plunge 270 ft into the gorge below, forming South Africa’s largest waterfall and the sixth largest in the world.
 
Check in and view Augrabies Falls, where conditions for photography are excellent. Accommodation is in simple but comfortable air-conditioned self-catering chalets, with your guide having an allowance to purchase breakfast in the camp restaurant each day. In the late afternoon enjoy a short drive in the park, where you may see giraffe, eland, and other smaller antelope.
Day 7
This morning we leave Augrabies and drive 3.5-hours to the small town of  Springbok in the heart of Namaqualand (picnic lunch included).
 
As we approach Springbok at certain times of the year you can see miles and miles of brightly coloured wildflowers that bloom here during August and September – carpeting what is normally an arid semi-desert landscape. This spectacular natural phenomenon occurs for only a few weeks, with the quality and timing of the floral displays depending upon the mid-year rainfall. Check into your hotel in the heart of the wildflower region.
Days 8 To 9
During wildflower season  (late July to mid |September, although this does depend on the rainfall) we visit Goegap Nature Reserve, as well as regions such as Kamieskroon or Nababeep depending upon where the wildflowers are at their best, with picnic lunch included.
 
On one day we can take a full day excursion to Namaqua National Park and surrounding area. Enjoy photographing these colourful blooms, which are a truly remarkable sight.
 
At other times of the year there is much to photograph in these quaint rural towns in this far-flung part of South Africa, where the Bushmen once roamed. You can learn more about their culture by adapting your itinerary to explore areas such as Riemvasmaak Canyon, the mountainous Richtersveld or the beautiful coastline at Port Nolloth instead.
 
Each evening marvel at the glorious night skies overhead, offering some of the best star gazing opportunities in the world.
 
Note: The wildflower areas only open at 11am.
Day 10
Today we leave Namaqualand and travel 4.5-hour to Upington.
 
Check in to your hotel and relax under warm blue South African skies.
Day 11
Transfer to Upington Airport for your flight home.