Log

Charley Boorman Log- Day 39

In which Charley and the team explore the beautiful and wild Kgalagadi.

We left the mine around lunchtime and began riding north west from Kimberly, heading for the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the part of South Africa that stretches into the Kalahari Desert.

During the morning, the first snow seen for almost a decade began falling in the mine and the air was bitterly cold. It didn’t bode well for the long ride ahead of us. As the day wore on, the sun finally came out, burning through the grey clouds as we drove, but our limbs were numb and aching by the time we reached the entrance to the park – and just in time, too. We’d been warned that the gate to the reserve closed at dusk and once again, our shadows were dangerously long by the time we arrived.

When you say the Kgalagadi is in the desert, it conjures up images of endless sand dunes, shimmering gently in the heat haze. In fact, the sand is covered with a layer of grass and plants and sustains a rich selection of classic South African wildlife (we saw Giraffes, Wildebeest, Ostriches and even a Cheetah as we moved through the park) while the unseasonal weather left us more likely to be shivering than sweltering.

Driving over scrubby dune after scrubby dune, we completed our long journey in darkness at the !Xaus Lodge. Part owned by a community of the local bushmen, we were very glad of the very warm welcome from the staff and a delicious meal in the boma around the fire to end the day with.

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