Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park South Africa

Africa’s first formally declared trans-border conservation area – the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) on the border of South Africa and Botswana – was officially launched on May 12, 2000 by South African President Thabo Mbeki and Botswana President Festus Mogae. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is located in Kgalagadi District approximately 865km southwest of Gaborone.

The combined land area of the KTP is about 38,000 km2 of which 28,400 km2 lies in Botswana and 9,600 km2 in South Africa.
Transfrontier parks, border parks or transboundary conservation areas are protected areas that straddle international boundaries. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is such a protected area in the southern Kalahari Desert. The southern Kalahari represents an increasingly rare phenomenon: a large ecosystem relatively free from human interference. The absence of man-made barriers (except to the west and south of the Park) has provided a conservation area large enough to maintain examples of two ecological processes that were once widespread in the savannahs and grasslands of Africa. The large scale migratory movements of wild ungulates; and predation by large mammalian carnivores. These processes are impossible to maintain except in the largest of areas, and their presence in the Kalahari makes the system of special value to conservation.

In addition to this, the Kalahari has a particular aesthetic appeal. The harsh, semi-arid environment has placed adaptive demands on both fauna and flora that are of considerable scientific interest. Few other conservation areas have attracted so many research projects. This research has revealed a widely fluctuating environment, driven by rainfall events, which vary widely in time and space, and produces a system that is difficult to predict and understand without long-term study.
The significance of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is that it is the first formally declared Transfrontier Park in Africa and it will hopefully serve as a model for conservation in the 21st Century. The Government of Botswana is keen to make the Transfrontier Park a success. The Peace Parks Foundation (an NGO dedicated to promoting transfrontier parks in southern Africa) has played an important role in the development of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and provides assistance for the creation of other transboundary conservation areas in the region.
To get to the park from Botswana travel from Gaborone on tarred road for about 550km until Tsabong in Kgalagadi District, from Tsabong travel for about 310km on gravel road. This road is negotiable by 4 x 2 vehicles during the dry season and 4 x 4 vehicles during the wet season. The alternative route is to travel from Gaborone to Hukuntsi on tarred road for 530km followed by approximately 171km of sand road, which is negotiable by 4 x 4 vehicles only.

Activities 
Guests can participate in the following activities when available:

Lectures, slide shows and holiday programs are organized from the information centre at Twee Rivieren. 
Morning, sunset and night drives are available at Twee Rivieren, Nossob, Mata-Mata and Kalahari Tented Camp; enquiries can be made at the reception desks. Drives require a minimum of 4 adults in order to go out.
Please note that, due to availability of staff, drives are not always available 7 days per week; please enquire at reception regarding schedules.

Nossob 4×4 Eco Trail – for information and bookings, please contact the reception desk at Twee Rivieren. 
Leeuwdril 4×4 Loop – for information and bookings, please contact the reception desk at Twee Rivieren. 

5 things to seek
Gemsbok – these large striking desert antelope are the emblem of the park. 
Suricate (Meerkat) – these hyperactive little omnivores have a wonderfully intricate family structure. 
Black-maned Kalahari Lions – Physically impressive, they are the kings of the Kalahari Desert. Article: Lions of the Kgalagadi by Lara Raubenheimer 
Sociable weavers – the busy little birds construct huge communal nests. 
Pygmy falcons – the park is famous for its birds of prey. This is the smallest falcon in Africa and is often seen around Sociable Weaver colonies preying on the birds.