Tag Archives: Kgalagadi

Crimson-breasted Shrike (Laniarius atrococcineus)

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The Crimson-breasted Shrike (Laniarius atrococcineus) or the Crimson-breasted Gonolek, (‘gonolek’ – supposedly imitative of its call), is a southern African bird. The species is closely related to two other bushshrikes, the yellow-crowned gonolek (Laniarius barbarus) and the black-headed gonolek (Laniarius erythrogaster) of East Africa.

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The Crimson-breasted Shrike occurs in a broad swathe from southern Angola to the Free State province in South Africa. Its preferred habitat is drier thornbush areas, in thickets and riparian scrub. It makes small seasonal migrations, preferring lower altitudes during cold periods.  The brilliant flash of crimson gave this little guy away in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

crim breast shrike

LEARN MORE ABOUT CRIMSON-BREASTED SHRIKES

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Biodiversity Explorer

VIDEOS

This guy really wants to eat that grasshopper!

An even braver bird takes on a scorpion!

 

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – Night Safari Experience Pictorial

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A night safari in any South African game park is a magical experience and should not be missed.  Most of the Sanparks rest camps will have them so be sure you book one as soon as you arrive at reception.  You are not allowed in the park in your own vehicle after sunset, the gates will close at 6pm-ish and you could be fined if you are late.

The safari vehicles are large and comfortable and your guide will be a ranger who is very familiar with the park and knows what all the animals and birds are.

Here’s a few pics from our night safari at Mata-Mata Rest Camp.  The sunsets are unreal!  Sorry I didn’t get more but it’s hard to focus in the dark although they will shine torches on any animal found.

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Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – Daytime Safari Experience Pictorial

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This is doing the Kgalagadi safari the easy way – in our own rented sedan car just cruising down the main road which had TONS of wildlife!  Sit back, relax – it was a bumpier ride for us than it will be for you!

BIRDS

Secretary birds, Sociable Weavers, Bee-eaters, raptors & more!

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MAMMALS

Lions, Wildebeest, Antelopes and even an oryx!

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KGALAGADI MUSEUM

About halfway between Twee Rivieren & Mata-MataIMG_0943 IMG_0944 IMG_0945

Lodge Review: Mata-Mata Rest Camp, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

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We only had 2 nights here and wish we had more as this place was amazing!  Mata-Mata Rest Camp is the perfect solution for people who want to feel like they are in the remote wilderness yet still have the convenience of 2wd sedan car access.

Mata-Mata is a very small camp with limited facilities so book online in advance and make sure you have enough food and drink with you to last your stay.  We took one of the budget chalets (shown in yellow).

Kgalagadi MataMata

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Our chaletIMG_0885 IMG_0886 IMG_0887

“Please can I have some of your sandwich”?

The correct answer is no!IMG_0889 IMG_0890

You can book these excursions with rangers for both evening and night safaris.  Book them with reception as soon as you arrive.   More on that later!IMG_0897

Lodge Review: Molopo Kalahari Lodge, South Africa

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After leaving Oudtshoorn, our next destination was the Kgalagadi (Kalahari) Transfrontier Park.  It’s quite a ways and I wasn’t confident of reaching the park entrance before it closed so I played it safe and booked the Molopo Kalahari Lodge by email (on the 2009 trip).  There wasn’t a lot of information about it that I could find back then but they now have a nice website with tons of photos.  It seems to have expanded a lot since we were there!

We arrived around 4pm-ish so had time to check the place out and even get some laundry done!

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We stayed in this cute rondavel.IMG_0813 IMG_0814 IMG_0815

The facilities are beautiful with a natural garden and swimming pool.  There are a lot of birds on the property and (in 2009) they had a Blue & Gold Macaw in an aviary.IMG_0816 IMG_0817 IMG_0824 IMG_0825

 

We probably weren’t supposed to hang laundry here (which we hand washed in the sink) but it dried really quickly in the hot dry air.IMG_0826 IMG_0827 IMG_0828 IMG_0819

The restaurant has some amazing African decor and the food was really good and not expensive.  IMG_0818 IMG_0823 IMG_0822 IMG_0821 IMG_0820

You can book the Molopo Kalahari Lodge on their website.  It isn’t instant, it’s an email system.  It wasn’t expensive when we were there and it looks like it is still budget priced going by Trip Advisor.  Of course it’s best to stay in the park but if you need an overnighter, this is a nice place to stay!