Sun dried Raisins in the Kalahari

This morning we got up super early at 5am and made our way back down to the viewpoint over the falls.
We watched an amazing sunrise and on the way back to camp we saw Hyraxes, baboons and a yellow mongoose.
After coffee and breakfast we packed up camp and made our way to the town of Upminster where we did the shopping for the next 4-5 days. We will be heading north in the next day or so and will be completely off grid wild camping.
After shopping we had to go to another shop because the Spar we went to didn’t have everything and then we went to a restaurant called DROS for lunch, once there we all ordered off the breakfast menu but it took an hour to come out. Pieter was just about to tell them we were leaving and then the food appeared.
That put us back by 2 hours but today was all about getting to the next camp spot, and if there was anything left in the day we would go looking for animals but tomorrow was going to be a full day.
We have driven hundreds of miles across the Khalahari Desert but you wouldn’t know it because it has been the wet season and there are grasses on what would be desert, this is where there are thousands of grapevines used for making wine and drying the grapes to make raisins.
2 hours later and at 4pm we arrived in Kgalagadi National Park. And it is right on the Botswana border. Infact we had to go through customs to go into the park because if you turn left you stay in South Africa but if you turn right your in Botswana.
We found a beautiful camp spot, and I have to say I’m impressed by the standards of the facilities. There have been nice toilets and showers at every camp we have visited and Pilinsberg even had baths. It puts camp sights in the UK to shame.
At camp we basically just ditched the trailer and went stray on a game drive before it was to late and we were thankful that we did.
First off we saw Ibox, with 2 young. Then we saw ground squirrels, then we saw a Bat eared fox thanks to Ellies keen eyesight, and then a couple of mongoose, not to mention the huge weaver birds nests that we found.
In the distance we saw a huge Supercell forming and slowly starting to turn in the sky, it was just as incredible as seeing the animals and as were leaving the park at sunset the Cell turned a pinky purple colour and we could see the rain falling from it’s base.
Back at camp we sorted out the tents, made camp and had drinks. It got to 37°c today and the air conditioning in the car has been playing up so we decided to name the car Caren, with a C, because she is temperamental.
Pieter cooked us Beef Patties with rice and vegetables for dinner and we were watched by an Eagle owl who decided to join the campground for a while, once again it was a great meal, cooked to perfection on an open fire.Read more