Kalahari Gemsbok National Park

PARK · NORTHERN CAPE · 25.62°S 20.43°E

The South African quarter of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, a vast dry corner of the Kalahari known for black-maned lions, raptors and long gravel roads along two dry riverbeds.

Park feefrom R576 a day

Places to stay31

Sights97

Eat & drink1

Location25.62°S 20.43°E

Key costs & permits

What you'll pay to enter Kalahari Gemsbok National Park

VALID 01 NOV 2025 TO 31 OCT 2026 · ZAR PER PERSON PER DAY

Fee	International	SADC nationals	SA residents
Daily conservation fee	R576child R288	R263child R132	R129child R64

Kalahari Gemsbok National Park is the South African section of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park; these are the published Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park rates.
Botswana nationals visiting Kgalagadi pay the South African resident rate under the transfrontier agreement.
Wild Card members do not pay daily conservation fees.
Child rate applies to ages 2 to 11; the adult rate applies from age 12.
Set by South African National Parks (SANParks). Adult rate shown first, child rate below. Official tariff

CHECKED 06 OCT 2026 · 4 SOURCES

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Two names, one place. The Kalahari Gemsbok National Park was proclaimed on the South African side in 1931, next to Botswana’s Gemsbok National Park across an unfenced border. In May 2000 the two were formally launched as the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, southern Africa’s first peace park. Kgalagadi means place of thirst. The whole park is about 38,000 square kilometres and roughly a quarter is in South Africa, the part with the camps and nearly all the visitors.

Getting there

Upington is the gateway, with daily flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town and hire cars at the airport. From there it is about 250 km on tar to Twee Rivieren, the entrance camp. Inside the park every road is gravel and most of it is corrugated. A sedan can be done but is miserable; a bakkie or SUV with high clearance is the sensible minimum. You only need a true 4x4 for the Botswana side and the Bitterpan and Gharagab wilderness camps.

When to go

May to September. Days run 20 to 30 degrees, and animals stay close to the waterholes in the dry riverbeds. Nights drop below freezing. Summer, roughly October to April, regularly passes 40 degrees and the odd thunderstorm brings the only rain of the year, rarely more than 100 mm. Winter school holidays sell out six to twelve months ahead; book the moment you know your dates.

What to do

The game drives follow the Nossob and Auob riverbeds, dry channels that are said to flow about once a century, with a row of pumped waterholes along each. Twee Rivieren to Mata-Mata on the Auob is about two and a half hours without stops; Twee Rivieren to Nossob is three and a half. One group reported 60 km taking four hours, which is about right if you keep stopping for cheetah, gemsbok, meerkats and the black-maned lions the park is famous for. Raptors are a speciality, with more than 50 species recorded.

Beyond the three main camps there are six small unfenced wilderness camps (Kalahari Tented Camp, Urikaruus, Kieliekrankie, Bitterpan, Gharagab, Grootkolk) where the animals come to you.

Good to know

Gates open between 06:00 and 07:30 and close between 18:00 and 19:30 depending on the month, there is no driving after dark, and lateness is fined. The speed limit is 50 km/h. Fuel is sold at Twee Rivieren, Mata-Mata and Nossob only; shops are basic and there is no ATM, so bring cash and everything you need. Twee Rivieren is the only camp with 24-hour power and mobile signal, and Nossob switches its power off late at night. Tap water is safe but brackish; bring at least 10 litres of drinking water. Malaria risk is low to nil. If you enter from South Africa and plan to leave into Namibia at Mata-Mata, you must clear immigration at Twee Rivieren and spend at least two nights in the park.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Expert Africa, 4x4 Afrika, 4x4 Afrika, African Safari Journals.