Kgalagadi booking strategy — how to actually get campsites when they release
Went through last month in a Suzuki Jimny. Here is the full report.
The Nossob River road is 160km of red sand. Let your tyres down to 1.4 bar — in the deep sections near Nossob camp we went to 1.2 bar. The sand is soft especially mid-afternoon after the sun has worked it all day. Morning and evening the surface firms up. We saw 4 lions, 2 cheetahs, a honey badger, and so many gemsbok and springbok you lose count.
Camping: Nossob camp is basic but functional — electricity from generator only, cuts at 21:30. Best game viewing in the park.
Fuel: filled up in the last town before the turn-off. Diesel consumption was around 14L/100km on the technical sections — budget for higher than your tar road figure. We carried 39L spare in jerry cans.
The whole experience is genuinely spectacular. Happy to answer any questions from people planning this route.
4 Replies
Solo or convoy? I ask because I am planning this as a solo trip which I know is not ideal. My Garmin inReach Mini gives me a bit of confidence but keen to hear your view on whether it is sensible alone.
Good write-up. One thing to add from our trip there — the water situation has changed since the last reports I read. The eastern approach road had some flood damage last season — the first 8km takes longer than T4A suggests.
Nice one, tayla. Did you do the optional detour to the viewsite? We skipped it last time and regretted it. Adding it to the plan for our next trip.
Went through this one last April and our experience was similar. The rocky section on the approach was also the part that got our attention. What tyre pressures were you running? We found 1.3bar front and rear worked well on that surface.