We had a small campfire going with camel thorn wood. In the dusk, we watched thunderclouds gathering in the west, as our little blue and orange flames flickered defiantly. It was February: peak rainy season.
A slight breeze blew through our camp at Rooiputs. A jackal called. I looked over my shoulder to see where the call had come from. After spending a couple of weeks on the South African side of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, my partner Steph Perrin and I were now on the Botswanan side, where the campsites aren’t fenced. Thrilling, but also a little scary…
Then the jackal appeared: a slender female. She looked at us, as if to ask: “Why aren’t you braaiing yet?”
We were feeling thankful that we were now on the “wild” side of the park. What would this desert paradise have in store for us over the next week or so?
Easing into it
Getting campsite bookings on the Botswanan side of the Kgalagadi isn’t as straightforward as on the South African side. We were lucky to get a couple of nights at Rooiputs and Two Rivers. Rooiputs is about 24km from the main gate at Twee Rivieren, on the route going north towards Nossob.
It’s a basic campsite with six stands, each of which has an A-frame shelter. We were booked for two nights at number five (booking code: KT-ROI-5) and two nights at number one (KT-ROI-1). Running water in the Botswana campsites is a luxury, and at Rooiputs we enjoyed being able to have a cold shower after a hot day out. Since there’s no hot water, you make your own. We used a simple bucket system: We boiled a kettle of water on the fire and then added cold water to get to the right temperature.
Rooiputs Lodge is near the campsite, and other campers complained that you can see some of the lodge infrastructure. But this
