Makgadikgi Pan To Kharma Rhino Sanctuary 30 July

We took one last final drive around Makgadikgi only seeing Zebra, Wildebeest and Kudu before leaving the park. We then had to take a very small ferry ie one car only across the river. It was driven by a 60 horsepower motor and a nice local guy. The next 3 days are the long haul to Joburg where we leave for London. No longer are we on the dusty roads of Africa, but boring tarmac, so our wheels were reinflated. We had a 4 hour drive to that nights destination on a very straight road. For a long while we had civilization with villages and greenery on our left, whilst the barren plains of the Central Kalahari desert were on our right. You had to wonder how anything could survive out there, but there were horses, donkeys and cattle around and apparantely wildlife in the centre of the Kalahari. Driving along we suddenly spotted Meerkats crossing the road which the kids, especially Christopher had been keen to see. We went in search and saw them popping in and out of holes in the ground. It was too difficult to get very close though, as soon as they saw you they pooped back into their holes. Local villagers came to see what we were doing. We stopped in at a mining town to pick up provisions for lunch, not a particularly attractive place, and had lunch by the road further up. That night we stayed at the Kharma Rhino lodge a conservation park for white and black Rhino. We opted for the luxury of staying in chalets and eating dinner in a restaurant. Driving around the park we saw the usual game as well as a couple of huge White Rhino and a mum with baby calf who was enjoying mucking around the waterhole. The park is run by the local community for conserving the rhino, breeding them and relocating them when necessary back to the other parks. A great venture and it was great to be able to see the Rhino up closZe. We haven't seen any at all recently as they are very rare and shy animals.

Location:Kharma Rhino Sanctuary