Unions End

[Dewi]

Unions End is located in the far north of the park where the borders of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana meet. It's about as remote as it gets in the park and offers wide vistas of the surrounding area.

The notice board at Unions End.


I wonder if anyone here recognises that notebook? -O

The signpost.


Reading the information board.


Open scenery.


Wildlife wise, it was very quiet when we visited in 2011, but thew were Lions on the approach road to this area.

A Lioness sleeps away in the shade during the hottest part of the day.


She was so relaxed, she would not move as we drove by.


And dozed as I took a portrait shot.


Nearby, a Lion was also dozing and did not bat an eyelid as I took his photo.


Panoramic looking East from Unions End.


I realise that not many will have visited this area, and there will be little wildlife noted here, but was hoping some of you could shed more light on the region and maybe add some wildlife seen on the approach to this point.

We did see Cheetah a few Km's back from here, but they were too distant to photograph at the time.

[Mel]

Closest camp:

Grootkolk (19 km to Union's End waterhole, 23 km to Union's End)

Other camps:

Nossob (124 km to Union's End waterhole, 128 km to Union's End)

[Mel]

Peter Derichs - Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park:

Northernmost Point of the former Cape Province - endpoint of a fatherland.

Camel Thorn: Flowers from July to November. Bears pods from December to March.

(referring to the waterhole)


http://tashebube.com/our-sites/unions-end/

The area typically consists of open plains to flat bushveld interspersed with distinctive camel thorn trees so representative of the Kgalagadi; vegetated pans and scattered smaller salt pans. This is the area were the Nossob river crosses from Namibia into the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and wanders its waterless way more than 200km south through the park creating the border between Botswana and South Africa. The waterhole at Union’s End attracts large numbers of game and birds.

http://tracks4africa.co.za/listings/item/w149615/

Union's End was named as such because it was the most remote border post in the Union of South Africa which was in existence at the time. Namibia is fenced off from Botswana and South Africa, but, as the spot lies in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, there is no fence between Botswana and South Africa at this point. From Union's End the mostly dry Nossob River bed forms a natural border between South Africa and Botswana.

[Duke]

The drive from Grootkolk to Unions End is one of my favourites in any of our nature areas. There are 7 billion people on the planet and yet you can find this place where you feel you are the only people. You get that feeling of remoteness and solitude and you connect with nature. The point is not how far you are from civilization, the experience is like being a million miles from anywhere. Dumbest idea on the planet was to have a Cycle Race here - my opinion.

Experience this place if you can as changes loom on the horizon There is always a chance of seeing any of the big cats on the approach road to UE.

We first saw Rosa the leopard on this drive.





UE Waterhole is a great place to photograph Sandgrouse






and with a little patience and some luck you may get to see a lanner Falcon kill. We saw the kill but were to slow to get the pic



This juvenile gabar goshawk was just before UE and was raiding a nest




Sharifa and I at UE

[Sprocky]

in one of the picture we can see one Sandgrouse with feathers full of water

Yes nan, that's how the adult birds transport water back to the chicks.

[nan]

Each time I was in the Kgalagadi, I had a stop at the end of the end
except for this year... too tired... I didn't have a bed at Grootkolk



Marico Flycatcher/Gobemouche du marico

it was soooooo far away -O

[nan]

the first time I was here, I even found




sharing with Squirrels

[nan]

naughty little, said mum

[nan]

The end of the end... January 2012

first time I saw Helmeted Guineafowl /Pintade de Numidie

[nan]

the year of the flowers ... here in yellow, another place in violet and in blue a little further
January 2012