Goerapan Kalahari Helicopter Safari - May 2025 - Day Two
By Willie Bodenstein
15.05.2025
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The Kalahari derived from the Tswana word Kgala, meaning "the great thirst", or Kgalagadi, "a waterless place" is, to most of us, just that: a dry, semi-desert somewhere along our northwestern borders with Namibia and Botswana. The Tswana were right: it is a semi-arid, sandy savanna with no permanent surface water.
Vast? Absolutely. Farm fences stretch from one horizon to the other. Covering 900,000 km² (350,000 sq mi), the Kalahari spans most of Botswana, parts of Namibia, and a good portion of South Africa's northwest. Living here is definitely not for sissies.
Tourism, hunting, sheep and cattle farming, and salt mining are the region's economic lifelines. Our home base for the four-night stay was the Kalahari Goerapan Lodge, perched on sandy hills overlooking the barren Goerapan.
Its brochure promised: “Dine under the open evening skies with the breathtaking backdrop dotted with millions of starlights, opening the floodgates of the bright Milky Way.” It neither lied nor exaggerated.
“A mere 175 km from Upington,” it also claimed. In the Kalahari-where a 20-kilometre-long, 1.1-kilometre-wide runway like the one on Hakskeen Pan was once prepped for the Bloodhound LSR world record attempt-that distance really is just a quick trip down the road.
Gazelle - Mark and Dan - Total trip time: 14.2 hrs
Day Two: Pan-Hopping in the Desert Sky
So, what did we do on Day Two?
First, like any sensible explorer, we started with a scrumptious, steaming hot breakfast. Then we did something few have ever done: a 136 NM (nautical mile) aerial safari, hopping from pan to pan, thirteen in total, by helicopter.
When we flew over Brakpan, we weren't near Johannesburg, we were still in the Kalahari! Maybe our Brakpan got its name from this one… or maybe it's the other way around?
Then came Hakskeen Pan. As I mentioned before it's huge. Flying low, it seemed to stretch on forever. At one point, with no end in sight, I thought we'd have to land and overnight right there on its barren clay surface before continuing our journey the next day.
Next was Miershoop Pan, near a small settlement, though by then I was already mixing up Kleinaar Pan with Grootaar Pan, and Grootaswas with Luitenants Pan. Would I have missed flying over these iconic patches of nothingness? Not a chance!
(Who knew not all pans were salt pans? More on that in a future report.)
Refreshments with Lions (Well, Almost)
By midday, we spotted a tar road, a dirt airstrip alongside it, and on the opposite side what looked like a one-stop fuel station surrounded by rows of chalets. We had arrived at Kgalagadi Lodge, where transport awaited to take us to the open-air dining area. Time to de-fuel, to refresh and enjoy a well-earned break.
Just 5 km from the entrance to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and located on our side of the border, this modern lodge, established in 2012, is a luxurious desert outpost where wilderness meets comfort.
The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, jointly managed by South Africa and Botswana and bordering Namibia, is a vast reserve of red dunes and dry riverbeds. It's home to migrating springbok and wildebeest, and famed for its black-maned lions (none of which fortunately joined us) and soaring raptors. The park offers guided walks and thrilling game drives for the adventurous.
Homeward Bound
With legs stretched and thirsts quenched, we turned homeward making one more essential stop: Koppieskraal Pan, where Gert, Charmaine and their son Vian Fourie had invited us for lunch.
Koppieskraal is well-known as the venue for the annual Kalahari Bundu Bash, organised by the Mocke's of RAF Gyrocopter fame, who incidentally, live just 175 km away in Upington. The Fourie's are much closer, just 20 km from the pan. They farm cattle and sheep on thousands of hectares and play a key role in the Bundu Bash setup.
Landing at the temporary helipad (clearly marked with a bright white “H” on the hard-packed earth and specially set up for us), we were welcomed by a table fit for royalty and the mouthwatering aroma of sizzling lamb chops and boerewors on the braai, expertly tended by Gert and Vian.
The Fourie's were the perfect hosts, like everyone we've met, they are truly salt of the earth. We would have loved to linger longer. But adventure called once again, Kongapan, Swartpan, and Soutpan awaited. It was with heavy hearts that we waved goodbye. (Yes, still more on non-salt pans to come!)
And then… Goerapan! Man, that cold beer hit the spot! The Klippies and Coke afterwards tasted even better.
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