Archive 2017 · Kgalagadi late december tips and tricks on heat challenge.

therealthings
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Kgalagadi late december tips and tricks on heat challenge.

Hi,

Going to SA again this Christmas. This time to Kgalagadi. We are not planning to do the extreme adventurous off the grid camping experience. We are doing daily trips from the main camps Tweerivieren, Mata mata and Nossob, staying 3 or 4 days in each camp.

Now i know a 4x4 is not required, a lot of articles advise one, or at least a vehicle with a high clearance like an SUV.
I also read about the temperatures which can be 40c in the shade. So i am wondering, since i can't find any info about it, how you guys handle the heat during the day. If you wait at a waterhole for animals to arrive or move in the right position for a good photo you may be waiting for hours, if not all day. I wouldn't want to run the engine all the time to enable AC, but i don't want to melt in my car either. I'm very interested to read your way to handle extreme heat while waiting in your car.

Regards,

Marcus

Jun 21, 2017 at 04:07 AM

jdc562
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Kgalagadi late december tips and tricks on heat challenge.

Your melting in your car is less probable than damaging your gear. Vehicles can turn into ovens--much hotter than the external 40 deg C. Check with your camps to see if you can reserve some well-insulated coolers big enough to hold all your cameras, lenses, cellphones, eyeglasses, etc. Also, be aware that the vibration from having the engine and a/c running can blur photos, as can condensation forming on lenses and sensors if you move from a cool space to a warm humid one.

Right now, our daily desert temperatures in Southern California are peaking around 50 deg C, which is forcing me to postpone photo trips to some favorite areas....

Edited on Jul 29, 2017 at 08:07 PM · View previous versions

Jun 21, 2017 at 09:07 PM

JimStock
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Kgalagadi late december tips and tricks on heat challenge.

Hi

I live in SA, my wife and myself spend about four weeks each year in the Kgalagadi so for what it’s worth here is how we try and keep cool, or at least keep the temperatures inside the vehicle bearable.

We tend to sit at waterholes where we can choose the time and position to get the best light, rather than drive around. We sit one in the front and one in the back of the vehicle, both shooting from the right-hand side. We position the vehicle so the sun is on the left side, then lower all the windows and use towels or widescreen covers to prevent sun getting into the vehicle. Essentially, we try and keep ourselves in the shade and out of the direct sun. One of the great things about the Kgalagadi is the absolute silence, so running your aircon would not make you very popular with other visitors at a waterhole.

Ice is available at the main camps, TR, Nossob, and Mata Mata, so take a good cool box fill it with ice and plenty of fluids. An ice-cold face cloth can also bring some relief.

In December the park gates open at 05h30 so get out early, and close at 19h30 so you can get three or four hours of late afternoon shooting. In the middle of the day the light is harsh and flat so retreat to your air conditioned chalet.

As far as vehicles go you need good ground clearance, the rental vehicles of choice seem to be either the Toyota Hilux Double Cab or the Toyota Fortuna SUV. In places the sandbanks on the side of the road get fairly high so you need the vehicle height to see over the banks.

The Kgalagadi is a great place for wildlife photography, I have posted some of my Kgalagadi shots on the Fred Miranda Nature forum. You can get beautiful creamy backgrounds and lots of reflected light from the desert sand.

Drop me a PM if you need any more info.

Jim Stock

Jun 24, 2017 at 05:08 AM

therealthings
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Kgalagadi late december tips and tricks on heat challenge.

JimStock wrote:
Hi

I live in SA, my wife and myself spend about four weeks each year in the Kgalagadi so for what it’s worth here is how we try and keep cool, or at least keep the temperatures inside the vehicle bearable.

We tend to sit at waterholes where we can choose the time and position to get the best light, rather than drive around. We sit one in the front and one in the back of the vehicle, both shooting from the right-hand side. We position the vehicle so the sun is on the left side, then lower all the windows...Show more →

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the answers and confirming what we found out ourselves during our trip to KNP last year. I will send you a message if i have more questions. And now i will search for the images you posted on FM.

Best,

Marcus

Jun 26, 2017 at 01:09 PM


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