At Twee Rivieren, have a look around the stand of thorn-trees to your right as you enter the main park gate for typical thornveld birds such as Crimson-breasted Shrike, Scimitarbilled Woodhoopoe, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Kalahari Robin, Marico Flycatcher, White-browed Sparrow-weaver and Ashy Tit. This is a good place to practise the productive birding technique of whistling the piercing call of Pearl-spotted Owl to attract mobbing bush-birds — you may well find yourself calling up an owl in the process, even during the middle of the day. In fact, all three of the Kalahari rest camps are excellent for owls, and a night walk to follow up on calls in any of the three is likely also to turn up White-faced, Scops, Spotted Eagle and Barn Owls. Ask the staff for their daytime whereabouts. Pygmy Falcon regularly hunts inside Twee Rivieren camp, and is in fact fairly common throughout the park.

We recommend spending the first night at Twee Rivieren, in order to make an early morning start northwards into the park. Shortly after leaving the rest camp, take the first turn-off to Mata Mata, and in the first 3 km of dunes look for Pink-billed and Clapper Larks (p.116*) and, if there have been good rains, Kurrichane Buttonquail. Fawn-coloured Lark is the park’s most common lark and is also likely to be seen here, as is Desert Cisticola. Return now to the main Nossob road, and continue northwards past the junction of the Nossob and Auob riverbeds, aiming to reach the waterholes of Leeudril, Rooiputs and Kijkij 2—4 hours after sunrise. This will maximize your chances of seeing the scarce Burchell’s Sandgrouse (p.116*), alongside the much more abundant Namaqua Sandgrouse. In wet years, listen for the incessant calls of Monotonous Lark along the river valleys.

All of the park’s waterholes are invariably lined with flocks of drinking seedeaters making nervous forays to the water’s edge, especially in winter. The most common of these are Scaly-feathered and Red-headed Finches, Sociable Weaver and Lark-like Bunting. During the summer months, huge flocks of European Swift are in evidence overhead, and Lesser Grey Shrike is commonly seen from the roadside. Great Spotted Cuckoo is also present at this time.

Continue towards Nossob rest camp. Dikbaardskolk picnic site, which makes a good lunch spot, is frequented by Ground Squirrels (Geosciuris inauris) and a selection of skinks and agamas. Look for the uncommon Great Sparrow in the larger trees here and in Nossob rest camp. As you approach the camp, particularly northwards of Kaspersdraai, several additional species start becoming more evident: waterholes begin to attract Violet-eared Waxbill and its brood parasite, Shaft-tailed Whydah. Red-necked Falcon also starts to become much more common than further south in the park — look out for hunting birds targeting the flocks of drinking seedeaters; the falcons also regularly hunt over the Nossob rest camp.

If you are spending two nights at Nossob rest camp, it is possible to make the full day’s excursion to the park’s northern fingertip at Union’s End. As you head north from Nossob and towards Union’s End (look for Burchell’s Sandgrouse at Cubitje Quap waterhole), bushveld elements such as Lilac-breasted Roller, Yellow-billed Hornbill, Golden-tailed Woodpecker and Temminck’s Courser become more evident. The Union’s End waterhole at the lonely junction of three national states — South Africa, Namibia and Botswana — is notable for occasionally hosting drinking flocks of Rosy-faced Lovebird. Nossob rest camp itself offers similar birding to Twee Rivieren. Ask the staff to show you the daytime roost of the resident White-faced Owls.

Two roads cut across the central dunefield between the two riverbeds. There is little game along these routes, but they are well worth the drive not only for the landscape and short-cut to the Auob, but also for Pink-billed Lark. This species is difficult to find in much of the Northern Cape and undergoes local movements. Look out for foraging birds around the bases of grass clumps, and do not be put off by their apparently white (not buff) outer tail feathers. Despite this incongruence with the field guides, they are indeed Pink-billed and not Botha’s Larks (the latter has a localized distribution in eastern South Africa). Northern Black Korhaan, Anteating Chat and Grey-backed Finchlark are also particularly common along these roads.

Having reached the broad and shallow Auob riverbed near Kamqua waterhole, you have the option of either making a detour to Mata Mata rest camp on the Namibian border, or completing your loop through the park by returning to Twee Rivieren. The Auob riverbed is superb Cheetah country — enquire locally about game viewing. It is also an excellent place to see Giant Eagle Owl (p.116*); check the huge and gnarled camelthorn trees that line the riverbed.