Lappet-faced Vulture - Kgalagadi

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park can become a special place, if you allow it to get into your soul. I did not feel like that on my first visit last month, because the place is so hostile. It is almost as though it is conspiring to see how it can make life uncomfortable for you, but the heat, wind storms, dust storms and thunderstorms all become part of the experience and is what sets it apart from other parks.

Processing my photos after the trip is what has done it for me and I will have to start planning the next trip soon. It's not as though you can just decide to jump in your car and go there. You have to book your accommodation a year in advance - that tells you something about the place and its popularity.

One of the amazing features of the Park for me was the variety and number of raptors that one gets to see there. The Lappet-faced Vulture is just one of these - a magnificent bird, always ready to clean up after the predators.