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Makgadikgadi

A Travel Re- Inspired in Makgadikgadi
Re-inspiring attractions of Makgadikgadi:

i. Chapman’s Baobab
Chapman’s Baobab lies with its roots deeply planted a short distance south-east of the rural village of Gweta and is a well known landmark in Botswana. The massive tree is considered as one of the oldest Baobab's in Africa and a famous attraction in Makgadikgdai Pans.

ii. Nxai Pans National Park
Situated just north of the Maun Nata main road, Nxai Pans National park is an ideal spot in Botswana to spend your day. The pans are the largest salt pans in the world - offering a unique safari experience, with great game viewing.

iii. Nata Bird Sanctuary
The Nata Bird Sanctuary was developed at the mouth of the Nata River in the extreme northeast of Sua Pan. It is home to any species of African mammal wildlife and most importantly the African birds. From flamingoes, Pelicans, Ducks, Geese, Ostriches to Kingfisher Eagles, Spoon Bills, this bird sanctuary in Botswana has everything to offer to its visitors.

iv. Gabatsadi Island
Gabatsadi Island lies west of the Gweta-Orapa track, 54 km south of Gweta. This enormous island doesn’t attract many visitors but have garnered attention from Prince Charles who went to capture the indescribably lovely scene in watercolor.

v. Baines' Baobabs
Baines Baobabs are seven immense baobab trees on an island that overlooks the white, crusted Kudiakam Pan. These Baobabs were named after the 19th Century explorer, Thomas Baines whose accounts, drawings and maps of most of Africa were in appreciation of the beauty of the continent.

vi. Kubu Island
Tour around Kubu Island can be fun as it allows you to explore more about the history of the island. This rocky island Sowa pan is full of prehistoric evidence of a lake as well as human inhabitation. You can see uniquely shaped baobabs on the crescent island that is surrounded by the white surface of the pan.

Activities :

  • Bird Watching
  • Game Drives
  • Historic Trails
  • Quad Bike Excursion
  • Photographic Excursions
  • Star gazing
  • Horse Riding

  • The Makgadikgadi Pans National Park is situated south of the Nxai Pan National Park in Botswana and forms with its huge salt pans an impressive surreal landscape.
  • The name Makgadikgadi means vast, lifeless land”. For those who prefer solitude and silence this is paradise, as even during the high season people are scarce here.
  • The Nxai Pans National Park is situated north of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. The park is dominated by large salt pans, which attract large herds of animals especially during and after the rainy season. The fascinating landscapes, a group of seven mighty baobab trees – the famous Baines Baobabs – as well as a waterhole frequently visited by a pride of lions are the main highlights of the Nxai Pans National Park. The park derives its name from a curved stick ‘Nxa’, which the San used to dig out springhares and which the form of the park resembles. The area of the park belongs to the settlement area of the San (Bushmen).
  • Home to Lekhubu Island
    • Recent studies of human mitochondrial DNA suggest that modern Homo sapiens first began to evolve in this region some 200,000 years ago,
  • Activities include ;interactions with Meerkats, nature drices,drives along the pan, quad biking, star gazingzebraand wildebeest migration
  • The Nata Bird Sanctuary is a reserve which covers an area of 230 km². It is one of only three nesting places for flamingo in Africa.

    • Makgadikgadi National Park and the Boteti River

    Although this area was also once part of the great super lake, it is quite different in character to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. To the west of Nwetwe Pan lies open grassland which is home to a wide range of animals as it incorporates both desert and riverine habitats. The grasslands give rise to a dense riverine forest on the banks of the Boteti River. During periods of above average rainfall, the Boteti River is one of the few drainage systems that carry the Okavango floodwaters out of the delta into the Kalahari Desert. The Boteti River lies right in the middle of these great vast thirst lands where water is priceless thus attracting some of Africa's last remaining great wildlife populations

  • Animals you may see hartebeest, gemsbok and springbok as well as lion, cheetah, kudu, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest amongst others.
  • The timing of your visit is significant as the seasonal movement of wildlife varies throughout the year.
  • The Makgadikgadi becomes the summer headquarters for thousands of zebra and wildebeest.
  • During the dry winter months after the outlying pans have dried up, the main herds of elephant, zebra and wildebeest (and their accompanying predators) are found in the corridor of the Boteti River.

    • Nxai Pan National Park

    Although Nxai Pan was also once part of the great super lake, it is quite different in character to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. It consists of a series of grass covered fossil pans dotted with islands of umbrella acacia, supporting a good variety and density of game and birdlife.

  • This is one of the few places that springbok and impala cohabit.
  • In the drier months, the desert landscape is dry and harsh. Game viewing at the waterhole is excellent where you may observe lion, cheetah, spotted and brown hyena, zebra, giraffe, kudu, and hartebeest, bat eared fox, jackal and sometimes wild dog and elephant.
  • An add-on attraction in the area are Baines Baobabs, a cluster of Baobabs on the shores of Kudiakam Pan, a photographer's paradise offering a visually stunning sight with the vast pans contrasting against the giant ancient trees.

    • Makgadikgadi Salt Pans

    The network of salt pans found in Botswana's eastern regions are a striking physical feature and some of the largest of their kind in the world. The pans, huge, flat expanses of hot, sun-blasted terrain and fringed by vegetated islands and peninsulas, were once part of a great super lake that covered much of northern Botswana. This desolate landscape offers nothing but sand and sky yet its eerily silent fossil beaches and stunted red baobab trees leave an impression on every visitor.

  • Makgadikgadi Salt pans ‘beauty lies in its stark nothingness: the sight of the vast, open pans is awe inspiring as the earth and sky blend into each other with nothing indicating the horizon but a hazy mirage.
  • Sunset and sunrise hold a mystical quality. This area offers a unique wilderness experience full of adventure.
  • Do not expect huge herds of animals but rather expect the unexpected, everything is interesting here especially when interpreted by the local Bushmen guides of the area.
  • The night skies are breathtaking during the winter months with stars from horizon-to-horizon.
  • The area is host to a spectacular migration of zebra and wildebeest.
  • Nearby Nata Sanctuary is home to 165 bird species, including flamingoes and pelicans.
  • The mystic Lekhubu Island( a campers and photographers’ delight)