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Makgadikgadi Camp, Ntwetwa & Sua Pans, Botswana
Ntwetwe Pan and Sua Pan, together with numerous smaller pans, form the Makgadikgadi Pans system. The pans are the remnants of the once great Lake Makgadikgadi: 80,000 square kilometres in extent, and up to 30 metres deep, this was the largest inland sea in Africa. In the wet season, this vast area of salt pans interspersed with low-lying grass islands is the destination of herds of migrating zebra. It has an unspoilt beauty unlike any other part of Africa.
Situated
on Hyena Island, Makgadikgadi is a real bush camp
offering the very essence of Africa. Accommodation is in
comfortable twin-bedded cottage tents secluded among
palms and acacias. All tents have en-suite bathrooms and
there is a dip pool for refuge from the midday heat.
The
traditionally built mess, with its thatched roof and open
fireplace, provides the perfect ambience for relaxation
at the end of the day. Around the flickering fire the
day's events are recounted, whilst your host conjures up
the spirit of Africa. Legends of the bush gently unfold,
punctuated by calls of the wild from the surrounding
Makgadikgadi Pans.
An
early breakfast precedes your day's exploration of the
pans. In the evening, after aperitifs, your hosts invite
you to join them at an elegant table for a three course
dinner, combining international cuisine with the best of
African fare and accompanied by elegant wines from South
Africa.
Kubu Island
Resting in the southern tip of Sua Pan, this small rocky
outcrop was once an island in the great Lake
Makgadikgadi. Stunted baobab trees and the ruins of
unexplained stone walls lend a mystical aspect: Kubu
Island has a magic that touches every visitor.
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The largest game reserve in the world, the Central
Kalahari encompasses some of the hottest and most
inhospitable areas in Botswana. In this seemingly
limitless expanse of scrub desert and pans, you will
encounter animals and plants that are specially adapted
to survive in such harsh conditions.
Nxai Pans and Baines’ Baobabs
Nxai
Pan lies to the north of the Makgadikgadi Pans area, on
the migration route of the great herds: a wide,
grass-covered pan dotted with umbrella thorn trees. With
its bountiful wildlife, the area provides excellent game
viewing
opportunities.
Just to the east of Kudiakam Pan, and south of Nxai Pan,
is an impressive group of
baobab trees, standing on the pioneers’ route to the
swamps of the Okavango Delta. First painted by Thomas
Baines, and inscribed with his name on 22nd May 1862, the
trees are known as Baines’ Baobabs.
Desert Mobile Safaris
In addition to our regular excursions to explore the
Makgadikgadi Pans, by prior arrangement we can arrange
longer expeditions into the Kalahari Desert.
For the intrepid visitor we offer the prospect of
profound engagement with the uncompromising beauty of the
Kalahari. On this six night camping safari you will
traverse the Makgadikgadi Pans, visit enigmatic Kubu
Island; and
enter the largest conservation area in Africa - the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
Deception Pan, Xaka, Piper Pans, Molapo, and many
nameless places. The safari transcends any organised
cultural experience. You will gain a direct insight into
the subtle ecology of the apparently pitiless and
unchanging desert. Perhaps you may even come to empathise
with the "first people" who lived in the
Kalahari - insignificant in the infinite thirstland, yet
happily and marvellously alive.
This is the essential Kalahari. And few people are better
qualified to
guide your desert odyssey than your host, Reinhold
Sumerauer. He
is an Honorary Game Warden of Botswana's Department of
Wildlife
and National Parks, who has spent eight years working
with local
people to conserve this captivating land.
Our Tours which include Makgadikgadi Camp: 'Eco Africa 1' 'Backpacker's Africa'
Special Offer on Makgadikgadi Camp
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