The Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans form part of the Kalahari eco-system but are completely different from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans form part of the Kalahari eco-system but are completely different from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The Makgadikgadi is a massive expanse of white that stretches to the horizon, so far in fact that you can see the curvature of the earth. Fossils of water creatures and the remnants of shells speak of its past as a great inland sea. The edges of the pans are trimmed with clumpy course grass and islands of palm trees. Nxai is a bit more of a grassy plain dotted with smaller pans and fossils beds. It is relatively little visited, even in comparison to Makgadikgadi which is still largely off the beaten track.
Between June and November it is a dazzling white, dry place where you can roam with meerkats, track animals with the bushmen and sleep out at the incongruous Kubu Islands in the middle of the pans. Between January and March, the area comes alive with birds and a great migration of zebra and wildebeast pass through. It is an unpredictable, wild and incongruous place which is what makes it so appealing.
It is also home to some of the most unusual and eccentric camps in Botswana such as Jack's Camp and San Camp.
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Vanessa's 16 years in travel has seen her knowledge develop from sub-Saharan Africa into North Africa, Central and Southern America and the Galapagos. Consequently, she’s a veritable encyclopaedia of travel information and exceptionally cool, calm and collected in the face of the greatest planning demands.
At Natural High, we've had long experience putting together trips in Africa that really work. Whether it's intimate bushcamps in out of the way places, or a private lodge in one of Africa's top-billing wildlife areas, light mobile camping or remote island escapes, we know there is a lot to choose from. We're absolutely confident that we can recommend the right places for you.