Makgadikgadi Pans

Makgadikgadi Pans national park was once the vast Lake Makgadikgadi, now dried out to leave two main pans Ntwetwe and Sowa. The vast flat expanse of dried salt encrusted lakes and surrounding grassland has an extraordinary feel. Meerkat are among the permanent residents.

Following November rains, arriving antelope are followed by predators while seasonal lakes attract large flocks of flamingo and pelican. Access at this time is difficult, making Nata Bird Sanctuary an easier prospect.

19th century explorers, hunters and missionaries followed a major trading route through the pans. Their graffiti still survives on Greens' Baobab and Chapman's Baobab - David Livingstone among them.

Lekhuba Island, on the edge of Sowa Pan, is decorated with huge granite boulders, baobab trees and hundred of stone cairns. Human habitation dates back to stone age times with various relics giving evidence of different periods of occupation. The site is sacred to the Basarwa San people.