{"id":2201,"date":"2026-04-14T19:55:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T17:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bushroversafaris.com\/?page_id=2201"},"modified":"2026-05-22T15:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:28:14","slug":"makgadikgadi-pans-national-park","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bushroversafaris.com\/index.php\/destinations\/makgadikgadi-pans-national-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Makgadikgadi Pans National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"2201\" class=\"elementor elementor-2201\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aa1dcbb e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"aa1dcbb\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1ecdbc2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1ecdbc2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Imagine \u2013 if you will \u2013 an area the size of Portugal, largely uninhabited by humans. Its stark, flat, featureless terrain stretches \u2013 it would seem \u2013 to eternity, meeting and fusing with a milky-blue horizon. This is the Makgadikgadi \u2013 an area of 12 000 sq kms, part of the Kalahari Basin, yet unique to it \u2013 one of the largest salt pans in the world. For much of the year, most of this desolate area remains waterless and extremely arid; and large mammals are thus absent. But during and following years of good rain, the two largest pans \u2013 Sowa to the east and Ntwetwe to the west \u2013 flood, attracting wildlife \u2013 zebra and wildebeest on the grassy plains \u2013 and most spectacularly flamingos at Sowa and Nata Sanctuary. Flamingo numbers can run into the tens \u2013 and sometimes \u2013 hundreds of thousands, and the spectacle can be completely overwhelming. The rainwater that pours down on the pans is supplemented by seasonal river flows \u2013 the Nata, Tutume, Semowane and Mosetse Rivers in the east, and in years of exceptional rains, the Okavango via the Boteti River in the west. During this time, the pans can be transformed into a powder blue lake, the waters gently lapping the shorelines, and flowing over the pebble beaches \u2013 a clear indication of the gigantic, prehistoric lake the Makgadikgadi once was. Research suggests that the Makgadikgadi is a relic of what was once one of the biggest inland lakes Africa has ever had. Africa\u2019s most famous explorer, Dr. David Livingstone, crossed these pans in the 19th century, guided by a massive baobab, Chapman\u2019s Tree \u2013 believed to be 3 000 to 4 000 years old, and the only landmark for hundreds of miles around. Seeing this amazing tree today, you are given entry to an era when much of the continent was uncharted, and explorers often risked their lives navigating the wilderness on oxcarts through rough and grueling terrain. The Makgadikgadi is in fact a series of pans, the largest of which are Sowa and Ntwetwe, both of which are surrounded by a myriad of smaller pans. North of these two pans are Kudiakam pan, Nxai Pan and Kaucaca Pan. Interspersed between the pans are sand dunes, rocky islands and peninsulas, and desert terrain. No vegetation can grow on the salty surface of the pans, but the fringes are covered with grasslands. Massive baobab trees populate some fringe areas \u2013 and their silhouettes create dramatic landscapes against a setting sun. The Makgadikgadi Pans Game Reserve \u2013 with an area of 3 900 sq kms \u2013 incorporates the western end of Ntwetwe, extensive grasslands and acacia woodland. At its northern boundary, it meets the Nxai Pan National Park, separated only by the Nata- Maun Road. In the wet season, this reserve can offer good wildlife viewing, particularly when large herds of zebra and wildebeest begin their westward migration to the Boteti region. other species include gemsbok, eland and red hartebeest, as well as kudu, bushbuck, duiker, giraffe, springbok, steenbok, and even elephant, with all the accompanying predators, as well as the rare brown hyena. Humans have inhabited areas of the pans since the Stone age, and have adapted to geographical and climatic changes as they have occurred. Archaeological sites on the pans are rich with Early Man\u2019s tools, and the bones of the fish and animals he ate. Human inhabitation has continued to the present day; and a number of villages, including Mopipi, Mmatshumo, Nata, Gweta and Rakops, are situated on the fringes of the pans.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine \u2013 if you will \u2013 an area the size of Portugal, largely uninhabited by humans. Its stark, flat, featureless terrain stretches \u2013 it would seem \u2013 to eternity, meeting and fusing with a milky-blue horizon. This is the Makgadikgadi \u2013 an area of 12 000 sq kms, part of the Kalahari Basin, yet unique 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