It's the part of Botswana that gets tongues twisted and spelling bee contestants all aflutter, but once you get your head (and lips) around its name, the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park is one of the most distinctive, unique, and downright fantabulous places to go on safari in the whole African shebang...

Let's start with that discombobulating handle... Makgadikgadi. Break it up into little bits - Ma. Kha. Di. Kha. Di. Say it slowly at first and faster as you get more confident. That will do it. For purists, add a touch of throat-clearing to the K in "Kha". 

There. That was easy, wasn't it? Pronunciation dealt with, we can move on to what and where it is. You'll find it bang, smack in the middle of the dry savannah of north-eastern Botswana, south-east of the Okavango Delta and surrounded by the Kalahari. They're the largest salt pans in the world, covering around 16,000 square kilometres (that's 1,000 square miles for our friends still using imperial measures!) and created thousands of years ago when a massive lake bigger than Switzerland dried up. 

So, what's it like? 

Dotted by granite outcrops silhouetted with ancient baobabs and patches of vegetation, the white sand and salt stretches seemingly forever. The dry season (May to October) is the prime time to visit the pans, with quad-biking, horse trails and sleepouts under some of the most starlit skies on the planet high on the adventure list. This is also when you'll see desert adapted species like the aardwolf and brown hyena.

It's the best time to visit the Makgadikgadi's meerkats too, with local populations very habituated to humans, often using them as lookout posts! So if having a meerkat on your head is on your to-do list, you're in for a treat! This is the best time of year for walking too. Head out with the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen and discover first-hand how they manage to survive the challenging environment. 

In the wet season, usually from November to March, the annual rains completely transform the pans into a magical wetland with lush grasses and vast expanses of shallow water triggering Africa's second largest zebra migration, accompanied by large numbers of wildebeest and other herbivores moving across the pans from the Boteti River. This means it's a prime time for lion and cheetah too, as they move in to take advantage of an abundance of prey species. 

During these wetter, summer months you'll see greater and lesser flamingos in huge numbers as they feed, mate, lay their eggs and raise their chicks. You'll also find summer migrant bird species in abundance making this a prime time for budding birders!

Stay and play...

The Makgadikgadi is blessed with a great choice of fantabulous safari camps that are almost as exciting and mind-blowingly amazing as the destination itself! Here's the top five in our books, in no particular order...

San Camp is probably the epitome of desert romance, and then some. With impossibly white tents overlooking the impossibly white expanse of Nwetwe Pan, impossibly aesthetically pleasing swaying palms and impossibly scrumptious food. All of which makes it possibly the most unforgettable safari camp we've ever seen! Think Nat King Cole and you'll get the picture. 

Add to the mix the cheeky little meerkats who pop up randomly to say "hi" and brown hyenas lounging around in the long grass at the edge of the pan and you begin to understand why we love this place so much. 

Camp Kalahari is San Camp's more laid-back little sister with a bit of sass and a sense of fun thrown in for good measure. Perfect for families with children it's located on Brown Hyena Island with panoramic views out over the pans and a host of fab activities on offer, all designed to keep the kids enthralled and adults in love with the idea of never having to leave.

Jack's Camp is the matriarch of the San Camp and Camp Kalahari family - the Big Mamma of the Makgadikgadi and a safari camp legend of note. After decades of delivering incredible safari experiences, in 2021 Jack's underwent a makeover that saw it transform into one of the most gobsmackingly gorgeous tented camps ever. Full stop. Period. The end. 

With 270 square metre tents, each with their own plunge pools and overhead bed cooling systems to keep the summer heat at bay, the detail and décor is to die for. This is glamping taken to its ultimate conclusion and the very pinnacle of safari opulence, allowing Jack's Camp to veritably drop the mike and walk, triumphantly, off stage. 

On to Leroo La Tau, on the western bank of the Boteti River bordering the Makgadikgadi. Offering a different perspective of the Makgadikgadi eco-system - one that revolves around the river and the annual zebra migration - it's the ideal camp to combine with either San Camp, Camp Kalahari or Jack's Camp in the thick of the pans themselves. 

The Boteti and its surrounds are home to predators aplenty, with lion, leopard and cheetah in attendance, as well as caracal and brown and spotted hyena. You also get huge herds of elephant coming to drink at the river.

Finally, we present for your delectation and delight the devine Meno a Kwena, perched on a rocky clifftop overlooking the Boteti River right on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. From here you can enjoy day trips into the pans, guided walks with the local bushmen or just sit back on your private verandah and gaze at paradise.

Is your appetite for adventure suitably whetted? Have we got your wanderlust jumping up and down excitedly? Is your suitcase banging on your closet door to be set free? Then drop us an email and let's get you to Africa.