Arnoud Quanjer Wildlife Photography

Situated in Northern Botswana, this 2578 square kilometer National Park is mainly forest and savanna woodland and large areas of open grassland. Nxai Pan is located North of the Makgadikgadi Pans and it was itself was once part of the old Makgadikgadi lake bed. The Makgadikgadi lake, an area of 80 000 square km, started drying up almost 10,000 years ago. As the water evaporated, huge salt-encrusted pans were left.  In Nxai Pan National Park two of these Pans - Nxai (a fossil lake bed about 15 km wide and covered with short grass), and Kgama-Kgama Pan are located. On the pans are islands of Acacia trees which the animals use for shade during the day.

Nxai Pan was declared a conservation area in 1970 and a national park in 1992. When Nxai Pan was declared a national park it was enlarged to include Baines's Baobaps. Baines's Baobaps is one of the highlights of Nxai Pan National Park. These boababs were named after the explorer Thomas Baines who painted them on 22 May 1862. In the 146 years since Thomas Baines painted these baobabs there has been virtually no change to these baobaps.

Best season to visit

During the wet season from November to April Nxai Pan National Park is transformed into green and lush grasslands. During this period game viewing is spectacular with large herds of animals and an abundance of predators. Birdlife at this time is also spectacular. As the roads around the pans consist of clay driving on them can be quite a challenge. During the dry season from May to October Nxai Pan becomes very dry and hot, with temperatures of over 40 degrees centigrade. During the dry season the animals are completely dependent on the artificial waterholes. Patiently waiting at one of these waterholes can yield extrordinary sightings. During my stay in October 2008 the only working artificial waterhole was the one which is 2km North of the gate.

Camping

There is one campsite in Nxai Pan National Park. This camp is located 2 km to the East of the entrance gate and it is known as South Camp. In October 2008 the ablutions had running cold water. A donkey boiler was provided for hot water. New ablution blocks were being build and they had solar pannels. I assume that these new ablutions will have cold and warm running water. I was very impressed by the new ablution buildings, they looked absolutely stunning. Check the South Camp menu on the left for more information and pictures of the camp. At the time of writing this article the bookings for South Camp are being handled by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP). This will most probably change in the near future though as DWNP is outsourcing the management of campgrounds. Check this article for more information.

Getting there

Take the Nxai Pan turn-off which is 138 km from Maun and 167km from Nata. The turn-off is clearly marked. It's 35 km on this road to the Nxai Pan gate and around 18km to the Baines's Baobabs turn-off. If you're going to Baines's Baobabs then avoid the pan road in the wet season. After 800m from the turn-off to Baines's Baobab there is a fork in the road, in the wet season take a left turn at this fork as the road to the right will lead you straight through the pans. In the dry season both tracks are accesible.

Road conditions

During the dry season (May to October) the roads in the park are easilly negotiable. They are hard surface and shouldn't pose any problems. During the wet season the roads can get very clayey and difficult to negotiate. When visiting in the wet season it's advised to come equiped with a high-lift jack and preferably a winch.

The access road to Nxai Pan gate is difficult to negotiate in any season. This 35km road consists of very deep sand and a 4x4 is definitely required. It will take you anywhere between one and two hours to traverse this road.

Fuel, food and water

There are no fuel, food or drinks available at Nxai Pan. Make sure that you are completely self supporting when planning a stay at Nxai Pan. The nearest town to Nxai Pan is Gweta which is 104 km away. In Gweta you can buy fuel and drinks and limited stocks. The best place to stock up is Maun which is 172 km to the West of the park.