The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans were once part of an enormous lake that dried up over 10000 years ago as a result of tectonic and climatic change. Today the pans are one of the main tourist attractions in Botswana and a stark contrast to the wetlands of the Okavango Delta. The northern most of the Makgadikgadi pans and our next destination, are Kgama Kgama Pan, Kudiakam Pan and Nxai Pan.
These three pans comprise the Nxai Pan National Park. The Park is very easy to get to. The gate adjoins the A3, the main road between Maun and Nata. The next town is Gweta, but it's best to fuel and stock up in Maun (140 kilometers west) or in Nata (160 kilometers east). The road had many many potholes so it will take longer. In addition to that the road from the gate to our campsite was very deep sand and as if that wasn't enough we got caught up in a cloud burst aswell. I had to let down the tyres. The road is only about 35 kilometers but it took us over 2 hours. We arrived quite late at our campsite which sucked, especially considering the park fees (see facts and figures blog). The next morning we were at the waterhole just after dawn.
