Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pan National Parks

The trek from Maun to Makgadikgadi is less than 200 kms and fairly straightforward.  We knew we’d pass through another foot and mouth control and were prepared this time.  Our truck was loaded with everything we’d need for the next 4 days, except beef.

We stopped in the first town after the control point to fix that.  There was a small shop on the corner that we tried our luck with.  The shop owner directed us to the door next to hers, which belonged to the butcher.  The meat on display was all cut into pieces to be used in stew.  When I asked for steak to grill, she told me to follow her.

 

We went directly into the refrigerator where the meat was hanging.  I had requested 500 grams, but there was clearly some difficulty with our communication.  She started cutting off piece after piece and I asked if that was all for me and she motioned her hand for me to wait.  We moved back to the front of the shop and she began to put all of the meat in a bag on the scale.  I continually tried to tell her it was way too much as it was over 5 kgs.  After much back and forth, I opted for buying 1 kg as that was an amount we could both understand.

Makgadikgadi National Park

We entered the park by ferry from Khumaga (Xhumaga) as we needed to cross the Boteti River.  It was single car ferry that is run by a local farmer.  He lined up the ferry and Tico led us up the ramp onto the ferry.  It took some tries to get us lined up just right, but we made it across.  Our camp for the night was at Kumaga close to the park entrance.

 

The man managing the camp told us where to go for game drives and we waited for the hot part of the day to pass before we went out.  We saw zebras, giraffes, kudu, impala and elephants as we drove around.  The road went along the river and led us to the hippo pool.  We sat and watched as the sun went down.  Several younger hippos were practicing their yawn and a small baby went off with its mother for their nightly feed.  While observing the hippos, we saw an elephant cross the river (back into the park) and 2 kudus eating in the background.

 

Due to the sand in the area, the elephants appeared to be painted white.  They were very different from the darker ones we’d seen before.  While the grass was very high and seeing smaller animals was difficult, we did get to see a lot of birds.  There were red and yellow-billed hornbills and lilac-breasted rollers (Botswana’s national bird) everywhere we looked.  We even managed to find 2 dung beetles pushing their rolled dung in the sand and a fish eagle eating a fish in a tree.

 

On our way out the next morning, we had hoped to eat breakfast with the lions as we were told there was a large pride near camp.  With the dense bush, we were unable to find them.  Instead, we enjoyed our meal with elephants nearby.

Nxai Pan

We had about 10 kms of highway between exiting Makgadikgadi and entering Nxai Pan.  Along that stretch, we saw 4 giraffes eating their way along.  As there are no fences around the parks, there is no real reason for them to stay inside (besides safety).  At the entrance, there was a German couple on their way out and we got information on the road conditions as well as animal sightings.  They assured us that the roads weren’t bad, although sandy at times, and that we’d see a lot of elephants.

 

 

With that information, we made our way into the park.  It was midday so not the best for game viewing, but we decided to drive around anyway.  We made our way towards the Baines Baobab campsite and had planned to spend the hot part of the day there before driving on.  As we reached the camp, we realized why it remained closed.  The pan directly in front was covered in water so much that it made the road impassable.  There was an oryx sitting on the water’s edge guarding the path so we watched him for a bit before turning back.

 

 

Once back on the road to South campsite, what would be our home for the next 2 nights, it started to get sandy again.  There was a good stretch that was deep, loose sand, which made us wish we’d taken air out of our tires before starting.  But with the help of our 4-wheel drive, we made it through and to the camp office.  We got all the details we needed for game drives and then went on to see our campsite.

 

There was a film crew for National Geographic at our camp and Tico asked if we could jump in their car, but unfortunately they declined for liability reasons.  They were looking for lions, which meant that Tico’s dream of seeing a male lion could become a reality.  We set out that afternoon in search of their car.  On the way, we stopped by a waterhole and watched as 2 elephants drank and bathed themselves.

 

We took the western route that would loop around to the man-made waterhole, but spotted the film trucks before we got very far.  With the binoculars out, we inched our way forward while looking for what they saw.  That’s when Tico spotted the lion in the shade of the trees.  After a few moments of watching, it stood up and walked towards us before lying down on the edge of the road.  We spent the good part of an hour watching him clean himself and sleep.  Suddenly a lioness appeared in the distance and walked in front of us towards a waterhole.  The lion joined her not long after, as did we.  While they weren’t doing anything out of this world, it was thrilling to be in their presence.

 

 

The sun had already disappeared beyond the horizon, which meant it was time to head to camp.  We worked our way around the deep ruts that were left behind from the mud and rain while still seeing animals in the dim light.  We passed 2 more lionesses not far from where we’d been sitting and just before reaching camp, there were 13 giraffes heading home as well.

 

The next day we woke up well before the sun came up to make sure we had time to pack away the tent and get moving.  We headed back to where we’d seen the lions the night before.  The lion was sitting near the road again with the film crew directly in front.  We stopped and watched as he reacted as the other lions grunted deeply in the distance.  As we sat there, the sun rose behind him looking like a postcard of Africa.  It was reddish pink and appeared huge next to the horizon.  Just as we turned on the car to move, the lion began to grunt his response to the others.  We’d heard the lions in the distance before, but it was a completely different experience to see it happening so close.

 

We continued up the road to the waterhole where the lioness was the night before, but only found a black-backed jackal.  As we knew where the lion was, we decided to turn back.  Again, Tico spotted something in the tan grass.  We stopped and waited as it had laid down and were glad we had.  It was a cheetah!  It stood and began to walk towards the shade of trees off in the distance as we enjoyed the extremely rare sighting.

 

Even with such luck, we weren’t ready to head back to take a nap just yet.  We went to the man-made waterhole where we found hundreds of zebras.  As far as we could see, the striped animals were there.  This was one of the reasons we wanted to come to Nxai Pan as the zebra migration is second in size to the well-known wildebeest migration in Tanzania/Kenya.  It was impressive to see so many zebras and listen to them make their funny barking sound.  All of a sudden, more of them starting making noise.  There was a lioness walking towards the water.  The zebras scattered and let the lioness through.  We thought that she came for water, but she only marked her territory before walking across the road to shade herself in the trees.  She only wanted to make  her presence known.

 

That afternoon we left earlier than we normally would to see what we could find.  At the first waterhole that we reached, there were 6 elephants bathing and playing.  The younger ones fought and knocked their tusks while the elder stood halfway in the water with its eyes closed.  Occasionally, it would spray itself or drink, but for the most part it rested while the young ones played like little kids.

 

We left in search of the lions and looped around the pan until we got to the man-made waterhole and sat to see what would happen.  There was nothing in sight, but we wanted to give it a chance.  After several minutes of not seeing any animals approaching the water, we started the car to leave.  A safari truck had come and left with tourists, but stopped near where we’d seen the lioness that morning.  She had moved to a different bush, but she was still there!

 

Again, she didn’t care that we were watching her and she repositioned herself to watch the zebras that were coming to drink water.  She hid her body behind a bush and had her head on top so she could see.  Everyone thought she was going to pounce as some of the zebras galloped in, but she didn’t budge.  There were 2 springboks running for what looked like their lives in the far distance and then 3 wildebeest came sprinting towards the water.  She reacted with the latter and started slowly walking towards them, but they ran off and she sat like a queen on the edge of the water.  There was tension in the air as the animals knew a predator was nearby.  We stayed until the sun dipped beneath the horizon and it was time to leave.

 

 

The next morning we went out on our search of the lions hoping that they had hunted or would be hunting that morning.  We drove in circles and passed the film crew as well as another safari truck and everyone said they’d seen nothing.  After a couple hours and seeing a few zebras and giraffes, we took air out of our tires and started the sandy road out of the park.

 

The ride to the entrance gate was much easier with less air in our tires.  We flew through it and Tico even decided to drive without his hands for a bit to see how well the tires would follow the grooves in the sand.  The truck did surprisingly well.  There were giraffe, zebra and elephants along the way to bid us goodbye and then we saw more giraffes and oryx along the highway after leaving the park.

 

Our experience in Nxai Pan was definitely a special one that we will remember.  It was the first time that we were in a park with the grass short and the landscape being one that you could see for at least a kilometer.  Most of the places we’d been had grass up to our waist and sometimes above our head.  We were able to get a glimpse of what the parks would look like in the dry season and what it was like to spot animals from a distance.  It also helped us to realize how much luck you have to have on your side to be at the right place at the right time to see the animals.

Helpful tips:

• If traveling in rainy season, make sure to visit Nxai Pan for easier game viewing.
• If traveling in dry season, animals of all different types are found drinking together at the man-made waterhole.
• Be prepared for the foot and mouth control if heading to the parks from Maun.