Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

Let me state at this point that all the parks and reserves in Botswana are awesome. Yes, they differ in scenery and wildlife composition but their uniqueness is always nature and wildlife pure. If you got a chance to visit several parks, then just do so but choose the time of the year carefully. Because, the Makgadikgadi Pans are very treacherous during the rainy season!

Excellent safari destination with sufficient tourism infrastructure

Our guide somehow understood how to navigate this flat, shimmery, beautiful landscape and we saw lots of bird species.

There are two parts to this area - the Pans itself and the National Park. We spent a night sleeping under the stars in the Pans and it was an awesome experience (organised by Meno a Kwena Tented Camp). We also saw meerkats and no-one else. We then did a safari drive in the national park section. It has the second largest migration of zebra (after the Serengeti) which we could believe as we saw hundreds of them as well as lots of wildebeest, elephants swimming and lions very close. And we hardly saw anyone else. It was a very special place.

Very cool and unique experience. We loved it

One of the most magical places on earth

We drove into Makgadikgadi NP, in a hired 4x4, from the south (from Lethakane) on a spur of the moment decision, we had an extra two days to get to Maun and thus decided to take the detour. Probably one of the best decision ever made. After a small town (I think it's called Mmatshumo) the road gradually gets narrower and after reaching the salt plains it now and then was completely gone. The salt plains give a tremendous feeling of freedom, but don't wander of too far from the tracks, because your vehicle will get stuck if you crack the crust of the salt and you'll probably damage the landscape.
We camped at the campsite at Kubu Island, a rocky outcrop just east of the central grassy peninsula. Although the "island" is rather small, it's full of Baobabs, a rather strange sight if the surrounding area is only salt plains and grassland. Watching the sun set from the top of the island was beautiful, the moment the last part of the sun sinks behind the horizon, absolute darkness engulfs the plains. During the five minutes walk back to our tent we lost our way in the darkness, ending up at someone else's camping spot.
If you've got the choice, try to make it to Kubu Island on a night, or at least evening, without a moon. The night skies were some of the best of seen in Africa.