Nxai Pan National Park: Introduction
Nxai Pan National Park is adjacent to the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park and is approximately 2,578 km² in size. Visitors are able to self-drive into the park, however only 4x4 vehicles should attempt the journey.
The Nxai Pan is one of Makgadikgadi's salt flats, located on the northern border of the park. In 1992 it was declared a National Park, with the outstanding and unique feature of a waterhole, situated in the centre of the park in a large grassy plain.
Approximately 20km south-east of Nxai Pan, is the beautiful Kudiakam Pan complex. Apart from the abundance of wildlife, Kudiakam Pan is significant as the site of 'Baines' Baobabs', a clump of seven Baobab trees, known as the 'seven sisters' or the 'sleeping sisters' commemorated on canvas by painter and explorer Thomas Baines on 22 May 1862. It is commonly believed that if Thomas Baines were to repaint these Baobabs today, 140 years later, there would be no visible difference.
Locate the Nxai Pan National Park
How to get there & Best time to visit
How to get there
Entry into Botswana for safari-goers is usually through Maun International Airport (MUB) or Kasane International Airport (BBK). Nxai Pan National Park is 162km/101mi east of Maun along a good tarmac road and the drive takes roughly 3 hours*. The park can be reached on a self-drive safari, an organized mobile camping safari or a fly-in-safari. There are several campsites in the park and one lodge (Kwando Nxai Pan Lodge).
Check at the gate about track conditions within the park. As a general rule, the road from the main entrance (Nxai Pan Gate) to South Camp and Baines’ Baobabs is sandy and corrugated, and requires careful driving. Those around the pans themselves are much better. Flying by chartered plane from Maun or Kasane, or from any safari camp, to the airstrip of the only lodge in the park is the easiest way to get here. Tour operators usually book charter flights between parks as part of the tour package. There are no scheduled flights to Nxai Pan.
Best time to visit
Nxai Pan National Park can be visited year-round, although the best time for wildlife viewing is generally from December to March. It is a seasonal park and animals migrate here in the wet summer months, but the exact timing is erratic and depends on rainfall (which can be unpredictable, if it arrives at all). Wildlife is more scarce during the Dry season (April to October), but often found not far from the few remaining waterholes.
Nxai Pan National Park has well-defined Dry (April to October) and Wet (November to March) seasons, as well as a hot, desert climate. As the Dry season progresses, the park becomes more and more parched, with the heat reaching its peak in October. When the rains break, marking the start of the Wet season, it cools down immediately. Rains can sometimes arrive as early as late October and linger as late as early April.