Phumsile having just returned from a private tour had the opportunity to vist Nxai Pan in Botswana.  While Nxai Pan is not on any of our schedule deparutres, we can incorporate it into private group tours and so Phumi has the following to share with you...

 

Nxai pan is located on the north east edge of the central Kalahari, salt pans from which they are taking its name from a fossil lakebed about 40 square Kilometres in size. The landscape is dotted with clusters of umbrella Acacia trees and Mopani woodland in North. During the rains from November to April the pans are covered with Grass that attracts thousands of Zebra migrating from the swamp areas like Savuti going all the way to the Makgadikgadi pans. The name of the park is claimed by some to be that of a hooked rod use by the locals to remove springhares from their holes, and by others simply means a pan.

       
Games is abundant from December to April but if the rains have been heavy the roads maybe a bit difficult to negotiate. The more accessible times to in the Pans in Dry season from May to September. We visited the pans in the last week of January and due to the delays of rain in Southern Africa the road were not too bad.

For every visit to Nxai Pan National Park we will always go pass Baines Baobab. A millennia stand of old baobab tress that owes its name to the man known to have discovered them , Thomas Baines, artist and fellow explorer which had been in the area in 1860s on his way to the Victoria Falls. While we were having our lunch under these beautiful Baobabs a white pinkish cloud approached us. This was a large flock of Lesser Flamingos.