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~lustedtowander~
US
Visited:
September 2011
Reviewed: Jan 27, 2012
35-50 years of age
In the dry season, the pans are accessible, but wildlife viewing is difficult. In the wet .... be ready to dig in the mud.
Alan J Castle
Visited:
September 2009
Reviewed: Jan 6, 2012
Stay at Planet Baobab, one of the quirkiest hotels anywhere and take an organised trip on quad bikes out onto the pan, where you will camp overnight sleeping under the stars. There is absolutely nothing there, but never has nothing been so magnificent as sunset or sunrise on this massive pan.
JaimitoFrog
US
Visited:
October 2011
Reviewed: Dec 11, 2011
35-50 years of age
Worth going, but plan your trip carefully.
The places is beautiful, and the scenery depends so much on the season. We visited the place in late Oct, and our planned camping in the salt pans was canceled last minute due to the rain. From what I heard, the wet season is full of migratory animals. In the dry season, you can ride out in the pans on dirt bikes, which we did for a only a few minutes until the rain hit. So go there during either season, but not during the transition season or else your trip may not turn out as planned. The meerkat colony is a must see!
getece
ES
Visited:
April 2007
Reviewed: Oct 25, 2011
65+ years of age
Patrick Smith
Visited:
May 2001
Reviewed: Oct 12, 2011
The Makgadikgadi pans are an unearthly, perception-bending stretch of cracked gray flatness like the bottom of an evaporated ocean.
It was here where I got my first wildlife sighting. In the late afternoon I noticed two figures in the distant, quivering heat. When I raised my binoculars, I was astonished to discover these weren't a couple of wayward campers, but two gigantic, shoulder-tall maribou storks foraging along a muddy break in the pan. The sight of the huge birds moved me with a peculiar, disarming force: as if to remind me, suddenly and wholly: this is Africa!
Patrick Carlisle
US
Visited:
October 2022
Reviewed: Nov 1, 2022
Email Patrick Carlisle | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Janette
AU
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Oct 31, 2017
Email Janette | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
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.
Jessica
US
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Oct 19, 2017
Email Jessica | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our guide somehow understood how to navigate this flat, shimmery, beautiful landscape and we saw lots of bird species.
GoingPlaceswithME
CA
Visited:
August 2015
Reviewed: Aug 1, 2016
Email GoingPlaceswithME | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent safari destination with sufficient tourism infrastructure
Horst M. Vogel
LC
Visited:
April 2000
Reviewed: Dec 6, 2015
Email Horst M. Vogel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
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!