Makgadigadi Pans

East of the Kalahari we find the 12000 square kilometers Makgadikgadi Pans at the southern end of the Great Rift Valley that runs the length of Africa. A feeling of being away from it all pervades here in this vast white landscape, where isolated islands of ancient baobab trees may be explored by quad bikes and survival/ tracking skills learned from local San ( Bushman ) trackers. Home to the desert adapted Oryx, rare brown hyena and inquisitive suricate, the pans are a tremendous sight during the rainy season drawing plains game and water birds such as flamingos, pelicans and cranes in large numbers. The archaeological history of the pans is also of tremendous interest and provides a further reason to explore this remote part of Africa. A visit to the area is essential for anyone interested in evolution and the origins and explanation of the Okavango Delta and Botswana?s big picture?.