The secret safari superstar is home to a great migration! Follow explorers to the little-visited Nxai Pan National Park, an extension of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pan network.
Zebras migrate here by the thousands to drop their young during the rainy season, completing the longest mammal migration in Southern Africa. Dust-white elephants depend on the permanent waterhole at Nxai Pan Camp (the only permanent camp in the national park) during the dry season, and predators, such as Kalahari Black-maned lions, lurk, waiting for prey to take an unsuspecting sip. There are also a vast springbok population, wildebeest, bat-eared foxes and large groups of giraffes.
Nine spacious tents include a relaxed lounge area, indoor and outdoor showers and a veranda facing the waterhole. One room has an additional twin bedroom for family use. The main area has a swimming pool and minimalist open-air lounge with decor echoing the salt pan landscapes. The thatched dining area and bar maintain a comfortable temperature year-round.
The minimalistic white-washed design of the camp is in keeping with the surrounding white salt pans. Nxai Pan accommodates up to eighteen people in nine environmentally designed units. All are built with materials of minimal environmental impact and additionally maintain a constant and comfortable in-room temperature year-round, while seasonal temperatures vary from below freezing to over 40 degrees Celsius.
The rooms include double wash basins and both indoor and outdoor showers. The rooms are spacious with lounge area and one includes an additional twin bedroom, ideal for family use. All the units are on raised decks and their location on the edge of the ridge means that each viewing deck has truly special and captivating views of the wide open pan and its big beautiful sky. Each hasan open verandah which looks on to the waterhole in front of the camp, where elephant are frequent visitors.
Family unit includes en-suite double bedroom, separate second twin bedroom and one shared bathroom.
Minimum age is six years, except 1 April – 15 November where there is no min age requirement. Special activities & services are offered for children. (eg. early mealtimes / children's meals). Families travelling with children aged 6–12 years are required to book private activities.
Battery Charging Facilities, Communal Dining, Eco Friendly, Laundry Service (Complimentary), Meal on Request, Pool, Private Vehicle Available
Balcony / Deck, En-Suite, Fan, Laundry Service (Complimentary), Lounge Area, Mosquito Nets, Outside Shower, Safe, Shower, Verandah
Airport Shuttle (Complimentary), Credit Card, Room Service, Room Service (24 hours)
Game drives are undertaken in custom designed Toyota game viewing vehicles seating no more than six guests at a time in two rows of three seats. Guests are guided by a two person team of professional guide and tracker - a special feature of the Kwando Safaris wildlife experience. The two person team enables the guide to communicate points of interest and the complex interrelations that exist throughout the natural world, while the tracker ensures no sightings or tracks are missed. At Tau Pan, the tracker comes from the San Bushman tribe, a tribe that has traditionally lived in the Kalahari desert for generations and is intimately acquainted with the area and wildlife that is endemic to the Kalahari.
Walking with a member of the San Bushman tribe allows guests to appreciate how the tribe used to live off the land through traditions and skills passed from generation to generation. Conducted close to the camp area, the walk is conducted at a slow pace designed to allow engagement and question asking so that guests may better understand the nature of the bushman to the environment around them. Knowledge about how they would hunt, trap animals, and the manner in which they use the flora and fauna in their environment to help them survive are all shared with guests. Questions are always welcome!
Located in the south of Nxai Pans National Park are the seven baobabs known as Baines Baobabs or the Sleeping sisters.
Day trips to Baines’ Baobabs are highly popular, and include a picnic lunch at the site. These age-old trees were immortalised in paintings by the artist and adventurer Thomas Baines in 1862. If you were to compare Baines’ paintings to the scene today, you would find that after 150 years, the trees are nearly identical – testament to the age of these magnificent giants.