Enjoy a fully private safari with your own vehicle and experienced guide, allowing for a personalized wildlife experience at your own pace. The day begins with tea, coffee, rusks, and fresh fruit before a 1.5-hour drive to Nxai Pans National Park.

Explore the park on a full-day game drive, with a tea stop at the gate and a picnic lunch in the wilderness. Return to Marula Camp in the late afternoon to unwind and enjoy sundowners as the sun sets over the plains.

Nxai Pans, part of the Makgadikgadi Pan Complex, features grassy plains dotted with Acacia trees and iconic Baines’ Baobabs. It hosts the annual zebra migration and diverse wildlife, including impala, springbok, gemsbok, cheetah, and brown hyena.

The park is at its best during the green season (December–April), when wildlife is abundant and the landscape lush, while the dry season (May–October) offers excellent wildlife viewing at waterholes.

As the sun begins its slow descent over the vast Makgadikgadi Pans, Marula Camp offers an unforgettable sundowner experience. Guests are guided to a secluded point, where the expansive horizon stretches endlessly, framed by ancient baobabs and mopane trees. With a chilled drink in hand and the gentle sounds of the bush all around, you watch the sky transform into a canvas of golds, pinks, and purples. The moment is quiet, intimate, and profoundly peaceful—an invitation to pause, reflect, and simply be present in one of Botswana’s most spectacular landscapes. Often, curious wildlife may wander nearby, adding a magical touch to an already enchanting experience.

Sundowners at Marula Camp are not just about the drinks; they are a sensory immersion—the colors, the scents of the dry bush, the cool breeze, and the sense of absolute space combine to create a memory that lingers long after the sun has set.

Guests begin their day at Marula Camp with a leisurely breakfast before embarking on a full-day journey to the Makgadikgadi Pans, one of Botswana’s most extraordinary landscapes. This immersive experience offers breathtaking scenery, wildlife encounters, and unique cultural insights.

Morning Exploration: The day starts with a guided drive through mopane woodland and savannah, where herds of zebra, springbok, and other plains game may be seen grazing. Knowledgeable guides share insights into the ecology, geology, and cultural history of the region.

Midday Highlights: Guests visit meerkat colonies when conditions allow, followed by a scenic picnic lunch, enjoying sweet and savory treats while taking in the vast, open pans.

Afternoon Adventure: The journey continues deeper into the Makgadikgadi Pans, exploring salt flats and palm tree “islands” on foot or by vehicle. Guides explain the pans’ geology, zebra migration, and desert ecology, concluding with sundowners amid endless horizons, a serene and unforgettable finale.

The afternoon at Marula Camp begins with High Tea, enjoyed as the Makgadikgadi landscape softens into its most atmospheric light.

Guests then set out on a short drive with an experienced local guide to a majestic ancient baobab tree, one of the region’s most iconic landmarks. Steeped in history and folklore, these giants symbolise the deep cultural and natural heritage of the pans. From here, the experience continues on foot, allowing guests to connect more intimately with the land.

The guided walk focuses on the finer details of the Makgadikgadi rather than big-game encounters, highlighting animal tracks and signs such as zebra, wildebeest, springbok, jackal, bat-eared fox, and occasionally brown hyena. Guides interpret the landscape through ecology, indigenous plant uses, traditional knowledge, and the geological and cultural history of the region.

The walk includes a visit to a local village, offering respectful insight into daily life and traditions, followed by a stop at a traditional cattle outpost, where guests gain an authentic perspective on rural livelihoods.

Guests return to Marula Camp in time to relax, swim, or enjoy the stillness as evening approaches.