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Home -> Reviews & Tips -> Trip Reviews -> Nxai & CKGR 2007
NXAI PAN & CKGR TRIP 2007
In January 2007 we went on a safari to Nxai Pan National Park and Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Due to time constraints we could only manage a 4 day trip (2 nights in each place) resulting in a considerable amount of travelling, however, the trip proved very productive with over 120 birds and 26 mammals (incl Cheetah, Lion and Elephant) seen in just 4 days.
Tuesday 2nd January
Palapye - Nata - Nxai Pan
Left Palapye at 6:30am and arrived at
Nata at 11:00. Had an early lunch at Nata Lodge before calling at Nata Wild Beasts
for frozen meat which we had ordered the day before. We filled up the Jerry cans
at Nata and then stopped again at Gweta, to top-up the fuel in the vehicle, before
arriving at Nxai Pan around 3:30pm. We pitched the tents and had time for a quick
evening drive with the highlight being an African Wild Cat, flushed unexpectedly
from the grass when we stopped for a herd of Zebra! After returning to camp we were
told that a male lion had been seen in the vicinity of the campsite but the night
passed uneventfully.
Distance travelled: 600km
Wednesday 3rd January
Nxai Pan
Awoke at 6:00am and set off on an early game drive for
1hr 30mins before returning for breakfast. After another game drive we returned to
camp for a braai with the meat from Wild Beasts in Nata - the T-bone steaks were
good however the chicken was as tough as old boots! After lunch we enjoyed relaxing
under the tall trees at the campsite before setting off for an afternoon drive. The
roads at this time of year are very muddy in parts and need careful navigation to
avoid getting bogged down in the deep ruts. Due to the good rains there were large
herds of animals on the pans and we spent a while watching a huge herd of Zebra as
well as Giraffe, Wildebeest, Gemsbok and even a lone Tsessebe! Blackbacked Jackal
were frequently encountered on the Pan as well as a family of Bat-eared Foxes. The
birdlife on the pan was good with plenty of larks, swallows, bee-eaters and raptors
as well as a variety of waterbirds in some of the rain filled pans such as plovers,
ducks and even an African Fish Eagle! After traversing most of the roads around the
pan we returned to camp to pack the vehicle ready for the morning trip to the Central
Kalahari.
Distance travelled: 50km
Thursday 4th January
Nxai Pan - Khumaga - Rakops - Letiahau
We were woken at 6am by
a lion roaring so we got into the vehicle as soon as we could to try and find it.
The male eluded us but we did spot 4 lionesses across the pan though they were too
far away to photograph. They had obviously killed in the night and looked ready to
settle down for the day so we left them to return to camp to take the tents down.
We left the campsite at 8:30am covering the 35km to the main road in just over 45mins.
In order to save time we had decided to take the road to Khumaga, through Makgadikgadi
Pans National Park, which took just over 1hr meaning we arrived at Khumaga gate just
before 11am, after a short detour to the hippo pools along the Boteti River. From
Khumaga it is 70km on tar to Rakops where we refueled and bought a few supplies at
the general dealer before leaving for the CKGR just before 12am.
After 1hr 15mins
we arrived at the impressive, new entrance gate at Matswere (45kms from Rakops).
From there it is about 34km to Deception Valley which took us just over 1hr. We went
to Kori campsite for a short break before continuing on to our campsite at Letiahau,
44km further on. The campsite is actually called Lebolobolo, which means Puff Adder,
rather disconcerting!! There are two campsites here, pleasently situated among acacia
trees a few km from the Letiahau waterhole, however neither of them have any facilities
unlike most of the other campsites which have a basic bush toilet and shower. Once
again we heard lions roaring in the distance but apart from the occasional springhare
wandering through the campsite and the multitude of insects there were no other visitors
to the campsite!
Distance travelled: 260km
Friday 5th January
Letiahau - Tau Pan - Leopard Pan
We woke early and packed the vehicle
in just 25mins resulting in us leaving the campsite shortly after 6:30am! A pair
of African Wild Cats were seen on the pan as well as Blackbacked Jackals, still wet
from the morning dew. We were amazed at how green everywhere was with the lush grass
attracting large numbers of Gembsbok and Springbok which were regularly encountered
throughout this section of the reserve. Raptors were also regularly seen as well
as the more usual larks, coursers and korhaans - with the Black Korhaans keeping
us amused with their noisy display flights!
Approximately 30km from Letiahau is Phokoje
Pan which, as well as the usual Gemsbok and Springbok, had a herd of 11 Giraffe.
From here you pass through the San Pans, where we saw a pair of Painted Snipe (!),
and about 50km from Phokoje Pan you come to Tau Pan where we stopped for lunch. This
beautiful pan with its pleasently situated campsite is well worth visiting - we were
disappointed that we could only spend an hour here before moving on to our final
destination. From Tau Pan the scenery changes as you take the road across numerous
sand ridges (as shown) with game being particularly scarce on this road.
After 30km
on this road we turned off towards Sunday Pan and on to Leopard Pan where we stayed
the night. Leopard Pan was very green with good game viewing especially as there
is a loop (rare in the CKGR!) round the pan. We saw a family of 7 Bateared Foxes
on the pan before being surprised by an Elephant, which we didn't think would ever
venture into the CKGR!!
The campsite at Leopard Pan has a bush shower and toilet
which are well constructed and functional without being too obtrusive or civilised!
Whitebrowed Sparrow-weavers had built their nests in the trees around the campsite
and entertained us with their nest building antics. African Hoopoe, Lesser Grey Shrike,
Marico Sunbird and Chestnut-vented Titbabbler were also seen here. In the evening
the Elephant gave us a bit of a fright as it passed by not too far from the campsite
but apart from the many insects and mice we were undisturbed in the campsite, once
again hearing lion roaring as we went to bed.
Distance travelled: 145km
Saturday 6th January
Leopard Pan - Deception Valley - Rakops - Palapye
After packing
the vehicle we set off for Deception Valley for one last effort to maintain our record
of seeing Cheetah every time we have been to the CKGR! Ground squirrels were plentiful
on the pan as were birds with Montagu's Harrier and Caspian Plover being some of
the more interesting ones to be seen. Just 30mins before leaving Deception we finally
found what we had been looking for and our record was intact - 3 magnificent adult
Cheetah! The biggest disappointment however was that they were quite a distance off
the road and that a very irresponsible South African tourist (registration TSN 808
GP) had driven off road to within a few metres of the Cheetah. As if it wasn't enough
that he had broken the rules, damaged the fragile pan vegetation and disturbed the
resting Cheetah, he then proceeded to open the door to his vehicle and made as if
to get out until realising that other tourists were observing his actions. It is
to be hoped that the DWNP will crack down on such irresponsible individuals who give
South African tourists a bad reputation in the National Parks of Botswana.
We left
Deception at 9am and arrived in Letlhakane (154km from Rakops) at 2pm. After having
a toasted sandwich in Granny's kitchen and filling up with petrol we then left for
the final leg of our trip - back to Palapye - arriving just before 5pm.
Distance
travelled: 495km
