The Makgadikgadi Pan, a salt pan situated in north-eastern Botswana, is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadikgadi, which once covered an area larger than Switzerland, but dried up tens of thousands of years ago.
Nata Bird Sanctuary: Botswana’s Wild Shore
Botswana: Nata Bird Sanctuary
🦩 Opened in 1993, Nata Bird Sanctuary is Home to About 165 Bird Species
It was now time to properly launch ourselves into Botswana, and a fine moment it was too. Our first port of call was the small but perfectly formed town of Nata, sitting roughly 300 kilometres southeast of Kasane along the A3 highway heading down towards Francistown. Botswana, for those who don’t know, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa roughly the size of France, and it has one of the most remarkable conservation records on the continent — around 38 per cent of its land is set aside for wildlife, which is extraordinary by any measure. The country gained independence from Britain in September 1966, and since then has transformed itself from one of the poorest nations on earth into a middle-income country, largely on the back of diamond revenues and, crucially for us, a thriving eco-tourism industry. Our friend Henny, who knew the roads out here infinitely better than we did, had briefed us that the tarmac was in a reasonable condition as far as Francistown, after which things started to go downhill rather rapidly in terms of road quality. We had that particular joy to look forward to the following day. For now, though, the motto was to make hay while the sun shone, and the sun was most definitely shining. As Henny had predicted, the road to Nata was perfectly manageable. We’d already encountered termite mounds during our previous adventures in Thailand, but the ones lining the roadside on the approach to Nata were something else entirely. Firstly, they were a striking bright white, owing to the white clay soil that dominates the geology of this part of the Makgadikgadi Basin. Secondly, they were enormous — towering above the surrounding scrub like gleaming white skyscrapers rising up from the flat, featureless plain. Termite mounds of this sort are the work of the harvester termite, and some in this region are believed to be several centuries old, which puts our own DIY efforts into rather embarrassing perspective.
🍕 A Brief Stop and Some Questionable Pizza Choices
There isn’t an awful lot to Nata, it has to be said. The town itself is a modest settlement of perhaps four or five thousand people, serving primarily as a fuel and supply stop for travellers heading between Kasane in the north and Francistown in the south — it sits at the junction of two major routes and has been a waypoint for traders, missionaries and explorers since at least the nineteenth century. We made a brief stop to refuel both the vehicle and ourselves in spirit, then made our way to our overnight accommodation at Nata Lodge, arriving at around lunchtime. Once we’d checked in and dropped our bags, we had a good look at the menu to see if there was anything that suited us Hoblets. The food on offer was largely westernised — pizzas, burgers, that sort of thing — none of which we particularly fancied after days of proper African scenery working up a proper appetite. As it happened, we’d had the foresight to stock up thoroughly on provisions before leaving Kasane, so our food supplies were in good shape. The beer situation was also entirely satisfactory, which is never something to take lightly. We decided, therefore, to self-cater for our stay at Nata Lodge. Our cooking equipment was wonderfully low-tech — a propane gas tank with a burner that screwed directly onto the top, making the whole thing highly portable and surprisingly capable. It had served us well throughout the trip and showed absolutely no signs of letting us down now.
⛺ The Canvas Palace (Well, Almost)
Our room for the night was a canvas tent mounted on a raised wooden platform — what the travel industry insists on calling “glamping,” though that word makes us both wince slightly. We’d stayed in a few of these arrangements before on our travels, and this one was on the more basic end of the spectrum. The tent itself was functional rather than luxurious, the wooden platform was perfectly solid, and the surrounding bush was atmospheric enough to make up for any shortcomings in the thread-count department. But honestly, we were only there for one night, so it was absolutely fine. There’s a certain charm to sleeping under canvas in Africa that no amount of Egyptian cotton can replicate — the sounds of the bush at night, the warmth of the air, the sense that you are, in some small way, part of the landscape rather than merely passing through it. We’ve slept in worse places, put it that way, and we’ve slept in better ones. Nata Lodge sits about 10 kilometres from the village of Nata itself, positioned conveniently close to both the Nata Bird Sanctuary and the fringes of the famous Makgadikgadi salt pans. The lodge offers accommodation in 22 thatched chalets and 10 safari tents alongside a campsite, a restaurant, a bar overlooking the swimming pool, and a small curio shop — all the essentials, in other words.
🚗 Off We Go — The Chobe Gets Its Off-Road Baptism
After resting up for a bit and replenishing our energy levels, we decided to drive the few miles out to the Nata Bird Sanctuary. We were visiting in the dry season — September, as it happened — so the waters of the pan were very low indeed. It was not the breeding season for flamingos either, but we’d come all this way and weren’t about to turn back on account of a bit of seasonal inconvenience, so we decided we’d go and have a look regardless and see what we could find. At the entrance gate we paid our dues — the entry fee for non-citizens of Botswana is a very reasonable $7.63 — and asked the lady in the small office where we ought to head. She pointed us towards a long, dusty road that disappeared off towards the horizon with considerable confidence and absolutely no trees whatsoever, just a few scrubby bushes and clouds of fine dust hanging in the hot air. Now, I had been wanting to properly test our Chobe in off-road conditions since we’d collected it, and this looked like exactly the sort of terrain it had been designed for. So off we went, windows up against the dust and spirits high. The Chobe — for those unfamiliar — is a robust, purpose-built overlanding vehicle and it was absolutely in its element on this sort of surface.
🦤 A Couple of Shy Ostriches and an Awful Lot of Dust
As we drove along the dusty track, we spotted a couple of male ostriches off to the side of the road and naturally I took a little detour from the main track to get a closer look at them. The ostrich — Struthio camelus — is the world’s largest and heaviest living bird, capable of reaching speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour and growing to nearly 2.8 metres tall. The males are handsome creatures with their black and white plumage, and the ones we found were no exception. They were, however, a little on the shy side, doing their level best to look nonchalant while clearly wanting absolutely nothing to do with us. We managed to manoeuvre close enough for a decent look and a few photos before they apparently decided they’d had quite enough of us and trotted off purposefully into the distance, their enormous legs carrying them across the scrub with remarkable elegance. There didn’t appear to be anyone else around at all. Not a soul. In the extremely unlikely event that we’d broken down out there, it would have made for an interesting afternoon, but we were well equipped — we had the satellite phone on board and a full complement of camping gear, so we weren’t too bothered. After about 5 kilometres of steady driving we reached the pan itself.
🦩 The Pan — Dry, Vast, and Still Magnificent
A “pan,” for those who haven’t come across the term, is what they call a waterhole in this part of the world, though that rather undersells it — pans can be enormous, and the Sowa Pan (also written as Sua Pan) that the Nata Bird Sanctuary borders is one of the largest in southern Africa. It forms part of the vast Makgadikgadi region, which represents the desiccated remains of an ancient super-lake that geologists have named Lake Makgadikgadi. This prehistoric lake once covered an area larger than Switzerland — roughly 80,000 square kilometres — but began drying up somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago as the regional climate shifted. What remains today is a series of enormous, flat, blindingly white salt pans that stretch across northeastern Botswana, and the Sowa Pan is one of the three principal depressions within this system. When the rains arrive between roughly November and March and the Nata River floods into the pan, the transformation is extraordinary — the flat white expanse fills with shallow, nutrient-rich water and attracts over 250,000 flamingos along with vast numbers of pelicans and other waterbirds, making it one of the most spectacular wildlife events in Africa. We weren’t here for that show, but even in the dry season the pan had a raw, almost lunar quality that was genuinely arresting. At the end of the track there was a large viewing shelter, which was in the process of having a new thatched roof fitted. Back in the UK, of course, thatchers are about as rare as hen’s teeth and charge accordingly — if you want your roof thatched in England these days, you’d better have a healthy bank balance and plenty of patience. No such problem here in Africa. The craftsmen up on that roof were working with obvious skill and ease, and frankly any one of them could have walked straight into a very comfortable living in the English countryside. The pan itself was extremely dry, the water having receded a very long way from the shore, leaving a broad expanse of pale, cracked mud between us and the water’s edge. I decided the Chobe was up to the challenge and took it carefully down the dune and out onto the sandy shore, hoping very much that we weren’t about to spend the rest of the afternoon digging ourselves out. Happily, we didn’t — the Chobe performed beautifully and we were able to drive close to where the water lapped gently at the edge of the pan. Not far from where we parked, a sandbank had formed just offshore, and on it a dozen or more pelicans were roosting in the afternoon sun. Now, I’ll admit that pelicans don’t particularly set my pulse racing — I’ve seen them on numerous occasions, including one memorable winter’s day when we were staying at Sundance Meadows during a snowstorm, which was a surreal sight if ever there was one. But they were peaceful and handsome enough, and there were several storks wading in the shallows nearby which added nicely to the scene. The great white pelican — Pelecanus onocrotalus — is a magnificent bird when you stop to look properly, with a wingspan that can reach nearly three and a half metres. The African open-billed stork, which is common in this region, has been in these wetlands for millennia and was a familiar sight to the first San Bushmen who inhabited the Makgadikgadi fringes many thousands of years ago.
🦬 Blue Wildebeest in the Shade and a Welcome Kori Bustard
After watching this serene scene for a good few minutes, we decided it was time to find out whether we could get back up the sandy bank we’d come down. I revved the engine, pointed the Chobe at the slope, and went for it — and up she went without so much as a wheel-spin. Brilliant. We decided to take a different route back to the entrance gate rather than simply retracing our tyre tracks, which turned out to be a very sound decision. The return road followed the outer edge of the pan for a couple of kilometres before curving away towards some farmland on the margins of the sanctuary. Tucked away in the shade of a small grove of trees — trees that had clearly seized the opportunity presented by a nearby brook to establish themselves in an otherwise arid landscape — we spotted a handful of blue wildebeest. The blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) is one of the iconic large mammals of southern and eastern Africa, famous above all for the great migration across the Serengeti and Masai Mara, where well over a million of them move in a vast annual circuit following the rains. This group, sheltering sensibly in the shade during the heat of the afternoon, looked considerably more relaxed than their Serengeti cousins. We pulled over to take some photographs, and it was while doing so that I spotted a kori bustard (Ardeotis kori) close by on the open ground. This splendid bird had become something of a signature sighting for our African tour by this point, popping up reliably at various moments like an old acquaintance. The kori bustard is, incidentally, one of the heaviest flying birds in the world, capable of weighing up to 19 kilograms, and it carries itself with the sort of dignity that suggests it is fully aware of this fact. Eventually, having thoroughly enjoyed our detour, we made our way back to the entrance gate and headed back to Nata Lodge for a well-earned self-catered supper.
About Nata Bird Sanctuary
The Nata Bird Sanctuary is a protected reserve covering an area of 230 square kilometres, situated on the north-eastern fringe of the Sowa Pan, approximately 20 kilometres south of the town of Nata. The sanctuary was formally founded in 1992, following a sustained campaign by local communities and conservationists who recognised that the Sowa Pan’s extraordinary biodiversity was being threatened by unregulated grazing and the encroachment of cattle. It officially opened to visitors in 1993. The sanctuary is one of only three known nesting sites for flamingos on the entire African continent — a distinction that places it firmly among the most ecologically significant wetland habitats in the region. The two principal flamingo species found here are the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) and the lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor), and during good wet seasons the sight of hundreds of thousands of them turning the pan pink is by all accounts one of the natural wonders of the African world. The protected area is managed by a trust — the Kalahari Conservation Society — and operates as a genuine community conservation project involving several neighbouring communities, who benefit directly from the income generated by visitor fees and tourism. This model of community-based natural resource management became increasingly prevalent in Botswana through the 1990s and 2000s as the government, under the CBNRM framework, sought to give local people a direct financial stake in the protection of wildlife. The Sowa Pan to which the sanctuary is adjacent is, as mentioned, one of three large depressions within the broader Makgadikgadi region. After the rainy season, when the pan receives influent flow from the Nata River — which drains a catchment area extending into Zimbabwe — enormous concentrations of waterbirds arrive to breed. In peak years, more than 250,000 flamingos have been recorded on the pan alongside large numbers of great white pelicans and pink-backed pelicans. In total, 165 different bird species have been recorded within the Nata Bird Sanctuary, making it a destination of serious importance for birdwatchers. Away from the pan itself, the sanctuary also supports a healthy population of larger mammals including kudu, oryx, springbok, red hartebeest, eland, impala, blue wildebeest, zebra and baboon, along with predators and scavengers such as hyena and jackal.
Planning Your Visit to Nata Bird Sanctuary
🦅 Nata Bird Sanctuary
| 📍 Location | Nata Village, Boteti District, Central Kalahari, Botswana | 🕖 Opening Times | Open year-round; best visited October–March during seasonal flooding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🌐 Website | botswanатourism.co.bw | 📞 Phone | +267 318 0774 |
| info@botswanatourism.co.bw | |||
| 🚗 By Road | Located on the A3 highway between Nata and Maun; well signposted. 4WD recommended during wet season. | 🚌 Bus | Intercape and other coaches on the Francistown–Maun route stop at Nata village; sanctuary is approx. 1 km from the stop. |
| ✈️ Nearest Airport | Maun International Airport (approx. 300 km west) or Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, Gaborone (approx. 600 km south). | ℹ️ Notes | Peak flamingo season is October to March when the salt pans flood. Entry managed locally; fees payable on arrival. |
🎟️ Entry Fees
| Citizens | Non-Citizens | Children | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|
| BWP 30 | BWP 100 | BWP 10 | BWP 50 |
🗺️ Getting There
Nata Bird Sanctuary sits on the edge of the Sua Pan in northeastern Botswana, roughly 180 km west of Francistown and 300 km east of Maun along the A3 highway. From Francistown, head west on the A3 through open savannah; the sanctuary entrance is clearly signposted just before Nata village. From Maun, travel east on the same road. A standard saloon car is adequate during the dry season, but a 4WD is strongly advised from October onwards when the pans flood and access tracks soften. Self-drive is the most practical option, as public transport stops only in Nata village itself. Fuel up in Francistown or Maun before departing, as reliable fuel stops en route are limited.
The Best Time to Visit Botswana
Botswana is a year-round destination, but the timing of your visit dramatically shapes your experience. From the lush, flood-filled Okavango Delta in the wet season to the parched, wildlife-rich landscapes of the dry season, each period offers something distinct. Understanding the seasons — and what they deliver — helps you match your trip to your priorities.
🌞 Dry Season: May to October
The dry season is widely regarded as the classic safari season in Botswana, and with good reason. As waterholes shrink and vegetation thins, wildlife concentrates around permanent water sources, making sightings dramatic and reliable. The Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve all deliver exceptional game viewing during these months.
May and June are transitional months — still pleasantly warm during the day but noticeably cool at night, particularly in the Kalahari. By July and August, temperatures settle into a comfortable mid-20s Celsius range during the day, though nights can dip close to freezing in some areas. September and October mark the late dry season: the landscape becomes increasingly arid, game viewing reaches its peak intensity, but daytime heat begins to build, often exceeding 35°C in October.
Birdlife is less prolific than in the wet season, but raptors and resident species are plentiful. Predator activity is high, with lions, leopards, and wild dogs often spotted hunting in open terrain. This is also the best time for mokoro (dugout canoe) trips on the Okavango and for walking safaris, as the bush is open and the risk of insects and thick vegetation is minimal.
What to pack: Lightweight, neutral-coloured clothing for daytime (khaki, olive, beige), a warm fleece or insulated jacket for early morning and evening game drives (essential May–August), sturdy walking boots, a wide-brimmed hat, high-factor sunscreen (SPF 50+), polarised sunglasses, insect repellent (DEET-based), a headtorch, binoculars, and a dust bag for camera equipment. Layers are critical — mornings and evenings can be bitterly cold even when afternoons are warm.
🌧️ Green Season / Wet Season: November to April
The wet season transforms Botswana. Rains typically begin in November and intensify through December and January, tapering off by March or April. The landscape turns vivid green, wildflowers bloom across the Kalahari, and the Makgadikgadi Pans — usually a vast salt desert — become a shallow lake teeming with flamingos and migratory waterbirds.
This is Botswana’s most dramatic birding period. Well over 500 species have been recorded in the country, and during the rains, migratory birds from Europe and central Africa arrive in force. Raptors, storks, kingfishers, and bee-eaters are among the highlights.
Wildlife can be harder to spot — animals disperse across the now-lush landscape with water available everywhere — but this is precisely when the Kalahari lions and other desert-adapted species are at their most active and visible. It is also calving season for many antelope species, which in turn attracts predators. The Okavango receives its summer rainfall locally, but the famous flood, fed by rains far to the north in Angola, typically peaks between June and August.
Accommodation rates drop significantly during the green season, and many camps offer substantial discounts. The downside is that some roads become impassable, certain areas are accessible only by light aircraft, and the heat and humidity can be intense, particularly in December and January.
What to pack: Lightweight, breathable clothing in neutral colours, a lightweight waterproof jacket or packable poncho, quick-dry trousers and shirts, sandals for camp use, open-toed shoes are not advisable in the bush, a wide-brimmed sun hat, high-factor sunscreen, heavy-duty insect repellent (malaria risk is higher during the wet season — consult your GP about prophylaxis), long-sleeved shirts and trousers for evenings, a small dry bag for electronics, and binoculars for exceptional birding.
🌊 Okavango Flood Season: June to August
While the Okavango Delta receives some local rainfall in summer, its defining annual event is the arrival of floodwaters that have travelled hundreds of kilometres from the Angolan highlands. These waters, flowing down the Cubango and Cuito rivers and into the Okavango system, reach the delta between June and August — right in the heart of the dry season.
The result is extraordinary: a vast inland sea of papyrus channels, lily-covered lagoons, and palm-studded islands appears in an otherwise arid landscape. This is the time for mokoro excursions, motor-boat trips through the waterways, and wildlife watching from both land and water. Elephants, hippos, crocodiles, red lechwe, and sitatunga are all reliably seen. Fish eagles call overhead, and the air carries the scent of wild sage and water.
Camps and lodges within the Delta — particularly those on private concessions — offer some of the finest wildlife experiences in Africa during this period. Water levels vary by year, and some areas flood more extensively than others, but the combination of a peak dry season and a peak flood makes June to August the most iconic time to visit Botswana’s most celebrated ecosystem.
What to pack: All the dry-season essentials apply (warm layers, neutral clothing, sun protection, insect repellent), with the addition of a lightweight waterproof jacket for mokoro trips and boat excursions, water shoes or sandals with straps (for boarding and disembarking from mokoros), and a dry bag or waterproof case for your camera. Quick-dry fabrics are particularly useful here.
☀️ Shoulder Seasons: April–May and October–November
The shoulder periods bookending the main dry season offer a compelling balance of conditions, and experienced travellers often rate them among the best times to visit.
April and May see the tail end of the rains. The Delta and surrounding areas remain lush and green, wildlife is active, and migrant birds are still present before their departure. Temperatures are moderate, the humidity has dropped, and — crucially — the tourist crowds of peak season have yet to arrive. Accommodation is often available at lower rates than the July–September peak.
October is arguably the most dramatic single month for game viewing. As the dry season approaches its end, waterholes are at their lowest, and wildlife density around remaining water sources is extraordinary. Heat can be extreme — regularly above 35°C in Chobe and the Kalahari — but the reward is some of the most intense predator-prey interactions of the year. The first rains, when they come in late October or November, trigger an explosion of life: the air fills with insects, swallows return, impala begin giving birth, and the landscape shifts almost overnight from dusty brown to green.
What to pack (April–May): Neutral, lightweight clothing, a light fleece for evenings, waterproof layer, sun protection, and insect repellent. What to pack (October–November): Focus on heat management — breathable, loose-fitting clothing, a hat with full brim, high-factor sunscreen, electrolyte tablets, a reusable water bottle, and cooling neck scarves. Insect repellent becomes increasingly important as the rains approach.
🦁 Best Time for Wildlife Viewing
For the most reliable and concentrated game viewing, visit between July and October. The dry season strips the landscape bare, forcing animals to gather at predictable locations — rivers, pans, and permanent waterholes — making dramatic sightings almost inevitable.
🐦 Best Time for Birdwatching
The wet season (November to April) is Botswana’s birding peak. Migratory species swell the resident population, and the greening landscape supports a staggering diversity of species. The Okavango Delta, the Chobe riverfront, and the Makgadikgadi Pans are all exceptional birding destinations at this time.
🌺 Best Time for the Okavango Delta
The flood season (June to August) combines peak water levels with peak dry-season conditions, making it uniquely spectacular. Wildlife retreats to islands within the Delta, concentrating sightings, while the waterways allow exploration by mokoro and motorboat.
💸 Best Time for Value
The green season (November to April) offers the lowest accommodation rates, sometimes 30–40% below peak prices, with some camps offering additional incentives to fill beds. For travellers with flexibility on timing, this period delivers genuine value — particularly if birding, Kalahari lions, or the Makgadikgadi flamingos are priorities.
🧳 General Packing Essentials for Botswana
Regardless of season, certain items belong in every bag: a valid passport and visa documentation, yellow fever certificate if travelling from an endemic country, malaria prophylaxis (consult your GP well in advance), comprehensive travel insurance including emergency medical evacuation cover, a photocopy of all key documents stored separately, US dollars or South African rand for smaller lodges and tips, a plug adaptor (Botswana uses the large three-pin South African plug, Type M), and a torch or headtorch for camp use. Safari vehicles in Botswana are generally open-sided, so even in warm months, the wind chill on an early morning drive is significant — never underestimate the value of a warm layer.
🗓️ Overall Best Time to Visit
If you can visit Botswana only once and want to see as much as possible, June to September is the optimal window. The dry season is in full effect, game viewing reaches its annual peak, the Okavango flood is at or near its height, temperatures are manageable, and access to most areas is straightforward. July and August represent the sweet spot: the flood is up, the animals are concentrated, the nights are cool and star-filled, and the safari experience is as close to flawless as Africa offers. That said, Botswana rewards visits at any time of year — the green season has its own profound beauty and energy, and the shoulder months offer a quieter, more intimate experience of one of the continent’s most extraordinary wild places.
Where to stay
Nata Lodge
Nata Lodge is a guest lodge situated about 10 km from Nata village, close to the Nata Bird Sanctuary in the area of the famous Makgadikgadi salt pans. The lodge offers accommodation in 22 thatched chalets and 10 safari tents. Campers will find a large camp ground.
Nata Lodge has a restaurant with A-La carte menus and traditional African braais. The restaurant hosts a bar which is overlooking the swimming pool. Additionally there is a small curio shop. There are free Wi-Fi hotspots for guests staying at the lodge.
More to Explore
