Makgadikgadi was once a superlake some 30 metres (100 feet) deep, covering a massive area of 80,000² km (30,888² miles). But as recent as 10,000 years ago, climatic shifts had already started to dry up Lake Makgadikgadi. Further evaporation turned the lake into large pans with a surface glistening with salt. Only odd rocky outcrops or large isolated sand dunes interrupt the flat, endless landscape.

These inhospitable pans are almost devoid of human habitation, but peripheral villages and artefacts found around the pans is evidence that people lived here even in the Stone Age. The remote lodges and camps of Makgadikgadi offer a really unique safari and give you the rare opportunity to experience real solitude.

The best time to visit the area is during the dry season from March to September. These months include the winter period where days are lovely and warm, but nights become cold. From April to November great numbers of Antelopes, Wildebeest and Zebra move from the south-east pans towards the Boteti River in the west, where rain is expected to fall in November. From August to November the wind starts picking up and huge whirlwinds build in intensity as they skid across the flat pans.