KWANDO NXAI PAN CAMP – NXAI PAN NATIONAL PARK – SOUTHERN BOTSWANA

Nxai Pan is a comfortable camp set within the Nxai Pan National Park and the only permanent camp in the Park. The small camp has just 9 rooms and is located on the western edge of the fossil pan from which it takes name, facing open grasslands. The biggest draw to the park are the zebras that migrate by the thousands to the area to give birth – the second largest land animal migration in Southern Africa during the summer after the rains have fallen.

The pan is also known for its huge springbok population, wildebeest, elephants and large groups of giraffe. Activities include a day trip to Baines’ Baobabs which have changed little in the 150 years since Thomas Baines immortalized them in his paintings. Another favourite is the bushman walk where guests learn how the San used to hunt, gather food and collect water.

LOCATION

The camp is located in the Nxai Pan National Park in southern Botswana.

CAMP

Nxai Pan has just 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 minimalistic white-washed design of the camp is in keeping with the surrounding white salt pans.

The rooms include double wash basins and both indoor and outdoor showers and are spacious with a lounge area and one room includes an additional twin bedroom which is 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. Just in front of the rooms is an open veranda which looks on to the waterhole in front of the camp where elephant are frequent visitors.

The open-air lounge, dining area and bar are thatched to maintain a comfortable temperature year round and the camp has a swimming pool to cool down in the heat of the day.

ACTIVITIES AND WILDLIFE

Game Drives – using custom designed Toyota game viewing vehicles seating no more than six guests at a time in 3 rows of 3 seats. Safaris 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 Nxai 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.

San Bushman Cultural Walks – walking with a member of the San Bushman tribe allows you 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 at a slow pace designed to allow engagement and question asking so that that you can better understand the nature of the bushman to the environment around them. Knowledge about how they would hunt, trap animals and use the flora and fauna in their environment to help them survive are all shared.

KWANDO NXAI PAN IS OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND

THE CAMP WELCOMES CHILDREN AGED 6+ FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN AGED 6 – 11 WILL HAVE TO BOOK A PRIVATE VEHICLE IN ADVANCE