Submitted by SafariADV on Mon, 2017-09-25
We leave the Khama Rhino Sanctuary, near Serowe in Botswana, and head West, following the indications for Orapa, the "capital" of diamond mines; Botswana extracts 12% of diamonds in the world.
From here it is 140 kms away, but we first stop in Letlhakane town, this is the last town we encounter before we cross the Makgadikgadi Pans complex, a set of salty and dry lakes that cover a total area of 12,000 sq km, the largest salty depression in the world.
At Letlhakane we stop for lunch, we go to Hungry Lion, it must be a chain because we've seen it in South Africa as well.
Then we go to the Spar to do some shopping, buy vegetables and fresh fruit, since we have passed through the state border and we have no problems; usually when passing a National border it is not allowed to bring fruit, vegetables, fresh meat, grains with you as they may contain parasites that can damage the environment, crops and livestock.
At 2:00 pm we resume, follow the indications of Tracks4Africa that take us North and after the first 12 km of road, bye bye asphalt, we will see you again in a few days; finally the off-road!
The track is sandy and flanked by bushes and shrubs, the sand is white and very fine, in ancient times the Pan complex was a huge lake and these were its shores and this sand was the one of its beaches.
We travel about 25 km, we pass the village of Mmatshumo, and finally we arrive at the edge of the salty and dry lake; here they have built a wooden observation tower from where you can admire the expanse of salt, let's take some pictures, but we cannot wait to get into the pan with the car.
We descend from the shore, and finally in front of us opens a 180-degree endless view of the pan: awesome, incredible and, above all, difficult to describe.
Tracks4Africa marks the main track, the only safest to go through during the dry season, as here it is certain that the bottom is hard and compact; while there are several signs of tire entering the salty expanse, but it is not a good idea to follow them, often the surface looks compact but below there may be some mud of the rainy season, our car is heavy and the surface crust could yield, then we would end up in the mud and it would not be easy to get out of it.
But the temptation is too strong and we are going through a piece of street on the salt crust of the pan; what a show, the almost blinding white of the salt all around us is wonderful and in the far distance it creates the mirage effect and it seems to us to see the water that is actually not there.
We return to the main track and, the more we continue, the more we are in the middle of nowhere, the only noise we hear is the crust of salt crunching under our tires.
We stop to take some pictures, turn off the engine of the car, and like magic, we find ourselves in the most complete silence: here there is no vegetation, except for some low grass that resists this high level of salinity, and there are no animals; so you only hear the sound of the wind blowing gently from North-West: we feel a sense of crazy freedom.
After a dozen kilometers, we arrive at the Veterinary Fence, a double fence that has been put in place to ensure that wild herbivores cannot overcome it and, potentially, contaminate the villages livestock.
From here we head North-East towards Kubu, or Lekhubu, Island, taking the shortcut, only available in dry season; this trail crosses the pan, so during the rainy season, here is all mud and, if the rains are abundant, also water.
When we miss 10 km we see Kubu Island on the horizon with its majestic millenary baobabs, what a show!
When we arrive to meet us we find a giant baobab and a signage with the rules to follow in order not to ruin this nature spectacle.
We follow the signs for the camping and we settle in pitch no. 2 where there are two spectacular baobabs; we arrived a little late and those with the view of the pan and the sunset are already busy but no matter, we stop two nights and tomorrow morning when the others leave, we will look for the best location; also today it is a bit cloudy so we doubt that we could see the sunset.
It's 5:00 pm, we already prepare our off-road for the night and set up the table with chairs; while Silvano ignites the fire with the wood I prepare an Aperol spritz with some chips and biltong beef; today it is really needed.
Relax and silence, a truly magical place.
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