​User Reviews – Nxai Pan NP

Sort By: Date Most Helpful 1-3 of 3 Reviews
France and Roger   –  
France FR
Visited: September 2011 Reviewed: Apr 16, 2015

65+ years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of France and Roger and not that of SafariBookings.
Overall rating
3/5

it was very dry and the water hole was nearly dry, the guide explained that the period was not good,

Ian   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: February 2017 Reviewed: Apr 4, 2017

Email Ian  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Ian and not that of SafariBookings.
Overall rating
3/5

Arriving at the Nxai Pan gate, we were greeted by another track masquerading as a river and informed that we could only be admitted at our own risk. This was a no-brainer as our camp was already set up in there and there was no alternative. As it was getting fairly late, we did a short game drive and repaired to camp for dinner and bed.

Next morning all was well and we set off to see what Nxai Pan had to offer. It was to turn out to be a day mainly consisting of bird sightings, apart from hundreds of Zebras, which was the reason we were there anyway. They were even more plentiful than the Oryx had been in Central Kalahari and our guide estimated we saw between three and five thousand in Nxai Pan. However, the vast amount of rain and the affect it had on the vegetation meant the Zebras didn’t need to migrate so far as in most years. Had it been a normal year he estimated we would have seen three to four times that number.

My first impression of Nxai Pan was how big and open the area is, although only a fraction of the area covered by Central Kalahari. It is classic Cheetah territory and that was what I was hoping to see. I didn’t have to wait long on our second day and we found a female with two young cubs, probably about nine months old. We spent best part of an hour with them as they slowly moved around their range and the cubs played happily with each other, before they moved into cover and we left them.

Next up was another herd (dazzle) of Zebras, and another brief Cheetah sighting, but much of the day was spent looking for Lions. After lunch, we were successful, even witnessing a (distant) mating session. There was a torrential thunderstorm later on in the afternoon, but once this moved through we had another Cheetah sighting, which turned out to be the brother of the female we had seen in the morning.

That brought us to the end of our two full days in Nxai Pan and just left us with a game drive to the gate next morning. We had been trying, unsuccessfully, to photograph a European Bee-eater since we arrived, but every time our guide killed the engine, the bird would fly. Finally we were successful as we found one in an Acacia bush and it didn’t move. Also added a Bradfield’s Hornbill to our list as it posed beautifully beside the track.

My overall impression of Nxai Pan is somewhat mixed. Certainly we saw exactly what we went there for, so we have no complaints on that score. But there are vast areas of the reserve that are inaccessible due to the no off-roading policy. I understand the reasons for this policy and agree with it, but it only works if there are adequate roads to use and that is where Nxai Pan suffers.

Anouk de Sloovere   –  
Belgium BE
Visited: January 2023 Reviewed: Jan 23, 2023

Email Anouk de Sloovere  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Anouk de Sloovere and not that of SafariBookings.
Overall rating
3/5

Lodge was not so spectacular.
Drivers can not go of road so you don't get to see much wildlife (we didn't)

Average User Rating

  • 4.4/5
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star 12
  • 4 star 8
  • 3 star 3
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 0
Write a User Review