Mpayathutlwa Pan

[Peter Connan]

The Kgalagadi trans-frontier park consists of two very different parts.

There's the well-known bit, the bit around the two rivers that we all know and love, arguably one of the best places in the world to photograph Cheetah and Lion. The beds of the Auob and Nossob rivers are amazing places that draw a huge variety of animals and birds,and also because of the relatively sparse flora allows easy access for people (like most of us) to see them. Unfortunately, this is no secret, and so this area, and specifically the camps in this area, are pretty busy.

However, about 150km east of the Nossob there are a number of pans. And the good thing is, they are also in the park.
The Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks has built very basic campsites on the edges of most of these parks.

Mpaya, as most people call it, is the largest and possibly the most scenic of these. The beauty of these campsites is that they are right on the edge of the pans, and all have great views over their respective pans. They have also drilled boreholes and installed pumps on most of these pans, and just like in the riverbeds, they make magic happen.

This side of the park is much less popular, and consequently much less developed. Mpaya (like most of the pans) has just two campsites. Unlike South African practise, each campsite is rented out to one group of people, which can be quite large (about 12 people). Mpaya 1 consists of a shade roof, a toilet and a cold-water shower. Mpaya 2 has a similar shade roof and a long-drop in a "snail wall" (a semi-circular pole wall that curves in on itself to provide an entrance but privacy from all sides).

[Peter Connan]

Effectively, this means that one hardly ever shares a sighting, and your nights are spent listening to wildlife, not other people's kids. And because the camp has a view over the pan, you don't even have to drive around much. If you like, you could spend your whole holiday just lazing about in your camp, and still see almost as much as if you spent all your time driving.

The campsites are all un-fenced, and some of the roads are very sandy, so it's generally considered a fairly hard-core destination, and visitors need to be pretty self-sufficient.

[Mel]

WOW, this will be a whole new world for the most of us, I guess!
And I fear, you might have to do a lot of entertainment this month... Most of us Nutters usually stick to the other sides you mentioned,
or maybe Rooiputs and Polentswa. But who knows the secrets of some members here.

In any case, I appreciate firstly that you agreed to take over this month's flavour and secondly - and even more important, the interesting
choice you made! Really looking forward to more.

Am glad to see that you weren't born pro either... Gives me a bit of hope for the years ahead regarding my own photos.



Now first question:

Did you ever go just the two of your to Mpaya?

And next one pops into my head straight away as well:

Is it true that the name means "Giraffe Stomach"?

[Peter Connan]

Thanks Mel, unfortunately I have only been there once, and that in a group of four vehicles and 9 people.

However, assuming a reliable vehicle and fairly good navigational abilities, I would not hesitate to go alone or just with my family. But I have perhaps more than average experience of being in the bush alone.

After two hours of googling, I still have no idea what the name means, so you are ahead of me there.

Oh and by the way, the leopard in the photo above walked right through our camp at midday...

[Peter Connan]

magnificent and interesting

the "only" problem is : how is the road to go... a bit like this one to leave Gharagab

Nan, there are a few ways to get there, none of them particularly easy. The group I was in consisted of four vehicles, all of them 4x4's. But although we used 4x4 on all the soft, sandy stretches, I am also quite convinced that we never actually needed it (we use it because we believe that it does less damage to the road that way). Having said this, if you did not have 4x4, you would have to pay carefull attention to tire pressures and possibly temperatures (running tires soft causes them to build up more heat, which can damage them).

If you are going only there, and come from the direction of Gauteng, then the easiest way is to enter Botswana at McCarthy's Rest. This is a quiet border crossing which should present no trouble.

If approaching from southern Botswana (Gabs), probably the best is to take the A20 and turn off at Makopong.

If approaching from the north, the best is to come from Hukuntsi. This is the road we took, having been to the Central Kalahari before. Be warned that these sand roads take a long time, and we took more than a day to travel less than 600km from Ghanzi. We had planned to overnight at Hukuntsi, but pressed on instead and made camp next to the road, having seen nobody since leaving Hukuntsi, and arrived at Mpaya just short of mid-day.

There are also two roads between the Nossob area and the Mabuasehube area. These are one-ways, and if i understand correctly, both require permits and take two days.

However, the roads inside the Mabuasehube area are actually not so bad, the tough parts are all in the surrounding area.