Makgadikgadi Journals: The Melding of Horizon and Sky

Makgadikgadi Journals: May 05

What a waste of space - I pondered this comment from one of the guests who was staring off into the distance. We were standing on the pan taking in the feeling when I overheard the comment. I decided to let it go and the silence returned ... but what an awesome soul-lifting waste. I turned to the speaker and saw a tear trickle down his face...The Boteti River, the eastern boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, carries water from the Okavango Delta through the drylands of the Kalahari to Lake Ngami, supporting a rich variety of life on its route - and is the lifeblood of the pans region.The river began to dry up in the 1990's until only a few pools remained to sustain life. These pools also dried up forcing authorities to sink boreholes to provide water for wildlife and cattle alike. This limited water supply became an issue of contention and threatened the existence of the Makgadikgadi National Park.But in recent months the Boteti has begun to flow again, and the region is now undergoing dramatic change, and hopefully a secure future with the flowing on the river.

Makgadikgadi Journals: January 23

The edge of the pan was smeared in pink - thousands of flamingos were feeding in the shallows. The water was higher than I had ever seen it, although still not high enough for the flamingos to breed. The breeding and migration of flamingos are some of the unknowns of Africa. What is known is that the Makgadikgadi Pans provide a temporary haven for thousands of these marvels of nature ....By Leigh Kemp