Reviews of Nxai Pan Camp

"We wanted to see "the rain down in Africa" and we did at Nxai, with a spectacular thunder and lightning storm and half a day of on/off downpour. It gave one of us the perfect excuse to skip an outing and instead stay in the spacious room and download photos. Four days of outings on our trip had already produced a rich batch of photographs to edit. Happily the rooms at Nxai are more like cabins and there was a nice desk with plenty of electrical outlets to facilitate the activity.

Part of being "on safari" is remembering to relax and enjoy the surroundings and all the wonderful ways the camps are set up to accommodate all tastes. Nxai had a lovely cabinet of books both for reading and browsing - loved that.

Food was delicious, plentiful and creatively presented by a wonderful staff. We loved the singing greeting each night, a feature of Kwando camps.

Wildlife was a bit scarce due to the many newly-filled waterholes, meaning there were no centralized spots that everybody had to come to for a drink. We also learned a new term, the Okavango Rodeo, which describes the rumbling, driving sideways, and jostling about caused by the land cruiser's tortured path along road ways that had been turned into water courses.

We had been prepared for this possibility so were fine with it, and an unusual sighting of a huge bunch of vultures of at least three different species was a thrill. We didn't see what had drawn them in but watched as they spread their wings to dry and hopped about in the larger, dead tree branches. Huge bunches of Zebras and Wildebeests, plus Impalas, was very nice." See all these reviews: 16n in Botswana

"Nxai Pan Camp is very nicely located with good facilities and a correct staff.

Overall, however, it felt a little tired. Compared to the other camps we visited, Nxai Pan lacked real passion and enthusiasm. It was't bad, but we felt that people were going through the motions. Also, drives with a tracker had no real added value.

It's not a big area, so we expected some repetition in the game drive routes. That doesn't have to be a problem, because there are lots of other interesting items than big game. However, our guide seemed hesitant to talk in general, so the drives sometimes ended up just driving from one animal to another and that was it.

Apart from this, the surroundings are beautiful, especially with the migration taking place and it was nice enough to just enjoy the scenery from one of the open areas." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana

"While all of our guides and trackers were good, the guide and tracker at Nxai Pan were exceptional.

They were both very knowledgeable but shared that knowledge in a natural way as opportunities arose, so it felt like learning from a friend. Learning about the termite mounds was a particular highlight, as was learning about the wild dogs.

All of the staff looked after our group extremely well. I have some mobility issues and climbing into the vehicle was a bit challenging. They immediately produced a step stool, which then went with us each time we were on a drive." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana

"our group was very lucky to have Mr T as our guide and TT as our tracker. these 2 men were brilliant in their knowledge of the area as well as their ability to find wildlife. Two particular highlights for us were: Mr. T's detailed explanation of termite mounds, termites, fungus gardens and the environment; TT's walk explaining how the Bushmen lived, used the flora and hunted. At one point, we came across an elephant skull and Mr. T took the opportunity to give us a fascinating exploration of the it and why elephants have such formations in their skulls. The camaraderie and respect between Mr. T and TT was evident and both were clearly committed to giving us a truly exceptional experience.
The camp was very well maintained and the food was of very high quality. The Kwando staff are always friendly and the Nxai Pan staff were no exception." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana

"Naxi Pan proved to be quite surprising. Due to water being available in only two waterholes, there was an endless procession of animals, large and small to water.

The waterhole in front of our camp was very popular with Elephants all day and night. They would vent their frustration loudly as competition was fierce and often there wasn't enough room to accommodate all of them at once. Buffalos were frequent visitors too, at times over sixty strong.

The herbivors had to wait while the Elephants asserted their dominance to the water and bullied everyone.

Pity the waterhole was too far to be able to take any decent photos from camp. All images were fuzzy due to haze. There is plenty of space between the waterhole and camp to either bring it closer or build a hide to get us closer to the action.

The second larger waterhole was about 40 minutes drive from camp, attracting herds of Zebras, Wildebeest, Springbok, Giraffe, Eland, Ostriches and the occasional bull Elephant." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana

"This camp was most memorable for its landscapes and skies. It was here, at the eighth out of ten camps, that we saw the first elephants on the entire trip. No baby elephants though, only males traveling mostly in small groups. With the exception of seeing one angry male lion guarding his dinner there were no other big cat sightings, although our guides identified leopard tracks. On the other hand, we got a glimpse of the annual migration of what appeared to us huge springbok and zebra herds.

One big highlight was a drive to the Baines’ Baobab trees, which were immortalized by a famous 19th century painting.

It was also here that we had the only heavy rain during the entire trip of five weeks. So, one morning we were wearing rain ponchos and the cameras were protected inside plastic bags that the camp gladly provided.

The camp, the food and the service was on a par with the other camps of the same company." See all these reviews: 19n in Namibia; 15n in Botswana

"Throughout our time in camp, elephants in large numbers dominated the waterhole in front of camp, with zebra, buffalo, and wildebeest often waiting to get a look in. Giraffe and black backed jackals were also present in large numbers.

Further from the camp we saw springbok, bat-eared foxes and scrub hares. The excellent knowledge of our guide Mat and spotter Shoes helped us to identify and photograph over 65 bird species in two days.

As an elephant had disrupted the borehole pump overnight, on our first morning wake-up, staff brought bottled water for washing. A part was flown in and things were fixed before we returned from the morning's activity.

In contrast to the newly re-built Kwara camp, Nxai Pan camp whilst adequate and appropriate to the location, is showing it's age with limited lighting and less efficient sealing against insects, dealt with by mozzie coils.

But the warmth of the camp staff welcome overcame all that, hosting us as their only visitors for the duration of our stay." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana

"The camp facilities are excellent.

Most importantly, the staff was friendly and attentive with great service. Ike, our guide, knows the birds and animals and even found us a life bird.

The rainy season was a fine time to visit - fantastic herds of zebra and wildebeest with plenty of giraffe and elephant." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 1n in Namibia

"Wonderful people and food, nice game drives - Wago was excellent guide" See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia; 16n in Tanzania; 10n in Botswana; 1n in Kenya

"We loved the location and setting at Nxai Pan Camp. The staff were more than friendly, and keen to give us the best time. The meals were delicious too.

Unfortunately there were heavy thunderstorms each day, which affected what we could do a bit, and led to some disappointing drives as the wildlife had scattered.

We did enjoy our trip to Baines Baobabs - magnificent on the edge of the pans." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana