{"id":3832,"date":"2022-07-27T00:20:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T07:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/?p=3832"},"modified":"2026-01-10T10:16:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T18:16:29","slug":"baines-kubu-makgadigadi-baobab-nxaipan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/baines-kubu-makgadigadi-baobab-nxaipan\/","title":{"rendered":"Solo In Africa Part 2: A Small Adventure to Baines’ Baobabs, the Makgadigadi and Kubu Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

May 25th – June 12th<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baines’ Baobabs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d arrived at Baines’ Baobabs, an impressive stand of huge baobab trees \u201cdiscovered\u201d by Thomas Baines in the 1800s. These lie within the Nxai Pan National Park at the edge of a salt pan. There are three campsites in the area, each with its own baobab or two and each a kilometer or more from the nearest neighbor. This makes for a very exclusive camping experience. Jenny and I visited here in 2018<\/a> and loved it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"nxai
Baines’ Baobabs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I checked in at the gate they told me that my booking for Baines\u2019 No. 2 was already occupied, but happily Baines\u2019 No. 1 was available, my original preference. I enjoyed a very atmospheric night at Baines\u2019 No. 1, perched at the edge of the salt pan with dark skies and the bright glittering smear of the milky way overhead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"baines
What a lovely spot, Baines’ No. 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Baines\u2019 I made my way to my next stop, the Makgadigadi Pans National Park Tree Island Campsite. I entered the park from the north entrance and immediately encountered deep sand. With the tire pressure dropped I made my way to the Boteti riverfront for a brief game drive before diving east into the heart of the Kalahari. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To my surprise the Makgadigadi\u2019s famous Zebra migration seemed to beunderway. I found thousands of zebras at the river. Normally this peaks, I think, in May. I suppose this year\u2019s good rains had allowed the zebras to delay their migration from the pans to the river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"zebra
The Boteti river, inundated with zebras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Tree Island Campsite is far from the normal game viewing area, a long drive down a sandy track to a lonely patch of shade trees that occupy a modest rise at the edge of the Makgadigadi salt pans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"makgadigadi\"
The long sandy track towards Tree Island from Khumaga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The drive was far more interesting than I imagined. I saw elephant, giraffe, oryx, wildebeest and zebras. The initial stretch is dense scrub, not all that special, but it gives way to sparse trees and eventually to beautiful grassy plaines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"kalahari\"
Closer to Tree Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tree island campsite has three sites adjacent to each other. One site was occupied, but luckily the best site, No. 1, was available, lying at the edge of the trees adjacent to the pan. It is a lonely spot out here, but that is the magic of it. Reportedly when the zebras are in the area (the same ones now occupying the Boteti river some 40 km to the west) lions take up residence in the shade of these tress. Wouldn\u2019t they be interesting to share this camp with?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"tree
Tree Island Campsite No. 1. Sometimes I take photos without the Land Cruiser in them, but not often.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Tree Island Campsite I made my way out of the park to the east. My former impression is that there isn\u2019t much going on in the Makgadigadi away from the Boteti riverfront, by I found the drive to be very scenic and enjoyable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I\u2019d checked in they\u2019d told me that the eastern gate to the park, Xirexara, was closed. But it was the direction I wanted to explore and I figured if I couldn\u2019t leave by that gate I\u2019d backtrack and exit out the northeast gate at Makkolwane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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On my way out of Makgadigadi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tree Island No. 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Just before arriving at Xirexara I found a pan full of wildebeest and zebra, very scenic and nobody for miles and miles and miles. The Xirexara gate appears as all the other gates, with staff structures and an impressive thatched roof structure over the road, but all was abandoned. The eastern edge of the park is unfenced, presumably to allow wildlife to freely migrate. There was also no gate across the road, so I just drove out of the park without checking out like you usually would at the other gates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately to the south is the CT11 private tourist concession, no entry allowed. I spent the rest of the day navigating rarely driven tracks that occasionally faded to nothing, finding myself feeling very alone in the bush. I\u2019d backtrack and try again, and by the end of the day I\u2019d managed to visit the impressive Green\u2019s Baobab and finally washed up at the Planet Baobab campsite near Gweta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Green's
Green’s Baobab. Not pictured: the fence around this tree erected by the Botswana Museums. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I spent two nights here, getting ready to head for Kubu Island. The Gweta Fuel station had fuel, not always the case, and this topped me off so I could roam unhindered by fuel endurance concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to get to Kubu was in question. The easiest route to Kubu from the south, near Orapa, far from here. The other route is from Nata, a long drive from here on potholed tar, followed by a stretch of road that goes along the edge of the very enormous Sua Pan. This route was just more driving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My final option was a road that goes more or less directly from Gweta to Kubu, across the Ntwetwe Pan (many pans make up the Makgadigadi Salt Pans, but Sua and Ntwetwe are the largest). This direct route looked the most interesting, least traveled and but most risky. Risky because the road crosses the surface of the pan in parts, and if the pan hasn\u2019t fully dried from the rains the seemingly hard surface will collapse, swallowing the vehicle in a mire of mud. Not something I wanted to experience, particularly alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I asked around to everyone I could and was told to err on the side of caution and take the Nata route, but I was told this all by people who hadn\u2019t actually traveled the Gweta route this season. A lone report from a week previously said people had made the drive and it had been scary in a few sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Route Options to Kubu Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Gweta track to Kubu before arriving at Ntwetwe Pan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This to me meant that it was doable, and had likely dried more in the intervening time. In chatting with my camp neighbors at Planet Baobab they agreed to follow me by a day. If I got into real trouble they\u2019d come across me and help me out. If the road was good I\u2019d text them from the sat phone so they\u2019d know the status of the route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this plan made I set out for Kubu. From Gweta made the turn into the sandy tracks at Gweta. Not far along I met a guided safari car coming out of the bush. The guide told me the road was good all the way, \u201cYou cannot get stuck, if you stay on the road.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Makgadigadi<\/figure><\/div>
\"Ntwetwe<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

On the GPS there is a single track heading almost the full 100 kilometers to Kubu. Instead I found a maze of tracks. I was met with dozens of wyes, each a decision to be made and none of which followed the road on the GPS. I took my best guess at each, trying to follow the fresh tracks of the safari car that had come out or the largest track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"baobab\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Along the way the branch of a mopane tree slapped the passenger side mirror and the glass popped out of the mirror. I had to stop the car and walk back on the track for some time to find it. I reinstalled it but it was now loose, and the second time it was slapped out I drove over it and shattered the glass. No more passenger mirror. Over the next few days this was surprisingly more inconvenient than you\u2019d think, particularly as I was alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"kubu\"
Sunrise at Kubu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The remainder of the drive to Kubu was fantastic. Mopane forest and sandy tracks gave way to a narrow patch of relatively green land at the edge of the pan. Here was a cattle station of sorts, taking advantage of a lake that wasn\u2019t on any map. In fact the road as mapped went right through the lake, so I followed faint bush tracks around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This first 40 kilometers of the road had been a maze, but after leaving cattle station I was back on the GPS track and heading out across Ntwetwe Pan. It was a stunning drive, rolling through grassy plaines, through mopane bush and across the immense wide salt pans. Driving on the pans is a lot of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving at Kubu Island felt like victory. I could find no staff, so I just wandered around and picked a campsite, one of a dozen loosely scattered around the southwest quadrant of the island. Through the afternoon more travelers trickled in until the campsite was about \u00be full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kubu Island is a unique place. The Makgadigadi Salt Pans are toward the eastern edge of the Kalahari, and for the most part are very flat. The landscape alternates from salt pan to thin mopane forest to grass plains depending on where you are, but the elevation changes little. Kubu (which if I\u2019m not mistaken means \u201cIsland\u201d in the local Setswana language. So really we\u2019re saying \u201cIsland Island\u201d) is an island of rock in this desert, about one kilometer long and half a kilometer wide, boasting a hefty stand of baobabs scattered across it. The island is dry most of the year, though the pans do fill with water in the rainy season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n