The soul of the Makgadikgadi

Posted on 30 September 2010

I would not doubt that most people’s description of the Makgadikgadi Pans would sound remarkably similar, but there is a distinct individuality to the experience of it too. Speaking with someone who has been out there you can share the shared and respect the secret. I sensed that even if I were lying next to my deepest of soul mates, I could never feel closer and farther away from that person at the same time. I could reach out and hold someone’s hand for the physical connection, but it is essentially about you without a trace of self absorption. I became excited at the thought of bringing friends and family out to the Pans so that they too could have their very own moment; something they will remember forever – moments of inspiration to be drawn on in the grayer days of life.

I am unbelievably privileged to know I will get to visit the Pans many more times as I am now living in the area. Indeed, I was out there two more times in my first week and they were just as amazing as the first. I have gone out to play, doing handstands and cartwheels, to snap pictures, and to think. My imagination is triggered, my creativity stimulated, my thoughts and ideas bubble over with enthusiasm, yet my mind is calm. Basically, it is a kick ass natural high. I can’t imagine the Pans would ever not bring all this on each and every time.

At the utmost though – The Makgadigadi Pans offer clarity of the purest kind. Somewhere as special as the Pans cannot exist everywhere, but they can be for everyone. It takes some effort, time and dedication to get out here, but it is absolutely worth it. The Pans are a demolisher of doubt; a cure for confusion. Going back to my first experience out in the Pans, it was my second day in Botswana and my first night in the Botswana bush. I was starting a new job, a new career, a new life as the Front of House Manager in a safari camp. In my first week I had moments of trepidation, thinking, “˜what have I gotten myself into?!?!’ I had moments of shock and panic. But, each time I was out there I knew I had made the right decision. I was happy. I was following my dreams. I was living in Africa. As my guide said to me that first night, without an ounce of desperate conviction, “Africa is home”.






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