Sua Pan:

Aptly named Sua (meaning salt) by the Bushmen, this vast pan is a flat expanse of white salt encrusted clay. Sua Pan, and its companion pan, Ntwetwe, to the west, together form the great Makgadikgadi pans. These pans are all that is left today of a once great lake that covered most of Northern Botswana. Along the South Eastern shore of Sua Pan rises a steep calcrete escarpment with beaches of rolled quartz.

There are places of indescribable beauty along the shores of the pan. Perhaps only a poet could really convey the feeling of tranquility, space and freedom engendered by the immensity of this silvered pan and adjacent grasslands. Sua pan has a scattering of granite isles that rise above the white surface of the pan and give a mesmeric attraction to this desolate, but amazing, place. One such place in this remote and enchanting wilderness is Kubu Island. Monolithic granite boulders and the stunted looking baobabs, set in the infinite whiteness of the salt plain adds to the eerie feel of the island. From this island one can truly appreciate the splendour and isolation of Sua pan.

In the North-east of Sua pan is the Nata River Delta. Flowing from Zimbabwe, in a good wet season it may flood large areas to a shallow depth. Bird life then is breathtaking. As soon as the river water floods into the pans the tiny crustaceans hatch to provide food for the flamingoes.

Sua pan provides the largest breeding area for greater flamingoes in the whole of Africa. At this time all manner of other birds can also be seen and a good place to view them is at Nata Bird Sanctuary.

In the dry season the grasslands invite you to explore. Wildlife on the pans is rather scarce, although one does see springbok, gemsbok, steenbok and zebra from time to time. Even if you don't see them, the tracks are there to prove their presence, but in most cases they simply cross the pans in search of grazing.

Sua pan will fill you with a feeling of openness and freedom as you walk, with its limitless expanse and its kaleidoscope of muted pastel colours, ever changing to reflect the passage of the sun through the day.