Makgadikgadi Pans
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The Makgadikgadi Pans is one of the largest salt pans in the world, lying to the southeast of the Okavango Delta and surrounded by the Kalahari Desert.
Between 2,000,000 years to 10,000 years ago, the paleolake Makgaikgadi covered an incredible area ranging from 80,000 - 275,000 square kilometres. Its remains are now seen as huge salt pans. Relatively recent DNA research suggests that this area was the homeland of homo sapiens, where they first evolved into a distinct species before expanding into other parts of Africa. You can still find the remains of tools, perhaps untouched for a thousand years!
The pans themselves are a desert of salt, with very little life. At the fringes you can find salt marshes developing into grassland and ultimately savannah, but it is the desolate wilderness that is so fascinating.