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Campsite
Piper Pan 1 (CKPIP-01)
The pitch on the very edge of Piper Pan, close to the waterhole where lions, gemsbok and wildebeest come to drink in the Central Kalahari.
- 3.6
- P350 pp/night
- 4x4, deep sand
- No signal
- Water: not drinkable
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Campsite
The pitch on the very edge of Piper Pan, close to the waterhole where lions, gemsbok and wildebeest come to drink in the Central Kalahari.
Park conservation fees are extra, paid at the gate.
The better of the two Piper Pan sites, on the edge of a big clay pan near a waterhole known for lions. Remote, unfenced and fully self-sufficient camping that books out months ahead.
Piper Pan 1 is the pick of the two sites at Piper Pan, a chain of old clay lake beds deep in the Central Kalahari: it sits right on the pan's edge with an open view and only a short drive to the solar-pumped waterhole in the middle. Springbok, wildebeest and gemsbok graze the pans, and visitors regularly report lions drinking at dusk, roaring through the night and leaving tracks through camp by morning; bat-eared foxes and the odd aardwolf turn up too. The trade-off for the view is little shade. It is a long, corrugated sand drive of about 145 km from Matswere Gate, or several hours north of Xade Gate, and the site is popular enough to book many months ahead.
● Confirmed● Reported, not fully confirmedNot available
| All year, international | P350 pp/night |
| All year, regional | P250 pp/night |
| All year, resident | P190 pp/night |
| All year, citizen | P88 pp/night |
Last checked 2026-11-02. Campsites charge in local currency.
Long sand tracks with sections of bad corrugation; 4x4 compulsory and tyre pressures should be dropped. About 143-146 km from Matswere Gate, or 3-6 hours north from Xade Gate on a poor track. The clay pans turn to sticky black cotton soil after rain. Speed limit 40 km/h, no night driving or driving on the pans. Gate hours 06:30-18:30 (April-September), 05:30-19:00 (October-March).
Inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, south-west of the main game loop. Enter at Matswere Gate (from Rakops, about 143 km of sand track to the pan) or at Xade Gate in the south-west (3-6 hours north). Site 1 lies on the edge of the pan; site 2 is about 1.5 km further south.
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