National park
Nata Bird Sanctuary
Community-run sanctuary on the edge of Sua Pan near Nata, where flamingos and pelicans gather when the rains fill the pan.
49 km² · 1 gate · 1 campsite · Run by Community trust of Nata, Sepako, Maposa and Manxotae villages, set up with the Kalahari Conservation Society
About the park
Nata Bird Sanctuary covers about 230 km² where the Nata River runs into the northeastern corner of Sua (Sowa) Pan, about 15 km from Nata village; nearly half of it is pan. In a good rainy season the pan floods and turns into a shallow lake that draws tens or even hundreds of thousands of lesser and greater flamingos, along with great white and pink-backed pelicans; in the dry months it is a blinding white salt flat with ostrich, secretarybird and kori bustard on the grassland. A few antelope, zebra and jackal live on the grassland too, but birds are the reason to come. Visitors drive the sanctuary's dirt roads to a raised viewing platform over the pan, and there is a campsite. It suits birders and anyone breaking the drive between Francistown and Maun or Kasane. The catch is that the flamingo show depends entirely on the rains, and after heavy rain the black-cotton soil tracks can be impassable.
Highlights
- Flamingos and pelicans on the flooded pan after good rains
- Sundowners on the raised viewing platform over Sua Pan
- The white, empty salt pan in the dry season
Good to know
- About 230 km² at the Nata River mouth on Sua Pan, about 15 km from Nata; around 45% is pan
- Community-managed by four villages (Nata, Sepako, Maposa and Manxotae); opened 1993
- About 165 bird species recorded
- Raised viewing platform; campsite
- Black-cotton soil tracks turn to mud in the rains
Wildlife you may see
- Lesser flamingo
- Greater flamingo
- Great white pelican
- Pink-backed pelican
- African fish eagle
- Secretarybird
- Kori bustard
- Ostrich
- Springbok
- Red hartebeest
- Zebra
- Jackal
Sightings are never guaranteed.
When to go
Best time: November to March, in a year with good rains, for water and flamingos
Gates
- Nata Bird Sanctuary entranceOpening hours not confirmedPay in cash (pula) at the gate, per person plus a vehicle fee: non-residents P100, Botswana residents P70, citizens P50 per person; vehicles P35 (non-resident) or P30 (citizen). Camping is extra.The gate is sometimes locked with nobody there, so phone the Nata Conservation Trust before a day visit. A 4x4 is needed in the rainy season.
Gate times change with the seasons: check with Community trust of Nata, Sepako, Maposa and Manxotae villages, set up with the Kalahari Conservation Society before you travel.
Campsites
- Nata Bird Sanctuary Community CampsiteCommunity camp4.2
Park fees
| citizen | P50 per person day |
| citizen (any) | P30 per vehicle day |
| resident | P70 per person day |
| international | P100 per person day |
| international (any) | P35 per vehicle day |
Per person plus a vehicle fee, paid in cash (pula) at the gate; camping extra.