Sowa Town sits at the end of a tarred spur off the highway between Francistown and Nata, on the eastern edge of Sua Pan. Sowa means salt in the San language, and salt is the reason the town exists. It was built for the workers at the soda ash and salt plant out on the pan, where brine is pumped from beneath the crust into wide evaporation ponds. The town is small and quiet, and from its edge the pan runs away to a flat, glaring horizon.
Around the pan
In the rainy season, roughly December to April, the Nata River flows into the northern end of the pan and turns it into a shallow lake. Lesser and greater flamingos can arrive in huge numbers after good rains to feed and breed while the water lasts. The Nata Bird Sanctuary on the north-eastern shore, run by four nearby villages, is the best place to look for them. Once the water has gone, the crust firms up and 4x4 tracks lead out towards the islands. Kubu Island, a granite ridge scattered with ancient baobabs on the far south-western edge, is reached from the Mmatshumo side rather than from town. Keep to known tracks near the shore, because the crust can hide soft mud even in the dry months. Clear nights out here are full of stars.
Booking on adventuro
For Nxai Pan, the rhino near Serowe and the rest of central Botswana, see our guide to Central and the Makgadikgadi. Use the Book here tab to see live dates and prices.
