Kalahari - Kalagadi the most unlikely-looking Paradise on earth - People, plants, animals of the Kalahari desert.

Kalahari pans - Salt pans - Types and formation:

Pans

The pans or "panne" (pronounce "punne" in Afrikaans, is a very characteristic feature of the Kalahari, although the Karoo is reported to be "the" place to go for pans. On a map there appears to be two distinct lines of pans, namely between Buitepos and Aranos in Namibia, and again between Tses and Noenieput, even as far down as halfway to witpan, or the line between kakamas en Van Zylsrus. I must say, from simple inspection on a map, and considering the direction of the existing dry rivers as indicated on the map, I can easily imagine a river flowing from the Okavango Delta, along the path of these two lines of pans. The experts have however told me that this theory first expounded by prof Swart and later given prominence by Michael Main in his book "Kalahari - Life in Dune and Delta", has been discounted as the levels are not correct. There are apparently no seismic activity on a scale that could have altered the lay of the land sufficiently to make even a remote possibility. (Michael, if you ever read this, please contact me as I would like to get permission to use a few of your photos.) The lines of pans I refer to above, does not fall on the possible proto-tswana river path as showm by Main.

The origin of the pans are uncertain. What does seem certain, is that large hordes of animals are attracted to salt deposits in the pans. It seems fairly obvious to me that a horde of animals trampling the last bit of remaining water to a powder, could easily, over the aeons, create such a pan. My personal experience with the fine dust produced on a parade ground, which, as we say in Afrikaans is "tot stof getrap" "= trampleled into dust" make this seem likely. This dust, in addition to the higher salt content in the evaporated water, would certainly make a nice and impervious bottom to any pan. Besides the well-known "Verneukpan" near Springbok to the South, and the large Makgadikgadi pans to the far north east in Botswana, two of the largest pans, namely koppieskraalpan (from the adjacent eierdop koppies = egg shell koppjes = like broken egg shell) and Hakskeenpan ("Heel"-pan) are found in the Kalahari.

There are a large number of other pans, many of them with rather rude names like Skitterypan (on some maps sanitised to Skreipan) of which there are a small one and a large one. This name tells me (in not too polite terms) that some-one had a severe bout of diahoerea at these pans. (It is no longer known who this person was). Many of the names are of Khoi/San origin. Perhaps the strangest apparent discordance between pronunciation and spelling, is found in what appears on the map as "Obobogorap". This name is pronounced "Kiebietjiegora" or in English approximately "kewbitjegorab". This strange discordance suddenly became clear to me, when I read an old German book "Aus Namaland and Kalahari' 1907, Jena, by Leonard Schultz. In a flash, it became clear that the original name had a number of strange orthographic letters, such as ! and /, and that the map-maker had simply dropped these funny characters. There are also such old favourites of mine as Kooppan-Suid and Kooppan-Noord.

The pans have a very flat surface, which makes them ideal for instant roads, aeroplane landing strips, and land speed record attempts. Nice for driving lessons too! There is nothing you can run into!)..

In the larger pans, some are up to 20 kilometres from edge to edge, it is extremely easy to get lost at night. It is presumably because of the slight depression in the middle, that what one are convinced of is a straight line route, because you have kept the steering wall absolutely fixed, always seems to spiral back into the centre of the pan. Numerous stories of even experienced travellers in this area, who got lost a night in one or other pan, is told. Fortunately, very few people have actually died from this cause in the last twenty years or so..

To see haakskeenpan or koppieskraalpan, or Inkbospan full of water, is an incredible experience - You see this large area of water, and you expect it to be deep. You start walking towards the centre and it doesn't get much deeper. Most of these pans are I understand, are less than half a meter deep at the centre, although I have seen figures of over 3 m as well (even 20 m)!. I have never had the tenacity to keep on walking for the amount of time it would take to get to the centre, so I have to trust the word of people who have (knowing those farmers, they probably drove there in a pick up truck, which puts 3m outside the question, or leaves it as pure guess-work!) .

More information

Tour South Africa.com

Kalahari dunes info

Witdraai - Camel Breeding

Kalahari pans

From Gondwanaland to Kalahari

Kalahari Bushmen (Komani San, Saasi, !Kabee language) Tour South Africa.com