All roads lead to Sua Pan, 20 kilometers from Sowa Town this weekend for the Makgadikgadi Epic, which returns after a two-year hiatus due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Adventure and sport lovers as well as adrenaline junkies will have a weekend packed with activities from today (Friday) until Sunday. The event which attracts thousands of revellers from across the country has been going on since 2014 but was shelved, like many other events in 2020 and 2021 receptively in respect to the covid-19 regulations that prohibited large gatherings.
Organized by BTO in partnership with the Parachute Association of Botswana (PAB) and hosted by BOTASH in collaboration with the Sowa Township Council & Tutume Sub-District, this year’s Epic is held under the theme, ‘Safari Chic-Outdoor wear (Brown and its fades; Khakhi; Olive; Off-White; Tan; Grey).
The event which forms part of a series of BTO annual sports and adventure tourism events is aimed at diversifying the Botswana tourism product menu with a view to increase the average visitors’ length of stay.
According to BTO PR Manager-Marketing, Moabi Keaikitse the event will feature as is the norm sky-dive demonstrations by professional sky-divers as the main activity. Skydiving as a sport or activity of jumping from an aircraft and performing acrobatic maneuvers in the air under free fall before landing by parachute.
There are usually different formations displayed by Skydivers creating formations that thrill the event attendants. Other activities will include tandem skydiving, helicopter rides, fun quad bike rides, fun horse rides, jet skiing and hover craft that are open to the general public and enthusiasts.
Corporates, friends, families and adventure lovers are therefore invited to bring to the Pans bush hats, caps, face masks, hand sanitizers, umbrellas, polarized shades, sunscreen lotion, bottled water, long sleeved shirts, camp Chairs, leisure and Gazebos.
Revellers will also get to enjoy musical sessions beginning on Friday featuring, Battallion Musica, DJ Ottomatic and DJ Gouveia. The following day (Saturday 2nd July) will feature DJ Chen, DJ 4DD, DJ Cue, DJ Hai Chang and DJ Lexy J. Local songbirds, Dato Seiko, Khoi San and Woman of Botswana Jazz will headline the live performances.
Entrance Fee is P70 for adults from Friday to Sunday while children under the age of 12 years will be allowed to enter free of charge.
For her part, PAB Admin Assistant, Lindiwe Marakaladi explained that the association approached BTO to facilitate an event and place where they could host both local and international skydivers in the country to showcase the beauty of this land and expose the sport to Batswana as it is very unique and quiet new.
According to Marakaladi, PAB was formed in 2013 but fully affiliated with the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) in 2015. She revealed that the association so far has 11 licensed skydivers and 5 students.
Sua Pan, the host of the epic, is a large natural topographic depression within the Makgadikgadi region is one of three large pans within the Makgadikgadi located near the village of Sowa.
