The pithy answer to this question is: 'whenever it's full of water!' And there lies the rub; it's only worth going if there's water in the lake, and few people will have been there and be able to tell you. Your best chance of getting up-to-date information is probably from operators in Maun, and especially the pilots, because if the lake's empty it's better to save yourself a trip. If it's just a wide expanse of clay, then you won't find it that exciting.

The state of this mystical lake varies greatly, depending upon whether the Delta's flood, which has historically been Lake Ngami's main source of water, has been high enough to overflow into the Nhabe River which feeds the lake. The lake was an empty dustbowl for the late 1980s and 90s, but then filled to a shallow depth during 2000 and 2001. So ask around to find out what's happening.

If and when it really floods, Lake Ngami comes alive with birdlife. From October, the ducks, geese, waders and other northern migrants arrive, lining the muddy shores until the weather cools towards the end of April. The flamingos, both greater and lesser, don't choose their times so carefully – being found here in their thousands whenever the conditions are right for the algae on which they feed. They appear from the shore as a pink haze settled on the water's surface.