Deception Valley Lodge in the Kalahari
Deception Valley Lodge is the premier Kalahari destination in Botswana. It is set on 15,000 hectares of private reserve bordering the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
Professionally run by the owners, the lodge offers all the facilities that ensure a comfortable and relaxing stay. With a stunning location overlooking the waterhole, each of the 8 very spacious suites has a bedroom, separate lounge area, en-suite bathroom with Victorian bath and outdoor shower. The lodge boasts a swimming pool, several indoor and outdoor areas in which to relax and dine and, in a nod to the remoteness of the location, wireless internet delivered by satellite.
With its own airstrip a short 15 minute drive from the lodge, Deception Valley Lodge is a mere 30 minutes by air from Maun.
Activities are varied. The Reserve’s extensive network of tracks make for perfect day and night driving terrain. The Kalahari sand offers excellent opportunities for tracking lion and leopard and where your guide can follow off road as this is a private game reserve.
A visit to Deception Valley Lodge would not be complete without experiencing a walk with the San (Bushmen). ‘Braam’ Badenhorst, one of the owners, grew up in the Kalahari with the San and several of his friends live on the reserve and are available to show guests the way they used to live and survive. Walk through a terrain that appears to the uninitiated to offer little in the way of sustenance, but is a treasure-trove of fruits, berries, tubers, barks, herbs and flowers used in cooking, medicine, ceremonies and for a plethora of other purposes. All this before we turn to the mammals, birds, reptiles and insects that form part of the fascinating panoply of their desert world.
Kalahari Manor is a nearby colonial style residence accommodating just four people in two double, en suite bedrooms. With its own chef, guide and vehicle, the Manor is available to those guests wishing for privacy and exclusivity in their Kalahari experience.
LOCATION: on the northern boundary of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, on private land.
THE FOCUS: is on revealing the fascinating world of the Kalahari, the ʻwaterless oasisʼ.
ACCESS: via private airstrip, 30 minutes from Maun.
GPS CO-ORDINATES: 20°57’10” S and 23°38’59” E
CATEGORY OF SAFARI EXPERIENCE: game drives, night drives, off-roading, walking and an intensive San (Bushman) experience.
ACCOMMODATION: We can accommodate up to 16 guests in 8 suites.
ACTIVITIES: • Day and night drives with guide & tracker • Bush Walks with San (Bushman) hunters • Swimming pool
CHILDREN: are welcome and we have a family room. A private vehicle may,depending on other bookings, need to be booked at additional cost.
SOMETHING SPECIAL: dining in the company of porcupines!
WILDLIFE: Afternoon and night safaris in custom built game viewing vehicles afford visitors the chance to see a variety of different species which include the magnificient Kalahari lion, cheetah, leopard as well as giraffe and kudu. The elusive brown hyena has also been seen on occasion. Night safaris reveal reveal a fascinating world of nocturnal species. Deception Valley is also a bird lover’s paradise.