Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of the reserve. Nearby Motopi Pan is great for wildlife, and lions are common in the sur-
rounding area - we spent hours with one pride here without seeing another vehicle. When
we visited, the Tracks4Africa satellite-navigation program was incorrect for the three
sites, which are some distance off the main track. While they're likely to have rectified
that by the time you read this, just in case the GPS coordinates for the sites are: Campsite
1 (S 21°10.581', E 23°04.811'), Campsite 2 (S 21°08.074', E 23°04.444') and Campsite 3
(S 21°09.927', E 23°06.097').
LODGE
Deception Valley Lodge $$$
Offline map
(
www.deceptionvalley.co.za
;
s/d Jun-Oct US$546/ 840, Nov-May US$458/704; )
On
the edge of the reserve, this exclusive bush retreat was designed to blend into the sur-
rounding nature without detracting from its ambience. Soothing rooms blend Victorian
and African design elements, and feature a private lounge and outdoor shower. The lodge
is about 120km south of Maun, and the route is accessible to 2WD vehicles during the dry
season.
LODGE
Tau Pan Camp $$$
Offline map
( 686 1449;
www.kwando.co.bw
;
s/d from US$620/880; )
The first camp to be
opened within the CKGR, this solar-powered luxury lodge overlooks magnificent Tau Pan
from a rugged sand ridge. Wildlife drives and San-led bushwalks are the order of the day,
and neither disappoint, especially when the rains hit and this becomes one of Southern
Africa's best wildlife-viewing locations. The lodge maintains a strong eco sensibility
throughout, and comes highly recommended by former guests.
THE SAN & THE CKGR
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) was originally established in 1961 as a private reservation for the
San in order to protect them from the encroachments of the modern world and to protect their ancestral home-
lands. But the government of Botswana later changed its mind (primarily, critics say, because diamonds were
found within the park's boundaries), and although the southern and western parts of the CKGR are still home to
small populations of San, a recent wave of forced relocations has greatly reduced this population. The future of
the San is now one of the biggest political hot potatoes for the current Botswanan government.
Nearly all of Botswana's and Namibia's San were relocated from their ancestral lands to new government set-
tlements such as New Xade in the central Kalahari. In 2006 this resettlement programme earned the government a
