After having heard about the bad sandy roads to Khutse Lodge, we were a bit apprehensive but in the end were pleasantly surprised. The road was done up in Dec 08 so now it is a gravel road which although sandy in patches, was not as bad as everyone had said! It is about 200 kms from Gaborone & it took us 3 hours to get to the lodge.

The lodge is clean & tidy, the staff attentive & helpful & it is a good alternative for families with young children who want to visit the Game Reserve as camping with young children in the Game Reserve is not recommended as you would have to watch your children closely. The lodge is about 10 km outside the Reserve & the road from the lodge to the Reserve is we are told indicative of what the road to the lodge used to be - sandy! So rather than take your own vehicle, go on a game drive with guides from the lodge.

We drove a Rav 4 which has high clearance but which is not a 4x4 & it was fine. We would not suggest a sedan car as some patches are sandy & after rains, the road could be muddy.

We were very lucky to see the Khutse pride - 8 lions - on our morning drive but unlucky to have cloudy & rainy weather so could not appreciate the night sky. We also did a Bushman walk & all in all, it was a nice trip out of Gaborone to somewhere which is not very far at all.

We hope this review is helpful as it had been hard for us to get a realistic idea of the condition of roads before we left.

My wife and I travelled to Khutse not really having any great expectations, as we had been advised that the chances of seeing any wildlife were actually rather poor.
However the owner, Trudy Kneale, made a very positive impression. She was born close to Khutse, at the southern extremity of the Kalahari desert and had spent years studying hotel management abroad before settling back in her own country. Her love of the wilderness encouraged her to apply for a government grant and five years later the Lodge was fully operational. It is one of the very few such operations across the country not managed by exiles from the surrounding countries.
The reason I know so much about Trudy is that she transported us for most of the journey. We had been unable to hire a 4x4 at the airport; the only hiring location, and the small saloon the airport people thought would manage the trip had to be abandoned at the end of the tar road.
The set up was very simple, but wholly adequate and the knowledge of the manager when it came to us seeing animals and bird-life was truly amazing. I promised Trudy I would advertise her lodge widely when I came home, as I really believe that it gave us a taste of real wilderness that was world class. The stars at night were worth the trip alone, never mind sharing the pool with a visiting nocturnal leopard.
Not really a place for small children(try the Khama Rhino Sanctuary instead), but otherwise I could not recommend it more warmly. On our first day there we were so late back after the 'pre-breakfast' game drive, that we nearly missed lunch too!
I have some photos, but currently have a probem trying to connect my camera. If I can sort the camera out, I will post some pics.