Jun 11, 20183 min read

Kalahari Rest Lodge, Kang, Botswana

19 May 2018

Leaving Lichtenburg around 9am we arrived at the Skilpadshek Border post around 10:30 to be the only car currently crossing over from South Africa to Botswana. We had our passports stamped and headed through to the Botswana side. Within the hour we were on the open road and on our way to our first stop-over, Kalahari Rest Lodge near Kang, Botswana. The road here was in great condition and we made it to our lodge in good time.

We arrived to blue skies, a beautifully warm afternoon and stunning views of the classic African Bush, still very much looked like the Karoo bush, so still a sense of home for us. Except for the sand, lots of sand! This was our first introduction to the Botswana sand, like sea sand. I think that is one of the things that surprised me most of Botswana, everywhere we went, there was tons of fine sand, we had to wonder how the trees & other flora grow in that, but it does!

Staff were friendly and helpful. We quickly settled the bill before getting acquainted with our rooms and freshening up a bit.

Upon enquiring about game drives (as advertised), we were told that the game drive vehicle was in for a service but that we could take our own vehicle if it is a 4x4.

As we were considering this option, we were soon informed that they had been hunting on the farm the previous week and the animals could be a bit spooked. Disappointingly, we let go of that idea as it was clear that they didn’t really want anyone going on game drives.

Rooms are chalet-like, one open-plan room with a double bed, small kitchenette and an en-suite bathroom, neat. Next to the kitchenette, was a single open space (Width of a standard broom-cupboard and shoulder high) to hang some clothes with one shelf, just right for an overnight stay.

It didn’t take long for us to head back to the lodge and find a bench with a view, on their lovey veranda, over-looking the typical African bush enjoying our drinks. Cheers to our first night in Botswana!

We were asked to place our dinner order early as to ensure availability and to give the cook some time to prepare. We were called to a very smoky dining area around 19:00 where we thoroughly enjoyed their place mats, full of fun facts about Botswana. Our meals arrived, we had all chosen the Eland Steak and weren't disappointed, it was well prepared and the fries were also fresh and tasty.

Kalahari Rest Lodges' Menu is Full of Fun Facts

Soon after supper we took a short walk back to our rooms. The men had arranged for some wood to be delivered to the fire pit in front of our rooms (we had adjoining rooms) and proceeded to make a bonfire where we sat chatting for a good while.

We had a relatively good night’s sleep and were up early, as we had a six hour drive ahead of us travelling to Maun.

Oh dear! No hot water! Needless to say, a quick cool bath had to do. We enjoyed a quick breakfast at the restaurant around 7am. As we were walking back to our rooms, we notice that they were ‘lighting up donkeys’ - A Donkey is a water-heating system, installed outdoors that gets fuelled by a wood fire, generating hot water for use indoors (or outdoors). It is a very economical way to warm water and a very simple system.

Well that was the end of us girls, we couldn’t stop laughing or crying, can’t really remember which one! Seems the staff omitted to mention to us that they only do this at 7ish every morning, if only we had seen the donkeys upon arrival the day before. Ah well, all is well that ends well.

Whilst the men loaded up the car, myself and Helena took a walk around the grounds and met the resident, tame Wildebeest. What a character!

Kalahari Rest is an ideal one-night stop-over as it is only four odd hours’ drive from the Skilpadshek Border Post (Pioneer Gate Border Post, if you are coming from Bots side into South Africa) on the A2. Everything is quite basic but it is neat and the staff are friendly.