Khutse Game Reserve

Khutse adjoins the southern boundary of the Central Kalahari and covers around two and a half thousand square kilometres of sand, fossil river valleys and a scatter of pans that hold water briefly after rain. It is the most accessible Kalahari reserve from Gaborone, reachable in a long day's drive, and it is quiet: campsites are few and unfenced, and the appeal is the emptiness and the night sky as much as the animals. Gemsbok, springbok, lion and brown hyena are the characteristic species.

What you actually see

• The pans - shallow depressions that draw animals after rain.
• The fossil valleys - dry river courses running through the sand.
• The desert species - gemsbok, springbok, brown hyena and Kalahari lion.
• The night sky - some of the darkest skies within reach of the capital.

When to go

December to April, after rain, brings the best wildlife as animals gather on the pans, but the heat is extreme. May to September is comfortable and cold at night but drier and quieter. Campsites must be booked in advance.

Honest expectations

Wildlife densities are low and long stretches pass with nothing; this is desert, not a delta. Campsites are unfenced with a long-drop and nothing else, and predators walk through. All water and fuel must be carried in.

Nearby

The Central Kalahari is directly north, and Molepolole is southeast.