Reviews of Deception Valley Lodge

"We were warmly welcomed. The staff took excellent care about us. Everything was clean, well prepared and timed. Everything worked smoothly including power (recharging) station. We could also put our underwear to laundry because they have a washing machine. We appreciate especially the waterhole in front of the lodge where we could watch animals drinking during the daytime and evenings.

Game drives were led by Knowledge, highly experienced guide, and his tracker Frans. As it was a private concession we could return in darkness from the afternoon drive; and we could go off-road. This was done very gently without intimidating or endangering animals. We expected nothing and we saw so much!

Another bright aspect was food. It was so fantastic that we would give them 3 Michelin stars.

Our house and the common dining area were lovely, nicely decorated in a pleasant African style." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana

"Deception Valley Lodge was my ultimate goal and I was in no way disappointed. In fact, being the only visitor at the Lodge, I was thoroughly spoilt and wish that this situation could have lasted longer.

The Valley's vegetation had grown high and it was not always easy to spot the animals therefore a lot of tracking through the vegetation took place. There was an alpha male lion in the area that had fought for his trerritory and had all the wounds to prove it. He was tracked and finally found only about 15 yards away from us. He was dozing under a bush but seemingly his dignity was still in place and his wounds were healing although he was lucky not to have lost his right eye. Every now and then he opened his eyes and lazily looked at us - obviously he was well fed!

Another piece of tracking took place on my last morning at Deception but my time was limited and, annoyingly, I missed the final outcome. An unknown adolescent bull elephant was roaming the area but had not been seen and, seemingly, because there had been no prints at the watering places, he had not been drinking until this particular morning when he left his prints behind. From then he was tracked to an area of tall vegetation but in spite of finding all the tracks, even wet saliva on a branch, he could not be found. HIs tracks were haphazard and were all within a small area that was not far from the road. I felt cheated that I could not stay for the outcome.

The two porcupines that used to consider the Lodge as their territory unfortunately became a lion's feast and it was decided not to encourage any more porcupines to reside at the Lodge. One morning it was found that a lioness with cubs had made a nocturnal visit to the Lodge and had somehow got into an outside cupboard that housed domestic cleaning utensils: one cub had a bucket on its head.

Deception Valley Lodge was the highlight of my visit to Botswana. The Family had made me feel part of the Lodge. Everyone came to say 'Goodbye' when I left and I felt very sad." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana

"wonderful family feel to this camp and very knowledgeable people.

Since there had been a lot of rain earlier the big game were not coming to the water holes. This is maybe something which visitors should know so they can change their wishlist. A lot of emphasis on chasing lions whereas we would have been happy to look for smaller mammals or spend time observing elephants.
The manager could ask us what our itinerary was and what we really hoped to do at Deception. This actually goes for all the camps. A bit more dialogue needed.

Bushman walk wonderful and such talented people. A flora and fauna walk in the Kalahari would have been good ( as we had last year in Swapokmund and in Etondeka." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana

"Well established spacious lodge with a watering hole. An ideal lodge to end your holiday to take time to relax.

The night drives and off roading are especially welcome.

Were lucky to see the black maned Kalahari lion in numbers.

Our pre-arranged day trip into the CKGR was a long and tiring day but well worth it for a better understanding of the area." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana

"It was interesting to see a completely different environment at this camp.

We had a huge storm on the day we arrived and unfortunately we did not see many animals. Our guide Adrian, together with his bushman tracker Sami, could not have tried harder to find game for us. We didn't see any predators but eventually did see a variety of herbivores and we were lucky enough to see porcupines.

A highlight was a walk in the bush with Sami and a young bushman, to show us some of their traditional ways.

Adrian and Vanda were extremely welcoming and caring hosts." See all these reviews: 12n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia