Welcome to Elephant Sands

Where Elephants rule

Elephant Sands is a Botswana citizen owned conservancy on privately owned land and offers comfortable unfenced campsites where tents are pitched, camping sites are not allocated and you can pick your own site for you. There are also 14 en suite chalets of which two are family chalets, sleeps 4, the rest is twin chalets. There is hot water showers, bush meals are available and enjoyed at the cosy campsites. There is also a bar where the guests can enjoy the cool drinks and beers after a long journey.

Come and enjoy viewing the elephants at our natural waterhole right in front of the lodge. Watch these impressive creatures whilst they drink at only a couple of meters away from you, a unique experience!

There is plenty of other wildlife around as well on our unfenced 16000 ha private conservancy. The lack of fences allows all animals to roam freely. We are ideally located in the centre of Botswana’s highlights, such as: the Makgadikgadi pans, the Okavango delta and Chobe National Park. Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park are on our doorstep so to speak.

Our lodge is a great starting point for a tour along all the places of interest. Find out more about the activities and personalized Tours & Safaris we offer. Stay in one of our en suite Chalets or pitch your own tent and experience the serenity and peacefulness of the real African bush.

Elephant Sands is a bush lodge & campsite in the north-eastern part of Botswana

We are glad to offer you 20 en-suite tents and 8 en-suite chalets around the water hole. each with a unique view of the watering hole and numerous elephant paths passing by. The rooms are comfy and uniquely setup to bring you closer and to enhance the experience alongside the beautiful nature.

Accommodation details

We offer basic, comfortable and affordable accommodation. 12 twin chalets with either 2 single beds or a double bed. En-suite bathroom with shower, toilet and washbasin. 2 family chalets with a double bed and 2 single beds. En-suite bathroom with bath and shower, toilet and washbasin. Our thatched roof chalets are all equipped with mosquito nets.

Campsite:

Plenty of camping space in our campsite
No allocated campsites
Communal ablutions with hot showers and flush toilets
Several fireplaces in the camp area, firewood is available.

Nice campsite near a waterhole that is frequently visited by elephants. If you're lucky you can watch the elephants from the swimming pool. Price is 150 Pula per person (camp). Free WiFi at the lodge/bar.

• Swimming pool.

• Restaurant - serving Breakfast & Lunch à la carte.
• Dinner - set menu, prepared by our wonderful chefs.
• Bar – serves a range of local & international beers, wines, spirits and soda's.
• Curio shop.
• Laundry service.
• No charging points in the bedroom, only in the main area.
• There is no cell reception except a cellphone service called Be Mobile
• There are no fans in the lodge

THE SWIMMING POOL

THE BAR

THE RESTAURANT

Bush Walk

Bush walk takes about 2 hours, the walk is around the bushes of the lodge and you walk with our guide.

Bush Camp

It includes game drive, you will have dinner there and come back the following morning after breakfast.

Bush Braai

It includes a game drive when you are going to the site and is where you’ll have dinner in the bush.

Kubu Island Overnight

Kubu Island (Ga'nnyo) is a dry granite rock island located in the Makgadikgadi Pan area of Botswana.

Makgadikgadi Pans Sundowners

Enjoy a trip to the Makgadikgadi Pans in Nata for a beautiful view of the sunset whilst holding onto your drink.

Makgadikgadi Pans Overnight

The ‘moonscape’ with its white, dry salt crust makes for a surreal and magical camping location.

Enjoy the serenity and peacefulness and let the wildlife excite you, but don’t forget where you are! We are located far away from the nearest town and might not have all the conveniences you are looking for.

Please read the following to avoid any disappointment:

• Electrical Lighting are available in all accomadation.
• There are no plugs (electric sockets) inside the Chalets
• In the campsite there are no electrical power points.
• If you’d like to charge your phone, camera or laptop you are welcome to do so at the bar area
• The only provider that offers cell phone reception here is Be Mobile
• There is no Wi-Fi connection.
• We do have credit card facilities. We accept Pula, Rand, Euro and US Dollar
• Our Chalets are not self catering. We have a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner
• In the campsite there are several fireplaces and firewood is available for purchase
• The water provided for your shower is pumped in our area and has a higher salinity. There is nothing dangerous or harmful about it, it is clean water just with a higher salt content
• We purify part of this water which we bottle and sell; when purchasing a bottle of Elephant
• Sands water you are supporting the Water & Elephant project. Profits go towards the desalination process of the undrinkable salt water. With your help we can supply fresh water to the elephants and other wildlife
• There are hot water showers in the Chalets and the campsite ablutions. The water is heated by Solarpower.
• Mosquito nets are provided in the Chalets but bring repellent especially in the summer months (November-April) for the evenings around the fire
• Our campsite & lodge are unfenced; all animals roam freely which means you can expect to see anything. Always bring a good torch or headlamp with you if you do not want to bump into a browsing giant on your way to the bathroom

Access to Elephant Sands

Coming from Nata you will drive about 51 KM towards Kasane and turn left at the Elephant Sands sign and bus stop. From there you just follow the sand road towards the lodge.

Coming from Kasane/Kazangula you will drive past Pandamatenga and past the veterinary check point. Please be aware that you are not allowed to transport any meat/fruit/vegetables through this checkpoint when travelling South.

Past this check point you will find the Elephant Sands sign and bus stop after roughly 9 KM, turn right and just follow the sand road towards the lodge.

Pick up service

Hitchhiking or public transport? Just give us a call when you are on your way so we can arrange to come and pick you up from the main road. Buses ride between Francistown-Nata, Nata-Kasane, Nata-Maun. Remember that journey by bus can take a while so it’s best to get there early.

4x4 Requirements

The lodge is roughly 1.4 KM from the main road but easily reachable with a 2x4 with good clearance. Please keep in mind that for most of Botswana’s National Parks a 4x4 is essential though.

The concession is a simple 30-minute drive from Hwange Main Airport (game viewing speed). Connections between Hwange, Victoria Falls, Kariba and Harare can be arranged with ease by our safari consultants

Wildlife

There is an abundance of wildlife in the area, and with no fences these animals roam freely amongst us, we have many antelope species, from kudu, impala, steenbok and many more, we have the elephants and giraffes, we have lions, leopards and wild dogs in the area as well as your famous hyena, the smaller species such as genets, civets and servals as well as the mongoose and honey badgers and many more rodents, our abundant bird life and beautiful plant species all around.

Seasons at Elephant Sands

Safaris are conducted year round. The dry months from April to October are ideal for observing the larger game concentrations at water sources - winter days from May to July are warm but the nights can be extremely cold. The wet season from November to March is an ideal time for observing the many migrant bird species which move into Hwange.