Gweta Lodge | Established Campground

Botswana

WARNING: THIS PLACE IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED!

Details

Verified:
7 months ago
Altitude:
931.3 masl
Website:
None
Phone:
None
Contributor:
trekgreatamerican

Amenities

Electricity:
Yes - Not at Sites
Wifi:
Yes - Average
Kitchen:
No
Restaurant:
Yes
Showers:
Cold
Water:
Non-Potable
Toilets:
Running Water
Big Rig Friendly:
Yes
Tent Friendly:
Yes
Pet Friendly:
Unknown
Sanitation Dump Station:
Unknown

Something not right?

Description

Stayed here one night on route into the pans, the road from here to Kubu island is better than the one from Nata - allegedly. It is 170km from here to the island and only fuel in Nata, or on the Mopipi road south. You can buy fuel here from a local guy off the main road if you really need ( we will put a pin up and his name is Tony). The lodge is basic but fairly priced, the rooms are clean with open aired bathrooms. Campsite is ok with ablutions etc. Restaurant available and nice bar. Wifi available free. Shop in town only sells basics so bring food from francistown or maon. Owners are very friendly and will help you with route advice, petrol and so on. Staff are also great! Great big pool too.

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Latest Check-Ins

This place, as a lodge, is very much open for business.

We booked some months ago for the overnight pan sleepout. We had the most amazing night. Leaving the lodge at 3.30pm and returning 9am the following day. We slept under the stars, ate by a fire delicious cooked food, highly recommend this trip. We loved seeing the meerkats, the expanse of the pan and the Milky Way!

The lodge itself was traditional in style, reasonably priced drinks, pool looked ok.

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This place is permanently closed.

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no camping anymore, looked a bit run down

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We came here with intention to camp but found that the campsite is being excavated and not in use. Owner is renovating it so NO camping facilities at present. However we opted to stay in a basic rondavel at P750 per night. Also ordered dinner as no private food allowed, food was good between P90-P130 per main meal. Breakfast offered at P75-P100. Free wifi for paying guests. Staff very friendly and flexible. Laundry service offered at approx P50 per checkers size bag but need to give some time for the staff to wash and dry. Right in Gweta village so can hear some noises from village. They offer tours of the village and to see the meerkats if you wish. At night they light a fire in their boma area. Mr P is the main man and very friendly, Miss B also lovely.

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We really enjoyed this place! Clean chalets with fan and outdoor bathroom with hot water showers, kind and helpful staff, restaurant and bar, central location within short walking distance from the small supermarket in town. We were very impressed with the place overall and glad we chose this spot in town.

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This place is suffering from COVID but has all the potential to be a great place!
Campsite is run down with ablutions which are not working. They gave us a room for a good price. Very friendly staff and we could bring our own drinks in the bar or drink what they had.
They have a good pizza oven and they provided wood for 60 Pula and fired it up in time. We made pizza's in 2/3 minutes :) with our own ingredients. The restaurant had nothing in stock.

Swimming pool was dirty but they cleaned it immediately when we came.

For now Planet Baobab is nicer but this place needs people to survive...

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Had not expected much but were surprised - nice pool, campsite is a little like a parking area but wirh light, electricity and braai stand. Ablutions are slightly run down but they kept them clean when we were there because they expected a big group. Friendly, helpful staff.

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We had high expectations because of all the good reviews below. However, the whole place needs a thorough clean, especially the pool and the camping ablutions. Personnel was very friendly (way more friendly than planet baobab), we didn't meet owner James. Hardly any shade and dust sand. Nowhere to do your dishes. We felt at ease, but it's not a great campsite.

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Really nice place - the campsite is basic but fine, but the real highlight of this place is the owner James. He is an absolute legend and loves having cyclists, so if you're passing through on a bicycle you should definitely pop in and he will really look after you!

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After Planet Baobab the welcome here was exemplary.
We were told there would be hot water in the ablutions - if there was none of it was reaching the showers.
The bar and eating area are nice, the buffet meal good.

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quick update, all as stated before but rate is now 85 pula wifi was free and good but James said water is not potable. This is a great layover place to or from wherever you are going. and the fuel station out on the highway definitely has fuel.

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The campsite is fine. Nothing special. But allright for staying one night. The showers were a little bit rundown with low waterpresure and a lot of mosquitoes. They have good WiFi for free and a nice swimmingpool. We paid 75 pula per person.
First we went to Planed Baobab. And it also looks fine. You will paid there 85 or 100 pula. It depends where you want to stay at the campsite. We asked about information of the pans. They said we had to go to Gweta Lodge because they have more information.

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Nice place with swimming pool, bar and restaurant. WiFi didn't really work for anything more than sending a slow WhatsApp message. Camping still 80 Pula per person. The campground is just a sandy patch with no imagination. The showers were also a bit dirty. For an overnight stop en route to pans or after pans it is sufficient, but definitely not a 'destination' campsite.

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Great hosts, very helpful with local knowledge. Accommodation dated but comfortable. Hot water, flushing loos, swimming pool and great outdoor entertainment areas. Wonderful home cooked meals. Assist with travel advice on pans and current conditions available.

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Great hosts, super helpful with local travel suggestions. Accommodation is comfortable and meals great home style cooking. Child friendly with very comfortable lounge and fire area

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They have one big campsite next to the parking and has 3 braais and one ablution blog in there. Almost no shadow. One plug in the ablution blog. Pool and bar area nice. Wifi free. Water is drinkable just a little salty. We just ate burgers which was really nice taste and 75 Pula. Camping 80 Pula pppn. Shower doesn’t have pressure. We stayed just a night.

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I agree with the last review. After driving through the salt pans ended up here and stay for 2 nights.

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First of all, we are independend travelers. So no interest in giving super good reviews about campsites. We read the different review and this is ours.
Small campsite on sand next to parking. Some places has braai facillities.
Ablousion is OKé. There is hot water by solar boiler.
There is a nice bar overlooking the pool. You can use wifi for free there.
There is also a restaurant, wich we did not use.
Owners are friendly and helpfull. We asked for information about crossing the Magadikgadi Pan and they gave us a good explanation about the route and road.
Price is BP80 wich is a very good price for this nice place.
Overall, a nice place to spend a night (or 2).

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OMG ... this is the worst campsite i have ever seen... i don' t know what campsote g_arrt means, but certainly not this awful place with rotten ablution... after reading his comment i think its a fake-comment, written by the owners themselves.

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Perfect place for us to clean up After a dusty drive Across the pans from Kubu. Stayed in family room with 4 friends (1 double, 2 single beds). Laid back atmosphere and beautiful green garden. Canpsite is a fenced off part of the parking...

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Gweta Lodge, the friendliest lodge in Botswana

We arrived at Gweta Lodge intending on staying for one night but ended up staying for four. The owners James and Shayna made us feel so welcome and looked after us so well that we found it rather difficult to leave. We had stopped into Planet Baobab first but finding them to be overly expensive, popped into Gweta Lodge and were so glad we did. Why?
The friendliest welcome: James, Shayna, all their staff and even their pets treated us so well. They were so warm, genuine, provided helpful advice and nothing was ever too much trouble. We have met loads of friendly people in our southern africa travels but these guys took it to a new level.
The lodge is a proper little oasis: The main lodge is built around a pool and garden with plenty of sun lounges, an open air bar, fire pit and couches to enjoy it from. After bouncing around the dusty roads of Botswana, it was awesome to laze around the pool just chilling out. We especially loved the thatched, open air bar which makes you feel like you could have stepped back in time a little (in the best way). Adding to this, the camping area has everything you need from hot showers, electricity, braai stands etc. Oh, and there is good, free wifi as well. Some might think that being located actually in Gweta village (versus out in the countryside) is a downside but we thought it was great as you get to appreciate a different side of Botswana life. And, when you’re lazing around the pool you feel like you’re miles from anywhere anyway!
Get the inside word on the local area: James’s (the owner) family has been in the area for years so they have a wealth of local knowledge and are more than happy to share it. Whether it’s taking a safari drive down the Boteti River to see 1000’s of zebra and wildebeest, camping in the Baobab Forest or charging out onto the Mkgadikgadi salt pans to find Kubu Island, James and Shayna can sort you out with one of their tours of just the right advice if you’re self driving.
Price: At P80/person/night for camping, Gweta Lodge was almost half the price of Planet Baobab (P150/person/night). While to be fair, we didn’t stick around to see what you got for that price at Planet Baobab, as above, we were so happy with what we got at Gweta Lodge.
Lonely Planet and others will direct you to Planet Baobab first but in our opinion if you’re looking for the friendliest oasis in Botswana, you want to be heading to Gweta Lodge. It’s not often that you leave a lodge / hotel feeling like you have made true friends but that’s how we feel about Gweta Lodge. Once again, thanks James and Shayna!

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the Campsite is a catastrophy ! it's just a car Park for their own cars. the ablution was a Dumping Ground with NO WATER .... Not in the Toilets and Not in the shower. we talked about that with the manager, and they said, that we don't have to pay for the two nights. that was ok. the Village is very nice. the Shop sells basics, but the kitchen at the market sells good food for little money. maybe this Campsite was good, but this is long ago...

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I agree, the owners are extremely friendly, welcoming, and helpful! The bar area is super cozy with lots of comfy seating and rustic African decor. The pool is actually a decent size, not a glorified bathtub like a lot of other places. It is mainly a lodge and the camping area does seem more like an afterthought. 80p pp.

While I was there I heard some of the local guides taking about how they dislike nearby planet baobab because it is a corporate affair run from a head office in South Africa, and the staff have no leeway, everything is done by the book. I was glad I stayed here instead.

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As a campsite it is not much to speak of. The campsite itself is nothing more then an extension of the parking lot. They even park their own safari cars there. No electricity, standpipes, braais, and only a few lights. Ablutionblock is being refurbished so at the moment only one hot shower for all campers and poolguests. No pitches as such but there is a lot of shade from trees. Very friendly welcome from staff. They are very helpful and can provide some info on driving conditions on the pans though not as much as I hoped. wifi at the bar is okay. Didn't try the restaurant or pool but they looked great!
Camping 80p pn.

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80Pula ppn, nice camping spot, also some shade from trees, lights and tap water on the camping ground. Ablutions are good, the pool and the bar is nice and wifi works good although only in the pool bar. There are tons of mosquitos, not only at night, even at day they are really annoying

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Campsite onb grass under trees, ablutiin block OK, very nice owner and staff. Pool, bar and restaurant very lovely. Electricity at ablutions block. 80Pula ppn

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Nice lodge and campsite! The staff is very friendly and welcoming.
There's a bar, restaurant, swimming pool and braai areas.

They offer all kinds of trips to the pans and villages!

80 Pula/pp

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Ok place, campsite is basic. 80 pula per person. Loads of Mosquitos!

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Stayed here one night on route into the pans, the road from here to Kubu island is better than the one from Nata - allegedly. It is 170km from here to the island and only fuel in Nata, or on the Mopipi road south. You can buy fuel here from a local guy off the main road if you really need ( we will put a pin up and his name is Tony). The lodge is basic but fairly priced, the rooms are clean with open aired bathrooms. Campsite is ok with ablutions etc. Restaurant available and nice bar. Wifi available free. Shop in town only sells basics so bring food from francistown or maon. Owners are very friendly and will help you with route advice, petrol and so on. Staff are also great! Great big pool too.

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