Khama Rhino Sanctuary Camp and Self-Drive Safari Guide

Searching for a unique camping experience? Khama Rhino Sanctuary Camp offers that and more.

We spent three nights there on our Botswana road trip, and have our incredible first-hand experiences to share.

From up-close wildlife encounters to serene nights under the stars, it’s an adventure not to be missed.

In this post, we’ll share our highlights and honest insights, including the lesser-known downsides, ensuring you’re well-prepared for your visit.

“Bleary-eyed, we trundled out of camp at 6 am in our faithful Bucky. We were no more than 5 minutes along the deep sand track, rounding a corner, when we had to brake suddenly. Blocking the way, also bleary-eyed, was a three-tonne rhinoceros.“

Shelley and Lars – Lifejourney4two

This was just one of our awesome rhino encounters at Karma Rhino Sanctuary at the start of our overlanding Botswana trip.

Khama Rhino Wildlife Sanctuary Video Highlights

Khama Rhino Sanctuary Map

Camping at Khama Rhino Sanctuary

We arrived at Khama Rhino early on in our Botswana camping adventure, and we had never been treated to such wonderful sightings of these incredible creatures before.

Having spent much time in Klaserie Private Reserve, Greater Kruger, South Africa, where the rhinos are dehorned as a poaching deterrent, it was incredible to see the rhinos with their magnificent horns still intact at Khama.

A few excellent viewpoints within the reserve give you great views across the pans, where the game and rhino congregate at certain times of the day.

The bird hide is also a nifty little place, situated by a waterhole, where you can sit quietly and observe birdlife and passing wildlife. Over 230 bird species are found at Khama, so have your binoculars ready.

Plenty of tracks meander throughout the park, and you can do your own game drives or book a 2-hour game drive with qualified rangers.

We visited in the off-season and only encountered two cars on our drives on the two days we were there.

Locals run the camp as a community wildlife project, so visiting the sanctuary means that you are also supporting the local community.

Khama Rhino Sanctuary Camp

The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Camp campsites have plenty of space, each with a large Mokongwa tree providing shade. Each site also has a firepit, grilled braii (BBQ) and a water tap, but no power.

There aren’t any fences separating the campsites from the reserve, so keep a lookout while walking to the ablutions.

You won’t believe what happened to us one morning as we drove out of camp! But more on that later.

The sanctuary camp ablutions were tired and open to the outside. I’m guessing you’re probably like me and not a great fan of bugs flapping around you while trying to enjoy a rinse-off at the end of the day.

Spiders clambered over the walls in the shower, and moths and mozzies frantically buzzed around me. Although the camp had hot water, it wasn’t enough of a bonus to persuade me to go into battle with the resident horde of insects … I had a tub wash in the camper after the first night!

Khama Rhino Sanctuary – Organised Tour

If you would prefer to book a guided tour and accommodation in one, then this tour includes chalet accommodation, dinner, breakfast, a nature walk, a game drive and rhino tracking over two days. The pick-up is in Gaberone.

🦏 ⭐️ Find out more about this two-day Khama Rhino Sanctuary Tour or book on Viator here | ⏰ 2 days

Khama Rhino Sanctuary History

Khama Rhino Sanctuary is managed by local village residents as a community tourism project, but it was actually born out of concern for the dwindling rhino populations.

Rhino poaching had escalated in Botswana in the early 80s, with both white and black rhinos on the brink of extinction.

In 1989, Seretse Khama Ian Khama (who later became the 4th President of Botswana in 2008), and the local community created the Khama Rhino Sanctuary to protect both species. He discusses the formation of the Rhino Sanctuary in a video on his Facebook page here.

The Khama Rhino Sanctuary, covering over 8.5 hectares of the Kalahari Sandveld, has been a success, and the rhinos are thriving. Many have been relocated into the wild in other National Parks in Botswana.

They are protected at the sanctuary by the Botswana Defence Force, which constantly patrols to prevent any poaching attempts.

Our Experiences at Khama Sanctuary

As with any wildlife experience, no two experiences are going to be the same. Nonetheless, it is often useful to read others’ experiences to get an idea of what your trip may be like.

We saw heaps of rhinos on the two days we were there, but we also read reviews from others that they didn’t see any! We would recommend afternoon game drives for the best chance to see them as they seem to like their ‘lay-ins’, and we only saw them accidentally in the mornings.

You’ll see what I mean below.

A Morning Surprise

Bleary-eyed, we trundled out of camp at 6 am in our faithful Bucky for a morning game drive.

We were no more than 5 minutes along the deep sand track, rounding a corner, when we had to brake suddenly.

Blocking the way, also bleary-eyed, was a three-tonne rhinoceros.

A massive indent in the sand suggested we had rudely disturbed him from his slumber.

As we backed up slowly, he stared at us, seemingly struggling with the scenario, like when you’re woken up mid-dream and need a few moments to get your bearings.

Finally deciding we weren’t worth worrying about, he sauntered into the bushes.

We were now fully awake.

As we enthusiastically recounted the chances of such a scenario, and our heart rates began to subside, we bumped into our friend again.

This time, he was mid-poo.

Unbeknown to us, he had taken a shortcut through the bushes to his midden (that’s a rhino toilet for the uninitiated), to perform his morning business.

It just so happened that his midden was to the side of the track, and his enormous form was again blocking our way.

 With a few scrapes of his feet to finish the job, he briskly trotted off with a loud snort. I guess he wasn’t too impressed.

The Wildlife We Encountered at Khama Rhino Sanctuary

We were lucky enough to find one of the sanctuary’s elusive black rhinos strolling along the western side of the park, he stopped and looked at us for a moment before continuing deeper into the bush.

About five black rhinos were in the park when we visited, but they are much more elusive than the white rhinos.

Apart from the many white rhinos, we also saw impala, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, eland, black-backed jackals and warthogs.

Other sightings that you might have include the African rock python (apparently a friendly snake – according to the sanctuary’s website), ostrich and steenbok.

Great Spots for Wildlife Viewing at Khama Rhino Sanctuary

The late afternoon was a great time to see the rhino.

The morning?

Not so much.

Unless they were sleeping on the road and then you were certainly up a little too close and personal.

Khama Sanctuary Bird Hide

We stopped at the bird hide a couple of times, and our experiences there are perfect examples of how wildlife is unpredictable. And that’s part of the thrill … and frustrations.

Our first time there, we saw flocks of doves drinking from the waterhole, a couple of shaft-tailed whydahs, franklins and helmeted guinea fowl. While we watched the birds, two blue wildebeest came whizzing into the waterhole.

They rolled in the mud, spun around in circles and entertained us for ten minutes until they galloped off as quickly as they’d arrived.

Our second visit wasn’t so interesting.

It was very quiet, and we only saw a few birds. But that is the safari experience. Some days you can have incredible sightings and others, nature is telling you just to enjoy the moment.

Malumba Pan

Malumba Pan was our first stop on our game drive. And what a stop it was.

We were thrilled to arrive and see a family of three rhinos sniffing around in the mud. Mum, Dad and Bub.

As we excitedly captured them on our cameras, the skies turned black. Heavy raindrops began falling, and the rhinos began running.

It seems rhinos don’t like the rain either.

The moody scene was just the perfect background to capture our first rhino encounter at Khama Rhino Sanctuary.

Serwe Pan

Serwe Pan is the most northern pan viewpoint, and we found it best to visit in the mid to late afternoon. There, we saw many white rhinos, zebra, and impala.

Driving in Khama Rhino Sanctuary

We would recommend a 4×4, even though the Khama website says you can use a two-wheel drive. There are areas of deep sand that can make the going tough.

The tracks are all single-lane. When we were there in summer, at times, some of the bush was overgrowing the track, making it challenging for an oncoming vehicle to pass by with very limited space to pull off the track.

We generally stuck to a 15 to 20km/hour speed limit to make sure we didn’t scare any animals that might be on or near the tracks. Especially after our early morning close encounter.

Facilities at Khama Rhino Sanctuary

There is a swimming pool and a large restaurant at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. But when we were there, the pool wasn’t particularly enticing. I expect, and hope, it’s kept cleaner in the busier winter season.

We read on their website that a black rhino visited the restaurant area in the afternoons, but when we asked, we were told this doesn’t happen any more.

There are also chalets available, and the sanctuary has an education centre.

Khama Rhino Sanctuary Camping and Self-Drive… That’s a Wrap

If you love rhinos, an overnight stay or two is definitely worth it. We’d recommend staying at least two nights to enjoy the experience and maximise your viewing opportunities fully.

Although the facilities are tired, the opportunity to see these incredible creatures up close, and so many of them, is a real treat.

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