!Xaus Lodge | Game Lodges & Resorts Upington

!Xaus Lodge provides luxury accommodation in the Kgalagadi TFP for eco-tourists and visitors to the Kalahari. The complex comprises a central lodge building and 12 individual chalets, each with its own deck overlooking a vast saltpan and waterhole fed with fresh water.

The central lodge building comprises a welcoming reception area with its unique wall-hanging made by the ladies of Vezokhule, a sewing co-operative in Upington. The cosy lounge has a fireplace and a library of selected books for paging through before dinner. Our dining area overlooks the pan, with furniture hand-made in Upington and images burnt by Bushmen artists.

At the art and craft shop, you can purchase locally made Bushman crafts as well as crafts made in the wider Kalahari. Visit the large observation deck from which we gaze in wonder at the night sky, and by day the swimming pool provides cool relief from the desert heat. Wood is a precious commodity in the Kalahari, so the inviting fire in the boma is made in the traditional method with three or four crossed sticks around which everyone huddles companionably.

In the en-suite chalets we provide purified drinking water from the desert which you will find in a flask in your bathroom. Winter sheets and gas heaters provide comfort for the cold nights, and ceiling fans bring relief in the hot months.

How !Xaus Began

In May 2002 the ‡Khomani San and Mier communities reached an historic land settlement agreement with the government of South Africa and South African National Parks (SANParks) which restored a large tract of land to the communities that had once roamed or farmed this area. Named the !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park Agreement, its outcome resulted in the transfer of ownership of 50 000 hectares of land within the boundaries of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) from SANParks to the two communities who then leased the land back to SANParks. This land is administered as a Contract Park and remains within the KTP fence line with SANParks retaining responsibility for its environmental management. The settlement agreement further provided for the communities to receive an allocation of funds for the specific purpose of constructing a tourism facility referred to as a Co-operation Lodge, to be jointly owned by the communities. Transfrontier Parks Destinations, a black-empowered Lodge Management Company, manages !Xaus Lodge commercially on behalf of the ‡Khomani San and Mier communities.

Excursions and activities

Experience life in the Kalahari, it’s animals and people when you visit !Xaus Lodge. Enjoy game drives, guided dune walks and the Bushman craft village.
Game drives:
• Sunset pan drive and dune walk to ‘listen’ to the sun set over the Kalahari with an early evening game drive back to the lodge.
• After-dinner night drive, with the accompanying sounds of barking geckos, insect shrills, and larger animal calls to break the silence.
• A complimentary six to seven hour game drive through the dunes and along the Auob River, with packed breakfast and picnic lunch, is available for guests staying four nights or longer.

Guided dune walks:
Guided wilderness walks through the dunes identifying animal spoor, birds, trees and plants, with a discussion on their medicinal uses.

Guided walks onto the pan:
to see the ‘heart’ of the Kalahari

Visit the Bushman Craft Village:
Walk to our re-created cultural village to visit the Bushman crafters at work, see young Bushmen demonstrating their traditional games and purchase traditional crafts hanging from the branches of the tree under which the crafters sit peacefully at work.

Night skies:
Join us on the observation deck after dinner and gaze through our telescopes at the splendour of the Kalahari night sky.

Address
Dune 91
Off Auob River Road
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

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Directions
Self-drive options:
Self-drive to Kamqua picnic site can be done in any standard sedan motor vehicle although a vehicle with good ground clearance is preferable. Guests are met at Kamqua picnic site and escorted to the !Xaus Lodge turnoff at Rooibrak waterhole. Guest vehicles are parked in a demarcated zone off the road behind the dunes for the duration of their stay at !Xaus Lodge and they are then transferred to !Xaus Lodge in an open safari vehicle. For self-drive directly to !Xaus Lodge, a 4x4 vehicle is definitely required. Guests are met by a lodge guide at Kamqua picnic site and drive in convoy to !Xaus Lodge. Fuel can be purchased at the towns of Askham or Andriesvale (diesel only) or at KTP’s Tweerivieren and Mata Mata. Tyre pressures should be reduced to 1,6 bar for travelling on gravel roads in the KTP and to 1,4 bar if self-driving through the dunes to !Xaus Lodge.

Ports of entry for guests arriving by air:
Upington in South Africa: SA Express operates daily scheduled flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town. Tweerivieren (entry gate to the KTP) offers a non-commercial landing facility. It has a 1.8km tarred landing strip in good condition that can accommodate aircraft of up to 5 500kg (Kingair 200 or equivalent). !Xaus Lodge pan can be used for helicopter arrivals.

4x4 Road access to !Xaus Lodge:
The distance from Upington to Tweerivieren is 260km. Travelling time is two-and-a-half to three hours. From Tweerivieren (entry gate to KTP) to Kamqua picnic site (meeting point for !Xaus Lodge) is 64km. It is a game drive all the way along the Auob river bed and takes approximately one-and-a-half hours. From Kamqua picnic site to !Xaus Lodge is 30km on a single-track soft sand road through the dunes. A 4x4 vehicle is necessary for this leg of the journey. Travelling time is one to one-and-a-half hours.

Transfers:
For guests flying in to Upington, a return road transfer to Kamqua picnic site in KTP is available. From Kamqua, guests are transferred to !Xaus Lodge in an open safari vehicle. For guests flying to, or wishing to leave their vehicles at Tweerivieren, a return road transfer to !Xaus Lodge is available.