!Xaus Lodge

Lodge · Siyanda ·

!Xaus Lodge

Lodge · Siyanda ·

Stargazing, game drives, simple chalets, and community-run hospitality

Information

Dune 91, off the Auob River Road Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, 8814, South Africa Get directions

@afar

25,132 Postcards · 3,700 Cities

"!Xaus (pronounced Kaus ) Lodge is located within Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, in the arid Northern Cape Province of South Africa. This large, sandy swath of protected land is part of the greater Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park—the first ever transboundary park in southern Africa, meaning its political borders remain unfenced and wildlife moves freely between South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. In addition to black-maned lion sightings, a stay at !Xaus promises to directly benefit the surrounding community. The oldest hunter-gatherer tribe in southern Africa, the San Bushmen were greatly disrupted when Kgalagadi was established in the 1930s. In 2002, however, they reached a settlement with SANParks and the government of South Africa. They now own !Xaus Lodge and the neighboring land, and receive a portion of the revenue it generates. It’s not hard to enjoy an off-the-grid experience at !Xaus. The 12 clay, thatched-roof cottages sit above a salt pan and freshwater hole, meaning guests can often see animals from the comfort of their cabin. The lodge’s remote desert location also makes it an ideal place for stargazing. There’s no cell service or Wi-Fi, but a generator runs during daylight hours to provide the camp with electricity. There’s also bottled water for drinking and limited borehole water for bathing. From the Twee Rivieren border post, !Xaus is a two-hour safari drive through the rolling sand dunes of Kgalagadi."

South Africa’s Best Safari Parks and Camps

Photo courtesy of !Xaus Lodge

!Xaus Lodge

@cntraveler

40,944 Postcards · 5,496 Cities

Unique Stargazing Experiences in Belize, South Africa, and Beyond

"!Xaus Lodge, located within the park, is perhaps the best place to see why. Also managed by the local ‡Khomani San and Mier communities, the lodge includes a telescope and observation deck where local experts lead nighttime explorations of the constellations."

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/unique-stargazing-experiences

!Xaus Lodge

@myboutiquehotel

10,602 Postcards · 3,201 Cities

Xaus Lodge, a Design Boutique Hotel George, South Africa

"Xaus Lodge offers secluded accommodations within 43 mi of Twee Rivieren. The lodge is owned by traditional South African communities and the chalets are designed like their own traditional dwelling places. The lodge features a restaurant. Each Chalet is tastefully decorated with furniture to enhance the authentic atmosphere of the Kgalagadi. Guests are provided with high quality linen and comforters. The chalets include a private bathroom with a a shower and toilet. Enjoy the view of many animal species at the water pan. Guests are taken out on guided bush walks and visit bushmen artists in their village. Xaus Lodge offers a free shuttle service." - My Boutique Hotel (en)

https://www.myboutiquehotel.com/en/boutique-hotels-twee-rivieren/xaus-lodge.html

!Xaus Lodge

X2056TWricharda

Google

A great but short two-day stay at !Xaus.|Met our guide, Hendrick, at the Kamqua Picnic Site and as we had a Toyota Hilux, we followed him for about 1.5hrs across the 91 red sand dunes which was a nice drive in a 4x4.|Great welcome and introduction from camp managers Richard & Debbie and several other staff bringing drinks, towels or just saying 'hello'.|Our room was comfortable with ample hot water and space. All rooms are connected to the main building by a boardwalk.|Excellent food and general hospitality from all staff during our stay. Nothing was too much trouble.|Really enjoyed the game drives and explanation of the bush habitat. Wildlife sightings included a mating pair of lions on the pan and then, at night, very close to the lodge plus Gemsbok, Steenbok, Red Hartebeest, Ostrich, African Wildcat, Black-backed Jackals, Spotted Eagle Owls, Black-chested Snake Eagles, Red-necked Falcon, Pale Chanting Goshwaks and a host of other smaller birds, many coming to drink at the fresh water provided by the lodge.|Enjoyed visiting the craft area, watching and interacting with the Bushmen there. Will treasure the small souvenirs we bought.

hansnC1150GY

Google

!Xaus in the Kgaligadi is a lodge in a beautiful location on a large salt pan in the middle of the desert and is run by dedicated local staff.||So much for the positives in this review.||The lodge claims to have a formal 4-star rating, but in practice, it's absolutely nothing like it.||The lodge is poorly maintained and dirty; the buildings, rooms, furniture, and bathroom fixtures are completely worn out. The chairs were hand-assembled long ago from old wood. They are dangerously rickety, with bolts and nails sticking out.||Hot water is provided by old-fashioned gas heaters located inside the bathroom and smelly. The combined CO2 detectors don't work because the batteries are dead. Extremely dangerous.||When we stayed, meals were served in a dark room without natural light. We sat there under yellow fluorescent lighting. The food was unhealthy, too sweet, too fatty, and of unacceptable quality.||Electricity is only available for a limited number of hours per day. Wi-Fi/internet is only available to management and not to guests.|This information hasn't been mentioned anywhere before, and the website has been down for months.||The manager was grumpy, disinterested, and definitely not a host.||The price-quality ratio is absolutely terrible, and the lodge is therefore a definite NO-GO.

GBK

Google

Meet at the pickup point then start the self drive journey west across dune after dune arriving at iXaus overlooking an ancient pan. This dune experience, washed duneveld, has to be the best Kgalagadi experience possible and should not be missed. Guides so knowledgeable and friendly. Great community lodge.

J0burgGirl

Google

!Xaus is in a stark and remote part of the park. It has the potential to be a most amazing destination though it is not there yet. The night skies and view over a salt pan is unparalleled. The service and nature staff are absolutely sweet and giving. ||However there are issues. Firstly, insufficient game drive options and sparse game. Game is very sparse compared to SANParks locations. The main attraction is that lions etc come to drink at freshwater bird baths which allow guests to see them close up if they are lucky. That made the experience better for us But we saw very little game or birds relative to rest of park. Fine if you are expecting it. The scenery is amazing.|Also, management is not attuned to needs of luxury lodge guests.Antony has an abrasive personality and was entirely dismissive about our prior meal requests saying “it’s too hard”. It wasn’t since they have those products where he shops in upington but he obviously didn’t care to try. We didn’t mind as we had an alternative but it was more the rudeness with which he dismissed it- far from experience at other lodges. They also would not write up our vegetarian menu on the the board even when we comprised 4 out of 5 guests at night- would write up menu of the other single guest and leave us having to ask the staff what things were. There is no choice in food and a guest asking for extra veggies was told it wasn’t possible.|The lodge is supposed to be about the Khoisan and this doesn’t come through. The indigenous staff are not involved in welcoming guests etc and, seem subservient to the abrasive manager in a very old fashioned way not reflective of South Africa in 2024 or other lodges. It was very uncomfortable. When someone mentioned giving smaller portions of food on plate so it didn’t go to waste the manageress said it wouldn’t as someone in kitchen was always hungry- are staff eating leftovers from guest plates? That’s depressing. Another staff member mentioned a part of the park that only Antony and his special guests were allowed in. I thought it was owned by the Khoisan? Why can’t they go there? The rooms are average and have no aircon which the SANParks camps have. However we left feeling that the land restitution has failed in true empowerment and we felt a bit depressed by the experience. |Pros: night skies, pans, scenery, possible close up lions|Cons: average food and rooms, strange vibes

Thais C.

Google

What an amazing experience to stay in this local community owned hotel. The food is local and delicious, the guides are so knowledgeable and made sure we had the best experience possible. We enjoyed the most beautiful sunset in the desert, were able to watch the stars and the milky way, and slept to the sound of a lion nearby. Highly recommend!

iemag

Google

Remote lodge in a unique setting so compensations should be made.I am not sure how a 4 star rating is justified. The rooms are in need of renovation. The promised Introduction to San way of life failed to deliver. Very few animal sightings during our stay.|The drive over 91 dunes from the main road made the experience

Sable1001

Google

The two stars are for Koos and Donovan, incredibly knowledgeable guides. The rest of the two night stay was a big disappointment. Dietary requirements forgotten (there were only two other guests so not a lot to remember), food absolutely awful. The last morning you are whisked away by 9am so no morning activity. This could have been communicated on booking as it messed up our plans for the next day. The watering hole needs to be painted as the swimming pool blue colour is completely out of place in this setting. Anyway don't come here to see animals because you won't. When asked what the minced meat was at lunch we were told perhaps it was "donkey". No alternative offered when they realised their mistake. Two of the five meals I had at the lodge were inedible. At our briefing the manager told us running a lodge is not "rocket science" - seems it is more difficult than that.

E4241ZNbarryj

Google

Amazing lodge in the Kalahari. Fantastic place to unplug from the world. No internet, TV or phone. Just pure silence of the desert. The views of the pan from the rooms is brilliant. Food was excellent considering the remote location. Room are not fancy but are comfortable and have everything you need. Game drives and nature walks were very interesting. While not the animal numbers of Kruger, high quality sightings. Cheetah, Caracal, Honey Badger and wildcat were big bonus items.