The Mont-aux-Source Challenge is one of the great South African endurance races. Started in 1993, this year we will see the 18th race on 11 September 2010.  Run through the Drakensberg and along the Amphitheatre, the 350 entrants will climb and run a 50km route. Most agree that this race has the greatest scenery of any endurance race in the world. One of the final water stations will be at Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge, who are expecting a full-house for the week-end as athletes and their supporters come to stay.

Says Tony Birkholtz, Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge manager: "We are really looking forward to the event. There is a very special energy about being around people who train and participate in events of this nature. It will be an unforgettable week-end to be in the 'Berg."

Here are some of the first architect's drawings for the proposed developments to the Covane Fishing & Safari Lodge. The plans have been accepted in principle by the community. The processes are now underway to get tenders through and approved so that the developments can start. Timing will depend on the tender process that is being defined by the community's donor partners.

!Xaus Lodge, the only community-owned lodge in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, has contributed over R4million to the local region and it’s communities in the three years that it’s been in operation. The productive partnership between the ‡Khomani San and Mier communities, who own the lodge, and Transfrontier Parks Destinations, the management operators, has played a central role in this development. ‘The key to this success is a balance between community needs and commercial disciplines’ says Glynn O’Leary, CEO of Transfrontier Parks Destinations. ‘We are all working towards building a sustainable, attractive destination that will create a viable community resource for generations to come’.

Pieter Retief, general manager of !Xaus Lodge notes that ‘!Xaus has attracted diverse groups of local and international visitors over the past few months all of whom found a special link to their business, project or passion at the ‘Heart’ of the Kalahari. This interest shows how important !Xaus Lodge is in the Southern African tourism market”

A few of the special groups that have been hosted by !Xaus Lodge this year:-

!Xaus’ special Bushmen community confirmed as direct descendants of our ‘Common Ancestor’

In April 2010, !Xaus hosted the VPRO crew including Roel van Broekhoven and Ilje Wilemse of ‘On the Future of Species’ Dutch TV Program fame. We facilitated the DNA sampling of some of the local Bushmen. The team traveled around the world on the Clipper, ‘Stad Amsterdam’, following and documenting the route of the Charles Darwin’s Beagle expedition, commemorating his 200^th Birthday and the 150^th anniversary of the publication of his book ‘Origin of Species’.

The last stop for the VPRO team’s journey was Cape Town and they travelled to the ‘Heart of the Kalahari’ to do the special Bushmen DNA sampling and recording. The local Bushmen were found to be the purest and most direct descendants of all of our ancestors as described and documented by Darwin in his ‘Theory of Evolution’; the theory that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor.

This kind of project confirms our commitment to preserving the heritage and culture of these special people of the Kalahari for generations to come.

Visit www.darwins-theory-of-evolution.com/ and www.onthefutureofspecies.com for further information

!Xaus Lodge invests in the future of tomorrow’s leaders

In March 2010, !Xaus Lodge management attended a special assembly at Rietfontein’s Combined School to hand over tourism awards and a bursary for the Grade 10-12’s 2009 Academic year’s top performers. The awards and bursary plan was implemented with the help of Rietfontein’s Mayor Sophie Coetzee, school principal Mr. W. Julies, and Ms Lizette Martin, Tourism Faculty head at the school, to ensure that learners are encouraged to excel in the subject and also to give them an opportunity to gain real insights into the industry and the opportunities that a career in Tourism could offer them.

The Grade 10 trophy and prize has been named after !Xaus Lodge’s longest serving staff member, Ellen Bok, who has been at the lodge since the doors opened in 2007. Ellen is the Head-Chef at the lodge and a key member of staff who is a wonderful asset and example to all the students and young people of the community, of what they can ultimately achieve by following a Tourism career path.

280-Million Year Old Kalahari Salt will benefit the Mier- and ‡Khomani-San communities

In February 2010, German chef Stefan Wiertz from ‘Genussnomade’ fame and Dominic von Eisenhart-Rothe of Kajusha Films visited !Xaus Lodge to spend some time cooking and filming around the area for a new advertising campaign for Stefan’s internationally renowned Kalahari Salt, which he uses in all his recipes and sells across Europe to enhance people’s cooking and taste experiences.

Kalahari Salt is over 280-million years old and winner of many local and international taste awards, this very special salt, mined just outside the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, is a unique product in that it is an inland desert salt and not sea salt. The salt is harvested in the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa from an area that has never been inhabited or used for industry and therefore is totally pollution free.

A special R20,000.00 community trust was established by Stefan and Dominic following their visit to !Xaus. The trust will be administered by Transfrontier Parks Destinations and deployed in the local community where the need is identified and where it will make a real difference to the people.

Visit www.kalaharisalt.co.za/ for more information about Kalahari Salt

World renowned Dutch Chef Sergio Herman visited !Xaus Lodge to cook with the Mier and ‡Khomani-San communities

In January 2010, !Xaus Lodge hosted world renowned Dutch Chef Sergio Herman along with EATZ publisher and adventurer Joost van Sluitjers for three days to cook with the Bushmen of the Kalahari in the heart of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The trip was sponsored by Land Rover Netherlands, who commissioned the new cookbook, ‘Buiten Den Kaart’.

Sergio and Joost visited the lodge and the local Bushmen community to trade off some recipes and to learn more about both the local Mier cuisine and Bushman traditions when it comes to preparing and cooking food under the African sky. !Xaus Lodge was selected as the location for this special cook-off, as it is not only one of the top Eco-Tourism lodges in South Africa, it is also where the local bushmen’s motto is that they don’t teach nature, they are the door to nature, its interpreters.

Visit www.oudsluis.nl/dining.html and EATZ Publishing’s information www.eatz.nl/ to learn more

Light for Africa Project December 2009 – July 2010

!Xaus Lodge ended off 2009 with a visit from Haroldo and Mikeal Castro, a Brazillian blogger-team who are traveling through Africa for seven months to capture the ‘Lights of Africa’ focusing on the intrinsic relationship between its people and natural resources. Their tour started in Cape Town in December 2009, where they will finish again in July 2010 to catch the last bit of the 2010 WorldCup Soccer tournament.

The Castro’s visit to !Xaus Lodge fulfilled the objectives set by their project, showcasing the Eco-Tourism project that is run in association with the Mier and ‡Khomani-San Community and highlighting the long-term sustainable plan, to ensure that the heritage and culture of these special people of the Kalahari is persevered for generations to come.

Visit http://lightsofafrica.com/ to learn more about the ‘Lights of Africa’ project

The above four special projects and visits are short summaries of the incredible diversity and opportunities that !Xaus Lodge in partnership with the local communities offer visitors to the lodge and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. We welcome everyone and hope that we can share our special piece of Africa with everyone.

About !Xaus Lodge

!Xaus means ‘heart’ – a symbol of reconciliation between the traditional Mier and ‡Khomani-San communities of the Kalahari Desert. This community-owned lodge is jointly owned by the two different communities, and is commercially managed by Transfrontier Parks Destinations. Activities included guided dune walks, meeting the local Bushman, going on game drives and exploring the night sky. This is an opportunity to experience the Kalahari – not just to observe it.

Website: www.xauslodge.co.za

Facebook: www.facebook.com/xaus.lodge

Twitter: twitter.com/Kalahariatamala

Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/tfpd/sets/