Rooiputs Luxury Lodge

Rooiputs Luxury Lodge perched on a red sand duneRooiputs Luxury Lodge perched on a red sand dune
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Location

Rooiputs luxury lodge is situated 20 kilometers from Twee Rivieren camp on the Botswana side of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.....

Rooiputs Luxury Lodgeside view of Rooiputs Luxury Lodge

About Rooiputs Lodge

The lodge is perched on a sand dune overlooking the acacia savannah and small waterhole, with great panoramic views of the surrounding dunes.....

view from the boma overlooking the waterhole and savannahview from the boma overlooking the waterhole and savannah

The lodge is awakened by the rising sun as it faces east and beautiful sunsets fall behind the lodge entrance, so a great Lodge for shooting landscapes.....

Rooiputs Lodge entrance with the setting sunRooiputs Lodge entrance with the setting sun

What strikes you first as you enter Rooiputs lodge is the fantastic view - the whole main area is open-fronted to give you an unobstructed view of the acacia savannah and sand dunes.....

Rooiputs Lodge lounge and outdoor seating arealounge and outdoor seating area

you are then greeted by a cosy lounge, during the winter months the canvas sides are rolled down to keep in the warmth.....

Rooiputs lounge with the canvas flaps downthe cozy lounge with the canvas flaps down

there is a restful reading nook on the left- all the furnishings throughout the lodge reflect the rich ethnic textures of the Kalahari desert.....

Rooiputs Lodge reading nookRooiputs Lodge reading nook

Rooiputs Luxury lodge is a photographer's delight because of the many beautiful viewing points and wide open spaces. Electricity and internet access are found only at the communal area.  

It is not safe to walk around at night because it's not fenced so you need to be escorted to your chalet after dinner.....

The unfenced Rooiputs Luxury LodgeThe unfenced Rooiputs Luxury Lodge

It's a good place to shoot star points when there is a new moon, because there is very little light pollution around the lodge....

Starry night over Rooiputs chaletStarry night over Rooiputs chalet

Food and Drink

The dining area and bar are on the right of the main building with stunning views....

Rooiputs dining areadining area with a view
Rooiputs bar at christmasRooiputs bar at christmas
Dinner with the Australian PhotographersDinner with the Australian Photographers
Dinner at Rooiputs Luxury LodgeDinner time

Meal times were great and we thoroughly enjoyed everyone... for breakfast, we had eggs of your choice, crumpets, waffles and coffee.....

breakfast at Rooiputs Lodgebreakfast at Rooiputs Lodge

light lunches - meatloaf on mash potato or chicken lasagna and salads or stuffed pancakes; high tea is followed at 2.30pm just before the afternoon game drive and this is served near the bar area.....

Rooiputs stuffed pancake starterstuffed pancake starter

delicious 3-course dinners are served- Cauliflower and blue cheese soup followed by stuffed chicken fillet on brown rice and veg or spicy vegetable soup, lamb stew on rice.....

Spicy soup to warm your heartSpicy soup to warm your heart

and then finished off with a lovely milk tart or other cakes.....

Rooiputs milk tartmilk tart
Rooiputs dessertdessert of different cakes and fruit

When the weather is not good, meals can be taken in your chalets....

meal time in our Rooiputs chalet with a lovely viewmeal time in our chalet with a lovely view
Rooiputs dinner in our chaletdinner in our chalet

The one evening Mario and I had dinner on the deck overlooking the waterhole, it was a great evening and one of the warmer ones we had during our 5 day stay!

Dinner on the wooden deckDinner on the wooden deck

In front of the lounge and dining area is the open boma that offers a good view of the waterhole below. It's a great place to sip your early morning coffee while waiting for the sunrise or before going on your game drive.... 

Rooiputs boma at sunriseRooiputs boma at sunrise

Or after dinner you can sit around the boma fire - the evening atmosphere around the boma is very relaxed. We had a wonderful time in the boma with a group of Australian photographers who were out for a Photographic Safari.......

Guest gathering by the Boma fireGuest gathering by the Boma fire

You will find guest toilets behind the lounge area which then lead off to the sun deck and plunge pool.....

Rooiputs pool deckRooiputs pool deck
Rooiputs Lodge plunge PoolRooiputs Lodge plunge Pool

Accommodation

Rooiputs wooden walkways to chaletsWooden walkways to chalets

From the main area, it’s just a short walk along a wooden walkway to the 11 chalets-  four on the left hand side of the main Lodge area and seven on the right....

Wooden walkway to Rooiputs chaletsWooden walkway to Rooiputs chalets

The eleven, beautifully furnished wooden chalets have glass sliding doors, thatched roofs, king size or twin beds, toilet and twin hand basins, a lovely outdoor shower and private deck.  All the chalets have a view over the savannah and rolling sand dunes beyond......

Outside view of Rooiputs chaletOutside view of Rooiputs chalet

There are nine (9) standard chalets.....

Inside standard chalet bedroomInside standard chalet bedroom

one family chalet, which sleeps four.... 

Rooiputs family unit sleeps fourRooiputs family chalet bedroom

With having outdoor showers we showered during the heat of the day during our stay in August as the temperatures dropped during some nights to -7 degrees Celsius - for summer the outdoor shower is great but not so good for winter!

In addition to an indoor shower or bath, a fireplace in the dining-room/bar area would make winter dinners so much better.

Should the heat get too unbearable during the night, fans will be made available. Hot water bottles are a secret touch during the cold winter nights. Gas heaters are available in the main building during winter.

Our hot water bottles given to us every nightJen with the hot water bottles

The luxury desert chalet/honeymoon chalet.....

Outside view of Rooiputs Honeymoon chaletOutside view of Rooiputs Honeymoon chalet
Rooiputs inside honeymoon chaletInside view of the Honeymoon chalet
Rooiputs honeymoon chalets bedroomhoneymoon chalets bedroom

The Honeymoon chalets has an outdoor bath where you can cool down or enjoy a refreshing drink whilst looking over the sweeping views of a treed savannah and a grassy plains.....

Rooiputs honeymoon chalets deck and bathHoneymoon chalets deck and bath
Front view of Rooiputs honeymoon chalet at sunsetFront view of honeymoon chalet at sunset

“The photographer’s Guide to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a must-have… [and is] your key to better nature and wildlife photography” 

– SANParks Times

Use promo code K2K to get your 33% discount.

Activities

Panorama image photographing lions while on a photographic safariPanorama image photographing lions while on a photographic safari

Rooiputs luxury lodge gives you an option of self-drives or guided game drives, we like this flexibility that is given to the guests.....

Out on photographic SafariOut on photographic Safari

We also enjoyed a game drive with a group of Australians that were on a photographic safari..... 

Rooiputs photographic safari photographing lionsphotographing lions
Mating lion pair giving us the lookMating lion pair giving us the look
Rooiputs mating LionsThe mating pair
a pair of mating Lions on Safaria pair of mating Lions on Safari
mating lions at Rooiputsmating lions at Rooiputs
Lion on the move in the KalahariLion on the move
Suricate with Gecko killRooiputs suricate with Gecko kill
A Jackals near catch at Kij Kij waterholeA Jackals near catch at Kij Kij waterhole
pale chanting Goshawk on sociable weavers nestpale chanting Goshawk on sociable weavers nest
Rooiputs suricatesuricate
Rooiputs lion prideRooiputs lion pride
Springboks fighting in the KalahariSpringboks fighting in the Kalahari
The regular Rooiputs Lodge lion prideThe regular Rooiputs Lodge lion pride
Photographing from the game drive vehicle

Landscape photography in the Kalahari is fantastic, we love the wide open space, dead trees, sunrise and sunsets or animalscape images that one can get when out and about on safari drive or self-drive.....

Kalahari landscapeKalahari landscape
sunrise near Rooiputs Lodgesunrise near Rooiputs Lodge
Rooiputs gemsbok on ridgeRooiputs gemsbok on ridge

Each night we heard lions roaring and we found them mating and a male after dinner on a night drive but you can read more of that on our Kgalagadi Trip Report page.

male lion taken on our night drive at Rooiputs Lodgemale lion taken on our night drive

Rooiputs luxury lodge has a sister lodge 200 kilometers up north just past Nossob Camp; Polentswa Classic Tented Lodge, which is another favourite of ours!

The combination of the red sand dunes, traditional cuisine, the warmth of the staff members and the lovely accommodation, ensure an unforgettable Kalahari experience.

We enjoyed it all, thank you Rooiputs Lodge for a great stay!


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