( Remember: Click on one to bring up a film strip, then scroll through to see the photos full screen.)
I am really sorry to be leaving this lovely camp, Tuli Lodge, but I'm also anxious to find out what Mashatu Lodge will bring.
Tuli Lodge is by far my favorite so far for accommodations. I much prefer the tent camps, because --to me--they have a more "safari" ambiance, than a "brick and mortar" hotel.
Tuli is also the favorite of my travel pals, who answered a brief poll I took that was based only on accommodations.
I say goodbye to our own personal bushbuck that rests near our tent.
And to the tiny klipspringers in the rocks near the entrance. These dwarf antelopes have a unique build in that they appear to be walking on tiptoes. Their hooves are specially built for traction on rock, where they spend most of their lives.
And off we go, deeper into Mashatu Game Reserve.
The rooms at Mashatu Lodge are of the "concrete and mortar" type, but they boast air-conditioning! We turn it on and leave it on for our four days here.
Haha. The camera on the right is mine. The rest of the stuff is Sylvia's.
The door immediately to the left of Sylvia's bed is the main bathroom: the other, darker door, leads to a smaller bathroom. Two bathrooms! Now, how fancy can you get?
Looking back at the entrance. Later on, I'll show you some photos of beautiful skinks that live in those rocks. Beverage counter to the right; desk with charging outlets to the left.
Wires, wires, everywhere. Computer charging, camera battery charging, iPad charging, and cell phone charging.
A small room with a bed. I appropriated it for my luggage. Sylvia has another area with shelves and a closet where she has her luggage.
The big bathroom with a tub and a shower.
The small bathroom. No shower or tub.
This is the gathering area of the main lodge, where we meet in the mornings for a quick breakfast, for group gatherings, beverage breaks, etc.
This is what they served us for lunch one day!!!! Family style.
L-R: BBQ ribs, fries, bacon, sausages.
A second platter, L to R: Bacon, sausages, fries, and BBQ ribs. There were also side dishes. There was seldom any bacon leftover.
My plate. Just getting started. I got over feeling guilty about leaving so many leftovers on the serving platters when I found out the staff dines on those.
I'm being careful about what I eat, post-esophageal surgery. Whatever goes down the easiest. I have trouble with chicken, and a couple of camps ago, I got a chicken bone stuck in the back of my throat. I knew what kind of awful noises I would make at the lunch table if I tried to get it out, so I left the dining area.
When I returned without the bone in my throat, I was asked. I caught all kinds of heck from a couple of people for leaving when I was choking. They only let up when I said I was not choking, that I could talk and breathe. "Still, " they said.
This evening, I head for dinner in this area. I stop and turn on my cell phone. Not for taking photos, but also for recording some sounds.
The buffet bar. I much prefer buffets to plated meals. I can take what I want, as much or as little as I want.
Another view of the dining area.
We have a "thing" in this group. Cell phones are not allowed at the dining tables. I was not aware that this covenant had been implemented, but I found out when I looked at my phone to see the time. Gentle scolding ensued. I was really happy to hear about this addition because phones have been a problem in the past when I traveled.
As the trip went on, the phone guideline was relaxed, usually because Shelly had to use her phone to check our schedule or determine our vehicle assignments. Or someone would look up a particular animal or bird for more info.
With that in mind, and being absolutely positive that no one would object, I placed my phone in the middle of the table and, with no comment, and hit the "play" button.
The recording is of the sounds of Bubbling Kassina, a small frog that lives in a shallow pond next to the main lodge. "Bubble" frogs, for short.
Turn up the volume and listen to our fine dining music. Nothing to see, just the bubble frogs singing.
And I was right. No one objected, and everyone smiled.
Some idea of where we are:
First, Botswana is located in Southern Africa. Not South Africa--that's a country. The red spot is Machete Game Reserve.
Second, a map of Mashatu Game Reserve. Mashatu Lodge is left of center near the top, and left of the red indicator. Note all the rivers in the area. Tuli lodge in the south, almost at the border of South Africa, so close that we could see their lights if we were out at night.
Our morning game drive from the Lala Limpopo hide will be a short one as we are moving to a lodge deeper in the Mashatu Game Reserve for our final four days on this safari. I am having so much fun, I hate for the trip to be over and I wish I could linger on at Mashatu for weeks.
We leave the hide about 7 AM, and ask if we can check on the bar-eared foxes nearby. Once again, the usually skittish-beyond-belief foxes apparently don't care that we approach, as they remain calm.
We see the second fox in the distance. It's slowly approaching the den. It doesn't care that we are parked at a distance on the other side of the den It just wanders along, sniffing at everything.
In this photo, you can see why they are called bat-eared.
I can't emphasize enough how much these close-up photos are once-in-a-lifetime.
And goes right into the underground den. This might be a female returning to suckle her kits.
Some of the scenery along the way.
AH, WHAT A TREAT! My first time seeing Kori bustard chicks. Kori bustards are the largest and heaviest African birds capable of flight. Anecdotal reports say some males in the Serengeti weigh up to 51 lbs., but that is unverified.
Mum and both chicks.
Mum and chick are examining something
A wildebeest stops to pose for us.
Steenbok, one of the so-called dwarf antelope.
Steenbok stand 16"–24) at the shoulder, and weigh(15–35 lb. Only males have horns.
And, at last, a warthog that doesn't run away.
The Daily Dose of Birds
African hawk-eagle. LIFER
Ostrich
Juvenile sacred ibis.
The beautiful red-billed hornbill is on the perfect perch.
Black-winged stilt.
A coucal with a beat-up (or wet) tail.
Lesser gray shrike.
Our own personal bushbuck rests near our tent.
Now, to get our bags packed and ready for the transfer to Mashatu Lodge.
Interpretation: Don’t expect much from the waterhole hides, as there is water elsewhere for wildlife. Botswana had months of rain before we arrived.
Well, rats, I think. But I soon find out that “water in the rivers” doesn’t mean flowing streams. Instead, I find only isolated pools of water and drivable riverbeds. They soon become my favorite parts of Mashatu Game Reserve.
Meanwhile, we are once again at the Lala Limpopo overnight hide, waiting for the talent to show.
A black-backed jackal is the first. We watch as it approaches one of the lights Aubrey set out to illuminate the waterhole. The jackal is snapping at insects in the light. It reminds me of driving through a downpour in Kenya and seeing a jackal jumping and snapping at something as the raindrops bounced off the dirt.
"Termites," said our guide. "They come out of the ground when the rain seeps in." That was when I learned that insects make up a large proportion of a jackal's diet.
Finally, near midnight, a jackal approaches to drink.
Then, a spotted hyena.
I go back to bed, but I'm soon awakened when the big guys show up.
A small herd of wildebeest arrives to slake their thirst.
I go back to bed and am not awakened until it's time for breakfast.
We have things to do today. We are leaving Tuli Lodge and heading deeper into the Mashatu Game Reserve to the main lodge, Mashatu itself.
