The 2025 Botswana Journals, Ch. 31: Tuli Lodge to Mashatu Lodge

( 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.