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Latest South African Game Safari Update |
Nighttime is when things really start happening around the reserve. The whole scenario changes and your senses get tuned into the sounds and the eyes flashing in the spotlight. One particular night we focused on all the small nocturnal animals. First we noticed the pearl spotted owl with its series of whistles descending in pitch. Unfortunately we only heard it and did not see this beautiful small owlet. That particular night we saw 5 species of owls, including the Spotted Eagle Owl, the Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, the Barn Owl and lastly the White Faced Scops Owl. The little nocturnal creatures are always interesting, we found a small spotted genet hunting for perching birds and eggs. This animal is very cat like, but it belongs to its own family and specie. Through South Africa we have three different sub species of genets occurring in different areas. It has retractable claws, which makes it very agile in climbing trees. An interesting sighting we also observed was a scrub hare suckling its youngsters. We found them by chance and unfortunately chased the mother away. I reversed the car and switched the engine and lights off. We kept very quiet and after about 10 minutes she came back and suckled the little ones again. She then moved them to a grassy patch and hid them in there. Hein Fourie Picture by: Tau Rangers When different Lion prides meet up there are a couple of things that can happen depending on the situation, they might run and avoid each other, or fight each other even to the death. This is called the fight or flight action and the experience that we had was unbelievable… I heard there were Lions at Maokeng Pan so when I eventually got there, there turned out to be two prides; the Sereti’s and the Tshaba and her youngsters. The Seretis consists of 3 males and 1 female and the Tshaba is 1 female and 5 youngsters. The Tshaba pride was on a Kudu kill and the Sereti’s decided to take it over! The Tshaba is a very loving, strong-willed mother and when the Sereti’s arrived she didn’t back down until her youngsters had gotten to safety. So we had Lions scattering everywhere with roaring and growling in the evening silence. The Tshaba had survived a confrontation with 4 Lions, but she had received an injury above her eye. The thing about Lions is that they heal very quickly and when we saw them after that episode all her youngsters had full bellies and although she has a swollen eye, she will be fine. Mora-Leigh Cooper This month the quality of our sightings was up and down, but in general we had more “ups” than downs. For me as a field guide, Lions (Panthera Leo) are my favourite animal and having the opportunity to show them to my guest is a true thrill to me. During an early morning game drive we came past Tau’s waterhole and as we came around the bend of the waterhole there was one of the dominant and one of the proudest lioness I have ever seen in Madikwe together with her sub-adult youngsters. They were lying right on our eastern dam wall and did what lions do best and that’s ‘sleeping’. After viewing them for a while they luckily got up and started to be more active. The young male went first for a drink and then his sister and then Mom (Etali). After drinking the most unbelievable behaviour took place, to see lions bonding and playing around is really something that few people will witness while visiting the African bush. We sad and watch them for about an hour before they slowly moved into the thickets and disappeared. Later during the afternoon drive my guest told me that they had seen them at the waterhole again from the lodge side of the waterhole and that they tried to kill a warthog, but they where unsuccessful in that attempt. With the bush being in such great condition, we are sure that more good sightings to follow. Denzel Rogers Game viewing has been quite a challenge this month as summer has just come to an end. A particularly wet rainy season has meant thick bush, tall grass and water everywhere. However, the bush always supplies amazing encounters all year-round. Three special sightings stand out for me during this month. The first was encountering the Etali lioness and her two sub-adult youngsters one early morning at the Tau waterhole. Her son and daughter (almost two years old, drinking either side of their mother) were very playful, ambushing their mother and one another before ambling down to the waterhole for a drink. As they were drinking, two spotted hyenas approached the waterhole from the bush, but had not noticed the lions. One of the hyenas eventually spotted them and ran off into the bush, but her companion didn’t notice until she was much closer, this triggered the young lioness to chase the hyena off. A pack of hyenas may have presented a problem, but one-on-one the two year old lioness proudly ran the intruder off before returning triumphantly back to her mother and brother. The second great sighting I had with guests was an example of the abundance of life during the African summer. Just before stopping for a drink and a cloudy sunset, we came across a huge termite emergence. The heavy rain followed by sunlight had triggered the termites to emerge and had in turn attracted quite a few bird species that were feeding off the termites. We spotted Cape Glossy Starling, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Southern Pied Babbler, Crested Barbet, Lilac-breasted Roller, Grey Go-away-bird, Fork-tailed Drongo and even a Peregrine Falcon that was catching the termites in its talons. The final sighting of this month was unforgettable as we headed east to find some lion. One of the other rangers had located lion and after making our way through 80 metres of thick Sicklebush Dichrostachys cinerea, we spotted the male lion sleeping as usual. It turned out to be the Dithaba male; one of the two dominant males in the area, with him was a young lioness on a waterbuck kill. Then from the side an older female approached with two of the youngest tiniest cubs I have ever seen (about three weeks old). What a way to end off a very interesting month, and of course the guests enjoyed it too!!! Dave Potgieter One of the most interesting sighting a guide can experience is the interaction of predators and even more so if one of the predators involved is one of the rarest canines of Africa; the African Wild Dog. What started as a normal game drive morning, turned for me and my guests to be one of the most special game drives ever. We decided to make our way to one of the wild dog packs in the reserve and on arrival they were very playful. Wild dogs are very social animals and they are not very large but they work as a single hunting unit which makes them one of the most successful in Africa with the highest success rate. The dogs settled down and we were thinking of leaving when all the dogs suddenly jumped up and started communicating. Wild dogs are very vocal animals and they communicate with a very high pitch ‘’tjirp’’. They all moved to the same bush, circling it and flushing out a Spotted hyena. They attacked it from all sides with precision just staying out of reach of the hyena’s jaws. Hyena’s have the most powerful jaws of all African predators, with a biting force of over a ton per square inch. The hyena showed submission by rolling onto his back, exploiting his most vulnerable part of his body, his stomach. This is commonly used in predators, especially when they are outnumbered or the weaker individual. The dogs eventually backed up and the hyena took his chance and moved of. As the dogs eventually settled down we decided to head back to camp after an eventful morning. On our way back all was quiet, as we replayed the events we just experienced in our head. What a morning!! Wynand van Niekerk The Buffalo in Madikwe are hard to find on the best of days. These buffalo are disease free (T.B Free). As a result of this, there is a large demand for these animals for breeding purposes. These animals, when in prime condition can fetch between R100 000 to R150 000 per animal. There are game captures that take place in Madikwe from time to time and as a result of this the buffalo have become at some times illusive. However there is still a healthy breeding population of buffalo in Madikwe, the population is estimated to be around 350- 400 animals. The sale of these animals is a good source of income for The reserve, and the funds are ploughed back into the stocking of other animals and general upkeep and running of the reserve. One special sighting I had this month regarding the buffalo, unfolded like this… I had picked up a group of guests who were staying at the lodge for five nights. Lady Luck had been on our side and we had seen almost all the lions in the Western side of the park. We had several sightings of both elephant and white rhino. Our next mission was obviously to search for the illusive herds of buffalo. These animals absolutely love hiding out in the thickest bush in Madikwe and specific areas mostly overgrown with sicklebush (Dichrostachys cinerea). The herd that we had picked up on was just off the road, there was no visual but we could hear them moving through the thick bush. We basically had to just sit tight and bite our time until the herd decided to cross the road. It was unfortunately dark, but that just added to the excitement of the sighting. We switched off the engine and the spotlight and waited for roughly ten minutes. As I checked with the light to see if they were coming through the bush I caught the first reflections of the eyes in the filtered light. It took the herd about ten minutes to slowly cross the road in front of us and disappear into another thick block of bush. My guests were ecstatic as I had been promising them a buffalo sighting for the last three days. The photos are of the same herd in the same area, just in the afternoon. Brad Leighton - Head ranger Picture: By Tau Rangers |
GUEST FEEDBACK"I sent a holiday message to everyone under the sun, summarizing our safari and some other friends are now saying they would love to learn more. We had such a wonderful time. I would recommend Tau to anyone. The food was fantastic, the lodging was lovely, animals came to the water hole frequently and the safari drives and ranger were better than we could have hoped for." J. Cadenhead 04/01/08 "Thank you so much for a lovely weekend! The manner in which your staff and especially you went out of your way to accommodate our needs is not something you find often. With all the great comments I know I`ve made to other in different divisions you will definitely be seeing more business from Nedbank Capital. Please give you staff huge compliments!" Tarryn Evenwel Nedbank 06/09/07 " We have just arrived back to Denmark after 5 awesome weeks in South Africa, but the far best time we had was in Tau. Thank you to everybody (especially Hein, David and Markus) at Tau for making our week so very special! Everything is well organised, you have high standards of service and everybody is very helpful. The food is excellent. Your place is fantastic and we just loved to sit on our private deck and watch all the animals come down to the waterhole. We really hope we can come back some day!" Miklas(8) Mathias, Mette and Michael Kjeldsen- Denmark 04/09/07 " Thank you so very much to you and all the staff at Tau for making our experience with you an unforgettable one. We will certainly be back with our little one when she is old enough to appreciate the beautiful animals and your warm hospitality. Thank you once again for a fantastic time!" Sarah-Jane and Hugh 24/08/07 " Dear everybody on Tau Lodge We have just arrived back to Denmark after 5 awesome weeks in South Africa, but the far best time we had was in Tau. We will say thank you to everybody (especially Hein, David and Markus) at Tau for making our week so very special. Everything is much organised and you have a high standard of service and everybody is very helpful. The food is excellent. Your place is fantastic and we just loved to sit on our private deck and watch all the animals come down to the waterhole. Very special thanks we will give to our ranger Hein. Our two boys just loved to listened and learn from him. Hein was just fantastic to spot the animals and gave us some very special experiences and memories. To mention just a few special moments among so many we will point out our first drive when Hein spotted the two big male lions (the Batia brothers) and they just passed our jeep just 2 meters away. It was so exciting we hardly couldn’t breathe. We saw 14 white rhinos and one black rhino and the best rhino experience we had was when 4 big rhinos was standing just beside our jeep and tried to find out who we where. We really hope we can come back some day." Miklas (8), Mathias, Mette and Michael Kjeldsen, Denmark 04/09/07 "Hi Markus Thank you so much for a lovely weekend! The manner in which your staff and especially you went out of your way to accommodate our needs is not something you find often. With all the great comments I know I`ve made to other in different divisions you will definitely be seeing more business from Nedbank Capital. " 05/09/07 "Hi Piet and Marcus, Tim, Toby and I were recently treated to one of our most memorable times in the Tau lodge. I did not get a chance to write our comments in your book so I thought I would do the modern thing and send you an e-mail. The 4 nights were so special. The highlight of course was the two lion brothers calling to each other across the bush that last night. The guttural bellow was one to remember! There were plenty of other highlights some being the wild african dogs, the young bull elephants continually fighting with each other, the lioness just after her killing of the wilderbeest, and of course the rum and cokes during the night drives to warm our spirits! The service could not be faulted. The food was so good and so much of it at all meals. Sharing my first experience with my son and grandson was very special and all the staff looked after Toby so well. Best wishes and thank you again for a really fantastic holiday. I have told everyone how special your lodge is." Geoff Jacobs Sydney Australia 10/08/07 "Thank you for such a wonderful stay at your breathtakingly beautiful lodge. The weekend for Sue and I was absolutely magical. It was an adventure that will forever be a memorable treasure in our minds. All the staff were so warm and welcoming. Each mouthful of your lovely food was a taste of heaven. We felt so relaxed and happy every moment at Tau. It felt as though time had stopped and all the problems of the real world disappeared. All the little touches that you guys added in went above and beyond anything we expected. The game drives were informing and exciting and Darren shared his wealth of interesting knowledge of the bush with us. Thanks for everything guys, but mostly thanks for allowing us to enjoy the magical spirit of Tau Lodge." Michael Raddall SA 06/08/07 "My stay at Tau was truly fabulous. The directions were excellent and we enjoyed the very friendly welcome from Neil, Ciaphus and the others. As we walked in I glanced outwards and there, directly below the deck enjoying the water and reeds was a herd of elephant – what a welcome! I must say that Markus went out his way to give us (and the other guests in camp) a very special time. It was fun having dinner in the lapa and again, Ciaphus must be commended for the way he presented and his attention to our “dining comfort”. Overall, the attention to detail was noted." Dorienne Levitt 16/07/07 "We`ve just returned home from our trip and wanted to say thank you for making our 4 night trip to Tau such a truly memorable one from 28th June to 2nd July. From the very first moment of touchdown at the air strip to the time we unfortunately had to leave, everyone at Tau did their utmost to make us welcome. The staff are so friendly, but we have to pay particular mention to Brad our ranger and Marcus who was the first to greet us at the lodge. This trip was everything and more we hoped it would be and have no doubt we`ll be spreading the word amongst our friends. Once again thank you very much" Sue and Paul Millar 15/07/07 " Allison had a wonderful visit at Tau Lodge. The Lodge was wonderful as was the staff. And, of course, the animals were awesome! The transportation to and from Gabarone was great. We cannot thank you enough for all of your effort on this birthday project! You are terrific!" Gail Bartlett 19/06/07 " We are most grateful to all of you at Tau for making the group’s trip an extremely memorable one. We appreciate all the hard work that the whole team at Tau put in to make their trip so enjoyable and exciting. They were very impressed with the service, friendliness, food, professionalism and attention to detail. Also, both the Bush dinner and Boma dinner surpassed their and our expectations – they were wonderful! On the bookings side, Jackie and Nelia were real stars (extremely efficient). As for me, although I have only had the opportunity to stay at Madikwe twice, there is now a very special place in my heart for Tau and its team. I hope to be back in the future"M Bondesio- Greenroute 14/05/07 " Oliver Bonke, VP of Sales and Marketing for Starwood Asia Pacific, and I recently hosted our top 125 sales achievers on safari as part of a one week South Africa Sales Incentive trip. Part of the group was fortunate to stay with the Tau Game Lodge. The group were impressed by the excellent organisation on arrival, the food and beverage and high quality of the game drive guides. The warm hospitality of the Tau Game Lodge team led by Ben Molotsi made them feel very special throughout their stay. I was very impressed by the superior efforts of your Tau team. Please pass on our sincere thanks to all the staff." Alison Taylor- Singapore 29/04/07 Join the Tau Pride Tau Game lodge has now got its own Tau Infinity VIP card , making use of this card the moment you get into the country will earn you instant cash back rewards, not only on the accommodation at Tau, but also when booking rental cars , mobile phone rentals, accommodation at certain hotel chains and meals taken at the mugg and bean country wide, which can be used again to purchase anything from any Infinity merchant. When joining the Tau Pride you will also receive monthly news letters, the Tau calendar, benefit of reduced prices on the daily scheduled flights into the reserve and Golf day trips into Botswana and many additional special touches while staying at the lodge. Please contact us for more details in connection with the Tau VIP the card |
Fly to the lodge from Johannesburg International AirportIn a joint venture between Federal Air and Madikwe charter Scheduled daily flights are now departing from O.R. Thambo (Jhb) International Airport. The flight can either have a stop at Suncity - Pilanusberg or directly between Madikwe and Johannesburg. Picture By Elephants in Main Street Flights will depart Jhb Int. at 11h15 (check-in 10h00)and arrive at Madikwe airstrip only 1 hour later. (Depart Madikwe 12h30 to arrive in JHb at 13h30.) Return fare is R 2867.- per person. (inclusive of R 47.- ACSA passenger service charge) A second flight will depart OR Tambo 15h40 and returns from Madikwe @ 09h15 in the morning. This flight costs R 3137.- return. An Airstrip fee of R 50.- per person on landing currently applies. The guest will be met off their flight by a guest relations team and taken to the Executive lounge where bar service, teas & coffees, shower and Internet facilities are offered f.o.c. Flights are either by twin engine aircraft or Cessna Grand Caravans (12 seats) 20kg soft luggage is permitted per person on the flights and free storage facilites are available. Tau Game Lodge has a direct online booking system so flights can be booked and confirmed immediately through our reservation office. Road transfers from door-to door can be arranged and the average rate at the moment is R 4800.- for a return trip. |
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