Tuli Safari Lodge Botswana
Trip Start
Aug 30, 2009
1
6
Trip End
Sep 14, 2009
Tuli Block Botswana, Zimbabwe
Sunday, September 13, 2009
From Palapye we took the minor roads to Sebeli Phikwe where we did some more shopping at Spar. This is a big town and even on a Sunday morning there were plenty of people in the town. We have to shop regular as the fridge in the landcruiser is not very big and with the temperature now rising in Botswana we have to buy fresh vegetables as and when we need them. Then it was down to the Tuli Block in the southeast corner where Botswana meets Zimbabwe and South Africa. Part of the journey took us yet again through veterinary gates and police checkpoints and onto a sandy road through the game reserve. The Tuli Block is famous for its Tuli Elephants and the damage that elephants can do to vegetation is very much in evidence here. Still the landscape is more appealing to us as there are hills and valleys, unlike the central area of Botswana where it is quite flat due to the pans.
Arriving at Tuli Safari Lodge we were met by a member of the reception staff who had some news and a surprise for us. We were not to camp at the Moremi Bushcamp as the 'community were not ready for us', it is a community camp situated about 4km from the lodge. The surprise was that we were to stay at Nokolodi Tented Camp (an upgrade at no extra cost to ourselves) for the night, and at the Lodge itself the following night. A guide showed us the way, passing elephants in the Limpopo River on our way. The campsite just has 4 ready erected safari tents each with an outdoor ensuite shower/wc/washbasin. In our tent were 3 single beds, a wardrobe, and outdoor patio area. Towels and toiletries were provided as well. There was a communal kitchen with full facilities, cooker, freezers, lockable cupboards, utensils and crockery, all spotlessly clean and Josephine was there to wash up and clean the tents! Talk about being spoilt. Under some trees at the entrance to the camp was an outdoor seating and dining area and Sheiks was there to light the fire each night and he was the one to ask if we had any questions. As part of the normal package if staying at this camp is either a game drive or a guided bush walk. This is a recognised birding area by Birdlife South Africa, and we saw francolins and another pearl spotted owl. As we sat on the patio in front of our tent we were visited by more francolins with young, plus impala, and Neil was really pleased to capture on camera an African Wildcat! There were also the obligatory baboons who didn’t get too close but would raid the kitchen if the door was not kept closed, fact of life in Africa are the monkeys/baboons taking food from unsuspecting tourists. Ready erected safari tents are a budget option and a really nice way to visit the Lodges if rough camping is not for you, we felt really spoilt. The only downside to this camp is that you can’t drive yourself around the area, game drives etc have to be booked with the lodge and their staff drive you around. They also do some other lovely trips around the area.
The grounds around the Lodge itself are outstanding and the staff were lovely, but we decided not to take them up on the offer of a chalet for the next night. We had come to bushcamp and drive ourselves around, plus we are so used to doing things for ourselves we find it very hard to be waited on. Still it is definitely a place we could recommend, as the hospitality was excellent and the facilities very good, you can see why it was awarded Best Safari Lodge 2008. So we had decided after a discussion to move onto Kruger National Park a day earlier than planned, hoping that we could camp an extra night at Punda Maria Restcamp.
