May 16: Tau
As we say a fond farewell to Pilanesberg, we take another drive
through, albeit one not so roundabout as the last time through.
This time through, we get remarkably close to some zebras. They're
shy animals, but we seem to have caught them in a good mood. At
least, they're in a good mood until some other tourists stop and
get out of their car. As the doors slam, the zebras bolt. We hope
the tourists get eaten by lions.
Tau lies near the border with Botswana, so it's a three-and-a-half
hour drive back towards Gaborone, a not-insignificant part of
which is over a dirt road. Then it's through the gate in the electrified
fence and up another kilometer or so of dirt driveway to the lodge
itself. Yet another place that makes me feel like a wealthy gringo.
Instead of connected rooms like at Mowana, we get individual,
well-upholstered cabins surrounding a large watering hole. Each
cabin has a balcony facing the watering hole so that you can watch
the animals right outside your window (warthogs, guinea hens,
kudu, ibex, and baboons when we got in). Each cabin also has an
outdoor shower with a window likewise facing the watering hole,
so you can watch animals while washing your hair. I'll stick with
the tub, though. Someone even brings us tea. From the female contingent,
I detect immediate lusting after our guide, Brendan, who looks
pretty much like you'd expect a twentysomething professional game
guide named Brendan to look.
After yet another very nice buffet lunch, we're out into the wilderness
for another game drive. We almost immediately see a batch of kudu
who are almost but not quite ready to start mating. As a result,
we almost but not quite get the opportunity to snap some pictures
of kudu porn. Tooling around, we catch zebra, the usually assortment
of guinea hens, warthogs, and variations on the theme of deer.
The big sighting, however, is a number of lions. Approaching an
earthen dam, we see a lioness casually strolling across the top.
As we stop to look and take pictures, Brendan explains that it's
one of four lionesses, which runs around with a pair of lions,
apparently brothers. The lions recently killed a baby elephant,
so they're visibly gorged on the meat. As we watch, one of the
male lions strolls up, laps briefly at a water hole, and joins
the lioness. After a few minutes, his brother takes up station
on a nearby rise.
Yes, a lion
On the way back to the lodge, it begins to rain, so we're all
quite cold by the time we get back. Time to use the very nice
tub…