APRIL 2nd - a 50 minute plane ride on a 14 seater to another hard pack landing strip. We were picked up by Ollie our guide for the next 3 days . After meeting the management staff, lunch was served and we headed off for the siesta. High tea was at 3:30 and we left on the afternoon game drive at 4. The main difference between Savute and Leroo La Tau is that the game drives are across the river and we have to take a boat to get to the jeeps. This is when we found out that the guides are not allowed to go off trail in search of animals. If caught off trail they would lose their guide license. This also means that we get to view animals at a distance not up close and personal like Savute. Now we know why binoculars are recommended. For the first time we saw a hippo out of the water but it was across the river so quite a distance away. We saw our first baby crocodile along the bank as we were returning to the lodge.
APRIL 3rd - 5 of us went on the morning drive. After a short search we came across 3 lion cubs. Ollie did venture a bit off road and we were able to get some closeups. We also saw some steenboks which, even though fully grown, are the size of a pygmy deer. As Ollie said, they'd barely be a starter for a lion meal. They are a member of the antelope family. Other animals we saw this morning included impalas, elephants, kudos, jackals and hippos.
After high tea we decided to try a boat cruise down the river to see what animals were around. We found about a dozen elephants having a bath in the river. There was some dissension among the group and we watched quite a skirmish between them. They get quite ferocious using their trunks and tusks to intimidate each other. One who had left the melee and was plodding up a hill took exception to one trying to come down the hill. As the first one swung his trunk the second one stumbled and slid down the hill - just like two kids. After watching them for a while we carried on down the river until we encountered hippos. We are not allowed to disturb them so we had to turn around - certainly wouldn't want to take a chance of floating over one who decided to surface.
The river is close to being a swamp but it has a lot of lily pads with gorgeous big flowers. Ollie stopped and picked one along with its long stem. He preceeded to show how the native women would make a necklace out of the reed with the flower the focal point of it.
APRIL 4th - 4 of us went on the morning drive while the rest went to visit the local village. We searched for both leopards and rhinos with no success. The grass is quite tall and makes a great camouflage for them. About a dozen rhinos have been released into the wild with chips implanted and have bracelets on them. The military are able to track these animals and know exactly where they are but refuse to share this info with the guides. The rhino is the only one of the big five that we've not seen so, hopefully, we'll spot them in one of our last two safaris.
We saw our first giraffes in this area and, of course, saw elephants, impalas, zebras and kudos. On our way back to the lodge we spotted a giant lizard sunning itself along the river bank.
On the afternoon drive we covered a lot of territory and saw the tiny steenboks but no lions, leopards or rhinos.
The Lodge staff prepared a big surprise for us that night. Only management were in the lodge when we got back for sundowners and they said the rest of the staff were given the evening off as they weren't very busy. The manager said he'd take us to the Chief's house for dinner so we piled into the jeeps expecting a long bumpy ride to the village. Instead, we only drove about 5 minutes before coming across a big opening which was well lighted with candles and luminarias. There was a barbecue set up, drinks available and even a portable toilet with bum fluff. The toilet was a big plus as we've been using bushes while on all the drives. All the staff were bused in and they entertained us with singing and dancing prior to dinner. We saw a rhino beetle which is one of the small 5. It was a great finale to our stay at Leroo La Tau.
Pictures - 1 - taking the boat across the river to the jeeps
2 - the elephants having their little set to
3 - zebras
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