LEROO LA TAU AND THE MAGICAL BOTETI

It is with great anticipation that I set off from Maun with our Directors, Derek & Judy Flatt for the drive to Leroo La Tau. We are taking a quick trip to the lodge to see how well the builders are progressing. We have to cross the veterinary fence and the 1 hour 30 minute drive flies by quickly.

The last time I was at Leroo La Tau was in December 2006 and we loved every minute of it and saw its enormous potential immediately. What a fantastic change with the new accommodation – right on the edge of the dry riverbed!

After arrival, I walk straight out to the lookout point in front of the lodge. Just below us is the platform which will soon be the new hide overlooking the waterhole and remember how we were almost on eye to eye level with a big bull elephant that came to drink at the waterhole last time I was here.

Janine, the Manager at Leroo La Tau, took us from Chalet 1 to 12 (6 each side of the main building), and every time that I think THIS is my favorite view, the next chalet’s setting tops the previous one again…

With the hammering and building going on, the first migrating zebra arriving from the pans are still skittish and carefully approach the decline into the river bed. Then its lunch break for the builders and with the normal tranquil quiet settling back in, it’s as if someone gave a sign and suddenly a herd of about 20 wildebeest at the head followed by countless families of zebras make their way down the dry Boteti riverbed towards the water in front of the lodge. For as far as you can see they are making their way steadily to the watering hole… It is at times like these where the views from the chalets are going to be absolutely magnificent!

This is the view from one of the chalets looking out at the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park on the opposite side of the Boteti River…

The lodge managers, Janine and Craig, are very busy with all the building and contractors coming and going, yet they still managed to arrange a lovely lunch for the crowd present. There are numerous people working on the different aspects in putting a project of this size together, and the contractor responsible for the solar panels (Leroo La Tau is going completely Green and environment friendly) get’s coaxed by the others into telling his first night’s experience… he was fast asleep in one of the old tents that are still up for their housing purposes, when a lion let out an enormous roar right next to his tent! At the same time the flap above his head came loose and fell on his head…. let’s just say he sat upright very quickly and requested security outside his tent from there on….!

We headed out for a game drive and the first thing I noticed is the same wild sage smell that you get when staying Savute! Lions had killed a zebra and there were a lot of vultures squabbling over the remains… amongst them we counted 5 Lappet Faced Vultures which was very exciting. The Zebra are back and it is wonderful to see and experience the sheer volume of game that use the area around Leroo La Tau as their refuge! – This place is going to be a highlight for all visitors in the near future. I am really looking forward to what the final finishes will look like once the lodge is ready for opening. The construction team as well as the decorators and lodge management are well on their way to ensuring that the detail is all there and that Leroo La Tau will be nothing but perfect when open.
Diary Entry – Liza Smith, Desert and Delta Safaris Cape Town Office Manager - Sunday, 18 May 2008