Expatriate Magazine (13)

TR A V E L
Left Top to Bottom: A lioness resting in afternoon sun. Typical bedroom in one of the thatched chalets. Guests viewing Elephant grazing in the game reserve.
Above: Thatched buildings on the grounds of the Tau Game Lodge.
immense antiquity. This is classic bushveld, with the sanction but it is extremely rare that these are used.
trees on much of the plains almost all exactly the same Their knowledge of fauna from the meanest dung
height, probably because of the proximity of hard rocks beetle patiently rolling his immense ball on which his
not far below the surface. The starkness of the rocky wife sits and which is his family’s nest, to the haughtiest
“inselbergs” makes a jarring contrast from the bushy of the “Big Five” or “Magniﬁ cent Seven” is impressive.
trees, which, when seen from above, give the impression Ours was Edmund, able to name any bird, prepared to
of a ﬂ at sea. leap from the truck to bring samples of elephant and
Exploring the reserve, particularly to see the rhino dung for comparison (elephant is much woodier)
wildlife, is the main reason for most people’s visit, and and an aspiring professional wildlife photographer with
for this the rangers are crucial. A ranger may have up an irreverent sense of humour.
to around eight guests for whose game viewing he is
‘WE ATE ON THE BALCONY WITH A
responsible throughout their stay, building a rapport
BLAZING FIRE AT OUR BACKS AND THE
and an understanding of what his group especially want
SENSE THAT THE VASTNESS OF AFRICA
to see. Rangers steer the 4-wheel drive vehicles over
STARTED JUST AT OUR ELBOWS’
the rough roads and tracks, scanning the ground for
spoors and tracks, talking by radio to help direct each Let me take you through a typical day at Tau, each
other to the animals. To each other they invariably use of which has its gentle rhythm and starts with a phone
the animals’ tswana names (listen for nkwe, lengau and call from the ranger at 5am for the morning game drive.
tlou – leopard, cheetah and elephant), possibly out of After tea on the balcony of the lodge, looking East over
respect for place, and possibly to keep a little initiative the watering hole and the comforting 3-humped back
over guests who might try to direct the drive. of Majaneng hill (rather like a white rhino – the black
A ranger is skilled and knowledgeable, having has two humps with a distinct saddle) blocking the early
undergone years of training to achieve the qualiﬁ cation. Sun’s rays, we climb into the truck and our ranger sets
In addition to ﬁ nding the animals he is responsible oﬀ to where he feels it is likely we will ﬁ nd animals of
ODGE
for his guests’ safety, and one aspect of this is not to interest. Everywhere there are birds, around 32 species
crowd around individual animals who might then feel of raptor (and 8 of owls), many of which will be seen
U GAME L
T
A
threatened; he carries a large-bore riﬂ e as the ultimate on any given drive; today we see black-shouldered
EX P A T R I A T E 39
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