Our holiday to Sabie and Graskop in Mpumalanga

We had our May leave coming up and found out earlier in around February that Kim was pregnant, the original plan was to get Kim's mate, Nicole to come over and then head up to the Caprivi in Namibia on the banks of the Zambezi and do some tiger fishing and camp out, however plans had to change as this is a maleria area and we did not want to take the chance of getting Maleria, especially now that we knew that Kim was pregnant. So we decided on a safer alternative. The beautiful province of Mpumalanga. The area where we were going to is well known for its beautiful scenery and awesome waterfalls. As the Northern section of the Drakensberg Mountains runs along this area we were right on the top of the escarpment looking down onto the area where Kruger National Park is found.

Nicole flew in and we started our first few days of leave when Kim had her 40th on the 21st, great party! We organised plenty of wine, beer and other bits and peices and had half a sheep on the spit braai. Just fantastic! The next day we cleaned up, packed and hit the road.

Stopping for a spot of Padkos just outside of Dullstroom!

We stayed in a place called Havana Nights in Graskop, very simple but good enough for us! Graskop is a great little town with a couple of nice pubs and resturants and lots of curios. Also it is very close to God's window, a beautiful spot which you can look out from down the escarpment. No too much of a clear view as it is fire season now and there are a lot of fires in the grassland and forestery areas. So a bit hazy but still quite breathtaking.

Kim looking out at Gods Window.

After having a good look around and settling in for the first night after a huge portugese style dinner we got some breakfast and looked around, we found a couple of cool places with some interesting signs at the enterance. It was a bikers bar and the owner clearly had a sense of humour. People in Graskop also seem to be pancake crazed and there are at least 5 places that sell them.

After looking around we had headed out on a scenic drive in the panorama area and had a look at a couple more scenic spots, along the road you will find Lisbon falls, Mac Mac falls and Bridal Veil falls to name but a few, all very beautiful! We ended up finding another small spot on the side of the road, there was a small river and no buildings, all we saw was a sign saying bush kitchen and pub. So we headed in and found the most awesome little spot ever. Nicole and I asked for a beer, and were presented with a 2 quart bottles and some rather large enamel tin mugs! There is a huge boulder behind the spot and the guys running it have just made a make shift shelter out of some bamboo, stumps for chairs and very basic tables but very cool little spot! So cool I could have spent the whole day there!!! you can also braai there and the guys can do basic lunch. "Shisa Nyama!"

Nicole and me having a cold beer next to the river...what and awesome little place this was! Catering to the needs of the thirsty travelers.

After a relaxing beer we got back on the road and drove around to the bourke's luck potholes, also quite a natural phenomenon where the water has erroded the rock away forming beautiful potholes in the bedrock.

The area further up from the potholes is close to the Blyde River Canyon, the third largest canyon on the planet! The views are spectacular! We spent some time here and had a look at the 3 rondavels and also got to take in some of the views of the canyon.

The view of the 3 rondavels in the Blyde River Canyon is spectacular!

Kim living on the edge! Looking over the Dam in the Canyon, Awesome views!

We went beyond this point!



Kim at the base of Bridal veil falls just outside of Sabie! 



Bridal Veil falls, about 65m high

As we were on our way back home we went up long tom pass, we stopped in and had a look at the cannons based at the top of the pass that the brittish were using to shell the Boers with, very high up and very strategic advantage from up here as Sabie is down below the huge Drakensberg mountains. This was the highest point on the pass.

MOLELO

April 2012

Tau Pride Newsletter

Welcome folks to the Tau Pride newsletter. Tau has great aspirations that this newsletter will reach you all, wherever you might be and in doing so hope to rekindle those breathtaking memories of the sights and sounds of Africa.

News

Easter holidays have proven once again to be a busy time of year for not only Tau Game Lodge but for the whole of Madikwe Game Reserve. Sightings proved to be great too even as there has been a less than average rainfall this season, but  the game still concentrates around the plentiful waterholes dotted around Madikwe and presents some great opportunities. This is the beauty of the bush as you never really know what you will find around the next corner.

The Tau Tree Foundation is cracking along steadily and guests have been planting trees around the lodge grounds. We have now planted over 350 trees within the lodge grounds, staff village and other lodges.
Klaus and Marlies Schkimpke recently visited Tau and planted a Combretum erethrophylum (River bushwillow)

 

Photo by Brad Leighton

We now find ourselves with a slight problem. We are running out of space at Tau and need to look elsewhere. The plan is to plant the trees at two local schools that the Tau Foundation contributes to. There are already ideas to purchase citrus trees for the  schools as well as keeping with the original idea of planting indigenous trees to green up the schools and provide welcome shade.

The Petit Chou group planting a (Cassonia spicata) Common Cabbage Tree at Supingstad High School

Photo by Ernest Maetla

The Tau Spa has been a welcome oasis for our guests wanting that pampered experience from our three qualified spa therapists. We regularly have special offers for our guests, including everything from facials through to our three hour spa bliss package. When you next come to stay, please enquire about our offers and spoil yourself!

Photos by Brad Leighton

We are proud to welcome a new member of the Tau Pride, our Sous chef Dean Van Huyssteen. In the short time that Dean has been with us he has brought creative flair and has excited many of our guest’s taste buds with his culinary skills. Dean brings eight years of local and international experience. We wish him a warm welcome and look forward to his contribution to the team.

Photos by John Carelse

Top right is a lamb rack on a tower of sweet potato and vegetable stir fry with a chilli chocolate sauce.

 

Bush News

The Madikwe bush is drying out and this season’s rainfall has been below average; however the sightings have been superb with plenty of lion, elephant and Rhino encounters. Our resident leopard, the (maokeng male) has unfortunately been scarce over the last couple of months with the occasional fleeting glimpse for those lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

Our rangers are fortunate to be close to another major waterhole in the park where there is a young female leopard that is calling the area home. There have been some fantastic sightings of her as she is fairly relaxed. The photo below was taken close to the waterhole where she has been frequently seen. I was very fortunate to snap this shot of her relaxing on a broken branch.

Photo by Brad Leighton

The anxious mother battling to rescue the exhausted calf. Photo by: Gerard Ramage.

A few weeks ago the rangers were witness to a great scene that unfolded at Tau’s waterhole. A large breeding herd of elephant had come down to the waterhole for their daily stop over for a quick drink and for the younger members of the group to take the opportunity for a wallow in the mud. The drama started when one of the youngsters was unable to get out of the muddy area where he had gone in. The herd paid no attention at first and continued to drink. As they were done they began to move off and realized that the youngster was stuck. The youngster’s mother tried to nudge her calf out but to no avail, the rescue attempt carried on for the next hour until finally the calf was free. Exhausted but unscathed from his ordeal, the calf and his stressed out mother re-joined the herd.

In this photo you can see the youngster’s body underneath the mother’s trunk where he is stuck in the black clay soil. Photo by: Gerard Ramage

Did you know?

• As elephant’s heads are so large, weighing about 500kg, it is supported by extra muscles along the neck. The skull bone has small air pockets, very similar to bird bones to keep the weight down.

• The trunk has an estimated muscle count of around 150 000 individual muscles and is so powerful said to be capable of killing a lion.

• When drinking water the trunk can hold up to as much as 7.5 liters of water at a time.

• Elephants sleep an average of two hours each day

• An adult elephant’s brain weighs 4.5kg.
• An elephant’s gestation period is 22 months (longest of any land animal) and the nursing period is about 4 years.

That’s all for now, we thank you for taking an interest in our newsletter and trust we can keep your passion and interests alive for this beautiful place we like to call home.

Regards

Brad, Markus and the Tau Pride

Ps: We would love to post some of our guest’s pictures, experiences and suggestions in our newsletter. If you would like to share your adventures with others, please send it to gm@taugamelodge.co.za

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