South-East Botswana, April 2016 - Tuli Block, Botswana. Molema Bush Camp and Limpopo RIver Lodge.

The last time we were in the Tuli Block in SE Botswana was way back in 2008, so it was definately time for another visit. The only 2 places where you can camp are Molema Bush Camp and Limpopo RIver Lodge. I tried to have 3 or 4 nights at each but Limpopo River Lodge only had availability for 2 nights which meant that we spent 5 nights at Molema Bush Lodge.

Molema Bush Camp

There are only 4 sites at Molema Bush Lodge and we'd been allocated site 1 but didn't like it much as the ground was mostly on a slope so they kindly allowed us to change to site 2 which was larger and did have some level ground. The sites are a about 100m from the Limpopo River under huge trees - lots of shade. There is a path through quite thick bush down to the river.

The campsite isn't fenced so it's possible for elephant, lion, hyena etc to wander through the site. I hadn't realised until after I'd done the booking that you can't self-drive in the Reserve - it does state this fact on the website but I'd not noticed it.....so we booked a morning walk, a morning drive and an afternoon drive. The drives were R300 per person and the walk was R275per person.

The Limpopo River was quite low here with several channels and lots of sandbanks.

Morning Walk. There were just the 2 of us and our guide, Sakaeo. We walked along the River vallley to a rock outcrop that we went up and then walked back through the bush. Sakaeo was knowledgeable about the bush and as well as pointing out birds and animals he talked about the landscape and showed us lot of footprints.

A pied kingfisher in the early morning light.

We saw these impala having a drink in the river.

The Limpopo River from a rocky lookout point.

One morning we drove along the gravel road towards the Pont Drift border post. The Motloutse River is a wide, sandy riverbed that has to be crossed but on this occassion there was hardly any water in the river.

A little water in the Motloutse River.

This is Soloman's Wall. It's a basalt dyke in the Motloutse RIver bed.

Morning Drive. We left at 6.30am and were out for 3 1/2 hours. We followed lion tracks for some time but weren't able to spot them. We did see a froup of elephants in the far distance on one occassion, otherwise it was zebra, impala and some raptor. It was very dry here considering it was April but Botswana, like many parts of South Africa, has had very little rain this year.

The highlight of the afternoon drive was seeing a pair of hyenas outside their den. When it got dark we saw a black-backed jackal and a great-spotted genet.

Limpoo RIver Lodge.

The campsites are right next to the river which was much narrower than at Molema and there was much more water as there are several dams across the river. We only had a couple of days here and could easily have spent many more.

The view from our campsite with the late afternoon sun causing some lovely reflections in the still water.

Good views of the river from our campsite.

There were plenty of birds around the site and in the trees across the river. This water thick-kee was one of a pair near the campsite.

A bushbuck on the other side of the river.

A crocodile cruising past.

We spent a couple of hours driving round the southern section of the Lodge grounds. We saw a few zebra, some impala and several raptors.

We saw a few baobab trees while we were driving.

When we got closer we could see the elephant damage to the trunk.

Marakele National Park.

Khama Rhino Sanctuary.

Tuli Block. Molema Bush Camp and Limpopo RIver Lodge.

Crossing the Limpopo at the Platjan Border Post.

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