Leroo La Tau Lodge 

Our stay at Leroo La Tau Lodge in Botswana was amazing. Leroo La Tau borders Botswana's Makgadikgadi Pans National Park and while staying at Leroo La Tau, we visited that park and Nxai Pan National Park, which is about a 2 hr drive from the lodge. These parks are remote and really gave us an authentic African experience we loved. The lodge is small (12 cabins) and was quiet, and we had the place almost to our group of 8. We chose to visit in February (wet season) because there are far fewer tourists, and the greenery made for amazing scenery. The downside of a wet season visit is that animal sightings were not as frequent and not as dense as they are in dry season when animals congregate around fewer watering holes, but that did not diminish our experience in the least. I would visit again in the wet season without reservation. The green landscapes and dramatic skies were stunning. Despite it being the wet season, we saw tons of wildlife - hippos, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, elephants, and more. We didn’t see lions or leopards, but we did see recent leopard tracks. Our guide Coca was the highlight of our stay. His experience, knowledge and passion made our excursions into Makgadikgadi Pans and Nxai Pans parks special. Including examining Dung Beetles at work that had us laughing. He handled a close encounter with a big bull elephant calmly, keeping us safe while giving us an unforgettable experience. And he is well known within the Botswana guiding community. At another lodge in the Okavango delta, our guide there had worked with Coca and he told us Coca is simply the best. The lodge itself is beautiful, overlooking the Boteti River. We watched giraffes, wildebeest, impalas and lots of other animals walk along the river right by our balconies. And we saw some large crocodiles lying in wait along the river’s edge. We even saw a mother hippo with a baby walking along the riverbank one evening while we were sitting outside having a glass of wine (a rather poor picture is attached of the hippo mom and baby lit by flashlight). The food was delicious, and the staff were so friendly. And we loved the surprise 'sundowners' in beautiful spots. TT and Rose manage the lodge and were very welcoming and made our stay memorable. TT even drove out to Nxai Pans the day they were there with the chef from Leroo La Tau to serve us a gourmet lunch in the park. An unexpected surprise. If you want a real safari experience, go to Leroo La Tau.

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Leroo La Tau was the first of 3 Desert & Delta lodges we stayed at, 5 nights in each. The wildlife was exceptional: the staff, guides & managers all excelled; the food & accommodation was first class. Overall, every aspect exceeded our expectations. DR, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable, including having a detailed knowledge of the birdlife, a particular interest of ours. Highlights of our jeep trips included a trip to the hippo pool, where a large number of hippo share the pool, rather grudgingly, with several elephants. We also saw 40 - 50 elephants on that drive, cooling themselves in the Boteti River, along with impala, kudu & a solitary wildebeest that had teamed up with the impalas - safety in numbers! Another day we did the full day trip to Nxai Pan & the Baines Baobabs, a nearly 200k round trip, mainly on dirt roads. But the minor discomfort was more than compensated for by sightings of good numbers of zebra & giraffe, Cape buffalo, springbok, wildebeest & a black backed jackal. We saw a large group of pale chanting goshawk, riding the thermals, along with Northern black korhaan, & many. many of the small & medium sized birds, such as the stunning lilac breasted roller & blue eared starling. We had a stab at ID'ing some birds ourselves, but DR's keen eyesight & extensive knowledge meant that very few were missed. Our game drives closer to the camp were more or less guaranteed to yield elephant, giraffe, impala & the ever present yellow & red billed hornbills. On one of these outings we got a magnificent view of two Verreaux's eagle owls. At the camp, elephants, impala, kudu, & occasionally giraffe, wandered down to the river to drink, & were often there when one opened the curtains in the morning or when relaxing on the terrace in the afternoon. Blacksmith lapwing & yellow billed stork looked for food in the shallows, seemingly unconcerned by the crocodiles, just under the water, biding their time. Velvet monkeys scampered around, creating a lively atmosphere. The staff & managers went out of their way to be welcoming , helpful & friendly - which seemed genuine & well beyond simple "professional" friendliness. The pre dinner singing was a highlight of each evening. The food was excellent. My dietary requirement (wheat intolerance) was effortlessly catered for. I even had a lesson in bread making (wheat free), Botswana style, from Shepherd, the young pastry chef, to much hilarity in the kitchen. The accommodation is luxurious & spacious, & no attention to detail is spared. Desert & Delta seems to be a very well run company & a happy place for the staff to work, despite the long hours. We cannot recommend Leroo La Tau highly enough. Our 5 days there, along with 10 days at 2 other D & D camps, were magical & simply the experience of a lifetime. We hope sometime to be back.

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A fantastic resort on the river with hippos parading up and down. The camp was great, staff amazing and you had everything you needed there. Great game drive.we didn’t stay long enough I do the pans trip which we would have loved to of. Well worth a visit