|
Tuli
Wilderness Trails offers a wonderful natural
location to awaken the explorer in you and to enjoy
an authentic wilderness experience reminiscent of
Africa a century ago.
Situated in the 70000ha Northern Tuli Game Reserve
in eastern Botswana, Tuli Wilderness Trails operates
on an unfenced concession of 10000ha within the
reserve and is owner managed by Craig Beaton who has
a wealth of experience in the southern African
wildlife tourism and hospitality industry. There is
a choice of three distinct bush camps offering
self-catering or full catering accommodation. The
professionally guided walking wilderness trails are
the flagship activity at Tuli Wilderness Trails.
The Northern Tuli Game Reserve boasts the world’s
largest elephant population on privately owned land
and elephant viewing is awesome with some
unparalleled sightings and provides fantastic
photographic opportunities. Lion, leopard, cheetah,
spotted and brown hyena are among the numerous
carnivore species that occur on the reserve. Tuli
Wilderness Trails’ iconic Bat-eared fox is often
spotted on night-time game drives. Large herds of
free roaming eland, zebras and wildebeest are seen
regularly and many other plains game are also found
in the area.
Birding at Tuli Wilderness Trails is excellent with
over 340 species identified in the area. Species
range from Pel’s Fishing Owl, Secretarybird, African
Hawk Eagle and Southern Ground-Hornbill to
Three-banded Courser, Dusky Lark and sometimes even
Pelicans have been spotted. There is a resident pair
of breeding Verreaux’s (Black) Eagles on the
property.
Whilst the dominant cover is Mopane, the tall
Apple-leaf and gigantic Mashatu trees are numerous
and groves of Acacia occur in some areas of Tuli.
The Sesame bush, with its swollen stems and angular
stiff branches grows prolifically alongside the
rocky ridges. The concession also has specimens of
Africa’s fabled “upside-down” tree, the Baobab.
Tuli Wilderness Trails borders on the Limpopo River
in the south and on the Motloutse River in the east
and many small tributaries of these rivers
criss-cross the land in between. The landscapes are
diverse ranging from riverine forests through
alluvial floodplains to Mopane veld and interesting
sandstone ridges.
It is well worth visiting the fascinating Solomon’s
Wall, a striking geographical feature. The high
basalt dyke once spanned the Motloutse River and the
high “walls” on each bank of the river bear
testament to centuries of erosion by the river over
this dyke.
The Tuli area is rich in archaeological heritage and
beautiful San rock art sites have been discovered
alongside numerous archaeological sites dating back
from the Stone Age. Scattered artefacts are still
being discovered over the concession.
Game viewing is excellent during the drier months of
April to October. This peak season is also the best
time to participate on professionally guided walking
wilderness trails. The southern night skies appear
to be studded with more stars than during the other
seasons. The stark beauty of the landscape towards
the end of the dry season is synonymous with the
Tswana word “tuli” (meaning dust).
Tuli Wilderness Trails’ ‘green season’ occurs from
November to March and this is when the African bush
puts on a whole new look. Most animals produce their
young while the migrant birds return to their sunny
southern African summer homes. Once the rains return
to the region, the bush becomes a lush green floral
carpet and the sky spectacularly blue, all combining
to make this a special season to visit Tuli
Wilderness Trails.

|