News April 2010

If ever we required proof that the weather and rainfall have gone haywire, we had it via the inordinately high rainfall in April 2010. Over 200 mm of widespread rain was recorded. This represents over 40% of our annual total ! At the time of writing, Tremisana Dam is 100% full. A huge hippo has been in residence all month.

The hippopotamus is a very interesting animal. At first sight, one has the impression of an obese and very slow-moving behemoth. With most hippo sightings, the animal is in the water and only the head or, worse still, only the nostrils are visible. When I inform guests that I have personally recorded a hippo running at 40 km/h ( thankfully while I was inside a vehicle ) they have looks of abject incredulity in their eyes. In addition, the hippo is fairly nimble in water and, despite weighing in at around 2000 kg, it can manoeuvre itself reasonably swiftly in water.
 
Hippos are grazers and usually leave the water to feed in the evening. They spend most of the night eating grass and return to the water by sunrise. We have had to take our staff back to their quarters by vehicle as the Tremisana hippo seems to favour the long grass near the staff accommodation. I am told by hunters that it is best to shoot a hippo in the morning as the carcass will rise as a result of the evolving of the gases from the eaten grass. Hippos that are shot on an empty stomach can take an additional 24h to surface.

It is generally accepted that hippos are very dangerous. The herd bull is an extremely territorial creature and bulls may fight to the death in their quest to possess a stretch of river or dam in which their harem is accommodated. As a result of this territoriality, it often happens that a hippo bull attacks any intruder. There are numerous records of human deaths as a result of hippos attacking people who venture too close to their territory. There are also records of hippos attacking small water craft. Hippos have very powerful jaws which can easily kill a person. When our guides take our guests on Bush Walks near Tremisana Dam, they are especially careful. The hippo is reputed to kill more people in Africa than any other animal, so the caution and respect shown to this powerful amphibian is most certainly deserved.

GAMEVIEWING REPORTS FROM OUR GUIDES

With the abundance of rain, there has been a general deterioration in the game-viewing sightings this month. I personally took a safari towards the end of the month. The idea was to train a new guide whom we have employed. I was disappointed by the scarcity of animals, especially the cats. We did manage to have very good sightings of elephant, buffalo and rhino and were very fortunate to find a mother hyena and teenage cub ( that was still nursing ) very close to the road. The widespread rains have caused a dispersion of general game and the large herds of zebra and wildebeest that I have always seen around Satara have certainly diminished. No doubt things will improve as the veld dries out.


Bertus has emailed the following :
 
Kruger
 
Kruger is getting greener and wetter all the time. We have had some late rains that have made Kruger the greenest that I have ever seen it for this time of year. We still had some good sightings. On the S100 we found an elephant that had died. It had suffered with a broken leg for some time. Needless to say with all that meat around, we had some brilliant sightings of lions, hyenas and vultures. We also enjoyed seeing the interaction of the other elephants that moved past the carcass. On every occasion they chased the scavengers off. They also moved around the carcass and touched it – no doubt they knew the deceased.

The best day we had this month was on the 11th when everything just happened for us. We were about 16km from the gate when we spotted a young leopard next to the road that later climbed into a tree next to us and gave us a lot of time to have a good view. From there we went to the S125 where we found a pride of about 13 lions feasting on a giraffe right in the road. After that we had excellent sightings of buffalo and a rhino at Tsokwane and thus we had seen the Big Five before lunch. After lunch we saw some hyena, hippo, crocodile and a brief glimpse of some more lions. So despite the very dense bush we still had a brilliant day of excellent game viewing.

The young leopard which later climbed up a tree

For the rest of the month I still had good sightings and I am seeing more leopard than lion in Kruger. This is probably because they are often found in trees whereas the lions disappear in the thick grass.

Balule and Tshukudu

Balule is the place where we have been seeing a lot of lion this month. They have came past Tremisana Lodge on several occasions. On our walks we have encountered elephant, buffalo and hippo out of the water. It makes it exciting and there is nothing like a bit of adrenalin to get the blood going early in the morning. On the bird sightings, I have seen Saddle billed stork, African Hawk eagle as well as Painted Snipe.

Our Tshukudu drives are doing very well and are proving to be very popular. Having tea with the cheetahs is a highlight for all our guests. We had some good sightings of leopard, elephant, rhino as well as the lions that treated us to some great roaring right next to the vehicle. After that we followed them for about 2 km walking down the road – a really good experience.

A roaring lion spotted on our Tshukudu drive

BONGANI submitted the following :

Balule

We had lots of rain early this month and the streams were following in great volume.  The roads were eroded, but we managed to do the drives around Balule thanks to our reliable 4 x 4 Toyota Landcruisers. Most of the time we had good luck with many animals like lions, rhinos and elephants. We have a hippo in Tremisana Dam and it walks around the lodge at night. During our walks we often see the pride of lions.
 
On one occasion we found 17 ! It is very interesting to get close to the lions. The big male was not happy about our presence and he tried to charge us but we did move. He was roaring loudly. After that we come across with two white rhinos that were at most ten metres away from us. We see elephants almost every day. One particular male is aggressive towards us and will always try to charge every time it sees the vehicle. It must have had a bad experience to behave in such a way. We have a large giraffe bull walking around Tremisana Lodge. It is often around the waterhole which is close to the parking lot and when our guests arrive at Tremisana he is there to welcome them. One of my guests is 100% convinced that we actually arranged for the giraffe to be there as she arrived !

The big male lion that tried to charge our vehicle!

Kruger
 
On 01-04
I drove on the Timbavati road. We stopped to see a big herd of elephants walking towards the road and a leopard came out from the bush and walk right on the road in front of us. We followed it for a few minute. It was trying to get close to impalas, but on the other side of the road there were monkeys playing in the tree that spotted the leopard before it could get close to the impalas. The monkeys were making noise continuously so the impalas were looking around to find out what was going on. Before they began to eat again they had their answer - the saw the leopard stalking them. The chance for the leopard to catch the impalas was very small, because all of them were aware of his presence. We spent one hour on the sighting, but nothing happened. Afterwards we found two big male lions eating a baby zebra. There were some jackals waiting for the leftovers. It was a great day as we had good sightings of all of the Big Five in one day.
 
0n 19-04
I took the Talamati road. We met Oscar one of the guides in Imbali Lodge who told us where eight lions had killed a buffalo. I drove to the area and we found them busy eating. It was very close to the road, so there was no need for binoculars. We had a good time with the lions and another two come later to join the pride. We had them for two days in the row. Along the Sweni road there was a leopard with a baby zebra up in the tree. There was a hyena waiting under the tree that was eating some of scraps of meat. The leopard was at same spot for a few days. We saw only one elephant for the whole day at over a hundred metres away from the road. We also had a good sighting of six white rhinos together and big herd of buffalos.
 
On 23 and 24-04
 
I drove on the Sweni road. I did a half day safari. It was cold, but we managed to see many animals. We had four out five. We did see the lions. There was a leopard up in tree with female impala. It was relaxed and the following day it was at same spot with impala but there was not much left. The next day were went in at Orpen and out at Phalaborwa gate. It was a long drive but we saw lots of animals and different landscapes. At Sable dam we found buffalos, elephants and two white rhino.

We are ready for World Cup
I can feel the excitement - it is almost here
Bongani

MAYNETH has emailed the following :

02/04/10
We started the drive with an early sighting on the Rabelais Road of 12 Wild Dogs on the road. The pack was busy finishing off an Impala. Five minutes after our arrival they moved out in the bush. We were very lucky with our first sighting of endangered species, but to some of my clients it was no big deal as they don’t know about the rarity of this animal. They really are keen to see Lions.

After the Wild Dog sighting, we got Buffalos right next to the road. Two bulls looked very old to me. From there it was very quiet until Satara. 4km from H6 down south to Thsokwane we had a great sighting of lion. One male (sub adult) lion killed a warthog 5m from the tarred road. It was very congested with cars because it was Good Friday. The lion was very relaxed and almost halfway finishing off his meal..

We drove to S100 where an elephant had died of natural causes. The carcass was fully packed by vultures and Hyenas, busy fighting over the carcass. There were lions there early in the morning.

An inquisitive hyena approaching our vehicle!

03/04/10
We started the drive with great sightings of Buffalos and Elephants, all in big herds. For sightings of the cats it was very quiet. We went for lunch with only Elephants and Buffalos and Hyenas on Elephant carcass. After lunch I drove with a determination to get lions and found two male lions lying down at Ngotso pan. .

It was the presence of Zebras that made the sighting very interesting. They were thirsty and the lions were very close to the pan. They hesitated several times in an attempt to drink water. They ended up running away because they sensed danger.

From Ngotso we drove straight to Timbavati. Two Big male lions and a lioness with cubs were lying down 15m from the road. They were very relaxed for the time we were there. The males moved and changed their positions time and again. On our way to Satara we got Rhinos which were lying flat on the ground.
 
08/04/10
Our drive started with a big herd of elephant right at Orpen. From there it was just general game spotting. We went to Timbavati where I showed our clients some Hippos. After the hippo we found lions at S90 Junction - a pride of two male and 4 lioness sleeping right next to the road. After lunch at Satara, we drove north. It was very quiet. On our way out, just after Nsemani Dam we had a brilliant sighting of Wild Dogs on the road. When we got there some of them walked around the car. They scratched their bodies against the car, until we drove off in order to make the gate closing time. After exiting from Orpen, we drove 1,5km and saw one male Cheetah sitting next to the road. We stayed there for a couple of minutes. It is amazing that we are having so many great sightings of animals on the roads – I think they prefer the openness compared to the thick bush and high grass which might be concealing snakes.

10/04/10
What a day : A giraffe was killed by lions the previous night. Next morning we drove straight to the kill. Before we got there another giraffe was killed right in the middle of the road. One male lion was eating the carcass. There were only two cars at the sighting with me. I positioned my car next to the carcass next to the giraffe’s legs, because they eat it from the rump side. When I stopped my engine I saw 5 other lions. They all came to enthrall us by eating and moving all around our vehicle ! It was worth sitting there for over an hour. My clients were shaking from the excitement of being in the midst of a whole lion pride !

A giraffe killed by lions the previous night

From there we drove straight for lunch, Before we got to Satara we had a great sighting of a leopard up a tree. It was not resting, but was up there so as to get a better view of the surrounding bushveld. After five minutes it jumped down from the tree and moved out. After lunch we saw a pod of Hippos and just before Timbavati we saw three lionesses next to the road sleeping under the shade.

17/04/10
I started the game drive with good sightings of Elephants and Buffalos along the tarred road. At Nsemani Dam the hippos were out grazing and Buffalos and Elephants were swimming in water. From there I took S40 to Girivana Pan but it was empty. I drove back towards Satara from S40. Before we reached the tar road we had a sighting of 7 lions with 2 lionesses standing in the middle of the road. After a couple of minutes they moved to the bush. We saw Wild dogs on our way out at Rabelais. I drove to H6 where I got 1 Rhino lying down and we went to Sweni Road where we had a sighting of a leopard that had hung a baby Zebra on a tree.

21/04/10
The Wild Dogs were there again on the Rabalais loop. They were scattered around on the road. From there we got lions on the S41 that had killed a wildebeest next to the road. They were three males . After lunch we drove the S90 and were rewarded with sightings of Rhinos and Elephant and a big herd of Buffalos near Satara.

22/04/10
I was one of my worst drives of the month as by the time I arrived at Satara for lunch we had not seen even one of the Big 5. After lunch we drove the S90. At Bangu waterhole 7 lionesses and 1 lion killed a Zebra only 5m from the road. The big male was eating first, while the hungry lionesses were still waiting for their chance. From there I got a big herd of Elephant near the lions. I drove via S127 and had a brilliant sighting of 6 rhinos on the road and we got a big herd of Buffalos at Timbavati. So the day ended up OK.

NEWS FROM OUR LODGES

I was happy to have the opportunity to visit the lodges twice in April. I was pleased with most aspects of the establishments.

TREMISANA is looking very good. The rainfall has produced very beautiful gardens. The three new units are completed and now require only interior decorating. We are busy building another guide’s room. Many of our previous clients may remember Mark Jones who emigrated to England some years back. Things did not work out there and we are very pleased to welcome him back to join our staff from mid-May.
 
Pearl has been busy with her sewing and all the rooms look wonderful with the new cushions. Delina has insisted on new staff uniforms for the World Cup period and our ladies are looking very smart.
 
Game-viewing has been good and besides the hippo and resident giraffe, we have had regular visits from the lion pride. In fact at 02h00 on 29 April I was very rudely awakened by the full-throated roaring of a lion. I was convinced that he was right outside my window. Later on that morning I checked for his spoor and I wasn’t far wrong – he had been a mere 10 metres from the fence ! What a thrill it is to hear that powerful roar ; time seems to come to a stop and I am sure that the window panes were rattling – how I have missed being in the bush !

MARC’S TREEHOUSE LODGE is also looking good as a result of the copious rains. We have erected two 4-man tents to satisfy the demand for tented accommodation. We have two showers and two toilets catering for the four tents we now have. We have decided to add an en suite bathroom to treehouse 8, which previously also used the outside ablutions.

Ronald removing spotted bush snake

The number of nyala around the camp is impressive. On one visit I counted no fewer than 24. They are used to human presence and I managed to get to within 1 metre of a big bull.
I had a meeting with Jonathan Beretta, Warden of Motlala Reserve – where we do our game drives. He assures me that there will not be any elephant or lion introductions on Motlala. I feel very relieved as I have had periodic sleep-depriving nightmares over the last year : my nightmares were about an elephant bull pushing down treehouse 3 and into the Klaserie river came treehouse and tourist and baggage and all !
 
Jonathan informs me that we are getting an two additional Black Rhino – wow !
The Motlala Reserve will be the best reserve in the whole area to view Black Rhino.

MARC’S ADVENTURE CAMP is complete. We have erected a barrier to keep the buffalo out of the swimming pool. The covered reception area has been renovated and the sliding doors add a very different dimension to this camp. All units now have 4 beds and the en suite bathrooms have electric, no longer gas, geysers.

CHEETAH INN has proved to be a lifesaver in terms of the massive number of bookings we have had for the World Cup period. We have accommodation for no fewer than 54 clients. All the rooms have been repainted and the borehole has been serviced to ensure we have enough water for all our guests.
 
The nyala are doing well but need to be on their guard as we have been advised by Margrett that the leopard that was seen mating at Marc’s Camp a few months ago has produced a young cub. Mother and cub have taken up residence on the 8 hectares of Cheetah Inn property across the tar road and have been seen regularly. On one occasion, our gate security guard even abandoned his post temporarily as the leopard crossed the road and came through the front gate.

My sincere thanks go to Alice who, besides co-managing Cheetah Inn with Margrett, has been crucially involved in the bookings and program organization for the World Cup period. She has been an absolute star and has endeared herself to all our agents during the times that she assisted Trevor in Head Office.

NEWS FOR OUR TRAVEL PARTNERS

I spent 3 full days of the last week of April 2010 working with Alice. We have a very intricate and involved timetable over June and July. It is a simple matter to book “ bums in beds ” according to available accommodation BUT those same tourists ( I must not be rude here and need to drop the reference to ‘bums’ ) need to have a return seat on the transfer vehicles; a seat on the Night Drive vehicles; a seat on the Kruger Park Open Vehicles a place on the bush walks and, in the case of Tremisana clients, a seat on the Tshukudu vehicles.

We have to hire vehicles over this period and have already engaged 4 Quantums and 4 open vehicle operators. We have bought a new Quantum ( complete with leather seats) and hope to acquire yet another one within the next 2 weeks.

Sandy and Pearl spent 4 hours ( along with a lot of Viva Safaris money ) in acquiring new linen, new towels and new blankets for the 40 new beds we are buying.  Thank goodness I have two competent women who can buy goods that blend in correctly with the various colour schemes and curtains etc in each and every one of the 55 units we have. Their penchant for choosing the correct décor has done us proud. I shudder to think what massive mismatches and scary eyesores there would have been had I been in charge of buying these items !

The World Cup has seen the advent of the silly season for guides and there will be a substantial change in staff along with the employment of new guides to help us handle the big numbers. We are busy evaluating a number of potential candidates and I am sure that our final choices will be excellent. The appointment of good tourist guides is for me one of the most important issues in the whole Viva operation. There is no doubt that a friendly and knowledgeable guide makes a huge difference in the successful enjoyment of a safari. I will not disappoint you.
 
In May we shall once again be manning our stand at INDABA Travel Show. I shall be calling Mr Cosimo Brescia of Sandown Travel to ensure we have our usual imported Italian coffee sachets available - for my special friends only.
 
We look forward to renewing acquaintances and having a chat and a drink with you.


Until next month...

With kind regards,
Piero
General Manager
Viva Safaris