January has been a hot and wet month in Kruger Park. At Tremisana Lodge, we measured a total of 165 mm; at Marc’s Treehouse Camp we had 129 mm and at Satara a total of 144 mm fell.
The bush is looking really good. Grass cover is excellent and we expect the grazing animals to have sufficient to last them well into October, notwithstanding any further rain that may fall. Temperatures have been high – our average noon- time temperature has been about 27 degrees Celscius.
Gameviewing in Kruger has been quite good, considering the copious rain that has fallen. Large herds of zebra and wildebeest have migrated north from the Mnondozi area of Kruger to the Nwanedzi / Sweni river valleys. Big herds of buffalo have been seen – the abundance of pasture allows the herds to cover great distances. What is especially pleasing is the large number of calves found in these herds. The estimated population of buffalo in Kruger is now about 30 000 making this the third most numerous species after impala and zebra.
Elephant numbers continue to increase – there is very little chance of not seeing an elephant on any safari. We know from experience that most visitors to Kruger wish to see elephants and lions – so we are grateful that the elephants are seen on each and every safari. Lions are not as easy to find in the wet months. We have had about 75 % success rate – this is very good compared to some of the areas in the south of the park. The preponderance of sicklebush south of the Sabie river makes summertime viewing very difficult as the bush is very thick. The roads we use from Orpen – Satara – Nwanedzi are nowhere near as overgrown mainly because the rainfall in the Central Section is significantly lower than in the Southern Section.
One of the highlights of January was the viewing on one of our safaris, guided by Mark, of a leopard kill right on the road. Mark and his guests were looking at a herd of impala when quite unexpectedly a large male leopard dashed out from the bush and caught and killed a young impala. The whole spectacle lasted less than a minute. It just goes to show that luck plays a big part in successful game viewing.
NEWS AT TREMISANA
The gardens are looking the best they have since we bought the lodge 11 years ago. The abundant rain has resulted in luxuriant growth. Tremisana Dam is 100% full. A herd of buffalo have moved into the area and is seen regularly. The buffalo are sometimes spotted by motorists travelling on the main road between Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa. There have been at least 4 major traffic jams this month as a result of animals seen on Tremisana land from this road.
Night Drives have been good. Bongani reports seeing a pride of lions numbering 10 that have been active near the airfield. The pride consists of 2 adult females each with its own cubs : the elder group of cubs are 3 in number and are about 16 months old and the younger group number 5 and are only 7 months old. We hope that this latter group survives as mortality among young cubs is very high in seasons of above-average rainfall..
Wynand Britz, our head ranger, reports that 4 rhino have been seen regularly on Balule. He tells us that the number of hyena remains very low and this mystery has not yet been solved. One unsavoury explanation doing the rounds is that some poacher is responsible. Some of the local medicine men believe in the extraordinary powers of certain parts of hyena anatomy. The same story applies to certain vulture species. It is a pity that human involvement sometimes is so detrimental to some of nature’s species. It drives conservation-conscious people like us absolutely mad !
On a positive note, the vervet monkeys have produced no fewer than 8 offspring, bringing the total in the Tremisana Camp troop to 24. One of the advantages of having the troop in camp is that they alert us, in a very vociferous manner, to the presence of snakes.
On the improvements front, we have repainted the exteriors of all the chalets, having added green or brown bands around the bases of all the walls.
NEWS AT MARC’S TREEHOUSE CAMP
Ronald has decided to try his hand at art – the result has been a spectacular wall with typical Shangaan motifs. A number of our guests have remarked at the colourful nature of the Shangaan style.
Our building is almost complete. We have added thatch grass to the plaster of the exterior walls and it looks stunning. We intend to use these 2 units not only for those of our guests who are of the timid persuasion (reluctant to have only reeds and thatch between themselves and wildest Africa) but will add barbeque facilities making these units suitable for self-drive guests.
One of the old buffalo bulls (the scary six) died of old age and provided an unexpected meal for the hyena clan. The remaining bulls are still together and are now nicknamed “ the frightening five “. They are actually reasonably timid in the presence of humans and get their reputation because of the hard time they give the younger herd bull in the breeding project.
The nyalas are as tame as ever. They are seen every day around the camp and are a great hit with our guests because of the excellent photographic opportunities they present. The two new-born youngsters are following the lead of the adults and are not in the least frightened by human presence.
Another rhino calf has been born and we believe it is a female – good news as the herd bull has previously shown a lot of intolerance towards his sons. The rhinos are now 8 in number and are in excellent condition.
We hear the leopards at nights and pick up their spoor on bush walks but very seldom see them. There is recent evidence from spoor identification that a youngster has been born, but thus far nobody has seen the new addition. Leopards are naturally secretive animals. This goes a long way in allowing the species to survive near urban areas, even such as Pretoria and Cape Town. Being a mainly nocturnal animal and having a catholic diet ranging from animals as small as rats up to animals such as young giraffe, leopard are by far the most widespread of the big cats of Africa.
NEWS AT THE CHEETAH INN
A good new year’s party kicked off the year in festive style. Equally exciting is the impending birth (due mid-February) of Lorraine’s son. We wish them well.
We are pleased to welcome Mike and Audrey du Preez as management couple. They have had 9 years experience in the hospitality industry including running their own Bed and Breakfast for 3 years.
We have finished painting all outside rondawels and are actively marketing the venue as a conference centre as well as an affordable hotel for tour operators focussing on the middle-of-the-range market.
We held a successful conference for the Department of Agriculture. The delegates must have reported back very favourably as we have a booking for two senior members of the department in February.
The Mini-Golf has had a few players in January – the record for the 9 hole course is 17 strokes – par is 26.
In view of the competitive nature of our business, we are pleased to advise all our travel agent friends in the industry that Viva Safaris will not be increasing our tariffs at the beginning of 2006. We shall review our tariffs again in May.
We wish all our friends a successful and fulfilling 2006.
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