As I write this, there are massive snowfalls in Europe and, at the same time, heat wave conditions in Australia that have caused tragic bush fires. People have died because of the extreme cold and also extreme heat.
One cannot help but wonder why the world is experiencing such extreme climatic conditions. Are we really destroying the ozone layer at the rate we believe ? Or is it happening more quickly than we think ? Human nature being what it is, it becomes very simple to subscribe to the “I’m OK” philosophy that allows us to live our lives in the present with scant regard for generations to come. What may appear to be OK right now will probably be viewed by our grandchildren as not having really been OK. Every responsible human being must prioritise the need to preserve the ozone layer - in each of our own lives, we need to behave in a way that does not add to the problem. Limit your contribution to the creation of harmful greenhouse gases.
I wrote about the poor condition of the water in the Olifants river system in a few of my 2008 newsletters. The outbreak of cholera in some of the rivers in areas around the Kruger Park has prompted Park scientists to conduct tests on the water in the major rivers in Kruger. What has become apparent is that there is a higher-than-expected concentration of faecal waste. Clearly the lack of effective sanitation in the communities outside of Kruger Park has led to this situation. As in Zimbabwe, from where the cholera problem originated, we require local government intervention. Money must be allocated to the Health Department to ensure that proper sewage systems are in place. Although the Kruger scientists have determined that the situation is very far from being life- threatening, if we leave the problem to continue unchecked, as in the ozone-depletion situation, we shall certainly regret our actions.
‘Excessive’ is the right word to also describe the rains we have had at our three Lodges in the month of January. Our average annual rainfall is around 500 mm, but in January alone we have had 164 mm at Tremisana and just over 200 mm at Marc’s Treehouses and the Cheetah Inn. There are many consequences of such excellent rains : the bush is thick and the grass is high and our veld really looks like the African Jungle of Tarzan fame. On the negative side, the denseness of the bush results in poorer game viewing. Wynand, our Warden, reports seeing four lions at Tremisana. While they were on the road, the sighting was really good, but as they moved into the bush, literally only two metres away, all he could see was grass moving. Wynand also reports that a small crocodile has arrived at Tremisana Dam. He also reports that a number of very large Marula trees have been knocked down by elephants on Tremisana property. The excessive rains have resulted in the root structure being weakened so trees that normally would not budge against the force exerted by elephants are now at risk of being uprooted.
GAMEVIEWING NEWS
BERTUS started the year off in fine style : he drove towards Tshokwane on New Years Day and had some excellent sightings of rhino and elephant. He also came across mating giraffe. On the return via Nwanedzi, his excited guests came across a huge herd of buffalo - well over 300. The day was spoiled by seeing a number of dead birds and small animals along the road - a result of speeding vehicles. This always happens on Public Holidays. It is yet another example of the carelessness of some tourists!
On the 5th January, Bertus and his lucky tourists saw a pack of Wild Dogs near Orpen. They were right on the road. Bertus reports that a lot of the lions he saw this month were also seen on the roads. He reckons that the lions do not like the wet grass and therefore move onto the roads.
Bertus reports good sightings of cheetah this month. He ended off the month well with great sightings of hyena, lions and cheetah on the S 100. On Balule walks, Bertus has been quite fortunate : elephant, buffalo and a young lioness were seen regularly around Tremisana. He has also seen some very large flocks of red-billed quelea finches as well as a group of pale chanting goshawks feeding off termites emerging from a hole in the ground.
He reports seeing three young cheetah on the road right outside Tremisana as well as a leopard that showed absolutely no concern at the proximity of the Landcruiser and lay sprawled on the ground for over half an hour.
BONGANI is doing most of his drives in Kruger in the area north-east of Satara where there has been less rain and consequently the bush is not so thick. Large herds of zebra, wildebeest and impala were seen there all month long and on a few occasions, lions were also encountered. On the 4th January, Bongani and his very fortunate tourists saw a pack of four Wild Dogs chasing an impala. Unfortunately, because of the thick bush, it was unclear whether the impala was caught.
Bongani reports an increase in the number of elephants seen on walks on Balule. January is the month in which a lot of Marula trees shed their fruit. Elephants are particularly partial (as are most humans in the know, including yours truly) to these high vitamin-C content fruit.
On the 14th January Bongani and crew saw three lionesses chasing a male leopard on the S 100. The leopard climbed a tree and the lionesses tried to get at him. After 20 minutes Bongani decided that the lionesses would not be able to reach the treed leopard and he drove off.
Not so lucky was another leopard seen by Bongani and guests on 20th January. It was close to the road and was moving very slowly. Bongani noticed that it had a number of porcupine quills lodged in its neck. Bongani reported this to the local ranger who came out immediately and after sedating the injured leopard, removed all quills and disinfected the wounds.
NELLY has started 2009 in great form and, once again, has managed to get his report to me on time. Well done! Ronald assures me Nelly’s reports will always be on time in the future. Nelly had excellent luck on Thursday 15 January : three different sightings of leopard !
On 3rd January, Nelly had an amazing day. He reports as follows : “We found a leopard up a Leadwood tree eating an impala. Four kilometres further towards Ngotso, we saw seven lions in the shade of a tree. At Ngotso Dam, a White Rhino bull was playing in the mud. At the next waterhole, we found elephants and buffalo - so we got the Big Five in a distance of 12 km - who says January is not a good time to see animals in Kruger ?”
Nelly has had exceptionally good luck this month : he has seen lions on 90% of his safaris. Added to this he has seen a good number of leopards and cheetah. In fact Nelly tells me that he sees more cheetah in the wet season than in the dry times.
THULANI has also had his ‘Big Five’ days. On the 5th January his tour group saw two male lions near Orpen, followed by a big herd of buffalo at Nsemani Dam and elephants near Satara. He found White Rhino north of Satara and a leopard at Gudzane. Not quite as impressive as Nelly but to see the Big Five in under 70 km of driving is good by anyone’s standards.
On the 7th January Thulani had a good sighting of two very rare and seldom seen Black Rhino near the Talamati turnoff. On the 27th January, Thulani and his tourists came across a pair of mating lions right on the road. After watching for 15 minutes, he tried to pass but the male lion roared at the vehicle and so the party watched the performance for an additional 15 minutes. After this marathon session, the lioness moved off the road into the bush and Thulani was able to proceed towards the exit gate, where he arrived late. It’s not every day that we are held up by mating lions, so the gate guards let our vehicle through without imposing a fine !
RHULANI is our new guide. His experience with tourists goes back quite a way to the days he worked for Kruger Park in Skukuza.
On the 2nd January. Rhulani saw all the Big Five except leopard. Rumour has it that Nelly is offering Rhulani lessons at leopard-spotting at a reduced fee. I don’t know how necessary these lessons are as Rhulani reports : “On the 20th January my clients saw a huge herd of buffalo near Orpen Gate. About 10 km further we saw a herd of over 50 elephants. I took the Sweni road and located White Rhino at Welverdiend waterhole. At the Nwanedzi bridge, we had an excellent sighting of a lioness with teenage cubs. I was despairing that, once again, I was going to miss the leopard. My clients really put pressure on me. About 10 km from the exit gate at Orpen, luck at last came my way : a big leopard crossed the road slowly right in front of the Open Vehicle !”
TOBY has emailed the following report:
‘Toby was only in the Kruger Park for two days of January but reports exceptional sightings. On Toby’s last drive into Kruger on the 25th, the big 5 were there waiting to greet him. Within a 1km radius of the S100 and the H7, Toby and his guests saw 2 lioness with cubs, several large bull elephants and buffalo and then on the bridge just south of Satara a leopard crossing underneath the bridge! What a great start to the day!
After a quick stop at Satara, Toby took his guests to Tshokwane for lunch and then along the S35 and S37 up to the Sweni bird hide. Not 200 metres down the S35 and Toby stopped to watch a large bull elephant grazing on the side of the road. After 10 minutes, the big bull decided that he would like to move to the other side of the road and on crossing the road, turned and started to walk straight toward the vehicle. This made for some very exciting photos and a few nervous passengers?
Further along the road nearby the Wolhuter’s Lion Attack Plaque, A large matriarchal herd of elephants were cooling themselves down in a mud pool next to the road.
The S37 was fairly quiet, but Toby and his guests were rewarded when they reached the Sweni bird hide. After sitting down at the hide to watch the hippos, Toby heard a noise from the car park and went to investigate. What he heard was another matriarchal herd of elephants that stood browsing between the car and the gate to the hide. Toby quietly led his guests to the gate and they all got a fantastic close up experience on foot to watch these beautiful giants of the bush.
A great day got even better when they left the hide and at the end of the H6, they saw 3 white rhino bulls. A big male was kicking the 2 young males out of his territory and they were very unhappy to leave. This was a great experience to listen to just how vocal a rhino can be, but this wasn’t the end yet. After leaving the park, all of the guests had started to pack their cameras away, when a female leopard stepped out onto the road way and very casually paced back and forth across the road. All of the guests got some great photos and were all very happy to have been rewarded with such an incredible drive!
Cheers
Toby ’
Sadly, Toby has decided that the physical distance from his good wife, Hilda was too stressful to allow him to continue working with Viva Safari. He has returned to Bloemfontein and hopes to find employment in the field of wildlife, which he so clearly and dearly loves. I take this opportunity of thanking Toby for the colossal work done for us and wish him and Hilda everything of the best in the future.
Our previous guests from a few years ago will certainly remember yet another Viva Safaris stalwart, Ziggi Hugo. Ziggi was, at various times during his employ at Viva, chief guide as well as manager of Tremisana and Cheetah Inn. He informs me that he is soon to be engaged to be married. We wish Ziggi “sterkte en vreugde” (strength and happiness).
I took my wife, Sandy, on my visits to the bush with me this January. Below is a photo of Sandy with Robbie, owner-manager of Pondoro Lodge and his pet Banded Mongoose. I understand she (the mongoose, not Sandy !) is pregnant – so maybe we can ask Robbie for our own pet mongoose one of these days.
Below is another photo of Sandy showing the lush growth at Tremisana
- see if you can spot the elephant !
NEWS AT TREMISANA GAME LODGE
Tremisana has had unbelievably good rains. Tremisana Dam is still 100% full as I write and looks really great. The gardens are spectacular and the birdlife is prolific. We still have our resident troop of monkeys. Delina and Pearl had hoped they would push off for a while now that there is ample food in the bush, but it looks like they have made Tremisana their permanent home. There have been very few snake sightings and I wonder if the permanent presence of monkeys has something to do with this.
NEWS AT MARC’S TREEHOUSE LODGE
Marc’s Treehouse Lodge has had a busy January. Ronald is kept busy with maintenance of the tree houses. He has replaced the flooring boards of treehouse 2 and will be doing the same to treehouses 3 and 12.
There has been a big increase in the number of nyala youngsters seen around the camp. A young Wildebeest bull has become fairly tame and spends the nights sleeping near the car park. Rhulani reported seeing two young cheetah entering our property from under a fence while he was conducting a Bush Walk.
NEWS AT THE CHEETAH INN
Cheetah Inn is being worked on quite feverishly by Eric and Aaron who have used their skills as handymen to fix all outstanding problems. It is looking very good and the birdlife is excellent at this time of the year. Our Common Duiker and Warthogs have all had young and the Bushpig sounder is now up to eight in number. Although nocturnal , we sometimes get a view of these animals as they forage looking for scraps from the restaurant.
NEWS FOR OUR TRAVEL PARTNERS
In keeping with our policy of offering affordable and excellent value-for-money safaris, Viva Safaris is introducing yet another excellent product. We are offering 3 and 4 day safaris to the budget-conscious tourist at absolutely outstanding rates.
The safaris will include all the normal activities : Sunset Drive at Balule; Full day safaris in Kruger on Open Gameviewers and Bush Walk at Motlala. Accommodation will be at the Cheetah Inn. We shall be sending out new brochures in this regard.
We had our very first people on our Volunteer Safari package. They did a great job in painting a room used by the local mat-making group in Acornhoek.
I include some comments from the January 09 entries in our Guestbook’s :
Marc’s
Charlie Parker: “The staff were extremely hospitable and knowledgeable. I had a memorable experience and can’t wait to do it all again !”
Bruce and Sharon Tricklebank: “Absolutely loved it! Great trip to Kruger. Missed out on Leopard but saw two Cheetah! Will advertise this place!”
Amanda Howell: “Thank you so much for your hospitality. This was a truly UNIQUE experience that allowed me to see the beauty of your wonderful country ! I can’t wait to come back again! Take care.”
Tremisana
Andrea and Lawrence Davis : “After leaving S A some 11 years ago, you brought Africa back. We had a wonderful stay - thanks to all for your hospitality – it was awesome !”
Cara and Crystal: “Everyone was spectacular and like family. The adventure lingered in the air and, after such beautiful days, the accommodation welcomed us warmly. Thank you so much for top-ranking hospitality and wonderful days.”
Raelene and Eyal: “Thank you all for the fantastic time and hospitality. Amazing guides - knowledge and experience with that special African touch.”
To all at Viva Safaris,
Once again thank you for the Newsletter with all the detail of game drives. I look forward to it every month. I have impressed many guests with the soup made from Delina's recipe. I think it does not taste quite as good as it did in the Boma but it certainly hits the spot on a cold, frosty Irish day. Has she relented to pass on her recipe for her home made bread yet??
Many thanks and kind regards,
Margaret Fleming
(visited in Oct '05)
Until next month,
Piero
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