Sunset Drives at Tremisana Game Lodge:
The evening temperatures this year appear to be lower than last year. The reason given by the local "fundis" is the very wet season we experienced earlier this year - apparently the water levels are closer to the surface and this has had an effect on the temperatures.
The sightings, thankfully, were anything but cold - in fact June and July set some sizzling new records :
A pride of 15 lions were encountered on the airstrip on 18 July. Mark reports that the pride was all around the open Landcruiser. 6 cubs were present in the pride. They were at ease playing and mock stalking less than 10 metres from the vehicle. They even were allowed by the pride male to play with him! Some absolutely stunning photos were taken by the lucky tourists.
On 16 July, Mark's clients were fortunate to see a barred owl - the very first time for Mark who is a seasoned veteran birder.
On 14 July, Mark and his clients saw a vine snake - " really cool " as he put it
Bongani also saw the pride of 15 lions on the 18 July, not more than 100 metres from a big bull elephant.
We try to emphasise to our clients that seeing the Big Five is not the "alpha and omega" of gameviewing. Small things also count - even the puff adder at the gate of Tremisana on 13 July. This snake was soaking up the last rays of the evening sun and was very reluctant to move away - much to our clients' concern.
With the general warming up as August approaches, we are seeing other interesting animals on our sunset drives : a group of 5 lesser bushbabies jumping from tree to tree; a chameleon along a branch of a tree; a giant eagle owl on the fence and a pair of mating jackals!
The sunset drives, on average, generally yield between 8 and 16 different species of mammals and about 30 different species of birds. Our "regulars" as far as mammals go in June and July have been impala, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, elephant, kudu, waterbuck, duiker, steenbuck, monkeys, jackal, crocodile ( at Tremisana Dam ) and scrub hare . "Specials" these last two months were bushpig, hyena, bushbuck, aardvark, porcupine, civet , genet and caracal.. There has been an increase in the number of hyena sightings and we attribute this to the greater number of kills being made by this large pride of lions in our area.
GAME-VIEWING IN KRUGER
June and July have traditionally been excellent months for gameviewing in Kruger. This year, despite the high grass ( before the organised burns ), we have had some wonderful and memorable sightings :
On the 3rd June Charles and his clients came upon a very unusual scene : within 12 metres of each other , a dead leopard and dead porcupine were encountered on the Timbavati road. A second porcupine was seen limping off in the distance. Charles looked at the tracks on the sand and was able to conclude that the leopard attacked the 2 porcupines that managed to defend themselves by moving face-to-face. The large number of quills on the road indicated that the leopard must have tried to overturn the porcupines. It appeared to be an old leopard and Charles reckons it was very hungry to have the courage to attack 2 porcupines. It managed to bite one porcupine to death, but not before the second porcupine reversed into the leopard. Charles thinks that one of the quills may have perforated an artery as it appeared that the leopard had bled to death.
Of all the Big Five sightings we had in June/July the animal least encountered was the leopard. Often when they are seen, they move away very quickly. Our tourists were lucky to find leopards up in trees five times this month - on one occasion, a leopard had an impala in the fork of a tree and spent the whole day there.
Our statistics, calculated on all game drives conducted in June and July, are as follows :
Elephant : 100 %
Lion : 88 %
Buffalo : 85 %
Rhino : 60 %
Leopard : 35 %
Of course once the guides know of a lion kill, it is easy to find them. On average a buffalo kill takes about 3 days to be consumed and a giraffe kill about 2 and a half days. The lions remain in the immediate vicinity, so viewing them becomes a " dead cert". In the last 10 days of July, our guides reported a zebra kill on 31 July ; a buffalo kill on 24 July and a giraffe kill right on the road on 21 July.
In addition, we have had sightings of wild dog , cheetah and serval.
For the bird-watchers our highlights included the following : Secretary Bird, Ground Hornbill, Brown-headed Parrot, Pearl-spotted Owl, Bateleur Eagle, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Lappet-faced Vulture, Fan-tailed Cisticola, African Harrier, Goliath Heron, Martial Eagle, Fish Eagle, White-backed Vulture, Spoonbill, Woolly-necked Stork, Saddle-billed Stork, Ostrich and Kori Bustard.
Our chief guide, Mark Jones, has decided to join the family and is emigrating to England. He will be sorely missed. Likewise, he will sorely miss the wide open African plains. He is always welcome to return. His last day in his beloved Kruger was recorded as follows : "Wed 19 July : My last day in the Park : mating lions; White Rhino; close buffalo ; too close ellies- one charged us; I had to intimidate him with the vehicle to get him out of the way as we were now late for the gate . When I drove past, he chased us for about 50 metres- really awesome !
Also saw impala, kudu, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck, puff adder and pearl-spotted owl. Really a great day had by all "
We have engaged Elvis Mhlanga to replace Mark. He has had extensive experience in many game reserves and is particularly good at tracking and bush walks. We don't know how well he sings but his first week as a game guide has been well received by all - tourists, staff and management alike.
Game-viewing in Balule West - news from Pondoro
The newborn lion cubs mentioned in the last newsletter made their first appearance on 8 June. There are 4 cubs about two and a half months old. Highlights in June included seeing the 5 one-year old cubs fighting with 2 honey badgers that eventually disappeared into a hole in a termite mound. One of the cubs then noticed a black mamba in a tree above the termite mound. The ignorant cubs then attempted to climb the tree to get at the mamba. Thankfully they did not succeed and survive.
July was an excellent month for lion sightings. Elephants are in abundance and the Warden even saw one mother giving birth ! Highlights in July included seeing the pride of 15 ( called the York pride ) killing a zebra - the females caught the zebra and left it to the 5 fifteen month juveniles to kill - an essential part of their training for adulthood.
NEWS AT TREMISANA GAME LODGE
The number of animals frequenting our dam has led to our seriously considering transforming the present hide to a full chalet. This will enable the residents to spend the whole night looking at the comings and goings at the water, which is illuminated.
The crocodile is alive and well and has to get out of the way when the 3 local elephants that are always around decide to go for a swim.
We have seen leopard , hyena and wild dog spoor at the dam and a herd of 20 buffalos arrived for a midday drink on 30 July.
Improvements made at the lodge include upgrading the boma area, painting the walls of the main lodge near the kitchen and cleaning the area around the refuse dump. In fact we are considering developing a common disposable refuse area for the whole of Balule West somewhere near the main gate.
Delina has been trying out a few new vegetarian dishes as it seems that we are getting a lot more tourists from India and China. So far so good - everybody agrees her vegetarian dishes are of the same excellent standards as the rest of her meals.
NEWS AT MARC'S CAMP
This was the busiest July ever. We have had to turn self-drive tourists away on more than one occasion this month as every single treehouse was occupied.
In fact, the tour leader and a driver from one of our visiting school groups pitched their own tents on the grass near the pool on 16 July.
The new treehouse # 8 ( formerly the conference room) has proved to be a big hit . It has a really huge deck overlooking a clearing along the Klaserie River and a number of our guests have seen fit to sleep on their mattresses outside - a real African wildlife experience. On one occasion they saw buffalos and hyenas and on another, they hastily departed for the inside of the treehouse when a full-grown leopard decided to sharpen its nails on the poles below where the guests were sleeping !
With the huge increase in numbers of visitors to Marc's Camp, we have had to drill for more water. A new borehole has been sunk near the Obstacle Course dam. It will supply water to this dam as well as the Adventure Camp and has been linked to the supply of water to the Teeehouse Camp. We had to dig over 110 metres deep but have found good quality water that is pumped at 1500 litres per hour.
We successfully hosted Unicorn Prep for a 3 day bonding experience for their grade 6 students. The leguaans ( monitor lizards ) and the buffalo herd disappeared when confronted by 34 happy and noisy kids !
The nyala herd is very tame and these beautiful antelope never fail to elicit gasps of pleasure from our visitors. They are very much at home in the thick riverine vegetation. They are both grazers and browsers and now that there is only a sparse grass cover, are seen nibbling at the forbs and leaves of the numerous trees along the river.
We have re-thatched the ablutions of treehouse 5, which is the highest treehouse ( 12 metres above ground level ). We have added a pole to stabilise this very popular treehouse. A lot of our tourists were unconvinced by camp manager, Ronald, who is also a skilled carpenter, when he told them it was 100% safe. Anyway, now when the wind blows as it surely will in August, we are sure our guests will sleep better.
NEWS AT CHEETAH INN
A gate has been erected at the front entrance. Although we have never had any garden furniture etc stolen, it does add to the security of the hotel and its guests. We hosted several conferences as well and assisted in the schools' visits to Marc's Camp. The students love the minigolf and the wide open spaces to play bush-soccer.
We have plans to add another 5 rooms. The idea is a result of consultations with a number of coach group operators. Most of these operators bring about 40 guests and need 22 rooms - 20 for guests and one each for the driver and tourguide. At present, we have 17 rooms ( some of which have 4 beds in double rooms ) - hence the need to add 5 more rooms.
We have conducted a major clean up of the workshop and other areas. Metal that must have belonged to the original hotel 50 years ago was located and removed from the property. Our long term plan ( before 2010 ) is to introduce some game such as giraffe, zebra and wildebeest and we cannot have old and rusty metal geysers and signboards etc contaminating their fodder. Already on the property we have warthog, duiker, steenbuck, bushpig and hyena. With the gate in place, we shall add game-proof fencing and have an interesting little game sanctuary.
NEWS FOR OUR FRIENDS IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY
Trevor wishes to thank all our friends in Cape Town for the warm reception he was given on a recent marketing visit. His job is made a lot easier by having with him references such as those given below :
webmaster@purplepalms.co.za : " Hi Viva ! I just wanted to congratulate you on your impeccable customer service and wonderful tours! We have recently sent a few clients on your 3-day and 6-day safaris band have been absolutely astounded by the quality of the service they have received. They have raved about your accommodation and food/meals and have had nothing but fantastic things to say about your guides and the knowledge they have demonstrated. We are very happy to recommend and support your safaris and hope to do business with you again soon!
Once again, thank you for the wonderful safaris ".15 June 2006. Purple Palms.
varks@mweb.co.za : " Hi guys. Just some feedback for you. Mr van der Lindeloof who went on your treehouse safari on 27 April came in to see me today and to tell me what a wonderful time he had just had. He said it was exactly what he wanted out of a safari and the 6 days was the exactly right amount of time. He raved about the food ( both about the Cheetah Inn lunches and the breakfasts and dinners, braai that were included in the package ) and the accommodation. He especially spoke very highly of Mark, who he said was a fantastic tourguide. Animal viewing was wonderful. Overall he had a fantastic time, and said it was perfect".3 May 2006 . Nina , Aardvark Travel.
bennewies@sympatico.ca "Hi Piero. I just wanted to let you know what a fantastic time we had on safari. We were with 'King Charles' for 4 days and we could not have asked for a better guide. He was very knowledgeable and had quite a sense of humour. He was very accommodating to our requests, which made us relax and enjoy our vacation. The ladies who prepared our meals were also very friendly...they really enjoyed the glow sticks that I brought - we had a great laugh ! Thank you so much for everything" Sara Bennewies, Alain Jacques, John Weston 30 May 2006
gerryvdwalt@hotmail.com "To Viva Safaris Management . I would like to take a moment to thank everybody at Marc's Treehouse Camp for making our safari an unforgettable experience. I was travelling with a number of international guests and they were truly impressed with the facilities and hospitality of all the staff at Tremisana, Cheetah Inn and Marc's Treehouses. The itinerary was great and we truly enjoyed the experience. We would all like to make a special mention of and commend Bongani Mnisi who was our guide during our stay. Bongani was professional, helpful, knowledgeable, funny and caring. He is a true asset to your establishment and was the highlight of our trip. You are lucky to have him. I would appreciate it if you could again extend our sincerest gratitude to him on a job very well done.
We look forward to spending more time at Marc's Treehouse Camp in the future "
Gerard Vd Walt Tel 082 5095617 Box 3905 Cresta 2118 South Africa
We remind you that you may read any previous newsletters by logging onto www.vivasafaris.com which address also gives full descriptions with photos of all our products.
Kind regards
Management, VIVA SAFARIS
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