May is the month when the veld dries out - all temporary pans and seasonal streams lose all their water. Any rain that does fall is invariably absorbed into the parched earth. The spinoff of this drying out is the very noticeable increase in concentrations of game around permanent water sources such as the perennial rivers, larger dams and waterholes. It is therefore a time of plenty in terms of gameviewing.
All our guides report an increase in numbers of lions spotted. The trick is really very simple : all one has to do is visit as many waterholes as possible. On the flip side there are periods in driving between waterholes that are very quiet. It is likely that the animals are all concentrated within a 5 km radius of the waterhole. Nsemani Dam is again "pumping" with lions. A pride of 19 operate between this dam and the Ngirivane waterhole , 5 km northwest. So too is the Ngotso Dam , north of Satara , where a pride of 10 lions are operating. The largest pride seen by Viva Safaris clients in May was at the Goedgegun waterhole on the Timbavati loop where we saw 29 on one occasion. We believe that the best road , in the entire Kruger Park , for seeing game, especially lion, is the S 100. At the moment there is a herd of over 200 zebra along this road, which follows the Nwanedzi River for 20 km.
Our guides report that cheetah are being seen regularly along the Orpen - Satara road. We were fortunate to see a group of 3 cheetah kill an impala at the end of May. The next day , our tourists were enthralled to see 6 young male lions attack a buffalo herd of around 300 strong. They seemed completely unconcerned at the presence of vehicles and there was a great spectacle of animals being chased around. Eventually a young buffalo heifer was caught in the riverbed.
An interesting thing is happening on the road to Orpen Gate (outside of the Kruger Park). The elephants have made a shambles of the electric fence on both sides of the road . Effectively for about 10 km before one gets to the Orpen Gate, there is a good chance of seeing animals from the Manyeleti and Timbavati Game Reserves right on the tarred road. Elephants are often encountered and we need to drive slowly after dark. On the 27th May we saw 2 huge male lions on this stretch. We hope that the Park authorities will move the entrance Gate to a new position , otherwise any unscrupulous poachers will have a field day.
NEWS AT TREMISANA
Now that the fence with the Klaserie Game Reserve is completely down, Tremisana is effectively the most western camp in the Kruger Park. Historically , there is evidence that the animals of Kruger used to graze at the foothills of the Drakensberg. This year the area around Tremisana has had better rains than most of the rest of the Balule Game Reserve. The result is that the grazing around Tremisana is relatively good. We had 105 (one hundred and five) elephants cross the Olifants road on the 30th May. Included amongst this record herd was what our Warden called a " pink " baby elephant. This must have been a day old. The elephants continue to destroy all our marula trees. On the positive side we have ecstatic clients who see the elephants less than 2 metres from the fence. On the 26th May , one of our clients , Tim Hassett , was woken up at 1 am by the cracking of branches outside his bedroom in chalet 2. What an awakening ! As he put it," it beats the American traffic "! We have had to fence in the staff accommodation and place rocks around the water reservoir. In any event, we cannot do anything about the destruction of the trees ; we believe it is better to have destructive elephants at Tremisana than no elephants ! Night Drives are still very good - we are taking bets as to whether we will see elephants or impalas first.
We will be joined by Mark Jones as of 1st July. He is highly qualified (FGASA 3) and comes from an amazing background of wildlife experience. He has worked for 3 years at the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and for the last 2 years was chief guide at the Umgeni Bird Park, a major tourist attraction in Durban. Here Mark enthralled thousands of visitors with his educational bird displays . Mark is desperate to get back into the bush and we look forward to helping him realise his dream.
NEWS AT MARC'S CAMP
We have been fortunate to have Hans Eikriede , ex Emfuleni ( now Kubu ) Game Lodge , spend some time with us. Hans is in South Africa to attend to the sale of Emfuleni and has been very busy sorting out minor problems at Marc's Camp with his German flair. Hans has also been taking game drives in Kruger and was lucky enough to see a pack of wild dogs on the 31st May. Also on that day , Hans found a leopard right outside the main gate of Marc's Camp on the tar road ! Night drives along the main road from the gate have yielded regular sightings of white-tailed mongoose - an exceptionally rare find .
The treehouses are all undergoing the usual off-season clean up. Reeds are replaced, the wood is repainted with creosote and the thatch is recombed. Ronald has built 4 wooden benches which will be placed at restful places along the river. We are expecting a lot more backpackers this season as our 6 day " Treehouse Experience " is generating a lot of interest among the backpacker fraternity. At R 3750 , it offers excellent value for money and we anticipate a strong demand for our newest product. On a recent bush walk in Kruger , two guests on such a 6 day safari , Anna Sandin and her boyfriend, Matthias , had the proverbial adrenalin rush when a white rhino charged past them, less than 2 metres away. We hope to put our new 14 seater Toyota Quantum to good use on the 6 day safaris.
We have had bookings from 2 schools for our Adventure Camp and are in the process of improving our fish displays.
NEWS AT THE CHEETAH INN
Our airstrip has been upgraded and there appears to be interest by some flying club in arranging weekend flips into the bush. Another tour operator is using the airstrip for take-off for his hot air balloon safaris over the nearby Kapama Game Reserve.
We have rebuilt the water tank support room and built a cover for the new pool pump.
A new arrival at Cheetah Inn is a rooster who appeared from nowhere. He has survived the attentions of the jackals and hyenas we hear at nights. We donated him to Johan Mouton, a local regular at our bar who runs Porcupine Lodge 3 km down the road. Within 24 hours the rooster was back ! Our staff believe he is bewitched and even the thought of " rooster a la King" will not entice them to have any dealings with the rooster.
The fruit bats must have bred ! A recent count, albeit on a cold autumn morning , yielded 36 bats. They are feeding on the fruits of the Sycamore Figs along the nearby Klaserie River.
Pearl informs us that Fathers' Day will be celebrated in true bushveld style on the 19 June. She has had many bookings already. Word of her culinary prowess is spreading throughout the Hoedspruit community and we are experiencing increased numbers every Sunday lunch.
On a sadder note, two pied kingfishers have been nailing our fish in the pond. Not only did they kill the young Koi but have almost wiped out the molly population that was donated by Pearl's aunt. We shall have to import some more Tilapia from Marc's Camp to keep the birds properly fed ! Pearl has established a bird feeding spot for yellow-billed and red-billed hornbills - she reports that there are now 15 regulars who come to enjoy the scraps from the hotel restaurant.
We hope you enjoy Father's Day and wish you well from the bush
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