The months of May are usually only average months in terms of game viewing. May 2011 was no exception – the late and copious rains resulted in thick bush and many pools of water all over the place. The problem is exacerbated by high grass cover. As a result the game is widely distributed and not very visible.
The guides have a hard time trying to get decent sightings. There are periods, sometimes quite prolonged, during which things are quiet on the game viewing front. It is painful for the tourists to endure long periods of silence. I am told that none of our guides is a great singer, so the entertainment must come from elsewhere. I tell the guides to look for other interesting wildlife such as small reptiles, insects and birds to keep the clients awake. Summer yields many such animals and one of the safest bets is the Yellow-billed Hornbill.
(Zazoo in the Lion King or ‘ the flying banana ’ in Bongani’s avian assessment ).
Yellow-Billed Hornbill
The Yellow-billed Hornbill is very common throughout the Kruger Park. Usually seen in pairs or small family groups, these birds spend a lot of time hopping around on the ground, with tails raised. They are also often located by the clucking calls they make accompanied by a bobbing display while perched near the top of trees.
These birds have an eclectic variety of food sources including seeds, fruits and insects. They also eat young birds, rodents and reptiles such as chameleons, frogs and small snakes. In turn they are preyed upon by eagles and the larger owls.
I always make a point of using the habits of the Yellow-billed Hornbill to illustrate to my dear wife and any other interested females just how dependent they all are on the male of the species. During the breeding season, the monogamous pair locate a suitable hole in a tree for nesting. The entrance to the hole is then sealed by the female using mainly her own faeces. This is done for protection against predators that go looking in holes such as the Gymnogene ( African Harrier Hawk) and Leguaans (Monitor Lizard ). A narrow vertical slit is maintained through which the male feeds the female. Once the eggs are laid, the female moults both her wing and tail feathers rendering her incapable of proper flight. I understand that this is done to assist in incubation. If it happens that the male dies during this incubation period, then the female is in a bad way. Although she is capable of pecking her way out of the hole-nest, she will struggle to fly and most probably will be joining her deceased mate.
Silhouetted Hornbills at dusk
I visited the lodges twice in May. Those of you who have visited Tremisana will have seen the fence erected by our easterly neighbour, Con van der Merwe. I know Con for a long time and respect his reason for maintaining the fence. He has some really beautiful trees on his property and has made a pledge to conserve these. Con believes that the elephants would destroy this family heritage, so he keeps the fence up. He knows very well that by dropping the fence, his property becomes instant Kruger Park with the attendant massive increase in property value. Pity about the unsightly fence, but good to know that there is someone on Balule not driven by greed !
This month Con decided to give his fence a much-needed facelift. While his workers were doing this, of course the electricity had to be switched off. On both occasions that I was at Tremisana, our lion pride, no longer subjected to the electric shocks, entered his property and conducted successful hunts. I am pleased to report that Con was a gentleman insofar as he did not authorise any lion hunts, which was his legal wont. My hope is that the lions keep away from his buffalo herd !
On both my visits I was lucky to see Cheetah. Apparently they have been around for about three weeks. The guides reports below would indicate that the game sightings on Balule have been quite good.
GAMEVIEWING REPORTS FROM OUR GUIDES
Monthly report for Bongani
From 01-05-11
As always, I had a good time in Kruger and Balule game reserves. On our walks along the Olifants River we always see hippos, crocodile and water birds. The river is flowing very slowly and this gives us a good chance to see hippos. Elephants come down to the river to drink water and swim and we also have good sightings of lots of general game like impala, zebra and giraffe. During walks we got close to elephants, rhinos and impala. Most of the dams are dry and the Catfish are being killed by hyenas and Fish eagles. The rangers have been given permission to remove the remaining catfish to other dams.
During one night drive I saw four white rhinos and group of elephants together. It was interesting to see them so close to one another. Before we got back to the lodge we saw a big herd of buffalos walking towards the lodge. We went to the Lapa to look at them under the spotlight. They were drinking water and there were a few zebra as well. Many animals are now coming to the lodge for the water and because it is safer for them - we have a monkey troop that works as a security guard. We have one giraffe that usually walks around Tremisana lodge with its baby. We have not seen the baby for a week now and we think the baby was killed by the lions
Kruger
I reckon that the Timbavati area is the best place to drive at this time of the year. Because the road is along the river, many animals go there in the warm hours to quench their thirst. We have had lion sightings almost every day, white rhinos, big herds of elephants and lots of general game, especially impala. On one occasion, I saw two big male lions eating a zebra very close to the road. As we were watching them, a lioness arrived with two cubs and the male lions allowed them to join the feast. After a few minutes there were vultures everywhere, all waiting for leftovers. The next day I went back the same spot see what had happened and all we found were two spotted hyenas eating the skin.
Monthly report for Bertus
5/5/2011
I went to Kruger Park with 2 pax. On the Orpen road towards Satara we came across warthogs and buffalos drinking water at a waterhole close to the gate. The warthogs, despite being relatively small, showed lots of guts towards the Buffalos. For about ten minutes the Buffalos were not allowed to drink water.
We then drove to Rabelais where we came across a big bull Elephant that was wallowing about 15m away from us, showing absolutely no interest in us. It was throwing sand all over the place. We drove for an hour passing the viewpoint over the bridge. There were 2 male Elephants walking on the river bank. Suddenly the one bull took off and ran towards the other one, just like males do when comparing strength and showing off. On the S36 about 10km in, we came across a pride of 7 lions. 5 of them were sleeping under the shade of a Jackalberry tree and the other 2 were mating. We stayed there for about 30 minutes. We also saw some Rhinos while on our way to Satara for lunch.
After lunch while driving on the S40 we saw some Giraffes, Zebras, Wildebeest and Impalas. It was just a really good memorable day. It was just a dream for my clients to see the lions and all the other animals.
On 1 May while driving on the Girivana loop we came across cars that were parked left and right on the road. I slowly moved to see what was going and we saw a leopard walking and coming closer to the vehicle. My clients were so excited. We didn’t notice there was a female leopard coming from behind and the two leopards greeted each other and then went and lay under a Marula tree. They started mating then afterwards they went up a tree and took a nap. This was around 11h30 in the morning. What a brilliant sighting !
Later on the same day, we drove to the junction of S40. There we found lions that had taken over a leopard kill on a tree 2m away from the road. The lions were trying to get their paws on the Impala that was hanging on the tree. They managed to get it down and started to feed on the carcass. This was really amazing and all the clients were so happy
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Lions feeding on a carcass
Monthly report from Mayneth
2/5/2011
We drove on H7 before Orpen gate and we came across a male leopard walking next to the road. I spent about 5mins before it went into the bush. We watched it and about 100m away it climbed on the tree, but we could not clearly see as we were a distance away. As we left the sight wathorgs came running from under a bridge. We could not see why they were running away from.
10/5/2011
It was really a nice day with so many sightings. As we were driving along H7 near Nsemani Dam a lion and a lioness were sleeping under the shade 3m from the tarred road. The other male with two lioness were about 5m from the road and mated several times before we left.
We drove for about 20km and came across a leopard with an Impala on the tree. The leopard was on one of the branches next to the kill. When there were many cars there it moved down and hid in the bushes where it could see the meat.
12/5/2011
In the Balule Game reserve, on the Mountain View road we saw a female Cheetah with two cubs. They were next to the road. When we came closer the cubs looked very interested in the car. They came very close to the car until the mother got nervous. As it was dark, we used spot lights then the mother tried to take the cubs away, but the cubs kept on playing by the light. The mother ended up running into the bush then they followed behind.
Monthly report from Pieter
During the past month I have had a wonderful time with my guests. Going into winter, the Balule Nature Reserve was getting very cold early in the mornings and nights. The days however are wonderful and warm.
12/05/11
Balule was teeming with game settling into their winter movement. This made game viewing a blast on game drives and walks.
One morning while out on a walk in the Oxford Block in Balule, close to the river we heard some hippos. Upon investigating we found a mother with her baby on the side lying down at the edge. We could close because the reeds and vegetation were perfect to keep us hidden, thus concealing our presence.
When we were done looking at this massive animal we walked further and came across some very nice plains game like giraffe, kudu, impala, waterbuck.
While taking a short break its always very nice to look at some birds while everyone enjoys a snack and some water. Vulture, indigo birds and hornbills are always present and entertaining to view.
22/05/11
On game drives we always have very good opportunities to get some very nice sightings. The main reason for that is the fact that we cover a lot more ground than on foot. One morning very early we came across some white rhinos crossing the road and eating the short grass next to us. What an awesome sighting. Some lions were concealed not too far off the road, but not close enough to have a good view. That changed suddenly when some waterbuck walked past and the hunt was on… 3 females and a very young male started darting towards them and just missed a young bull. In the cloud of dust that slowly settled we saw the lions walking back into the bush and going to sleep to save energy for the hunt at night.
31/05/11
Driving in Kruger National Park through the Orpen Gate one morning everything was slow game viewing wise. It was very cold and I was sure the animals felt it too. We stopped at Bobejaankrans to stretch our legs, and heard some noises in the bush. Upon investigating what the noise was a Swainsons Francolin flew out making a hell of a noise, almost giving me a heart attack. My guests laughed at me.
Soon after the rude awakening the game viewing got better and better. A big herd of elephants crossed the road nice and close to us and not to far from them on the way ti Satara we came across two lions mating, and relaxing for the rest of the day. Seems like mating with a lioness is a tough job. We saw a huge number of birds like hornbill, eagle species and vultures.
To sum everything up I would say that this winter season is going to be the best ever.
Monthly report for Isaac
21/5/2011
We drove on the S39 and we came across two bull elephants fighting right in the middle of the road. They fought for almost five minutes until another car came from the other direction and then they walked away.
On the S90 around 14h30 two male lions were enjoying a noon siesta. About 20 metres away there was a lioness coming from the thick bush walking along the road. The lioness had a big belly showing that she was full. It crossed slowly right in front of our vehicle and then went straight to the river to quench her thirst. After that the lioness went back into the bush.
On our way to Timbavati on S127 there were Zebras, one Gnu, nine Ostriches and a breeding herd of Elephants. While the Ostriches were grazing one of the Elephants turned and gave a chase. All the Ostriches ran through the Zebra herd – quite a spectacular sight !
26/5/2011
This was a cold day, but sunny. Along the Orpen gate road from the entrance we saw some Impalas fighting for dominance. Some were scratching on trees to mark their territory. On the S40 we saw a Giraffe with two babies. We tried to look around to see if there was another female, but there were no other Giraffes around that place.
At 11h30 we were watching Hippos at Timbavati Dam. The Hippos were resting on the sand. Suddenly a herd of Elephants moved into the river at the place where the hippos were resting. All the Hippos dived into the water for safety and the Elephants also were scared to come very close, because the hippos were vocalising loudly. After a few minutes they started to drink water.
After lunch we drove along the Sweni road. We saw Zebras and Wildebeest running and they crossed the road. We checked around and there were two male lions lying behind a tree. They stood up and walked away.
Monthly report from Wimpie
The past month has certainly been a trying month for game viewing. It’s the start of winter and everything gets nice and cold at night. That being said we do have some very nice days. Going into the winter season also presents a whole lot of other game viewing opportunities.
16/05/11
Getting up nice and early in the mornings for a bush walk in the Balule nature reserve is by far the best. One morning nice and early with some of my guests, while watching an absolutely breathtaking sunrise, a massive herd of Buffalo came walking over the open plains that we were standing on. This was going to be a great day I thought and I was right. We drove on to the area I selected for the morning excursion, and just as we got out of the game viewer I heard some red billed oxpeckers in the distance. I got every one settled and told them that there’s some very nice game just ahead, and true enough we got a nice close up on some elephants walking in a dry river bed. These birds as I have explained to my guests usually give away the location of animals as they feed off ticks and blood. Not too far into the walk we came across a small almost dry pond, absolutely teeming with catfish (barbel). While watching all these big fish cramped up in nothing more than a mud pit with some water a fish eagle made his presence known. We watched as he feasted on a freshly caught catfish.
Not too far from the amazing fish eagle sighting we stumbled across a hippo and some crocs in a larger dam. Viewing these big animals is always entertaining, and in the same breath, the hippo always willing to show his dominance by giving us a massive yawn displaying those massive teeth and very big mouth.
Hippo yawning
25/05/11
The game drives around Kruger national park were also on the top of my days of fun. Always waiting and looking out for some amazing game. Watching the beautiful Bateleur Eagle hunting a scrub hare was amazing this morning and very nicely rounded off by a great sighting of a massive herd of elephants. Driving not too long from that breathtaking sighting we came across some lions not too far off the road having a nice long rest to regain their strength after a night of hunting. Some of the other species of game we came across were many birds species : Ground Hornbill, Fish Eagles, Marabou Stork, Lilac-breasted Rollers, Vultures, smaller Indigo birds, Yellow and Red billed Hornbills. And the all the other general plains game like the brindled gnu, zebras, ostrich, impala, giraffe, kudu, waterbuck, duiker, steenbok, nyala, kept us occupied throughout the day. The day ended in a very nice sunset with both Buffalo and White Rhino on our way out.
I’m looking forward to an very exciting winter season. Can’t wait to get out there and experience nature at its best.
NEWS FROM OUR LODGES
TREMISANA
We have built a stepping ramp to facilitate stepping onto the game drive vehicles.
The entire staff of Tremisana, without exception, believe I have done this for my not-too-distant geriatric years. I assure you that this is a blatant untruth !
New ramp with Giraffe in the background
We have also completed construction of the loungers – Ronald of Marc’s Treehouse Lodge was quite jealous and we now been coerced to make a few for him !
Sandy, Delina and Florence testing the new loungers
MARC’S
We have completed the enclosing of a new dining area with thin gum poles. This is open air and will be used in the dry months.
The grass is getting drier and the buffalo herds are moving around the property in search of good grazing
Buffalo herd in search of good grazing
NEWS FOR OUR TRAVEL PARTNERS
We had a good Indaba. It appears that the number of overseas buyers was down on last year, but we managed to see all our supportive agents.
At the Indaba I met a couple of guys from Hoedspruit who have built lodges in Mozambique. I also met some new Mozambique operators. I was invited to conduct site inspections at 4 different lodges. I believe that these operators are keen on Viva Safaris extending its operation to include a Beach experience. The fact that Viva has had daily departures from Johannesburg every day this year, despite a general industry slowdown, has helped improve our image.
Sandy and I enjoyed ourselves in Mozambique. There is still a long way to go, but there has been a big improvement in roads and infrastructure since we were last there, some six years ago. I thank the operators for their genuine care for us as well as their excellent hospitality. We shall certainly give this matter some serious consideration.
Below is the advert we are placing in the Country Life magazine, due to appear 15 June.
The same advert appeared in the Kruger to Canyon newspaper last Friday.
I assure all our loyal supporters who have used Cheetah Inn and Marc’s Adventure Camp over the years for their Volunteer Safari Programs as well as safaris for other student groups that we will negotiate a good rate for them with any new lessees.
In addition all charity days e.g. the Acornhoek Parish Youth Day every November will be safeguarded.
Emails received from guests
Hi Piero
Hope this finds you well my friend. Sorry I haven't been in touch for a while, time passes so quickly and as usual I have been very busy at work.
Unfortunately Piero I will not be able to visit my beloved Africa this year...but things are not all that bad...My partner Tam has now managed to secure full time permanent employment which has allowed us to start our "Africa Savings Account" which I am pleased to say is sitting at a healthy £500, not enough however to make it over for this year, but we are definately on the way to visit September 2012.
I am however in the holiday mode...my son Lewis and I are heading off to the Greek Island of Rhodes on Wednesday for one week. We have booked a beautiful villa with private pool nestled in the hillside surrounded by olive and orange groves overlooking the sea at a small village called Kalathos. We are both desperate for some sunshine and relaxation as the weather here in Scotland is dreadful...I am sitting in my kitchen at the moment and the rain is coming down in torrents!! Bring on the Sunshine!!
Although we wont manage over this year, I still feel as though I am part of the adventure thanks to the monthly newsletter I receive from Viva Safaris. I so look forward to receiving it every month and reading all the up to date reports from yourself and the Rangers, it makes it more personal to me as I have met most of them and it reminds me of the wonderful time I spent at Treehouse No. 7 and Tremisana, I feel very blessed and privilaged to have experienced the wonder of Africa and the hospitality of yourself and all the staff.
I know this is going to sound a little crazy...but whenever I feel the longing to be back with you all, I go onto Viva Safari's website and listen to the sounds of the animals and of course I have my camcorder which captured the experience and photographs which always lifts my spirits and fills my heart with joy.
People say once you have visited Africa it stays with you forever...I must agree, still think of my little Treehouse and Tremisana every day. God I sound nuts!!!
Anyway I know you are a busy man, so I will sign off before this email becomes a novel.
I do hope you and yours are all in good health and spirits. I will drop you an email from time to time Piero and look forward to seeing you all again in 2012. The Countdown has Begun!!
Love to all
Cathy
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Dear Trevor,
I really do not have words to thank you and Piero for the opportunity to stay at Tremisana. You were there for me and you understood that I needed to get to the bush. It was so relaxing and the company was good, I made wonderful friends with a Danish couple and she also lost her mother the same time as Rudy. It just shows you the right time the right place. Everybody was so friendly and concerning. It was a nice surprise to see Piero at the lodge and to have him as our experienced ranger. The bush is the only place for me to go to and to rethink everything and the healing power of the bush is awesome. Rudy loved Monkeys and baboons and every morning I sat at the breakfast lounge and watching the monkeys while they are having breakfast. The interaction between them is so amazing and we as humans can learn a lot from them. Rudy would have sat there and watched them until they left. Yes there are still so many hurdles to get over and I really could get peace in my heart at the lodge.
Once again many thanks I really appreciate it a lot.
With kind regards
Lientjie
LodgesSA
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Dear Florence,
We just want to drop a wee note and to thank you for the excellent services you offered us during our visit. Thanks for your hospitality. We had a great and amazing holiday in SA and we really enjoyed it. We still remember all the nice places where we have been.
Thanks a lot, we had a great time and everything was very “privat”!
Kind regards from München
Dagmar & Günter
Until next month...
With kind regards,
Piero
General Manager
Viva Safaris
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