Summer has come with a vengeance ! We have experienced temperatures of just below 40 degrees this month. Unfortunately the rainfall has been erratic and patchy : Marc's Camp and Cheetah Inn have had about 30 mm whereas Tremisana had only 8 mm. Nevertheless the grass has grown and the trees are in full leaf.
Summer is heralded by the arrival of certain migratory species of birds that are usually heard before they are seen. Principally the Woodland Kingfisher and the Diederik Cuckoo vociferously announce their arrival. The Woodland Kingfisher migrates from Central Africa and has a piercing repetitive trill : ' tri-tri-trirrrrrrrr'. It does not eat fish, but feeds mainly on insects and small lizards. It is a striking bird with bright light blue plumage. The Diederik Cuckoo is also a striking bird with metallic green above and white underparts. Also migrating from Central Africa, its name , like the Hadeda Ibis, amongst others , is onomatopeic ; its call is a repetitive ' di di deederik '. It is, as with all cuckoos, parasitic, insofar as it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds , in this case lesser masked weavers. At Tremisana and at Cheetah Inn , one can spend hours looking at the weaver nests built in the palm trees and watch how skillful the Diederik Cuckoo is in planning to enter the Weaver nest. What happens is this : The male Diederik , which is much more colourful ( and therefore noticeable ) than its mate, distracts both male and female Weaver and leads them a merry chase around the gardens. In the two or three minutes that the weavers spend in chasing the male Diederik, the female Diederik surreptitiously enters the Weaver nest and quickly lays her egg. Timing is very important as the egg must be laid at around the same time that the Weaver lays her eggs. This allows for the Cuckoo chick to be born before or at the same time as the Weaver chicks. The baby Cuckoo has an indentation on its back and it then proceeds to throw out Weaver baby and / or unhatched eggs. It then has the full attention of both Weaver " surrogate " parents.
An unwelcome bird seen this November at Cheetah Inn was the Indian Mynah. This bird was introduced to South Africa by Indian immigrants in the late 19th century. Initially it established itself in Durban but has quickly spread and is now very common in the whole of Natal as well as most of Gauteng and the Free State. It is an invasive species insofar as it aggressively displaces local avifauna. The English immigrants also brought their birds to South Africa . Most notable is the House Sparrow. This bird is also found at Cheetah Inn and more so at Tremisana but is not aggressive. The authorities have declared the Indian Mynah an undesirable species and, if I have understood correctly , active steps are being taken to eliminate it. With this in mind, we are going to trap and remove the pair of Mynahs seen at Cheetah Inn.
This is a sensitive issue and has been with us for a long time. Cecil Rhodes
( after whom Rhodesia ( now Zimbabwe ) was named ) also had a longing to bring out birds and animals to remind him of home. In Cape Town there is a huge debate about removing the Tarrs ( a type of mountain goat ) that were introduced to Table Mountain. If one visits the Gardens , along with other places in Cape Town, one will most certainly see the Grey Squirrel, also introduced by Rhodes. Do we have sufficient reason to eliminate these "alien" species ?
GAME VIEWING NEWS
There has been good game-viewing as a result of the limited rainfall in our areas.
Our guides report their Big Five success rates as follows :
Elephant : 100 %
Buffalo : 100 %
Lion : 85 %
Rhino : 80 %
Leopard : 50 %
I queried the figures for Leopard , as it seems a trifle high, but Bongani, Elvis, Charles and Nelly insist that they have had good luck. Gary Player, famous South African golfer , once said : "The harder I practise, the luckier I get " - so perhaps our guides' hard practice has paid off in November.
Bongani reports as follows : "On 03-11-06 my group and I found lions eating a buffalo at Shimangwanene Dam - really close. We then drove along the Sweni Road and at Welverdiend waterhole, we saw SIMULTANEOUSLY two White Rhino, a Leopard and a herd of Buffalo. Within minutes an Elephant bull arrived , so we had 4 of the Big 5 at one spot all at the same time - the best safari I have had in my life ". Another first for Bongani was experienced on 11-11-06 when his group came across a 4-metre long African Rock Python crossing the road near Rabelais Dam.
Elvis continues to astound his clients by seeing snakes not only on the road ( no offence to Bongani ) but also up trees. He has an amazing knack of picking these up even while driving at 45 km/h . Elvis reports his highlight of the month as follows : "Early in November, I experienced the most splendid day I have ever had in the Park. I drove on the S 36 towards Mudzanzeni and came across two Black Rhino crossing the road. They did not run away as we expected, and we enjoyed them for quite a while. Afterwards , at Shimangwanene Dam, we found all kinds of animals : there were lions, buffalos, elephants, giraffes, kudus, zebras, impalas and warthogs all in the immediate vicinity of the water simultaneously. What was interesting was that the lions had a young buffalo kill, but the female lions were still trying to catch kudu and warthog, although unsuccessfully ". On 12-11-06 Elvis reported as follows : "Today, we found a pair of mating lions on the Talamati Road. We watched them mate again and again and again... On this safari we had another three sightings of lions , one of which was together with White Rhino at Welverdiend waterhole." On 23-11-06 he reported as follows: "Together with Charles, we were driving towards Nwanedzi and saw hyenas mating. I have been in the bush for 12 years and this was the first time I have ever seen this ... WOW!"
Charles verified the above on his report and added that on the same day as he saw the mating hyenas, his group also came across a lion pride north of Satara that had killed not one, but two full grown buffalo not more than 10 metres apart from each other.
With reports such as the above, there can be no doubt that Kruger Park is the prime game-viewing venue in Africa. These sightings are authentic and happen naturally , unlike some other private reserves where luring, baiting and feeding of animals takes place. Viva Safaris is very fortunate to have access to this truly amazing game reserve .
NEWS AT TREMISANA
Sunset/Night Drives have been generally good with elephants being seen almost every time. We have just been given the latest figures from Kruger Park and the elephant population has grown by 9 % since last year and now the tally is over 16 000.
The monkey troop has stripped every single mango from our trees and Delina is hopping mad. They have become quite bold and the kitchen door has to be kept shut at all times otherwise they get away with all Delina's prized Butternuts - imagine the chaos if we stop offering Butternut soup to our clients !
Sidney , our full-time mechanic, has repainted the Landcruiser and replaced the tatty side panels.
We are still watering our gardens via the borehole as the sun's rays are hammering all the flowers.
Delina has looked through the guest-book and has supplied the following guest comments which she rates are the best for 2006 thus far :
Edna Kubeka, Cape Town , 20-03-06 : "Great - I enjoyed everything here - the accommodation, the safari and the food. Thanks for inviting us to this treasure of yours"
Dr Balkrishna Kurvey, Nagpur , India , 10-04-06 : " I am very much pleased by the service of the staff, particularly our guides/rangers. I shall recommend Viva Safaris to all my friends in India"
Sara Bennewies , Kitchener, Canada , 19-05-06 : " Amazing safari ! Thank you, King Charles ! Many animals seen , including lion, buffalo, hippo, giraffe and much more... Unbelievable experience with one unfortunate mishap : angry buffalo charged our van - ah well, everyone is safe and it added to our adventure "
Laura Hendrick, Jersey, Channel Islands , 19-07-06 : "Had a brilliant time . We were really lucky and saw the Big Five which was just fantastic ! Charles was a really good guide and his binocular vision never failed us. The pride of lions we saw on the night drive was unforgettable - thanks for finding them, Bongani ! "
NEWS AT MARC'S CAMP
Ronald has been very busy along with his staff in finishing off the new Guesthouse. It consists of 2 bedrooms, each en suite , one with a king-size bed and the other with two single beds. We anticipate that this unit will be used mainly by self drive guests as we will include facilities for self-catering.
The rains were reasonable in November and there is good grass cover.
I had an interview with Jonathan Beretta, the warden of Motlala and have news which may be good or bad.
An EIA ( Environmental Impact Assessment ) was conducted in October on Motlala Game Reserve ( of which Marc's Camp is a part ). The owners of Motlala have another game reserve in the Thabazimbi area ( North-west of Pretoria ). Here they have been very successful with breeding of Black Rhino. The plan is to introduce a breeding herd of three ( one male and two female ) Black Rhino to our area. The result of the EIA was positive - there is enough browse ( black rhinos eat leaves ). However, to be doubly sure, it was recommended that about 250 impala be removed as these also browse. Jonathan reckons that it would be uneconomical to harvest the impala as the veterinary regulations preclude moving meat across the so-called Red Line. So guess what : Instead of having human removal of the excess impala , we are going to introduce, wait for it, ......................... two lions !
The good news is that we shall then have four of the Big Five , with the bonus of having both species of rhino ! There is a great attraction with the presence of lions - seeing them and hearing their roars at night can only add to the adventure at Marc's Camp. Now for the bad news : Black Rhino are notoriously short-tempered and can create problems when encountered on foot . However we are reliably informed that the Black Rhino will keep away from human habitation, so there shouldn't be any problem . Lions, however , are a different proposition - we have had them inside the camp at night on more than one occasion at Tremisana. Jonathan reckons there will be no problem - all the other camps on Motlala are and will remain unfenced. We certainly cannot fence in Marc's Camp or the treehouses for that matter - it will destroy the wonderful wildlife ambience that pervades the place. One solution might be to have an armed guard escort clients from the boma/bar back to their treehouses. The planned introduction of the Black Rhino and Lions is March 2007 so we have a little time to think this situation through - I shall keep you posted.
Not to be outdone by Delina, Ronald sent me some recent (November 06 ) comments from his camp's Guest Book ;
Linda Plower , Galway, Ireland, 27-11-06 : " Great six days, excellent trip ! Staff of Viva Safaris do a great job "
Sylvia Hucks and Christian Wehler, Dusseldorf, Germany, 19-11-06 : "Had a good time, very nice people, great experience, cool treehouses......but next time, we want more sun ! Take care and thanks a lot ! "
Hannes Just and Susan Kobelt , 01-11-06 : "What a nice stay ! The staff is excellent, thanks for staying up till 2 am . A very beautiful and adventurous lodge provided us with a stay we will never forget. Thanks !!! "
NEWS AT THE CHEETAH INN
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Anthony and Marcelle Robbins as the new management couple. We are especially pleased as both are qualified wildlife guides, In fact, they got to know of VIVA SAFARIS by meeting Charles one day in the Kruger Park. He was so enthusiastic about his job that they applied for employment with us as far back as June this year. We wish them a long and happy association with us.
The game fencing around the property is almost complete and we have been promised that it will be done by Christmas. We are proceeding with the two new rooms and have set ourselves a target date of 1 April 07 to have the total rooms up to 21 . It is our plan to convert the open space near the parking lot to an outdoor aviary.
A number of year end parties were held in late November and we were pleased to host a group of preschoolers from Mpundiwe Pre-School. Although they were too short to play mini-golf, they successfully entered and enjoyed the kiddies pool. I was told that for some of the children, it was the first time they had entered a swimming pool !
Anthony and Marcelle hope to have a good Christmas Party at Cheetah Inn and are looking forward to " turning things around " - hopefully one year from now the Cheetah Inn will be as successful as Tremisana and Marc's Camp.
NEWS FOR OUR PARTNERS IN TRAVEL
As promised in the last newsletter, we supply our 2007 tariffs, valid until 31-12-07. We believe that the increases are comparatively modest and underline our claim to supply the best value-for-money packages to Kruger Park.
SAFARIS TO TREMISANA
Overland
3-day
Sharing ; R 4295 Single : R 4495 Child ( u/12 ) : R 2795
4-day
Sharing : R 5195 Single : R 5395 Child ( u/ 12 ) : R 3395
5-day
Sharing : R 6195 Single : R 6395 Child ( u/12 ) : R 3895
Fly-in
2-day : R 5195
3-day : R 6195
4-day : R 7195
OVERLAND SAFARIS TO MARC'S TREEHOUSE LODGE
3-day
Sharing : R 2995 Single : R 3095
4-day
Sharing : R 3395 Single : R 3595
6-day
Sharing : R 4595 Single : R 4895
Comments : The overland safaris to Tremisana have increased by an average of less than 5 %. In addition, we have added a new feature. All safaris to Tremisana will have a SUNRISE GAME DRIVE on the open Landcruiser on the last day of the safari. This will depart in time to see the sun rise over the African bushveld and should add considerable value to our product.
The fly-in safaris have increased by an average of just over 6 % in anticipation of expected airline increases.
The safaris to Marc's Treehouse Lodge have increased by an average of 14%. We believe that this increase is justified in terms of what our clients get.
Compared to other budget/backpacker tours, our clients enjoy the following:
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Proper beds with linen, towels and soap
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Accommodation in thatched treehouses - no sloppy/ cold / wet conditions associated with tents
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Each treehouse has a fan, mosquito nets and private ablutions.
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Overland transfers are conducted in AIRCONDITIONED vehicles
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Excellent three course dinners are cooked and served by our staff - no client participation in cooking and washing up.
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All game-viewing is conducted in OPEN vehicles. These are 4x 4 conversions and have all-weather access to ALL roads in Kruger.
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No hidden extras - Night Drive and Bush Walk are included in tariff.
On behalf of all the staff at Viva Safaris, I thank you for your valued and continued support. We shall try to maintain our standards that allow you to book your clients with confidence on our safaris.
I wish you a blessed Christmas and a relaxed holiday ( for those who are that lucky ).
With kind regards
Piero Colia, General Manager. Viva Safaris.
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