As a result of continued enquiries , we have decided to acquire open
vehicles for our day-time gameviewing in the Kruger Park. We have had open landcruisers for our night drives at the lodges since 1991 . 3 Toyota Hilux Gameviewers have been bought directly from Kruger Park. We are assured that the vehicles are in excellent condition and that they have been operating only in the Kruger Park. We intend to house the vehicles at Phalaborwa Gate and at Orpen Gate. Our clients will be transferred by microbus ( with a heater in winter ) to Kruger's entrance gates and will then board the Gameviewers on which they spend the day watching game and birds. We have already done some pilot tours and the feedback from clients and guides has been very enthusiastic. There is a certain adrenalin move when viewing big game, notably elephant, from a vehicle with no windows. In
addition, the safari is now more sensual insofar as there is greater scope
for better sight, sound and scent experiences. It is amazing just how much
better one can see and smell and hear without windows ! Photographic
opportunities are also better , without glass and from a higher perspective.
We received a lovely write-up about our new open Gameviewers in the January 2003 G S A - sales guide used by travel agents - in which the headline was " Viva Safaris is a company on the move ".
The other big news was the Solar Eclipse - we had over thirty guests and we
entered Kruger at 02h00 and had set up camp by 03h45 - allowing ample time to see the skies. Unfortunately the weather didn't play along as well as we had hoped - there was a thin cloud cover most of the time. Nevertheless at 08h20 there was this magical feeling across the bush and we really enjoyed the experience of seeing the darkness envelop us.
NEWS AT TREMISANA
The elephants were at it again ! A herd of 8 bulls moved onto Tremisana
property in early December and stayed there until we could take no more .
Without fail, they would break up the pipes supplying borehole water to the
camp, thus disturbing any plans to have showers . The guests reacted very
positively and thought it was a great story to take home - "couldn't shower
because of elephants" sounds very interesting. Eventually the kitchen staff
had had enough and convinced camp manager Ziggi to do something. With the approval and assistance of the warden, we used drums and crackers to get this leviathan lot off the property. Latest news is that two other elephant
have moved in since 30 December. So far they have been very well behaved and are drinking from the waterhole.
The drought continues. There has been a sounder of 8 warthogs living within
the electric fence of our camp. We just didn't have the heart to chase them
off - at least they weren't affecting our water supply. There have been
short rainshowers and the grass is now green , but the surface water is very
limited. This is good news for our guests as there is still a large
concentration of game around our waterhole which we are keeping full by
pumping borehole water. We hear lions almost every night and have picked up leopard spoor at the waterhole.
We have bought new safari-style canvas "director" chairs for our boma and
have upgraded the boma by adding an overhead reeded screen to shield off the hot December sunrays at breakfast. The dry garden is complete and looks lovely with its smooth rounded river rocks.
Birdlife is prolific and the newly hatched chicks are attracting birds of
prey. Recently a Tawny Eagle set up shop near the cellular tower and has
been conducting early morning hunting forays in the camp sending all our
avian friends into a right royal frenzy.
NEWS AT MARC'S CAMP
Buffalo sightings are becoming so regular that our guests are quite blase
about it. The one group travelled over 250 km inside Kruger looking for
buffalo all to no avail. They then returned to camp to see....you've guessed
it : a herd of 5 buffalos drinking at the "breakfast boma" at Marc's Camp.
They were especially pleased as this sighting then completed their ' Big
Five '.
There has been better rain at Marc's Camp than at Tremisana and the animals are all in good condition. There have been plenty sightings of young impala, nyala and wildebeest all around the camp. A leguaan (monitor lizard) has taken up residence at the dam at the Adventure Camp's obstacle course.The visiting schoolchildren think it's all very dangerous but we know that the monitor is far more terrified of 50 kids playing in the dam than anything else !
The bushpig family are being seen regularly by our guests on their return
walks to the treehouses after dinner - they have become fairly tame, despite
being nocturnal.
The night sounds at Marc's Camp are probably the most exciting aspect of the wildlife there. Hyenas are heard every night ; the thick-tailed bushbabies are extremely vociferous at this time of year as they proclaim their territories; lions are heard regularly and the metallic 'ting' of the fruit bats carry on all night.
The education centre at the Adventure Camp is looking pretty good - latest
improvement is the live fish, frogs and snakes display . These are all kept
in glass aquaria and will help the children to get close-up views. The
chalets have been decorated and painted and now have an 'African' look about them.
A new conference centre for the Treehouse Camp is planned and should be
operational from early March. The location is excellent - a wooden deck will
lead onto a beautiful rock formation which extends right down to the river's
edge. It will be absolutely breathtaking to have a conference while looking
out at the buffalo herds among the reeds in the river.
We take this opportunity of thanking you for your support in 2002 and wish
you a fulfilling 2003.
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