The excellent gameviewing continues ! The animals are very concentrated - within an average radius of 4 km from water. Instead of having our usual rainfall in the middle of October, we had 2 small showers on the 20th and 24th of the month. We had the grand total of 5 mm of rain in October. This hardly settled the dust and certainly didn't add anything significant to the bone-dry veld.
The lions are having a great time : it is not unusual to find up to 5 different prides in one day. We thought our clients would never become blase about lion-sightings, but chief guide, Mark Jones, reports that on a recent safari, the clients hardly showed any excitement when he spotted the fifth pride of the day. And all along for the past 20 years, we thought tourists could get bored only with impalas !
Daytime temperatures have rocketed into the early forties. Night temperatures are around 22 degrees.It's just as well that the Tremisana chalets are airconditioned and that our treehouses are in the shade of trees and have fans. The animals ( excluding predators ) are having a hard time. There is very little grass cover, so grazers such as wildebeest, zebra, waterbuck and buffalo are travelling long distances to find forage. It's a lot better for browsers (leaf-eaters) such as giraffe, kudu and nyala. The trees have started to sprout bright green leaves.It is remarkable to notice the so-called "browse-line" : the trees look like they have had a ' short-back-and -sides ' haircut. The giraffe reach up to a certain height and no further, so the trees look quite silly - leaves at a certain height and above and nothing below !
We have extended our record of seeing elephant on each and every safari to 18 months. We are now seriously considering offering money-back guarantees that we will see elephants. When the tourists ask : " What do you think we shall see ? " we usually promise nothing but are nevertheless 100% sure of seeing impala, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and hippo. It now looks like we can add elephant to this list.
On the downside, the elephants are getting a little frustrated at having to travel far to find water - we have noted that breeding herds especially, seem a little more aggressive than in the wet season - perhaps the heat and dust is getting to them. Latest census figure for elephants is estimated at 13 000, which makes it the fifth most populous animal in Kruger Park after impala ( 120 000 ), zebra ( 30 000 ), buffalo ( 25 000 ) and blue wildebeest ( 14 000 ). What is of concern is that these 4 species have maintained their numbers static over the last 10 years whereas elephants have increased from a figure of roughly 8000 in 1995. If my Maths is correct, this represents a compound increase of 4,975 % per annum. If we extrapolate this figure at the same growth rate then by 2010 there will be 16 572 and by 2015 a total of 21 125. We shall be passing on these estimates to Kruger Park Management.
We have decided to include a 3-4 hour bushwalk on our 5 day Tremisana safaris. These will be conducted in Kruger Park by Orpen Gate staff. The walks are held far away from tourist roads and are not too strenuous. Feedback from our clients on the 6-day Treehouse Experience safari has been good - the only complaint being that the departure time ( 04h30 ) is way too early ! We agree ! What we shall do is offer a late afternoon ( 14h45 to 18h00 ) game walk instead of the morning walk. This applies to the 5 day Tremisana and 6 day Marc's Camp packages with immediate effect.
NEWS AT TREMISANA
How easy is it to explain to our tourists that there is no water in camp because of elephants ? Twice in this last month, our pipes were irreverently destroyed. These pipes are buried about 1,5 metres underground, but that doesn't seem to help. Luckily we have willing ground staff that are prepared ( only once there is sufficient light to see ) to go and fix the problem, even if it is 04h45 in the morning ! Thank you William and Solly.
Night Drives have been fairly good. The animals are moving constantly in search of food and water and as a result, we have excellent night drives on one night and quieter drives the next night. We were fortunate to spot a leopard stalking impala about 2 km from Tremisana. The cheetah family ( 3 adult males ) has been seen again. Bushbabies and genets(small spotted variety) are seen on almost every night drive while porcupine and aardvark sightings are still good.
The birdlife is excellent - the lesser masked weavers are in full swing near the water features and the pied crows are nesting on top of the cellular tower. Our resident monkeys sleep in the camp and are a constant source of amusement for our guests who rise early for a pre-breakfas walkabout in the camp grounds.They are probably quite pleased to remain near camp as Delina supplies them ( and a range of other animals) with scraps from the kitchen. Once the rains fall, the chances are they will move out and forage on their own.
We have had a group from Drifters Adventours who thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We are pleased to know that such a big operator is happy to use Tremisana. We have also hosted overflow guests from Amukela Game Lodge.
NEWS AT MARC'S CAMP
Our occupancy rates are significantly better compared to last year. The camp is looking better than ever before ! We have supplied new linen and new towels as well as animal-print bedspreads and duvet covers.
The backpackers that use Marc's Camp are amazed at the standards of accommodation and food. We believe it is unbelievably good value for money for the budget market. Once the rains start, our guests will appreciate the treehouses even more - no mud and slosh associated with tenting safaris !
Our herd of buffalo bulls , the " Stubborn Six " as they are now called by Marc's Camp staff, are seen daily. We are pumping water to the Obstacle Course Dam and the Breakfast Dam and these fellows move regularly between these two permanent water points. They are joined by a number of other animals who drink here regularly : warthogs, nyala, kudu, waterbuck, impala, wildebeest and zebra. We have picked up rhino spoor around the Obstacle Course Dam. Apparently, it is the young Motlala male who has been pushed out of the herd by the dominant Motlala bull. We hear leopard regularly along the river - spoor and scats indicate the presence of two different males on the property and the calling at night is probably their way of redefining the border between their territories. We have only one clan of hyena on the property so their vocalising is not territorial but more a case of keeping in touch with each other as they patrol on their nightly foraging quests.
Ronald has planted grass around the swimming pool. The need for a new lawnmower is obviated by the attentions of our tame nyalas. One can literally get to within 3 metres of these beautiful animals before they turn and walk slowly away with great dignity and poise. The nyala is the antelope that we use to differentiate between " bull" and "ram". A dichotomy is created by talking about gender antonyms as follows: the English language antonym of ram is ewe and of bull is cow - hence we talk about impala rams and ewes and kudu bulls and cows. With the nyala, we talk about an nyala bull and an nyala ewe. Any male antelope smaller than an nyala is called a 'ram' and those bigger are called 'bull'.
NEWS AT THE CHEETAH INN
October has been a busy month at the Cheetah Inn. The Magwagwaza High School in nearby Acornhoek held the school's Matric Dance on 7 October. An excellent 3 course meal was served and the youngsters and teachers alike had a good time. A number of new building projects are presently being undertaken in Acornhoek - the Score stores are being revamped and a new ABSA bank is being built at Mnisi in Acornhoek. We are hosting a few of the contractors involved.
Our neighbour, Kapama Game Reserve, has recently opened a 80-bedded lodge, Kapama River Lodge, and we hosted their contractors as well. One of the first functions at Kapama River Lodge was a huge wedding for a local political dignitary. We were proud to host the SOWETO STRING QUARTET at the Cheetah Inn and are pleased to report that their practice sessions were appreciated by our locals who drank to their health in our bar !
We have had many locals frequent our bar . The airconditioning is especially welcome especially when the outside temperatures exceed 40 degrees.
Our mini-golf course is nearing completion. Unfortunately, Lu Jones had to return to Durban and the laying of the carpet is now the responsibility of Bobby. We are hoping to open the course by the 1st of December.
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