The warm days of normal Octobers were interspersed this year with some really cold days. We had the minimum temperature of the month sink to a record 3C at Marc's at the beginning of the month.
Rainfall has been widespread and good enough to keep the grass green, but not sufficient to fill any dams. In fact some dams, including Tremisana Dam, are still completely empty. This has had an effect on elephant movements : we have noted that elephants seem to enjoy lots of grass and lots of water - so we have had a few local elephants drink from the artificial waterholes, but the larger herds have been found only along river courses.
The lack of rain has had one positive result : our building staff have been able to keep to deadlines and the thatching work at all three of Viva Safaris' establishments as well as the completion of the new Lapa at Tremisana are actually ahead of schedule !
Our weaver birds and frogs gave us an early indication of the delayed rains by their tardy arrival at the camps. Building of weaver nests only got into full swing by the middle of the month. The sightings of snakes has also been somewhat reduced this year thus far. Perhaps this was as a result of the late arrival of the frogs !
The most common frogs seen by our tourists at our camps are the Platanna, which is found in the dams and water features and the Foamnest Frog, which frequently enters buildings from where it successfully elicits a scream or two from panicky guests. The Platanna is an extraordinary frog in that it has a compressed body with eyes on top of its head. It is seen suspended, with all four legs extended, just below the surface of the water in which it lives. In fact, it is only seen out of its aquatic environment on rainy days. The forelimbs are relatively small compared to the hind legs which have webbing between the clawed toes. The Platanna preys upon small fish, tadpoles and insects. The Foamnest Frog is medium-sized and is equipped with webbed toes tipped with adhesive pads. This allows it to climb up walls and trees. The body colour varies and turns a chalky white in sunlight. It derives its name from the foamy white nest which is usually found hanging from a branch of a tree over a pool or pan. The tadpoles hatch inside the foam nest and then fall into the water below.
GAME VIEWING REPORTS FROM OUR GUIDES
BONGANI started the month in great form : On 1 Oct on the tar road between Orpen and Satara his guests encountered a group of 5 hyena adults with a newborn pup. ( The pups are black at birth. One of the possible explanations I have for this is that the black colour allows them to be indistinguishable in the darkness of their den ). Later , on the same day, Bongani found a leopard on the road. On another occasion, Bongani's clients came across a dead baby elephant on the Talamati road. The cause of death was unknown. The next day when Bongani returned to the scene, he found a herd of elephants, clearly distressed, mulling around the dead carcass. They were making a lot of noise and seemed aggressive. On his third visit, Bongani found hyenas and vultures on the carcass. On 11 Oct, Bongani found a group of 5 cheetah near Orpen. He also found 5 rhino at Fairfield waterhole. Lions pulled down a giraffe on the Sweni road on 14 October. He reports his experience on 20 Oct as follows : " We spent most of the day driving around seeing only the usual plains game. By lunchtime we had not yet seen one of the Big Five. I was getting worried as I haven't missed elephant and buffalo on one occasion since I started guiding with Viva Safaris. Thankfully I found both these species in the late afternoon. I was still a little disappointed as I left Orpen Gate to go back to Marc's. Only 4 km from the gate ( now outside Kruger officially) I came across a leopard on the road. And then, 2 km further, we found 3 rhinos. It just shows you how lucky one can get...... "
CHARLES reports a very exciting sighting : " On the Sweni road, a pride of 8 lions were trying to bring down a large buffalo bull. We stopped to watch this spectacular sighting for over 30 minutes. Although he was completely surrounded on a number of occasions, he was strong and big enough to break loose". On 19 Oct, Charles and his guests saw a leopard eating an impala which had been wedged in the fork of a tree. Charles hit the jackpot on 21 Oct. He not only easily saw the big Five but also came across mating cheetah at the Rockvale waterhole. On 24 Oct, his group saw all of the Big Five on the 20 km S 100 road. They saw two different leopards up trees, saw lions four times and a group of 6 white rhino. Charles also had a pack of wild dogs ( the first for quite a while ) near Bobbejaankrans lookout point. On the same day, at Nsemane Dam, a herd of over 50 elephants crossed the road in front of the open vehicle. They then competed with a buffalo herd of over 300 for space to drink.
JONAS had 100% success with elephant, rhino and buffalo on each and every safari he conducted this month. On 10 Oct, his lucky guests also came across a herd of sable antelope. On 11 October, he had the best luck of the year. His guests saw a Pangolin, scaly anteater, in the open in full daylight. It was digging at a termite mound. The guests don't know just how lucky they were - it is the first sighting by day of a Pangolin by Viva Safaris since 2002 ! On 20 October, Jonas saw lions on a buffalo kill on the S 100. Jonas had good luck with leopard sightings this month : he reckons it has been the best month of the year with quality viewing : on one occasion near Orpen, a leopard literally crossed the road in front of the vehicle, then recrossed to the other side. On another occasion, on a night drive at Tremisana, a large leopard came close to the Landcruiser and stayed in full view right on the road for over 7 minutes.
NELLY reports as follows : " On 3 October , at 13h30, we came across 4 lions eating a wildebeest on the Satara - Olifants road. At the turnoff to Timbavati, we were watching a herd of around 300 buffalos, when , all of a sudden, one of my guests pointed out 2 lions hiding under a bush. The buffalo later got scent of the lions and stampeded away. Driving back towards Satara, we came across a group of 3 White Rhino. Later, towards evening, we saw some jackals playing with what looked like the remains of a scrub hare. They rolled their bodies over the carcass and seemed very pleased to be able to do so." "On 10 October, it was raining all day and we thought we would see very little. Six km from Orpen we saw two rhino ; at Sweni waterhole we saw elephants and buffalo ; after lunch, we had a good sighting of leopard on the S 100." Nelly and his guests were also at the sighting of the Pangolin on 11 Oct. His group saw a beautiful leopard later that day. It was extended on the branch of a Leadwood tree and remained in full view the whole time. It is not often that one leaves a leopard sighting with the animal still there. On 16 Oct, Nelly saw a cheetah mother and 3 teenage cubs stalking impalas between Orpen and Satara. Near Bobbejaankrans, which we pass on a daily basis, Nelly saw a Klipspringer there for the first time. We now know where to look for Klipspringers !
NEWS AT TREMISANA
The re-thatching of all buildings is complete. The front gate had its thatched roof completely redone. Work on the new boma is almost complete - we are waiting for some good rain before planting grass. The existing Marula trees will be used as supports for our hammocks - we are sure that even the most intrepid gameviewing tourist will jump at the opportunity of having forty winks between Brunch and High Tea on the day we conduct our 4 hour bush trail. The reeded ablution block has been improved in that we have built brick walls along the sides nearest the fence. Work has commenced on the upgrading of the "Hide" at Tremisana Dam. We will add a toilet and wash basin and will extend the size of the hide. It is our intention to have the Hide available to those tourists who wish to forego the pleasures of the hammock etc in the Lapa and instead spend a few hours watching the comings and goings of birds and animals at Tremisana Dam. The reason for the toilet is ‘ just in case ' - we don't want any tourists walking alone from the Hide to the Lodge - a distance of over 400 metres. We have used some soil from the Dam to top up the new grassed section at the Lapa. Wynand, our warden, has also been using some of the soil in the dam for resurfacing the roads in Balule. The effect will be to deepen Tremisana Dam and allow the water to last longer in the dry season. Margaret Ngoane, our relief manager at all three establishments, has been transferred to Tremisana from Marc's and will assist Delina in running the camp and entertaining guests doing our new Balule Plains program.
NEWS AT MARC'S TREEHOUSE LODGE
The main lodge has been rethatched and all the treehouses have been re-reeded and the roofs' thatch recombed. The two new tents have been enclosed with branderings so as to allow for better security. A lockable door has been erected at each tent. One of the problems of having dropped the fences with neighbouring lodges is that we are now open to far more people than before. Although all our rooms are secure, we recommend that all valuables be handed to management for safekeeping in our safe.
Jonathan, our warden, has his hands full keeping poachers at bay. Perhaps the presence of the two Black Rhino, now due to be released in November, will assist. There is a growing market for bush meat in nearby Acornhoek and we need to do everything in our power to stop poaching. To this end, a control gate has been erected near the T-junction on the main tar road to Orpen . It is manned 24 hours and the guards will check all vehicles to make sure that no dead animals are leaving our reserves.
NEWS AT THE CHEETAH INN
We are excited that, as of 1 Jan 08, Viva Safaris will be using the Cheetah Inn for its scheduled 3 day overland lodge safaris. We believe that the standards expected by our international clientele will now be met and are confident that our guests will be very happy both with the service and ambience.
The aviary now has its finches : we have introduced Blue Waxbill, Violet-eared Waxbill, Swee Waxbill, Common Waxbill, Orange-breasted Waxbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill, Bronze Mannikin, Red-backed Mannikin, Red-billed Firefinch, Quial Finch and Melba Finch . The aviary has , for each species, an A4 colour photo to assist viewers with identification.
The good rains have helped the gardens and we were complimented by a visiting Canadian journalist.
Work will commence in November on further upgrades to the Manager's apartment.
NEWS FOR OUR TRAVEL PARTNERS
Our commission structure has been fixed as follows:
We pay 20% commission on all bookings. In addition, we are offering two 4-day safaris to you once you have sold 10 of our safaris. Effectively this means that you are earning roughly 40% on all bookings made !
We are aware that any new product does need evaluation. We are very confident that our new Balule Plains Experience safaris for guests staying at Tremisana will be a great hit. The concept of a 4 hour bush trail has been enthusiastically welcomed. In fact, we have already had some of our November guests, who read about it in the newsletter, book the walk. We invite you to give it a try : put on those sneakers ( takkies ) and do an educational assessment.
Our 2008 brochure is with the printers and will be available early December. Our tariffs are fixed for the whole of 2008.
With kind regards
Piero
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