The Aardvark , Orycteropus Afer, is a most unusual creature. Alphabetically it comes right towards the front (of the dictionary) as it does in most wildlife enthusiasts’ “wish to see” lists. My late father, who was responsible for developing the love I have for wildlife, never saw an Aardvark in the wild. Perhaps this was because the Kruger Park introduced Night Drives only towards the end of my father’s life. It is a strictly nocturnal species, sleeping by day in one of its self-dug burrows.
The name Aardvark literally means “ Earth Pig ”. It is an apt name insofar as the Aardvark has a long pig-like snout and digs in the earth for ants and termites. The Aardvark has powerful claws with which it easily breaks open the hard exterior of termite mounds.
The Aardvark
When we first conducted Night Drives at Tremisana we would often encounter Aardvark. In fact our success rate for Aardvark sightings was in the region of 50%. Once the fences to Kruger were dropped and lions entered the region, the number of Aardvark sightings dropped dramatically. It was therefore a very great surprise this September when, very late at night, I saw a big male Aardvark drinking from the illuminated waterhole in front of Tremisana Lodge’s Lapa. I waited for him the following night and was happy to see him again. With the present dry conditions, it is clear that this Aardvark is coming to drink regularly.
Another first for me was the sighting of a large leopard also drinking water at the illuminated waterhole late at night on 29 September. He took his time and slowly walked towards the dry Tremisana Dam. On the way the leopard was noticed by the monkey troop that sleeps in the trees inside Tremisana. There was an almighty hullabaloo which lasted for over 20 minutes.
Leopard sightings this month have been excellent. In fact we have had a record number of consecutive days in which our game drives in Kruger Park have yielded the Big Five. I too had another first this month: my very first leopard kill. Although I have often seen leopards eating their kill up a tree and have also seen leopards stalking and on one occasion even heard the death cries of a warthog being killed by a leopard, I had previously never seen a leopard bring down its prey. On the 7th September Sandy and I went to see the restaurant manager at Satara. We had received some complaints from our guests about the slow service. After a successful meeting, we drove on the S41 just south of Gudzane Dam to look at a hippo pod. As we got there, I heard a terrible groaning. Sandy sat up ( she generally sleeps on the back seat after 10h00 when in the Park ) and we witnessed a big male leopard pulling down an adult Waterbuck cow. It took about 3 minutes for the waterbuck to die. The leopard then struggled to move the carcass from the open area into some adjoining reeds. Judging by the way the leopard was battling to move the dead waterbuck, I reckon that the waterbuck was too heavy to pull up a tree.
Leopard suffocates Waterbuck cow
Leopard drags heavy Waterbuck to the reeds
I had my first feedback from tourists this month re sightings of dehorned rhino. I conducted a few safaris to Tshukudu Game Reserve. The name ‘ Tshukudu ’ means ‘ Rhino ’ in the Sotho language and we generally see these animals in the 5000 hectare enclosed reserve. In fact I would estimate our success rate for rhinos at Tshukudu Game Reserve at over 90% - way above what we get in Kruger or Balule.
The feedback I have had from tourists who viewed dehorned rhino is essentially one of sorrow for the rhino and disappointment in their fellow human beings. On one particular safari, I had a bright young Vietnamese lady who was terribly upset to learn that the downward spiral of rhinos was catalysed by stupid comments by her own country’s Health Minister who had claimed his cancer had been retarded by the use of rhino horn. This well-connected lady has pledged to make plenty waves in the Vietnamese press where she hopes to publish a photo she took of a pair of dehorned rhino. I am pleased that every one of the tourists I have taken to sightings of dehorned rhino feels disgusted and is determined to publicise this problem back home.
On the game-viewing front, this September must rate as one of the best ever months in the history of Viva Safaris. The clients I have met while I was at the lodges were absolutely thrilled and ecstatic and the report backs at the dinner table were enthusiastic and impressive. We are very pleased that Viva is assisting in developing some seriously happy ambassadors for our country !
GAMEVIEWING REPORTS FROM OUR GUIDES
Monthly report frrom Bongani
Balule and Kruger
There are many animals coming to the waterhole in front of the Lapa at Tremisana Lodge like elephants, zebra, kudu, giraffes,warthogs and monkeys, and, for the very first time during breakfast, we spotted four white rhinos approaching the water hole - the Guests were ecstatic. Getting to see rhinos without leaving the comfort of the lodge and very close too was fantastic - even the lodge staff were quite happy with the sighting as it was rare.
The next day during the morning drive just 15 metres from the lodge there were elephants eating along the road. We spent twenty minutes just watching them. As everyone was still watching the elephants, we looked back and saw a leopard stalking impalas which were nearby. The elephants distracted the leopard and the impalas managed to escape.
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Elephant really close to Landcruiser
Kruger National Park
The Central Section in Kruger is without any doubt the best place in the whole of Kruger to do Safaris. Nsemani dam has become the ‘home of lions’. There is a pride of over 10 adults presently ‘camping out’ at Nsemani Dam. They make a kill almost every day and they eat a buffalo completely in one day. They have cubs numbering about twelve. They are specializing in killing Buffalos and now there is a permanent stench around the dam because of the leftover carcasses. The Dam has made all my dreams come true on many occasions. It has never disappointed and that is why l love taking my guests there and spending some time. Herds of Elephants, Zebras, Kudu, troops of baboons - just to name a few - all come to this dam.
On the 22nd of September 2011 we saw a rarity. After a long hot day, on our way out of the Orpen gate, we spotted twenty Wild Dogs walking along the road towards the gate. We followed them for a while. As we were trailing the wild dogs, ahead of us we saw six puppies which seemed to have been waiting for the parents to show up. On the other side of the road three Hyenas were walking towards the wild dogs - what a sighting !
Good sighting of Wild Dogs near the road
Monthly Report from Wimpie
What a great month this was ! It’s getting warmer as the season progresses and most of the animals are moving around a lot more. This heat also has a negative side to it, because it’s draining the last bit of water that’s around the bush. And then most of the trees and grass are drying out badly too. We constantly see some cloud build-ups and can’t wait for the rain to start and turn everything green.
I’ve had a lot of good game drives this month as well as some brilliant walks. I also did a lot of reading up on wildlife photography and how to get better shots of wildlife. The three highlight days that I would like to share start with the 4th and 5th of Sept.
I went to Marc’s Camp on the evening of the 4th to stay the night. I took some great photos of the Nyalas that are abundant there. I woke up the morning of the 5th and noticed that it was warming up pretty quickly. After a very good breakfast I got my guests together and we went to Kruger Park.
Nyala at Marc's Treehouse Lodge reception area
We stopped at Orpen gate for some snacks and something to drink. I took the opportunity to look at the sighting board and to ask some of the other guides if they had seen anything special.
Not very far from the gate I asked one of the other guides if there’s anything interesting that he has seen. To which he replied: “ Some Wild Dogs just down the road from us that are busy sleeping ”. My heart raced when I heard those words, and true enough we found them just a short distance away from us sleeping in the open and very relaxed. What a beautiful sighting!
Not too long after the dogs we saw elephants near the road surrounded by other general game species like zebras, wildebeest and impala. Carrying on with the main road to Satara was a good idea because at Nsemani dam we saw one of the best sightings I’ve had in a long time : 14 lions and 9 cubs all in a small area ; 2 big males still feasting on a buffalo they killed in the night some time. It was great to see all these big cats together and a truly breath-taking sight with the vultures waiting for some scraps. I then drove towards Timbavati picnic spot for a break. On the way there we saw 2 big elephant bulls fighting with each other. That was brute power at its best. We also came across 2 female lions near the road that just killed a wildebeest. I was sad to see that one of the females had lost an eye and it looked very fresh. ‘Poor cat’ I thought to myself, but that’s the way things go in nature.
The rest of our day was very quiet because it was so warm. After lunch at Satara we drove without seeing a lot except some more elephants and general game species.
On the 12 of September I went for a walk in Balule and did a game drive later that day. On the morning walk we saw a lot of general game as well as a lot of lion and elephant spoor. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to find these animals after following all these tracks. We had a great time looking at crocodiles and hippo. There were also a lot of birds in the area. That afternoon we started the Sunset Drive and at one stage I thought that it would be a quiet game drive. I was wrong. We drove along the fence line of Mr v d Merwe and came across the elephants, the tracks of which we had seen on the morning walk. Beautiful animals ! And shortly thereafter I heard an update on the radio about some lions close by. I was ecstatic to get them close enough for my guests to get very good photos even with the smallest cameras. We eventually left the lions to also give the other guides on drive a space to view them. Just as I pulled out of the sighting one of my guests pointed out an eagle in a tree. To my surprise it was a Martial Eagle. We also got to see some buffalo before a breathtaking sunset.
On the 25th September I had Kimmo and Antti of the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation as my guests. They were filming a documentary on wildlife. We had the best time ever as far as bird photos go. I couldn’t believe our luck on the Morning Walk. We came across a number of different vulture species and an African Hawk Eagle and two Fish Eagles. So I put my photographic skills to the test to get good images of these birds. We also encountered a hippo and crocodile on the walking trail and then some other game species like impala and giraffe and zebras. We had a lot of good fun this day with my film-making guests. It was nice to get advice from the professionals, on how to set the camera right and how to position yourself for the once in a lifetime shots. I’m happy to add these images of these birds and other game so that everyone can enjoy it as much as I do.
Aerial image of White-backed Vulture
Monthly report from Isaac
Kruger Park is getting drier and more and more animals are using the few remaining water holes. The same thing is happening in the Balule Game Reserve.
21/09/11
There were seven Elephants around Tremisana lodge bringing down trees such at Marula and Acacia. They wanted the roots mostly because of the moisture they have. We have a reservoir tank for watering the gardens and all the water was drunk by these Elephants. They were splashing water on their bodies to cool themselves as it was very hot. As we were about to go for the Sunset drive they blocked the way for about an hour. Finally they gave us the way then we managed to leave. The clients were so happy to see these huge animals so close.
Elephant bull only one metre from entrance to Tremisana
We drove along the Olifants road and soon encountered a journey of male Giraffe. On Balule Plains we had good sightings of Zebras, Impala and a Black-backed Jackal that was being teased by the Helmented Guinea Fowl when they flew away calling. At Bushbuck Dam there was a lonely male Hippo in the water opening its mouth to show aggression.
We drove to Impala Dam and came across a Rhino rolling in mud. We switched off the engine and it walked towards our vehicle and passed right in front us and started grazing on the other side of the road. There was a crocodile along the bank of the dam with its mouth wide open.Plovers ( birds ) were feeding from its mouth working as tooth picks.
30/09/11
We started our drive in the Kruger and took the Rabalais road where we saw Giraffe and Zebras drinking water. One of the Zebras had a big scar under its belly. It looked like some lion had bitten it. We drove to Nsemane Dam around 11h00 and there were three lioness resting on the other side of the dam under a small bush. As we were still on the scene a male Elephant appeared on its way to drink water. It never realised there were some lions nearby. It went straight and drank some water then went into the dam to cool itself. Near Ngirivani two Rhinos crossed the road in front of us about 20 metres away and lay under a tree.
While we were having lunch at Satara there was great excitement when a male lion walked along the fence. Minutes later some Zebras and Gnu were following behind the lion and they did not see it. The lion paid no attention and kept on walking and went into the bush. We drove towards Nwanetsi and some lions and had a sighting of lions feeding on a Giraffe carcass. One lioness climbed on top of the carcass and gave us a better view. At around 15h30 we drove to Sweni. Just before we got there, a breeding herd of Elephants were feeding on Ilala palm tree and were walking towards the Sweni waterhole. Some Buffalos were on the other side of the river and the lions were resting on the sand. It was a great sighting of three of the Big Five at one spot.
We left the scene and soon found another lioness walking along the road through the cars, without any fear. We drove closer and the lioness sat in the middle of the road besides the vehicle to have some shade. We stayed there for about 20 minutes. It was breathing heavily and looking at all the cars. At 17h00 about 2km before the Orpen gate we had a super sighting of a big male leopard lying beside the road. It was looking at us and seemed completely at ease,
Monthly report from Mayneth
This is one of my best months in all the many years I have been working in the Park.
04-09-2011
We found 3 big lions on the H7 about 7km from Orpen. There was no action, and they were just lying on the ground. We drove to Shimangwaneni dam. There were 4 lionesses which were having a hard time trying to catch a warthog. The warthogs were too fast for the lionesses to catch them. After some time playing hide and seek the lionesses ended up sitting down under the shade. A herd of Elephants came to drink water. A White Rhino also was on the scene and then some magnificent and very rare Sable Antelope came to drink water as well, but the lions never made any effort to catch them.
We drove to Kumana Dam. It was late afternoon and we came across a leopard with cubs. They were all on the ground and an Impala was hanging on the tree above them. We could not wait for a long time because it was getting late. 14km before Orpen we found a male leopard hiding near a termite mount next to the road. I think he was waiting for warthogs to come there for their sleeping place.
06/09/2011
We drove into the Park and a few km from the Orpen gate we found 2 lionesses that had killed a wildebeest right next to the road. One of the lioness looked as if one its eyes could not see properly and we suspected it was kicked by the wildebeest while trying to kill it. At a distance there were Giraffes walking around. We drove about a km from the scene and there were Rhinos grazing near the S40.
Lion on the prowl in late afternoon
23/09/2011
We spent the whole day without seeing anything really interesting. On our way towards Orpen we came across Wild Dogs. All in total there were 19 and 5 cubs with them. From where they were coming from there was a Hyena’s Den.
29/09/2011
On this morning we drove to Timbavati and went into the Bird Hide to watch the Crocodiles and the Hippos. There was a herd of about 300 buffalo at that spot. While sitting there we saw a few lionesses trying to ambush the Buffalos. The Buffalos noticed the lionesses and they all ran straight towards them trying to chase them away. One Buffalo went out on the wrong side where two big male lions ( that we had not previously noticed ) grabbed it by the throat. It looked like they were going to kill him. Suddenly all the other big buffalo bulls of the herd came charging towards their suffering friend to rescue it. The big male lions were really scared as the leading buffalo bull was massive and determined to smash them. The lions let go of the buffalo and ran away and stopped again on the other side of the river.
This was really an amazing sighting – stuff you see only on documentaries!
Monthly report from Pieter
Pieter wins this month's award for holding up the Newsletter. Better a late report than never!
September’s already gone – not a drop of rain.
Right throughout Kruger Park and Balule you can see that the bush is getting drier by the day and the animals are spending more time around the camps and the watering holes. Like here at Tremisana we get regular visits from the elephants and giraffes. You can see the damage around the camp caused by the elephants and you can see that our GM, Piero, is not happy about this. But that’s nature and there is nothing we can do about it. It is nice to see all the new flowers and the new shoots on the trees although we have not had any rain. Although there is no rain it’s nice to see that some of our trees are flowering, like the Tree Wisteria and the Zam-Buk tree.
Really close
19 September
Whilst driving in Kruger Park, looking for animals, a tourist stopped next to me and told me about two lions at the water hole. When we got there, there were already a lot of vehicles so it was quite difficult finding a good spot. Eventually we managed to get a spot where we could look at the lions and then all hell broke loose when a herd of elephants came to the watering hole and chased the lions out of the bush. Instead of two lions it ended up being eight lions that were running in all directions. Thank you to all the people that give us information in the Kruger National Park.
25 September
Early in the morning the day started with a beautiful sunrise. We found lion tracks and followed them but no luck. When we got to Impala Dam, I was quite shocked to see how little water was left in the dam. The hippopotamus has left this dam and moved to Bushbuck Dam because of the lack of water. The fish are also struggling because of the lack of oxygen in the water - a lot of fish are busy dying, so we need rain quite urgently.
27 September
We left Tremisana for an afternoon drive. Near Campfire entrance we saw three rhino bulls. On Nonwane we saw a honey badger, and on York we saw a lot of general game. Our new tracker, Wesley Lovell, who is in training at Tremisana, spotted a pride of lions lying in the road. We followed them for a while and lost them in a thick bush. All of a sudden in the thick bush the two big pride males started roaring beautifully. It was really vintage Africa !
30 September
Kruger Park
We easily found four of the big 5 with only leopard to go. After some information from other people that a leopard had made a kill and left it next to the road, I decided to take a chance and go and check it out. When we got there, we saw that the carcass had been dragged under a thick bush. This told me that this leopard are not finished with this meal (normally lions or leopard will drag a kill under a bush so that the vultures and other scavenges cannot find their meal). I decided to wait there for a while to see if anything would pop out behind the bush. After a while I looked down to the ground and to my surprise I saw two puffadders (snakes) busy mating. What an incredibly rare and amazing sighting ! Everybody was focusing on the snakes and forgot about the leopard kill. Who says that the big 5 are always that important?
Anyway we got a different leopard later.
Extremely rare photo of mating Puffadders
NEWS FROM OUR LODGES
The Tremisana waterhole has had its best season ever. The sightings have been truly excellent. What makes it really awesome is that the waterhole is a mere 20 metres from the Lapa so our guests get fantastic close-up viewing.
The elephants are slowly destroying all the Marula trees. They have taken a liking to the Bougainvilleas that we planted 17 years ago. On 28 September, Steve Wium, our accountant, was tucking into the fabulous soup starter that Delina always produces when we heard an almighty cracking of a branch. The elephants were at the Bougainvilleas that are right on the fence which is literally two metres from the Dinner Boma. All the guests abandoned their soup and ran to see the Elephants while Steve promptly ordered yet another Gin and Tonic to calm his nerves. The guests then convinced Wimpie and Pieter to take them out on the open vehicles to spotlight the elephants. It turned out there were eight. All this abandoning of good hot food for the sake of wildlife viewing certainly annoyed Delina who directed some unprintable Shangaan expletives towards the herd bull.
Illuminated elephant right at fence
The Nyala at Marc’s Treehouse Lodge are so hungry that they are coming right up to the guests while looking for fallen leaves. In fact one guest broke a branch with leaves and held it out for the Nyala to feed on. We don’t really encourage this sort of thing but I suppose this guest felt sorry for the animals. What is a strict no-no is the feeding of monkeys. We have sufficient problems with the monkeys trying to break into the treehouses to find food. In fact we have now had to print notices for every treehouse asking our guests not to leave any food items in the treehouse however well-concealed the food may be. The monkeys smell the food and will destroy treehouse reed walls and luggage to get to the food.
We said goodbye to Camille Goblet, who spent 3 months of her US vacation with us at Tremisana. She posted the following on our staff notice-board : “ I had the most AMAZING past three months and it is so very sad to leave. You guys really made it so special for me and I really feel like part of the big Viva family. It was really hard for me at first because I was in a whole new environment so I felt very awkward and out of place. But as time wore on I really appreciated the effort everyone made to make me feel at home. From counting down the days to go from when I first arrived to now dreading my return, this time with you guys has truly been unforgettable ! ”
We welcome Wesley Lovell to Tremisana as trainee guide. He has shown immense potential and, with the careful nurturing and mentoring that I know Bongani, Pieter and Wimpie will provide, I am certain Wesley will turn out to be a top grade guide.
NEWS FOR OUR TRAVEL PARTNERS
As of 1 November, both the Cheetah Inn and Marc’s Adventure Camp will be leased.
Cheetah Inn will be run by Jonathan and Mandy Polling who have had extensive experience in the hotel industry in Britain. Both Jonathan and Mandy were born in South Africa and are really looking forward to returning and enjoying the wildlife experience ( and the sunny Lowveld ) that S A has on offer.
Marc’s Adventure Camp will be run by Toini and Juan van Rensburg who also run Mufasa Backpackers in Johannesburg. I believe that their numerous contacts in the backpacking fraternity will stand them in good stead and that they will be very successful.
Viva Safaris undertakes to continue supporting both Cheetah Inn and Marc’s Adventure Camp. We shall also be taking their guests on our various wildlife excursions.
November this year marks the 20th year since I founded Viva Safaris.
It has been a whole lot of fun! Apart from my Tourist Guiding qualification, my academic degrees are in Mathematics and Education. We had to learn very quickly as tourism is not an easy industry. What we lacked in knowledge we more than made up for in enthusiasm. We have been fortunate in having Trevor apply his exceptional marketing skills and with the support of Sandy and Anthony we have turned a dream into an exciting reality.
Perhaps the biggest vote of thanks goes to the unbelievably loyal staff we have had over the years. I mention in particular Delina, Ronald and Margrett who have been with us since the late nineties and are key to Viva Safaris’ success.
To the loyal travel agents that helped us along the way, we say a grateful ‘ Thank You ’ and confirm to you that your support has allowed Viva to grow to where we are today. We look forward to your continued support and assure you of our very best service for the next 20 years !
Until next month...
With kind regards,
Piero
General Manager
Viva Safaris
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