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Lions, lions every day!!

August 2015

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The drought has continued throughout August and the bush is very dry. Game viewing has been excellent throughout the month and there have been numerous occasions when our guides have had sightings of all Big Five before lunch-time. It has been an amazing month for lion sightings...
Elephant crosses in front of Viva Safaris clients

July 2015

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The introduction of a camera trap at the Tremisana waterhole has been a wonderful revelation ! It is attached to a Marula tree that thankfully has survived some seriously close encounters with elephants and buffalos. Despite the camera covering only a third of the waterhole (and...
Bongani leads a focussed group on a walk along the banks of the mighty Olifants River.

May 2015

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The African Civet, Civettictis Civetta, is a strikingly attractive animal. Generally but not strictly nocturnal, the Civet stands roughly 300mm at the shoulder and has a mass of around 4 kg. Civets are sometimes called “Civet Cats” but this is a misnomer as Civets display...
Brilliant photo of excellent Leopard sighting

March 2015

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I am writing this newsletter from Cape Town, where there has been a major issue regarding the removal of the statue of Cecil John Rhodes from the grounds of the University of Cape Town. Rhodes is seen by radicals as a colonialist who brought terrible hardship to Africa. The...
Lionesses resting after a good meal of Kudu

February 2015

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It is very unfortunate that most people are scared of snakes. Perhaps the snake is maligned as a result of negative connotations. For example, we read in Genesis that Adam and Eve were tempted to do evil by a “crafty” snake. Similarly there are pejorative expressions such as “a...
Elephant bull near Tremisana Lodge feeding on a Marula Tree

December 2014 / January 2015

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There can be no bigger thrill than having a Black Rhino bull sense our presence on a Bush Walk. I accompanied Rex on a walk this January. We were walking through a dry watercourse when we heard the most terrifying bellow – Rex, who was ahead of the group, came charging back and...
Young male leopard resting in the shade

November 2014

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The sighting of a Pangolin at Marc’s Camp as reported in last month’s newsletter by our tourist guide, Vanessa, has caused a substantial stir. I have received a number of comments from friends and previous guests. Old timers to the Kruger Park who have been there hundreds of...
Rhino mother and calf

October 2014

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The Sausage Tree, Kygelia Africana, is so named after its fruit which looks like a short fat salame (singular form of salami). Perhaps it was the Italian connection that led me to buy one specimen about 15 years ago and plant it at Tremisana Lodge. This year is the first year it...
Lioness near Satara

September 2014

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Unlike last year, when the rains fell on 1 September, this month the ground was parched and dry. No rain fell in September 2014 and both grazers and browsers are having a tough time. The condition of the veld is deteriorating rapidly. The old, sick and weak are moribund and the...
Great shot of a cheetah

August 2014

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The Barberton Daisy, Gerbera Jamesonii, derives its name from its geographic origin. Barberton is a town south of Nelspruit in the Lowveld and it was here, in the granitic soils, that the early gold diggers first saw this beautiful flower towards the end of the 19th century. It...