In the African night, the beat of a drum means news...

February 2003

Read about events at Djuma Game Reserve

Vuyatela

Bush Lodge

for more information visit www.djuma.com

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This newsletter is archived in the Drumbeat section of our web site

From very humble beginnings 10 years ago, www.djuma.com has developed into an awesome place to visit on a regular basis. We all know those web sites that never change or update, and therefore are seldom visited more than once or twice. The Djuma site is updated regularly and makes each visit fun and interesting. We are lucky that Jurie Moolman keeps things moving and we don't have to rely on costly outside resources that keep one waiting to make even the slightest change. Sarah Wallington and Jurie designed the site a few years ago with user friendliness in mind, as well the facility to update easily and often.
The home page has some great features. Not only is one greeted with a daily updated photograph and a hearty lion roar audio, but you will also be welcomed in a time appropriate manner, no matter where in the world you are. Apart from English, one can browse in five other languages, and we don't stop there! At the bottom of the menu on the left hand side, you will find a link to "Translations" utilizing the Babelfish Translator, which pretty much translates the site into any language of your choice. Do take a moment to browse through our visitor's map and leave a message there. There is also a link to "MapMe" which will zone in on Djuma from the map of South Africa. You will also notice our "Proudly South African" logo, and we surely are proud to be the first and only Game Reserve in South Africa to be part of this national programme.
Working down the menu you will be able to get a self-explanatory overview of all three lodges, Vuyatela, Bush Lodge and Galago Camp and see 3D photos of each in the IPIX gallery. "The Safari" which explains the daily itinerary of our guests follows this. It is always nice for future visitors to have more or less an idea of what their daily movements will entail. Another exciting regularly updated section is "Ranger's Diary" which is archived back to September 1998. Here we can read about the latest game sightings and tit bits about the goings on in the bush, on the morning and afternoon drives. The next stop is "The Live Cams" where one can have a quick peek at a real time safari or the activities around the waterholes via www.africam.com. An option during your stay is to engage the services of a "Private Guide", so do take a look at Graham Cooke's impressive background.
The following section of the site is dedicated to the Reserve itself. The section on "The Ecosystem" is very interesting and gives one an insight into the complexity of the habitat and fauna of Djuma. Also useful are the climate graphs, weather forecasts and the maps of this specific area. Another much needed and educational tool is found under "The Wildlife" section. Here you will find a lot of info and pictures of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and trees found in this biome.
After 10 years in the game lodge industry, you may find it interesting to read about Djuma's history and philosophy, the faces behind the people who work here and the letters of compliments that our guests send us. Guests also share their safari photos in the "Guest Gallery" section and our staff, some of whom have great photographic skills, have a chance to show off in the "Staff Gallery" section.
Probably the most exciting part is "Drumbeat, which has been in the form of a monthly newsletter for the last year. Prior to that it was in an article format archived back to 1997! In those days the updates were few and far between as we never knew what was interesting enough to write about without boring the reader. Looking back, we have had such lovely stories to tell and share! An under utilized section is the "Message Board" where we make announcements or simply share comments amongst visitors, either real life or cyber.
After that we have the regular old, but never the less important "Search", "Reservations" and "Contact Us" links. Last but not least is a page of useful links that guests and staff have contributed to the site.
So, if you have any comments or suggestions, do feel free to mail us or post a message on the message board and we will respond to you in person.
Pippa Moolman

Happy New Year to all our wonderful Djuma Friends. Yes, we had a joyous New Year celebration once again in the very warm bush. We were accompanied by a wonderful group of guests over that period, in particular the Trickett family. (You can read their feedback under the "Compliments" section on our web page). They welcomed the New Year with a couple of the staff. We had cocktails on Old Year's Eve in the bush; around some roaring fires Bush Lodge guests joined Vuyatela's for the occasion. Warren and Life make some cocktails, but what we did not realize, is how potent the cocktails were! After a couple of cocktails (we all tried one of each obviously) our bodies seemed to indicate we were rather lethargic and in need of some sleep. So when the clock struck twelve there was only a hand full of guests to see in the New Year. With all our lovely guests safely tucked in for the night, we had a little gathering in the staff village to share in the joy of the New Year.
As far as the game goes, we have had the pleasure of having two young male Leopards hanging around Vuyatela. They are the cubs from the Safari female Leopard. We literally have had sightings of them morning, noon and night. It has been great having them around us as thy have given us all hours of entertainment. You can have a closer look at some of the pictures under the Guest Gallery section. There have been great sightings of Cheetah with cubs, Cheetah with Leopard, and Cheetah with Lion etc all in the same sighting. We had the pack of Wild Dogs spotted close to Vuaytela on a couple of game drives. Over all we have had a particularly good month of game viewing.
January has always been a month with some days open at Lodges. We decided to treat our wonderful staff to some outings on these open days. Charmian, Liane and myself chatted and with the agreement of Jurie, Pippa, Campbell and Pendrae, we sent all our staff on a guided tour of the panoramic route, which is very popular with tourists. They all returned with great memories of a spectacular day. On another occasion Steve and the Nelair Pilots arranged to take all the staff on flips so they could see what Djuma Game Reserve looks like from the air. Needless to say that we had staff arriving back with adrenaline pulsating through their veins.
Clearly we have started off with a good year. We look forward to meeting some new friends and also welcoming our old friends back to the bush in 2003.
Mark Labuchagne

2003 has started off by being particularly hot and dry. The game viewing has been consistently good as the bush has thinned out and the animals have become more reliant on the few permanent water sources remaining. At Bush Lodge, although our dam has dried up, we provide the wildlife with fresh drinking water in a cement trough in front of the lodge as well as a more natural 'pan' roughly 1km away from camp. The rhinos are particularly attracted to this pan and sightings have become more regular. At camp, elephants visit almost daily and are often joined by a family of newly resident warthogs.
The Fever tree in the staff village has become home for the first time to a vast colony of weaver birds and over the past month we have been constantly serenaded by their hungry cries and they are now getting ready to fly the nest. Already we have had to return a number of fledglings to the tree due to over-ambitious flight plans. The staff is looking forward to a little peace and quiet again!
In camp, renovations continued on the guest accommodations with Pippa helping to put those finishing touches to the decor. Jimmy has been busy with a team in the garden topdressing the lawn with manure and despite the hot, dry weather the lawn is looking great.
The staff enjoyed a fantastic day-trip out to the Blyde Canyon and Graskop area to enjoy the beautiful scenery that our guests always rave about. Everyone had a fantastic time and the vibrant atmosphere on the bus made for a great year-end party.
Moshe our student has returned to Pretoria to continue his Nature Conservation studies and we wish him the best of luck! Brigitte, who hails from Austria, has replaced him and her grasp of multiple languages has already been a huge help. She will be with us for a few months and we await her Austrian strudel with anticipation!
We hope everyone has had a wonderful start to 2003

January started at a brisk pace, most fitting for a new year! The bush gets drier by the day, and although we had 20mm of rain, there is still the deep longing for some more. The "bush telegraph" speculates as to the "big rain" coming in February and March! The bush telegraph is seldom wrong, so with fingers crossed we eagerly await the life giving drops. The Marula trees have fruited earlier than usual this year, and the primates, elephants and tortoises have been feasting on the tasty berries.
At last the camp renovations have been completed. The exterior of the building has been painted in that glorious "wet elephant" colour and the woodwork has a fresh lick of creosote. We have erected three carports with shade cloth covers for our guests' vehicles. Last but not least, the swimming pool has been revamped with a marbelite lining.
The year marches on at an alarming pace, and we are all looking forward to seeing old friends and new faces again.
Pippa Moolman

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Djuma Game Reserve
P. O. Box 338, Hluvukani, 1363, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Tel: (+ 27 13) 735 5118
Fax: (+ 27 13) 735 5070
 

 
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