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In the African night, the beat of a drum means news... |
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March 2006 |
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Read about events at Djuma Game Reserve |
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for more information visit www.djuma.com |
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If you would like to subscribe to this monthly newsletter, click here |
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This newsletter is archived in the Drumbeat section of our web site |
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Editor:
Pippa Moolman
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The above photos were taken from the Vuyatela Cam,
hosted by Djuma Game Reserve - most of these images are recorded by
Pippa.
Chris Stamper and Piet Marimane are operating the roaming camera to
great effect.
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| Bush Lodge | ||
| The bush is looking
lush and beautiful and the wildlife healthy. The game around the camp this month, from the large to the small, has been wonderful. Breeding herds of Elephants have been seen on several occasions stopping at the pan for a quick cool down from the heat of the day. The Styx pride (4 females, 3 sub adults and two large big males) paid us a visit one evening. Over the radio Chris and Morris were trying to contact us to warn us of the incoming cats - they were heading east - straight for the camp. Luckily for us, they bypassed the lodge, and headed straight for the pan. It was great to see them at the pan drinking, especially since we had not seen them on the reserve for a couple of months. The leopards have also been abundant. Beacon female and her two cubs have been "wowing" the guests with their development, watching them feed on an impala, and then showing their abilities to climb trees. Then just as we thought this is as good as it gets, the guides discovered that White Cloth female has had cubs! They were first discovered on the 22 February at a den site east of First Rock. Chris was overjoyed, when one evening, while following her, she led them straight back to the cubs. The cubs are still very small, probably less than a month old. The nesting boxes in the camp have been a great success, and this week we saw three woodland kingfishers leave the nest for the first time, miniatures of their mother. The genet is still visiting us early evening in the bar area, sometimes just sitting on the stairs watching us at the bar. We have added a couple of relaxation devices, in the form of hammocks, to the camp. Two overlooking the dam from the pool area, and a third one now hangs outside Chalet 6, looking out into the green bushveld. We want to congratulate all our honeymooners this month, Carol and Simon, Alan and Deborah and Gordon and Kelly, we wish you all a wonderful and happy life.It was lovely to welcome back some return guests. Dave and Fran visited us for the second time as well as Chris and Irene, bringing their two sons with them. Dick and Jane visited us almost exactly a year from the last visit. This time they were celebrating Dick's 70th Birthday, and it was wonderful to congratulate him with a birthday cake. We look forward to seeing them back next year to celebrate Jane's 70th. Valentine's day was celebrated with champagne in the bush near Buffelshoek dam, accompanied by a bush serenade of hippos calling from behind us. The Bush Lodge family celebrated some of its own birthdays, Piet on the 5th, Abel & Lineth on the 9th and Andrew on the 13th. Happy Birthday all. Mandla Mathonsi joined us from Seville, to help with front of house. Life is sharing his expertise, helping him to settle into the bush lodge family. Until next month Kim, Piet and the Bush Lodge Family |
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| Vuyatela | ||
| It has been a wet and
very busy month at the lodge. We have had about 190mm of rain this month
most of which occurred in the first week of February and the last couple
of days. The humidity has been very high too, after all this rain so we
have had some really extreme days. I don't ever recall it being this muggy.
As I write this newsletter the clouds are building up to what appears
to be a shower some time this afternoon or evening. We have had the pleasure of celebrating two weddings this month. The first was for Nick and Chris Bull and their family and close friends. They booked the whole lodge and some of Bush lodge for this event. Needless to say that when they had come out in September to view the lodge and plan the wedding it was much drier. It rained from the time the family arrived until about eight hours before the afternoon wedding. We headed out just after breakfast to look for a new venue close to the lodge, as the weather still looked ominous and the original site was under water! We found a magical spot close to the lodge off Zoë's Road, with a breathtaking view of the bush. The open area was quite a sight as butterflies flittered around the wild flowers. We got back to the lodge and let Chris know about the new setting, which made her day. Corrie and Al Stride, the groom's sister and brother-in-law, helped get the area ready in no time, thanks to the team's hard work. Battery operated fairy lights, Gerbera daisies and roses softened the scene. All in all a great day had by all with no sign of rain from that point on. Congratulations too you both!! Jonathan and Amy came alone to celebrate their special day in the bush. Pierre Naude our trusted minister put all at ease with a very lovely ceremony at sunset. Amy chose a traditional exchange of gifts as part of her ceremony, and it certainly put an extra special touch to the day. Jonathan and Amy have been doing a lot of traveling over the past few months and almost got married in Australia, but they decided on Djuma and South Africa. We wish you a happy and long life together. We had a couple of return guests this month too. Sarah Pharo came for a bush fix with her friends Gibby and Nancy. They were with us for three days of fun in the very hot sun. Paddy Doyle brought his wife along to see the bush that he had visited in the past. Then we had the Sangolds who returned for special 70th birthday treat for their parents. Graham had them all seeing as much as possible and kept them highly entertained. Great to see you all again. On the game front, one of the highlights was the double wildebeest kill that happened in front of some highly exited guests, by the Styx pride of nine. We had the western pride of 4 Lions kill a Wildebeest 500m from Vuyatela too, which made for some great viewing and excitement. Naturally walking freely between the lodge and the staff village became interesting with the Lions around! We have had a lone bull Elephant hanging around the lodge for a week now. He spends most of his days in the dam or mud bathing at the waters edge. He seems to really enjoy this location at present. We were also lucky to see White-cloth, the female Leopard with her new born cubs. They are about three weeks old now and are quite used to the game vehicles so some great photographs are being taken. The beacon female and her two cubs are doing very well to. She was seen on a large male Impala kill with the cubs enjoying a bit of it too. The Lion cubs are also doing well and it would appear that they are going to make it. The Hippo has been seen around camp at night feeding away on the long grass. He has not been too happy sharing the dam with the elephant, but they seem to just tolerate each other. We had five Buffalo bulls that came down for a while to soak in the cool water but they were told off by the Elephant and the Hippo and they were seen moving away from the dam rather quickly. The month ended in a twist of events. We got to see a birth and a kill with in minutes. A Buffalo calf was born with all our guests watching, and seconds later a Lion ran in and killed the newborn in a flash, intensified by the pouring rain. On a slightly sad note we say farewell to Lilly Siwela who has decided to further her education in tourism. She will be moving to Pretoria to study but will be back to do her practical with us. Good luck Lilly and see you soon. Until next month, cheers form Mark and the Vuyatela team |
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What a wet month it has been, with a very wet start
to the month, and the heavens opening yet again at the end of February.
Although this has been cause for some rather wet drives, the benefits
to the bush are great. We will be assured of full dams through our dry
winter months, as well as excellent grazing and browsing for the herbivores.
The game has been fairly active, considering the hot temperatures taking affect as early as 08h30 in the mornings. Buffalo herds and elephants have been seen on many occasions taking swims in the dams. In the case of the elephants there must be an element of fun involved as they can stay in for ages, dunking each other and staying under for a while using their trunks as snorkels. There has also been a lot of rhino activity on the property, with "Short Horn" been a regular visitor. The guests were lucky enough to see lions bring down a wildebeest mother and calf in the southeastern sector. Yet another wildebeest was taken down near Vuyatela Lodge. However, the highlight would have to be the new leopard cub arrivals, to White Cloth Female. The have a good den in the form of a large flat rock over a dry riverbed. This makes the sightings, not only fantastic, but unusual too, as they are seen mostly from above, looking down on them. We are keeping vehicles to a minimum at this special event, but the mother is very relaxed and tolerant as long as distance and respect is shown. Until next month, stay well from the Galago team. |
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Join
us next month and share our experiences as the seasons march on.
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Djuma
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