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

April 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

Looking back, the initial flow of guests was rather slow, which suited us quite well for a number of reasons. There were so many chores around the camp that had to be done, some of them less pleasant than others. Until a few years ago, we had to go and hunt impala to feed our staff and guests. When we first arrived at Djuma, Tilman Ludin had given Jurie a .375 rifle. We thought this was a rather odd gift to be awarded to a pacifist whom was not in the least bit interested in handling firearms. About a week later Abel announced that he and Monica needed meat, and seeing as Jurie had a gun, he should go out and shoot an impala! A friend of ours, Lance Gewer, a moviemaker, was up from Johannesburg, and together with Jurie would go out on daily "hunting" excursions. Each day passed with no sight of meat for the pot, and Mkanzis were doubting Jurie's hunting skills. On the fifth day, Lance and Jurie were getting equally despondent, but upon their return to the camp they spotted a flock of guinea fowl. Out of sheer desperation and determination, Jurie released a hard nosed bullet from the .375, the impact of which Lance described as being more spectacular than anything he had ever seen on a movie set! The boys sheepishly arrived in camp with a guinea fowl wing and presented it to an unimpressed Abel and Monica.
We then got some tips on quick efficient impala hunting and the situation improved. We would go out at night, myself behind the wheel, Abel behind the spotlight and Jurie behind a much smaller quieter .22 rifle. We found this method to have the least impact on the herd, and the animals would stand still long enough for an accurate shot. On one occasion an impala jumped straight into the vehicle, which was rather alarming. About 5 years ago, the SSW requested that landowners stop hunting impala. Impala numbers were going down and so in turn were those of wildebeest, which were easier to catch with less impala around. Looking back, the end of this culling has resulted in very "tame" impala, which are such a joy to watch especially when the young lambs are around at the beginning of summer.
As business started picking up, Abel approached Jurie and suggested we get a professional tracker in to make the game drives more successful. As I mentioned in the last chapter, "Big 5" hunting was still taking place, resulting in very skittish game and some crafty maneuvering on our part to avoid the pro-hunter outfits in the bush. Dixon Mkanzi arrived in the Bush Lodge lounge, every bit as professional and experienced as his brother Abel had described. Dixon had been in the business for many years, as a tracker and a guide, and talked of his experiences eloquently with a slight American accent. Dixon started as a tracker, but Jurie quickly saw the rapport Dixon had with guests, and before long Dixon was guiding with a "new and improved" Abel tracking from the bonnet. Dixon brought us up to scratch quite fast, insisting on uniforms, blankets for the vehicles and many other general improvements that he knew we needed. Dixon also noticed that I was starting to show the strain of long days of cooking, entertaining and administrative duties, as the lodge grew busier. It seemed to be time to call in the expertise of a chef, by the name of Johnson Mgiba. Johnson had been in the business for as long as Dixon, overlapping at some of the same lodges, as well as growing up together in Utha village. I must mention that Johnson and Dix were also both a lot older than Jurie and I, and we gladly took their advice and guidance very seriously. Johnson's housekeeper girlfriend came in and showed our staff how to turn down the beds, accompanied by flowers and chocolates. Another touch was to insert a toilet roll correctly and make the leading edge of tissue look very beautiful! Who would have guessed that this was possible! There are many other touches that Grace taught us that we still use today.
Johnson was also quite scathing towards me that I had not been serving 3 course dinners and immediately set about correcting my wayward culinary expertise. In fact, with the kitchen under Johnson's control, I was starting to feel like a 5th wheel. About 2 weeks later I was pulled aside by Max Sithole, whom was the chef at the neighboring lodge and Johnson's best friend, and sternly told that Johnson "knows his job" and suggested I stay out the kitchen. Both Johnson and Dixon were very instrumental in laying a good foundation on which we could build upon, and we never looked back.
It was around this time that we first met young Campbell Scott. His girlfriend at the time, Pendrae, was directly involved forming a link between the four of us. Jack Saulez, Pendrae's dad, a business partner of Jurie's dad and godfather, placed a call to Tilman Ludin. The essence of the call was that an American wildlife photographer friend of Campbell's was interested in coming to the bush to take some photos and naturally Djuma was the place to be. Lawrence Beck and Campbell arrived, but spent most of their time in the bush, so we did not really get to know them. Apart from some stunning photos that Laurence sent us we did not stay in touch. In the mean time, Campbell and Pendrae went to work for Wilderness Safaris in Northern Kwa Zulu Natal. Almost a year later, Jurie and I were close to exhaustion. Our staff compliment was 11, and we were all straining under the pace of our growing business. We accepted that we needed help managing the camp and business. Many interviews later, we were more despondent than ever and thought the right people would never come along. Tilman, who was a constant guide (and business partner) phoned us and suggested we consider taking on Jack's daughter and her boyfriend! We had not met Pendrae, but I remembered Campbell's charm and good looks, his ability to fix vehicles and his birding skills, and to top it all, they wanted to work in the Sabi Sands! The only snag was that they were contractually obliged to give 3 months notice to Wilderness Safaris.
Although I was pregnant and was perpetually under the influence of morning sickness, I knew that there was a ray of light at the end of the tunnel, and we pressed on. We had to call on the help of a number of friends just to try relieve our load until Pendrae and Campbell arrived. Then the unthinkable happened! Jurie and I both came down with malaria at the same time. Thank goodness Andre Neethling, who was working on another game concern of the Moolman and Ludin families, was speedily dispatched to our aid. For the first time Bush Lodge was being run with military precision and new levels of "spic and span" were introduced much to our amazement. Jurie and I were laid up in the Hoedspruit Military hospital and were oblivious to what was happening back "home". We were convinced that without us there, no one would be able to function. Not so! Andre was so brilliant at motivating the team, that a week later when we returned, the camp was better than ever. We thought we could manage the camp from our beds while we recuperated, but realizing that we needed emotional and physical rest, we were airlifted to Johannesburg to be pampered by my mom.
When we returned, Andre was eager to go back to his wife Ilse and his regular job, so we called in the help of another Andre, yet another long time family friend. Andre van der Westhuizen, a professional hunter, loaded with oodles of charm and charisma carried us through to the long awaited day that Pendrae and Campbell eventually arrived.
At this stage, I must add that we have always been blessed with fantastic friends that have worked so tirelessly for our cause. The tasks have involved breaking down buildings, building new ones, modeling for/designing and printing brochures; driving vehicles and supplies from Johannesburg, cooking for guests, planting trees and giving tons of emotional support, just to name a few. Thanks.
Pippa Moolman
This story will be continued next month.

The seasons are clearly changing in the bush. Days are getting shorter and nights longer, autumn colours are starting to appear. We have moved our morning game drive a half an hour later to 06h00, as it is still dark at 05h30. Our afternoon safari now departs at 16h30, as it gets dark earlier. We have also seen a smidgen of rain this month it has brought a little relief but the bush is still very dry and hot.
We have had a delightful month with great sightings. The Wild Dogs were back for a couple of days around Vuyatela. They provided us with some really amazing sightings as they always do. We have had wonderful sightings of all the cats with Leopard still popping up behind every rock literally. On a slightly worrying note we had one of the young male Leopard cubs injured severely by what appears to be a warthog. There were a couple of days were it looked as if we would loose him as he was clearly in a bad way. We may not interfere with nature and as fate would have it he is recovering beautifully at the moment. As he progresses we shall keep you informed.
We saw the return of two friends Vincent and Tony van Rooyen who came to the bush for a break their brought along family and proceeded to have a good time. Helen van Tonder our marketing manager visited the lodge this month for a couple of days, it was great to have her with us. We had many guest coming back to us this month through referrals from their family and friends. Sheila Caunce was with us last year and had a wonderful stay with her husband. March saw her daughter Georgina return to Djuma for a second time. We were also honoured to have Lady Patricia Packard visit. Lady Patricia, 90 years old, thoroughly enjoyed her game drives and had many fascinating anecdotes to tell from her last visit to South Africa in the 1920's. With the uncertain time we are in it is great to see such delightful folks traveling.
We have had a couple of close calls with the wild life and staff. A 20cm Marble tree snake attacked Mark late one evening, as he was getting ready to retire for the evening. These HARMLESS creatures are not aggressive at all but it did prove a bit much so late at night he resorted to a large broom and box to contain the visitor. Pendrae had a slightly larger visitor from the wilds, a young Python appeared next to her and the kids, as they were busy with story time just before the kids went of to bed. There was an emergency call down to the lodge and Chris and Mark came to the rescue well mostly Chris, Mark was there for moral support for the kids, Pendrea and Chris. Needless to say that the Python was reunited with the wild unharmed.
Steve's back operation has been successful so far. Four weeks ago he had a huge operation and all seems to be going according to plan. Nicole has been very busy helping him get well. Warren and Maritjie popped off for a well-deserved break. We have Charmian and Pippa off in India at the moment at a marketing conference. The trip seems to be going very well so we should see them home in a while. Campbell is away in Cameroon at the moment busy with the black ghost project (Drumbeat September 2002) and Jurie is here to watch over the rest of us and take care of business.
Mark Labuschagne

Another month has come and gone. We all hoped the rain would come this month and although it was only just over 3 mm we enjoyed the brief release from the heat and dust, also it brought with it some beautiful sunsets. We were visited one evening at dinner by a hyena, she sneaked up to within one meter from the dining table, not too long after this we heard a bushbuck alarm call, when we investigated, to our shock, the hyaena we had seen earlier had killed a baby bushbuck, we stood behind room 2 and watched for a while until the hyena made her exit. A most unusual sighting! This month we were joined by Claire McGill from Switzerland, (the Swiss girl with the Irish accent) she was here for the month helping us out around the camp, and entertaining the guests with her bubbly, lively personality. We wish her well with her future and thank her for all her help. Return guests, Diane, Stacey and Mark were back with us again and this time Stacey wowed us all with her talented guitar playing. Again Liane was visited by one of the large male leopards, he marched along her stoop one morning before breakfast, watched from across the drainage line by our guests.

A month of great game sightings and celebrations has passed. The Moodie party was all here to celebrate the wedding of Nicolette and Peter. Although the wedding was in the Cape, family from Belgium and America joined in for the honeymoon up here in the bush. The highlight as far as game sightings goes, was surely when Lucy and Mildred spotted a wild dog chasing impala across the plain in front of the camp. They quickly alerted Ephraim and his guests out on drive who managed to get a good sighting as the dog continued chasing game over the Manyeleti boundary. This same single wild dog was seen a few days later near Baobab Camp and we can only guess that it is waiting to join up with the rest of the pack somewhere in the area. A brief shower of rain has made the bush a bit greener, but was not enough to fill any of the pans. Some of the water points are already being supplemented with borehole water. Chances of more rain are getting smaller as the dry winter season approaches.
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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