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In the African night, the beat of a drum means news... |
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April 2007 |
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Read about events at Djuma Game Reserve |
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Bush Lodge |
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| "One night we had a spectacular storm approach from the south-east, with an impressive lightning and thunder show and about 19mm of rain……" Click here to read more… | |
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Vuyatela |
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"On several occasions we have seen a herd of
elephants in excess of a hundred individuals come and bathe in the
dam in front of the lodge….." Click
here to read more…
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Galago
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| "The wind whistled through our hair on Rex's game drives, the lion roared for us, the leopard romped and we even caught up with the wild dogs..." Click here to read more… | |
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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
the Djuma guides and Pippa.
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| Bush Lodge | ||
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Most of March had us all dreading what looked like we would experience
yet another dry month. Although we had a little rain towards the end
of February the bush was drying up and we started pumping water from
boreholes into some of the dams to bring relief to the animals, especially
the elephants which so enjoy a good wallow in the mud. One night we
had a spectacular storm approach from the south-east, with an impressive
lightning and thunder show followed by about 19mm of rain. This
was the tail end of a cyclone that hit the Mozambique coast causing
considerable damage. Luckily the only problems we experienced was
a temporary glitch in our phone lines. Then last week, our prayers
were answered and a hefty 90mm of rain bucketed down, once
again reviving the bush. We will probably have to keep pumping water
to the dams as winter progresses, but we will keep you posted. The
evenings and mornings have started cooling off as winter approaches. |
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| Vuyatela | ||
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non stop action in and around the camp this month. On several occasions
we have seen a herd of elephants in excess of a hundred individuals
come and bathe in the dam in front of the lodge. Apart from that, there
have been plenty of smaller herds, as well as solitary bull elephants
that pop in during the day for a splash in the mud and have a drink
to cool down. A small herd of ‘dagga boys’ or buffalo bulls
have also been seen quite often at the dam. During dinner one night
the guests were lucky enough to see two male lions stop over
at the dam for a quick drink. On another night, a large male leopard
stopped for a drink in front of Khaya 1, which was fantastic to see.
Other general game seen drinking at the dam have been impala, waterbuck,
bushbuck, nyala, wildebeest, kudu, zebra and steenbok, all in all,
a nice variety. Out in the bush we have been lucky enough on several occasions to see Karula female leopard with her two month old cubs. They have been hiding out not far from the lodge in the dense bush alongside the Galago short cut. We have also seen several fabulous sightings of cheetah this month, including one in which they killed an impala in front of the game drive vehicle. March ended on a high note when Solly’s guests saw a lone male lion take down a buffalo bull on his own. Buffalo are normally difficult for a whole pride of lions to bring down, so it is quite remarkable for the guests to have witnessed what they did. Another memorable event this month was the total lunar eclipse. For those ‘awake’ enough to watch it – the shadow only started forming after midnight – were rewarded with witnessing one of nature’s spectacles. Too add to all that, the month ended off with some good rain, although not enough to fill the dam, but enough indeed to allow the bush to burst into glory with butterflies, wild flowers and birds feasting on eruptions of termites and other insects. It was wonderful to see the Norman family and friends again, as well at Catherine and Will from Nelspruit. Congratulations to our Vuyatela honeymooners, the Andersens and the Bolsenbroeks. Our only staff birthday of the month was for Charles who is certainly getting wiser as the years go on! Nonku has been away on leave for a while and we had the pleasure of Dineo Molefe who took care of our guests at the Rubbing Post. We look forward to Dineo spending more time at Djuma in the future. Until next month, stay well from the Vuyatela team. |
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The month of March started with the McNab party, joined by family
and friends from Cape Town and England. Then the Booysen and Marais
group had the following to say; "It's been fantastic nature
experience we enjoyed it, we will definitely come back again. Rex
has been a stunning guide with great knowledge. Thank you." |
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Join
us next month and share our experiences as the seasons march on.
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Given
that the images are not sent with the html code that subscribers receive
in the newsletter e-mail, subscribers need to be online to see the
images. It is done this way to prevent large files clogging up people's
e-mail servers.
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Djuma
Game Reserve
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