Drum Beat - News from Djuma Game Reserve


	In the African night, the beat of a drum means news...
	May 2009


Read about events at Djuma Game Reserve


Bush Lodge
"We were lucky to see the Styx pride of lions in front of the lodge....."…. Click here to read more.

Vuyatela
"The start of April saw daily swimming marathons by herds of elephants in front of the lodge."... Click here to read more.

Galago
"...not only have we seen a beautiful full grown male (leopard) in the wild but we've seen him outrun a hare and kill it right in front of us."... Click here to read more.



for more information visit www.djuma.com
If you would like to subscribe to this monthly newsletter, click here
This newsletter is archived in the Drumbeat section of our web site
Editor: Pippa Moolman



The photos above were taken by Graham Cooke - private guide - and Pieter Pretorius - presenter on WildEarth.tv


Bush Lodge
Our first signs of winter are well and truly upon us, with chilly mornings and evenings on most days. Guests have been dressing warmly for drives and wrapping up in blankets for extra comfort. As to be expected at this time of year we have had clear blue skies during the day and vivid starry nights with no rain or wind. Game sightings around the lodge have been quiet as there is still water in the natural waterholes out in the bush. However the male impalas are actively rutting - rounding up females - in preparation for mating. We were lucky to see the Styx pride of lions in front of the lodge just before dinner one night. They were looking skinny and probably passing through looking for some animal to hunt. The first two weeks of April was very quite in terms of big cat sightings. Breeding herds of elephant were seen almost every drive, and according to the guides, cats always avoid elephants. The following two weeks saw the number of elephant drop on the property and then lions and leopards appeared in high numbers all over the place. The Styx pride of lions was seen moving in from Kruger National Park and while on Djuma they killed a Zebra at Leadwood road, close to Gowrie main. White cloth female leopard was also seen with a male Impala kill in a tree, close to the old entrance road to Bush Lodge. Karula leopard and her cubs were seen in several occasions with impala kills stashed in trees. We had a wonderful experience watching Karula and the cubs playing around and jumping between branches of a rather high tree. There was a tense moment or two when they almost lost their footing, in fact the one cub did plummet to the ground at a stage. Much of this footage was captured on www.wildearth.tv and is archived should you wish to view it now. African Wild Dogs were unexpectedly seen near Vuyatela and most of our guests got to see them. It was wonderful to welcome back Lars O'Donovan at Bush lodge. Once a year our special group doctors come and stay at Bush lodge and this year was no exception. They were headed by Prof Herman Harmersma, along with Gustav and Annette Joyce, Bokkie and Georgie Lemmer, Mike and Benine Du Toit, Eugene and Barbara Myer, Harry and Lorreta Engelbrecht, Irmin and Linda Henkel and Quintus De Flamingh. We would like to wish them all a prosperous 2009 and we look forward to seeing them again. Happy birthday wishes go to Anet and Patrick, may the next year bring you joy and happiness. Fond regards from Mandla and the Bush Lodge team.

Vuyatela
The winter has been good to us lately with beautiful sunrises every morning. The grass is starting to turn grey while the trees still have some green to show, and the bush is opening up slightly now that the rainy season has ended. The start of April saw daily swimming marathons by herds of elephants in front of the lodge. The lodge surrounds and staff housing have caught the fancy of a lone bull elephant that has enjoyed feasting on the gardens and uprooting fencing poles leaving a wake of destruction behind him. It is of concern that the camp has caught the attention of an ellie at this early stage of the dry season. We are all on high alert and hope he finds some other vegetarian delights further afield! The baboons have done it again.... this time they stole a towel off a chalet deck chair, which had to be retrieved from the bush. There has been a lot of general game around the camp including giraffe, zebra, impala, and waterbuck to name a few. The lone Sandy Patch lioness has done well so far raising and protecting her three cubs. It has been not simple for her constantly being followed by the likes of the Nkuhuma and Styx prides of lions. The Nkuhuma pride is also trying hard to regain their territory where by they have showed their presence three times at Rhino Cutline, Tree House dam and Second Rock. The Styx pride, fourteen lions with cubs, seems to have found a new home on Western Gowrie. They were first spotted at Leadwood road feeding on a zebra kill and after that they were seen every drive mostly with kills. The best show was when one of the cubs killed a Steenbok and he refused to share his meal with the rest of the pride on Quarantine open area. However, later on, the same pride came chasing some impala and killed one right in front of the lodge with the guests watching from the dinner table. The growling was frightening while they were busy fighting amongst each other and ripping the tiny impala apart. The lone Manyeleti male lion is still living a tough life avoiding coming across either of the two resident prides. Karula female leopard and her two cubs are still looking healthy and are experiencing a very successful killing rate. Karula is most often seen within close proximity of Vuyatela. A pack of twelve African Wild Dogs was seen at Vuyatela exit and later they were seen feeding on an impala at Sandy Patch open area. The opening up of the vegetation has added great sightings of five ostrich at Manyeleti boundary and after that, five male cheetahs were found at Kobus's dam feeding on a grey duiker. We welcomed back return guests Robert Gunzberg and Grant MacDonald who used to work at Bush Lodge. Happy birthday wishes to Griffin Calkins, Sandra Pieterse and Claire Pellaton and happy honeymoon blessing to the Both's and Plowman's. Our staff birthday wishes go to Rebecca, Jimreeves, Thembi Mlombo and Taxon. Best wishes from Jimmy and the Vuyatela team.

Galago
As has come to be expected, we have wonderful feedback from our guests to share with you all. The Caffyn Group wrote: "This has been 2 of the most wonderful days of our lives. Aubrey & Isaac have been totally amazing finding all the "big 5" including leopard cubs, male and female leopard playing in tree. We will recommend Galago every time, we will be back. Thank you so much for making my holiday even better than it should be. Aubrey was very brave and Isaac spotted all the animals from a HUGE distance away. We saw all of the "big 5". Kitchen staff was extremely friendly. What a holiday." The Simpsons party reported: "The Green Rhino team enjoyed every minute of their stay. Aubrey and Funode were fantastic - we really enjoyed the leopard and lions moms with their cubs. Excellent service from all the staff in the kitchen. The Sivanda Group said: "Having visit Kenya in early 1981 all hope of seeing a leopard in the wild went, but here, not only have we seen a beautiful full grown male in the wild but we've seen him outrun a hare and kill it right in front of us. Just to wish my 36th year old wife (Kalpana) HAPPY 50th birthday. Love and all the best Thanks to all the ladies everything was wonderful. Aubrey and Funode thanks for a fantastic experience." The Boden Group had the following to say: "We have all had a lovely but too short break, here at Djuma. The stay exceeded our expectations in terms of wild life, comfort and hospitality especially Aubrey, Funode and all the ladies. Thanks we will be back." The Welsh group reported: "What an unbelievable and amazing experience. Thanks for a fab food. The big 5 and their youngsters and twice honey badgers. It was definitely the best experience of our lives. Aubrey and William you were fantastic and all the ladies."

Join us next month and share our experiences as the seasons march on.


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.

You received this e-mail newsletter because you are subscribed to the Djuma Game Reserve Drumbeat Newsletter. We respect your privacy and will not divulge your e-mail address to any third parties. Should you wish to unsubscribe please reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject line or click on this link to unsubscribe yourself.

Home

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

Webmaster: Jurie Moolman