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

  
 

June 2007

  
 

Read about events at Djuma Game Reserve
 

Bush Lodge
"….. about fifteen minutes later, a White-tailed Mongoose was spotted….." Click here to read more…
 

Vuyatela
"The cold conditions have not made the game any less likely to show themselves off…." Click here to read more…
 
Galago
"A great trip and enough lions, leopards, cheetahs, birds and general game……" Click here to read more…
 
Tourism Indaba
"Djuma once again stood out from the crowd…." 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 above photos were taken from the Vuyatela Cam and roving bush camera, hosted by Djuma Game Reserve - all of these images are recorded by the Djuma guides.
 
 
Bush Lodge

May was the month where everyone in South Africa (and no doubt elsewhere) was gripped in cold weather conditions. From the beginning of the month the temperatures dropped down every single day, with the 22nd of May at Djuma being barely a few degrees above zero. We were lucky, as the rest of the country experienced far colder conditions than we did in the bush.
Around the lodge one evening just before the drive returned, a very big Hippo was spotted under the Bush Lodge spotlight, feeding on the side of the waterhole. After a while he moved south of the lodge. In the same area, about fifteen minutes later, a White-tailed Mongoose was spotted catching flying insects under the spotlight. The guests were having dinner, so unfortunately missed the mongoose, but got two good views of the hippo as he continued to graze on the river bank to the western side of the main building. It was so amazing for our guests to see hippo outside the water and at a very close distance of about thirty away.
On another occasion, we were busy with pre-dinner drinks at the bar when we heard Lions growling somewhere near the staff village. Chris called down from his house about a minute later, just to let us know that Styx Pride of lions has just taken down an Impala right in front of the service entrance. They were finished their dinner in about thirty minutes and took a nap lying down against the gate.
White cloth female Leopard was heard calling at the bush braai site and immediately Chris went to check there because his guests had not seen a Leopard. It did not take long and Chris was following White cloth while she was looked out for her sub-adult cub as well as keeping an eye open for a hunting opportunity. She finally got lucky and took down a fully grown male Impala about half a kilometer east of Bush lodge on the 'Fig tree' side. Fortunately the cub was nearby and managed to join his mother at the kill. However, while they were busy eating, a male Hyena arrived on the scene before White cloth could take the kill up the tree, and the leopards lost their meal to the Hyena.
On the guest front we had honeymooners Jeremy & Caroline Escreet, lending a romantic atmosphere to Bush Lodge. Newlyweds James & Nicholla Thompson had spent their first night together in Africa at Bush lodge.
Our group of sixteen doctors who all met years before at Pretoria University attended their annual reunion at Bush Lodge. It is a thrill to share their company and enthusiasm for the bush every year and they have booked to join us again in 2008. John and Stella Blackmore returned to Bush Lodge after staying here a few years back. Rob & Jan Miles came back for their second visit to celebrate their 20th anniversary. It was really a pleasure for the Bush Lodge team to share have such wonderful moment with them. It was a great pleasure that Mr & Mrs Colwill came back and stayed at Bush lodge for their second time.
On the staff side we wish Nesta Machavi a happy birthday and many blessings for the year ahead.
Fond regards from Mandla and the Bush Lodge Team

 
Vuyatela
Winter is here! If you are visiting us in the next month or two, remember to pack in some extra warm clothing for the game drives. While the days are mostly mild with the sun taking the chill off one, winter is only really experienced on the back of a moving safari vehicle.
The cold conditions have not made the game any less likely to show themselves off to our guests, whether it be in camp or out in the bush. While our guides accompany the guests on their walk back to the khayas, they have seen a male leopard on occasion as well as a lioness. Some of us have been lucky enough to notice that Karula female leopard and her two young cubs have been seeking out the safety of the lodge, near Khaya 8 to be exact. Our housekeepers were on their way to wake the guests up before drive one morning when they saw Karula sauntering down the path to the lodge. Solly later tracked her on foot and came across the cubs, but without their mother. He beat a hasty retreat because if he had stuck around and Karula had come across him, she would not have been happy about Solly's presence near the cubs. It may be a while before our guests can see the cubs in this location, as the bush is too thick to take a vehicle in there, and it is not safe to go in on foot. The most amazing sighting in the lodge has to have been the +/- 3m long python that had coiled itself under the eve of the roof at Khaya 7. Hundreds of photographs later when the time was right it left! We think it is the same python may have moved up into the latte ceiling above the servery in the dining room, to find a warm, safe, spot to aestivate over winter. We are quite happy to have it stay there as a way of frightening the monkeys away. The monkeys' behaviour around the shebeen (bar and dining area) has been worse than ever, resulting in round the clock 'guarding' of food and tipple alike!
Out in the bush we have found two lionesses, possibly from the pride of 12, that have cubs of around 3 to 4 moths old. We are still trying to find out if the pride is from Manyeleti Game Reserve, or Kruger National Park. Rhino sightings have been challenging, with the trackers and guides spending much time finding them on foot. Some days, no luck at all, and then the following day no less than five individual rhinos together. There have been good sightings of two cheetah brothers. One such viewing, they had caught a young waterbuck, only to have it snatched away by hungry hyenas.
We have had one of our busiest honeymoon months in a while and we congratulate Mr. and Mrs. Gooch, Mr. and Mrs. Whelah, Mr. and Mrs. Mezies, Mr. and Mrs. Thornton, Mr. and Mrs. Randell, Mr. and Mrs. Pritchard, Mr. and Mrs. Franklin and Mr. and Mrs. Barett. May you lives together be happy and we hope to see you at Vuyatela for anniversaries in the future.
We were blessed with return visits from Mrs. Toone, Bill and Bonnie Lupien, Mr. and Mrs. Wivell and friends, Marian Noakes and friends, and Mr. and Mrs. Seymour.
Staff birthday wishes go to Lusile, Isaak, Aubrey and Nonku. Congratulations to Jimreeves and Eric for passing exams of courses in refrigeration and air conditioner repairs and maintenance.
Until next month, stay well from the Vuyatela family.
 
Galago

Greetings from a very chilly, wintery, bush! This is rather a mixed season, although the temperatures spell 'winter' in no uncertain terms, the yellowing leaves give more of an autumn visual. Nevertheless the guests have had great game viewing and enjoyed the atmosphere at Galago.
The Taljaards had the following comments:
A great trip and enough lions, leopards, cheetahs, birds and general game. Found the lions: we followed them, resting, sleeping, walking, stalking impala missed, stalked kudu missed, giraffe missed. We left them at 00h30 went back to camp straight to bed just to find them the following day with no successful hunting.
Thank you very much once again to all the staff and especially Lex for making this a great experience."
"'n Heerlike kuier in die bos.
Ons is so tien mense - die meeste ervare wild en voëlkenners. Lex was wonderlike gids. Baie diere en voëls gesien. Baie dankie vir alles."
Theuns an Annetjie, Kristen en Dilene, Eli en Shirley, Kobie en Marietjie, Christilla en Alta
"Ons het baie geleer oor die Hienas en hulle snaakse gewoontes. Wonderlike leeus gesien en vier klein welpies dit was heerlike kuier met spesiale vriende - long live the wilderness and all its inhabitants. And very special thanks to Lex for a wonderful 4 days."
Galago hosted part of the entourage for Paul Kruger's 70th birthday and although the main celebrations were at "Hardekool" Lodge, the Galago staff participated and Max's delicious cuisine was much appreciated. The guest also loved the way the rooms were prepared and noted the little flowers the housekeepers used to finish off their work with care.
Best wishes from the Galago team, until we chat again next month.

 
 
Indaba 2007

At the Tourism Indaba in Durban this year Djuma once again stood out from the crowd by emphasizing the most important part of a bush destination is the safari. It is the norm at trade shows to exhibit ones accommodation. Djuma wanted to remind the industry of our incredible safari experience. We did by installing a game drive vehicle mock up in our stand. Through the windscreen we had a plasma screen showing live video from our Wildearth partners (www.entertainmentafrica.com) , live game drives in the morning and evening and waterhole scenes to cover the time in between. "Guests" could climb up on to the vehicle and go on a virtual safari.
We know Djuma offers the best game drives because of our extensive, exclusive traversing area and experienced, knowledgeable guides who have been here for years.
 
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

Copyright © 1998 - 2007 Djuma Game Reserve - All Rights Reserved.