Drum Beat - News from Djuma Game Reserve


	In the African night, the beat of a drum means news...
	July 2006


Read about events at Djuma Game Reserve

Bush Lodge
Vuyatela
Galago


for more information visit www.djuma.com
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This newsletter is archived in the Drumbeat section of our web site
Editor: Pippa Moolman



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.



Godfrey Nkentshane has completed his sixth Comrades Marathon. The Comrades is an ultra-marathon of more than 90 km, not for the faint hearted! Djuma supports Godfrey and we are extremely proud of his accomplishments.

Bush Lodge
June has brought about cold mornings and cold evenings. Average temperatures this month have been 26C high and 10C low. However, we have clear blue skies in the day and the stars bursting from the sky at night. In the mornings the mist hangs over the drainage lines, this makes for some magical sightings as the animals move through the mist. The aloes are in full flower around the camp and have not disappointed us, or the sunbirds that have so eagerly awaited the sweet nectar they offer. Other animals have also blessed us with their presence in camp this month. The bushbuck have moved in and signs are showing on the garden plants as they move through their personal buffet! The beginning of June seems to be the time for elephant invasions, very similar to last year when we also had a large visitor. This year he came back with a vengeance. His first visit was on 3rd June, when he pushed over the fence near one of the staff houses. Patrick heard something and when he opened his door of his room, the elephant was about one metre away. Grant (our new assistant manager) also got alarmed when he looked out from his room and all he could see were ears and a trunk. The elephant continued to come into the camp for the next four nights. Hyeana have also found they way into the camp, eating a decorative calabash from the table near the bar. The genets have also made a come back, three different ones have been sighted. Also banded, dwarf and slender mongoose have also been seen in and around the camp. One of our guests visiting us from Paternoster, Theunis, decided to stay behind one morning with his young daughter, Mila. While they were sitting quietly at the pool, they had a fantastic surprise, White Cloth (female leopard) decided to appear near to the dam wall, she then carried on her way heading off into the thicker bush. Sightings in the bush have also been fantastic. We were very lucky to have White Cloth (female Leopard) and her two young cubs near the camp for a few days; she had killed an impala and hoisted it into a nearby tree. A rare sighting of her previous cub, Ncila, also joined them, at first it seemed all very cosy until he and his mother started fighting. You could hear the growls from in the camp. Luckily White Cloth and her cubs made a retreat and Ncila went on his way again. Some fantastic cheetah sightings were also had during the month. One female and her 1-year-old cub moved into our territory and guests were fortunate to watch them attempt hunting. Two male cheetahs have also been thrilling the guests. Some unusual sightings were Lions feeding on a young hippo, rarely seen. Also Newington (male Leopard) killed a baby giraffe close to Kudu corner. A rare sighting of Aardvark was witnessed with Morris and Andrew. We welcomed back Sarah Pharo visiting from Cape Town and Duncan, Corne and Leyla from Nelspruit; it was great to see all of them back at Bush Lodge. Julie Kern visited again before joining up with her family. Theunis, Angelique and there new baby Mila visited us from Paternoster. We also celebrated Alex Briggs 7th Birthday here with his family. Honeymooners - Joanne & Daniel from Germany, Russ & Beth from California, Zoe & Paul from England, David & Katie from Scotland and Chris & Sarah from Wales joined us, we would like to wish them all the happiness for their futures. We welcome Grant McDonald, from England, to Bush Lodge. He has joined us as the assistant manager, after spending many holidays here with his family and friends in South Africa, decided this was the place he wanted to be. Lots of our staff celebrated birthdays this month, myself another year younger!!! Chris, Ester, Eunice and Abraham, a big happy birthday to you all. We say a fond farewell to Ian Corder; we are sure he will take some valuable and happy memories back to the UK with him. Best of luck at University and we hope we will see him and hear from him soon, thanks for all your help around camp. Half way through 2006, we look forward to catching up with everyone again, next month. Until then, stay well. Kim, Piet, Grant and the Bush Lodge Family

Vuyatela
June has shown the weather going from one extreme to the other; at one stage the temperature was 36ºC, then plunging to 18ºC. The bush has been getting dull in colour and the grass getting shorter, but it is still a challenge for the trackers and guides to spot game, especially chameleons, as there are less about than in summer. This goes for snakes as well, as the frequency of sightings and speed decrease at this time of year. Thanks goodness the larger animals are abundant at this time of year, with the cats showing more activity than usual. There have been several bull elephants drinking at the dam this month. One in particular has shown a liking to the Moolmans' gardens and has become very skilled at walking through fences and "opening" gates. He seems to have shown a fondness for strelitzias, palms and papaya trees! Once or twice a breeding herd of about twenty individuals have also been seen drinking at the dam. A male hippo has returned to take up residence at the dam, and his grazing sessions in and around the lodge at night has made the walks between the main buildings and the khayas quite exciting to say the least. Other animals that came to drink at the dam where giraffe, impala, kudu, waterbuck, nyala and we had a nice herd of about 100 buffalo. While we were having dinner the one night when one of the guests spotted a shadow down near the floodlight and camera. Everyone jumped up and wanted to find out what it could be. Nobody could figure it out. Later that night, just as the guests were going to sleep, Charles shone his spotlight in that direction and there were two lionesses lying down in the grass. Charles fetched a vehicle and the guests went to have a closer look at them. The following morning Marietjie was doing an early check out, but was unaware the lionesses were close to the camp the previous night. She walked to the reception office, and there they were, lying next the boma. Not fazed at all with her presence, they got up and went on their way. It is safe to say that it took Marietjie a little extra time to finish the invoices! Manana, the female leopard has left her two-year-old cubs to fend for themselves. The male cub has been hanging around the lodge for a couple of days and even got the guests excited one night. It seems he took a fancy to his own reflection in their khaya's sliding door, leaving behind spit and prints on the glass, and his spoor where he walked around. Out in the bush, Whitecloth, the other female leopard, and her two cubs are still doing well and we have seen them regularly. Dean Rohrs made a return visit to Vuyatela for her birthday. Congratulations and thank you for all your hard work that you and Vancouver Rotary do for our local communities. Congratulations to all our honeymooners, may you have happy futures together and we hope to see you for your anniversaries next year! We have two new faces around camp! Shannon Robinson has joined the Vuyatela team as assistant manager and will be focusing on guest liaisons - organizing special activities and celebrations amongst her other duties. Then we have Cedric Schmid here from Cape Town as a volunteer. There are always plenty of odd jobs to perform and he seems to enjoy being "spanner boy" to Eric, our mechanic! One the staff front: Happy birthday to Milliah, Joyce Ndubane, George, Judith Mashaba and Amos. We also welcome Isaac and Dolly's first born, Musa, to the Djuma family. Congratulations all.

Galago
Greetings from a windy, wintery bushveld. Here are some comments from the Fleischhauer Party that stayed at Galago in June: "On our first drive we spent quality time tracking and following a female leopard who was meeting up with her 2 cubs. The sounds and sight was awesome. But it only went better from there. We saw leopard every day and climaxed with the impala kill which a female leopard put in a tree, and then fetched her cubs and we watched her 3yr old son eat the kill, with hyenas stalking below, and then her taking over and eating off the kill with her 2 cubs sitting in the tree next to her." From the Cohen's, regular return visitors to Galago: "Thank you for everything! You always make us so welcome! Thanks for all the game viewing we enjoyed and the beds you made with warm water bottles." Also, from the Van Niekerk Party, in the Free State: "Dankie vir die 5 ster week." Our return visitors will see a new face around Galago Camp. Marietjie van Niekerk has taken over the day to day running of Galago Camp from Pippa, and is doing an outstanding job at it. Stay well until next month. Rexon, William, Thembi and Mildred


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


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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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