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

December 2005

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

Finally the seemingly endless dry spell is at an end and in quite convincing style too! The rain which we have been longing for has started in earnest and we've experienced some awesome thundershowers. At Bush Lodge we've recorded almost 120mm this month, which is more rain than in any other month so far this year. So whilst this means we've enjoyed only a few meals outdoors and we've also had a number of poncho-clad drenched guests returning back from drive, it's been well worth it as the bush and lodge gardens look fantastic - green and lush with all the flowers blooming. Our groundsmen, Andrew and Surprise, are thrilled not only at the good rainfall, but also that the warthogs have finally moved away to look for food elsewhere and have left the lawns alone once again. The abundance of food now available has also resulted in fewer sightings of the genet round the lodge as he now finds plentiful rodents, frogs and bugs to eat in the bush. He still sleeps in the main building most days, so we do see him, but he no longer needs to come for nightly biltong tit-bits. The termites have been out in droves, as have the dung beetles and we listen to a veritable cacophony of woodland kingfishers every day and frogs and cicadas every night. Chris and Morgan went 'frogging' one evening (a rather dubious educational event involving wading through muddy bogs, torch in one hand and beer in the other) and to give them due credit they managed to catch and identify thirteen different species.
The female leopard Whitecloth has been back to visit us again and we watched her stroll through the camp just before dinner one evening. She seems to have included the camp in her territorial area so is turning out to be a regular visitor to the lodge. An extremely rare bird sighting had both Piet and Chris leaping out of bed at dawn one morning. They both heard the unmistakeable call of the Purple-crested loerie in the camp and rushed out to catch a brief but confirmed sighting of this uncommon bird to our area. It was only Piet's second sighting at Djuma and Chris's first. A number of visits from a male lion have been responsible for a few sleep disrupted nights and one night in particular he was so close the chalet walls reverberated with his roaring throughout the night. The female red-billed hornbill is sealed up inside the nesting box and the male is frantically collecting food for her all day and for those of you that have experienced his incessant tapping on windows, you'll be pleased to know that he has stopped doing this - albeit only temporarily.
Out in the bush one of the Sandy patch lionesses has borne two cubs and the other female we suspect is also pregnant. The lion cubs are still very young and we will keep you updated on their progress. The two leopard cubs are still being sighted regularly and they are relaxed and offer great viewing. A new male hippo tried to take over Buffelshoek dam from the resident male and the guests were fortunate to be on hand to witness the two male hippos fighting it out. The next morning the loser had retreated to a nearby (much smaller) pool of water where sadly he then died a few days later from his injuries. The carcass was removed from the dam so as not to pollute the water and the next few days saw any number of hyenas and vultures feasting on the smelly remains.
Back in camp Chris and Kim took some time off as did Liane and Piet as we prepare for the upcoming holiday season. Return guests this month include Sandy and Gerry from the USA back for their ?th visit (even they've lost count). Its wonderful to see familiar faces back with us again. We extend warm congratulations to all the newlyweds who chose to spend part of their honeymoon with us and finally we say good-bye to Morgan who was with us for the past two months as our volunteer. We wish him all the best for his future as he heads back to Canada to complete his studies in medicine.
Until next month, we wish you all peace and good tidings for the holiday season,
Seasons greetings!
Liane and the Bush Lodge Team

What a lovely month it has been in the bush. We have had 137mm of well-deserved rain this month, which has got the bush as green as ever. One of these lovely drenching showers happened one afternoon just after the guests had left on safari. There had been some clouds about, but it did not appear to be heading towards us, or so we thought. As the guides and guests were setting out on their safari, the heavens became dark and very loud with thunder and lightning and the rain came a tumbling down like there was no tomorrow. However, we do provide ponchos on the vehicle just in case we have rain. I would not say they keep you totally dry, possibly a little damp, but on this day everyone was drenched to the bone. To make matters interesting, there were some hailstones just to make the trip back to the lodge that bit slower. Everyone was in high spirits as we so desperately needed the rain. To top it all off, we had three guests who had their luggage lost at Heathrow airport so they had no dry clothing at all. Jimmy and I managed to get a couple of things together to make them comfortable. The up side to all this is that we have got water in Gowrie Dam again. The bush came alive after this rain the frogs and toads clearly happy were croaking away like a symphony.
Sightings around camp have been really great too, with the ever-present Nyala herd growing stronger with a number of new arrivals. We had nine Giraffe hanging around the lodge to the delight of all. The dagga boys are still popping in regularly for a drink of fresh water and a good mud bathing. We have also seen the first new born Impala's around the lodge and in the bush. The Woodland Kingfishers are back and their trill's can be herd late into the evening. The Lion cubs seem to be doing well with their mother moving them regularly to keep them safe from predators. The Leopard cubs have been spotted a couple of times with their mother too. The general game has been good with the open areas around the lodge a lush green carpet of fresh grass.
Sadly we had a death in the bush of the dominant Hippo bull in Buffelshoek dam. He had been in a number of scuffles with another male recently, but the last one seem to be too much for him, he seemed to lose condition rather quickly and barely even left the water.
Vincent and Tony van Rooyen popped in for a visit again this month for a couple of days with some friends. Vincent was celebrating a very important birthday. Fun was had by all. Alan Howard came back with a group too. He was last here three years ago so it is good to see him back. Anet and Christie van Niekerk also popped in for four days to see us, and in particular Marietjie. Mignon Botes and Diane Kramer came for a well deserved over due visit too, great having you with us again.
A couple of trips were taken this month by Pippa, Liane and Mark, who popped off to Mozambique to get a bit of rest and relaxation. A splendid five days were enjoyed by all.
Charmian and Graham in turn popped of the Seychelles for a week's worth of fun in the sun. Nonku went down to Durban to see her family for two weeks and has come back looking gorgeous. Theresa was here to fill her shoes, and has quickly become part of the Vuyatela family. She did an amazing job in "The Rubbing Post" and left our guest feeling relaxed and pampered.
Some staff celebrated their birthdays this month: Handry and Agnes, all the best from the team.
We also saw the completion of the SA Host training for a number of our staff. We would like to thank Kim Fitt of "The Human Factor" for all her help with this wonderful training.
As the month draws to an end we are getting ready for a rather busy festive season. But first we preparing for a special celebration: Jurie and Philippa Moolman, celebrate milestone birthdays, as well as their 16th anniversary and Vuyatela's 6th birthday with family and friends in the beginning of December, but that will have to wait for next month's Drumbeat.
Until then, season greetings to all our loyal Djuma friends and family!
Mark and the Vuyatela Team

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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
 

 
Webmaster: Jurie Moolman