Guests
From the 3rd to the 13th of January, we hosted our friends from Italy, Pierandrea and Giulia. We are fortunate and proud of the fact that they have been on safari with Jaco on five occasions, and on this particular trip we walked in the Manyeleti for 3 days, stayed at Simbambili game lodge in the Sabie Sand, for 6 days, and finished off with a good old South African “braai” ( barbeque ) at Outlook Lodge. We had a great time and please have a look at the sightings section, to see what good fortune we had on this particular trip. Elke and Mischa, will be joining us on another 2 week, Kruger safari in May, after their safari last year October, with Robert. The Goodfellows and friends safari of Namibia 2007 has been planned and booked, and Robert, has with their wishes added a little bit of specialized birding, after their successful trip last year to the same destination. We are looking forward to Meredith and Holly visiting us for the third time, and we are fortunate that we will have the privilege of spending Meredith’s 60th birthday with
her, on Safari! We will walk the Manyeleti for 3 days, look for familiar animal faces in the Sabie Sand at Simbambili, and have the grand finale at Outlook with all the friends they have made on the numerous safaris they have done. To every one that has joined us in the Kruger, Sabie Sand and Outlook Lodge, the last two months, thank you for your support and for the positive feedback we have received. We specifically mention our return guests, to thank them, and in the hope that we can forge many more relationships with our guests, like these. For those that have been to Nkorho bush lodge, on our combo safari and Sabie Sand safari, the lodge has a web cam that is focused on the waterhole on the plain opposite the swimming pool. The site can be accessed off their website at http://www.nkorho.com/ and adds great value, if you would like to reminisce. You will also notice that there will be a link to our website shortly from their site.
Sightings
The classic Kruger safaris have enjoyed incredible sightings, and nearly everyone saw the big 5. 4 of the big 5 were seen by every trip that has gone out, and we have definitely noted an increase in Cheetah and Wild dog sightings, with Paul becoming the unofficial Cheetah man. We all participated in a team building event, and had fun since we could all guide together. Part of the event was a friendly competition between the 6 vehicles, and we all agree that Willem’s group won hands down. Again we were astonished by what Kruger can produce, and these were the sightings we had in two, 5 hour game drives. On the first afternoon we had, 3 elephant sightings, 2 buffalo including a herd in excess of 300, 2 leopard sightings, 3 rhino sightings, lions mating and 4 lionesses on a Zebra kill. The morning drive produced 10 elephant sightings, with a curious gentleman joining us for a bush lunch, 9 rhino sightings, 3 lion sightings, with a pride of 9, about 200 buffalo ( we counted the legs and divided it by four ) and a leopard female.
In the Manyeleti, with the Italians, we had the fortune of witnessing a young female cheetah hunt, while we were on foot! The whole process was amazing, and we could see her and the Impalas she was hunting, until they disappeared in a cloud of dust. We could hear the Impala being suffocated a long way in the distance, but a short search in relatively thick bush revealed nothing, and we decided to leave her in peace with her kill. An elephant that died of old age, provided, as sad as it is, a wealth of interaction between the various predators, vultures and other detritus feeders. You can imagine walking on Lion tracks the size of a soup plate, heading towards the carcass, and the associated rush of adrenaline. Unfortunately we never found the king of beasts on foot, but the hundreds of vultures an unbelievable sight. We did however see elephant, rhino and buffalo in the Manyeleti. We moved into the northern Sabie Sand to stay at Simbambili game lodge, and other than seeing the big 5 on the first day, we witnessed two leopard kills from beginning to end. The best was an almost 2 year old female, called Salayexe, hunting and killing a juvenile impala in clear daylight, 09:30 in the morning. She hid behind the only little clump of scrub, before she launched herself at the poor, hapless antelope. She quickly hoisted the kill in a milkberry tree, out of reach of more dominant predators, like lion and hyena. When we left 6 days later we saw an amazing 9 individual cheetah while on safari.
Guests, with Willem as their guide, saw three cheetahs on an early morning game drive at Nkorho. A young, plucky leopard male decided it would be fun stalking and intimidating them, and a stand off ensued. Imagine everyone’s surprise as a huge lion male joined the party, and scattered the other cats. Fortunately the predator interaction resulted in no injuries sustained, with the leopard climbing into the upper branches of a marula tree, and we think the cheetah probably stopped running to clear customs and immigration at the Mozambique border post!
Birding safaris over January and February have been very successful.
News from Kruger
You are probably aware of the ongoing elephant population saga and of the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism’s announcement that they have no other option, but to curb numbers by culling. This is very sad, but unfortunately in Africa today, whether a park is fenced or not, the surrounding human population forms a barrier, leaving islands of conserved areas in the various countries. Kruger is known for its diversity, a diversity that can be threatened by over exploitation, such as increased pressure by humans or expanding elephant numbers. We will keep you updated on this very touchy and controversial subject.
In the 60’s, before fencing protected wild animals from domestic live stock diseases, cattle from the neighboring areas, entered Kruger. With them they brought Bovine Tuberculosis, which stayed dormant until the 90’s, when researchers noticed a severe and quick loss of condition, in the buffalo population. Studies revealed that the disease became prevalent in the excessive droughts experienced, lowering the animals’ immunity, and resulting in numbers dropping. Initially the disease was restricted to the southern regions, but it rapidly spread northwards. Animals feeding on the contaminated carcasses became infected and spread to lion, leopard, and jackal and even later to herbivores like giraffe and kudu. Through extensive research, it was found that, even though today animals are infected, as long as they are healthy and not stressed by environmental conditions, the effects of the TB is suppressed. Amazing work has been done already, which includes capturing families of 10 to 15 buffalo cows, with their dominant bulls, kept in enclosures in Skukuza. These animals have been treated for the disease, are bred with, and distributed throughout South Africa’s national parks. This will ensure the survival of the Kruger Buffalo population, as each population is different and unique in the various parks of Africa. If one considers that the Park is 22 000 square kilometers, and that there is an estimated 25 000 buffalo, it is easy to see why officials of the National Parks Board have been world leaders in conservation.
On the Kruger website at http://www.sanparks.org.za/, forum members have raised funds for 2 web cameras. The first was established at Satara, in the central Kruger region, and the second recently at Orpen Gate. Both these areas are rich in animal life and should provide prospective and future visitors to the park with many happy hours of viewing via internet.
Staff
Willem is currently heading for his 200th safari for our company! A feather in his cap, besides the total of safaris, is the fact that all of them were done exceeding his guests’ expectations. Willem’s enthusiasm, passion and willingness to go the extra mile for his guests, is an example for us all. No wonder his vehicle did so well on our team building excursion!
Paul, the Cheetah man, is getting married in April, and we would like to wish him and his future wife, Vicky, the best. The couple will be on honeymoon until May, a well deserved break.
Gavin’s planned walk thru Africa has been postponed until the end of the year, and we are happy to have the use of his services until then. So, for those that have sampled his outstanding bush cuisine, he will still be able to dish them up on safari. We will miss Gavin while he is walking, and we will keep those interested up to date with his progress.
The newest addition to the Safari Rangers team, is the 3 week old, Lienka Buys. Jaco and Laurika’s daughter was born on the 18th of February, and the couple cannot wait to take her on her first safari. Trips with her as guide can be booked in advance for the year 2030!
Robert and Sarilene got engaged on the 9th of February, and all our wives have asked us to take lessons in romance from Rob! They will get married in September this year, and it will be the coming together of 2 great people.
Leonard has been keeping the office up and running, and has been busy keeping all of us out of trouble, a truly difficult task. Len’s sister and her husband are expecting their first born, so the Safari Rangers family has been blessed this year in every way possible.
We all look forward to hosting you in South Africa in the near future.
Yours on Safari
From the 3rd to the 13th of January, we hosted our friends from Italy, Pierandrea and Giulia. We are fortunate and proud of the fact that they have been on safari with Jaco on five occasions, and on this particular trip we walked in the Manyeleti for 3 days, stayed at Simbambili game lodge in the Sabie Sand, for 6 days, and finished off with a good old South African “braai” ( barbeque ) at Outlook Lodge. We had a great time and please have a look at the sightings section, to see what good fortune we had on this particular trip. Elke and Mischa, will be joining us on another 2 week, Kruger safari in May, after their safari last year October, with Robert. The Goodfellows and friends safari of Namibia 2007 has been planned and booked, and Robert, has with their wishes added a little bit of specialized birding, after their successful trip last year to the same destination. We are looking forward to Meredith and Holly visiting us for the third time, and we are fortunate that we will have the privilege of spending Meredith’s 60th birthday with
her, on Safari! We will walk the Manyeleti for 3 days, look for familiar animal faces in the Sabie Sand at Simbambili, and have the grand finale at Outlook with all the friends they have made on the numerous safaris they have done. To every one that has joined us in the Kruger, Sabie Sand and Outlook Lodge, the last two months, thank you for your support and for the positive feedback we have received. We specifically mention our return guests, to thank them, and in the hope that we can forge many more relationships with our guests, like these. For those that have been to Nkorho bush lodge, on our combo safari and Sabie Sand safari, the lodge has a web cam that is focused on the waterhole on the plain opposite the swimming pool. The site can be accessed off their website at http://www.nkorho.com/ and adds great value, if you would like to reminisce. You will also notice that there will be a link to our website shortly from their site.Sightings
The classic Kruger safaris have enjoyed incredible sightings, and nearly everyone saw the big 5. 4 of the big 5 were seen by every trip that has gone out, and we have definitely noted an increase in Cheetah and Wild dog sightings, with Paul becoming the unofficial Cheetah man. We all participated in a team building event, and had fun since we could all guide together. Part of the event was a friendly competition between the 6 vehicles, and we all agree that Willem’s group won hands down. Again we were astonished by what Kruger can produce, and these were the sightings we had in two, 5 hour game drives. On the first afternoon we had, 3 elephant sightings, 2 buffalo including a herd in excess of 300, 2 leopard sightings, 3 rhino sightings, lions mating and 4 lionesses on a Zebra kill. The morning drive produced 10 elephant sightings, with a curious gentleman joining us for a bush lunch, 9 rhino sightings, 3 lion sightings, with a pride of 9, about 200 buffalo ( we counted the legs and divided it by four ) and a leopard female.
In the Manyeleti, with the Italians, we had the fortune of witnessing a young female cheetah hunt, while we were on foot! The whole process was amazing, and we could see her and the Impalas she was hunting, until they disappeared in a cloud of dust. We could hear the Impala being suffocated a long way in the distance, but a short search in relatively thick bush revealed nothing, and we decided to leave her in peace with her kill. An elephant that died of old age, provided, as sad as it is, a wealth of interaction between the various predators, vultures and other detritus feeders. You can imagine walking on Lion tracks the size of a soup plate, heading towards the carcass, and the associated rush of adrenaline. Unfortunately we never found the king of beasts on foot, but the hundreds of vultures an unbelievable sight. We did however see elephant, rhino and buffalo in the Manyeleti. We moved into the northern Sabie Sand to stay at Simbambili game lodge, and other than seeing the big 5 on the first day, we witnessed two leopard kills from beginning to end. The best was an almost 2 year old female, called Salayexe, hunting and killing a juvenile impala in clear daylight, 09:30 in the morning. She hid behind the only little clump of scrub, before she launched herself at the poor, hapless antelope. She quickly hoisted the kill in a milkberry tree, out of reach of more dominant predators, like lion and hyena. When we left 6 days later we saw an amazing 9 individual cheetah while on safari.
Guests, with Willem as their guide, saw three cheetahs on an early morning game drive at Nkorho. A young, plucky leopard male decided it would be fun stalking and intimidating them, and a stand off ensued. Imagine everyone’s surprise as a huge lion male joined the party, and scattered the other cats. Fortunately the predator interaction resulted in no injuries sustained, with the leopard climbing into the upper branches of a marula tree, and we think the cheetah probably stopped running to clear customs and immigration at the Mozambique border post!
Birding safaris over January and February have been very successful.
News from Kruger
You are probably aware of the ongoing elephant population saga and of the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism’s announcement that they have no other option, but to curb numbers by culling. This is very sad, but unfortunately in Africa today, whether a park is fenced or not, the surrounding human population forms a barrier, leaving islands of conserved areas in the various countries. Kruger is known for its diversity, a diversity that can be threatened by over exploitation, such as increased pressure by humans or expanding elephant numbers. We will keep you updated on this very touchy and controversial subject.
In the 60’s, before fencing protected wild animals from domestic live stock diseases, cattle from the neighboring areas, entered Kruger. With them they brought Bovine Tuberculosis, which stayed dormant until the 90’s, when researchers noticed a severe and quick loss of condition, in the buffalo population. Studies revealed that the disease became prevalent in the excessive droughts experienced, lowering the animals’ immunity, and resulting in numbers dropping. Initially the disease was restricted to the southern regions, but it rapidly spread northwards. Animals feeding on the contaminated carcasses became infected and spread to lion, leopard, and jackal and even later to herbivores like giraffe and kudu. Through extensive research, it was found that, even though today animals are infected, as long as they are healthy and not stressed by environmental conditions, the effects of the TB is suppressed. Amazing work has been done already, which includes capturing families of 10 to 15 buffalo cows, with their dominant bulls, kept in enclosures in Skukuza. These animals have been treated for the disease, are bred with, and distributed throughout South Africa’s national parks. This will ensure the survival of the Kruger Buffalo population, as each population is different and unique in the various parks of Africa. If one considers that the Park is 22 000 square kilometers, and that there is an estimated 25 000 buffalo, it is easy to see why officials of the National Parks Board have been world leaders in conservation.
On the Kruger website at http://www.sanparks.org.za/, forum members have raised funds for 2 web cameras. The first was established at Satara, in the central Kruger region, and the second recently at Orpen Gate. Both these areas are rich in animal life and should provide prospective and future visitors to the park with many happy hours of viewing via internet.
Staff
Willem is currently heading for his 200th safari for our company! A feather in his cap, besides the total of safaris, is the fact that all of them were done exceeding his guests’ expectations. Willem’s enthusiasm, passion and willingness to go the extra mile for his guests, is an example for us all. No wonder his vehicle did so well on our team building excursion!
Paul, the Cheetah man, is getting married in April, and we would like to wish him and his future wife, Vicky, the best. The couple will be on honeymoon until May, a well deserved break.
Gavin’s planned walk thru Africa has been postponed until the end of the year, and we are happy to have the use of his services until then. So, for those that have sampled his outstanding bush cuisine, he will still be able to dish them up on safari. We will miss Gavin while he is walking, and we will keep those interested up to date with his progress.
The newest addition to the Safari Rangers team, is the 3 week old, Lienka Buys. Jaco and Laurika’s daughter was born on the 18th of February, and the couple cannot wait to take her on her first safari. Trips with her as guide can be booked in advance for the year 2030!
Robert and Sarilene got engaged on the 9th of February, and all our wives have asked us to take lessons in romance from Rob! They will get married in September this year, and it will be the coming together of 2 great people.
Leonard has been keeping the office up and running, and has been busy keeping all of us out of trouble, a truly difficult task. Len’s sister and her husband are expecting their first born, so the Safari Rangers family has been blessed this year in every way possible.
We all look forward to hosting you in South Africa in the near future.
Yours on Safari
