June 2011

JMA’s Musings!

Home sweet Home! I returned from South Africa somewhat exhausted – Indaba et al and some amazing game viewing – but now suffering the inevitable “jet lag”! We had a frantic itinerary and this just reinforces our guide line that we should never plan to have clients stay less than three days at any lodge.

We arrived in Joburg and next day spent many hours with our inbound ground operator – Welcome Tourism Services – to discuss the myriad things that we had on the agenda. They kindly had us staying at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosebank to evaluate it as a destination for clients spending more than one night in Joburg. It was lovely and we will certainty be recommending it.

Indaba was the most successful that we have attended. Anecdotal evidence pointed to less visitors attending but I am reliably informed that the overseas delegates were well up on previous years. We were able to build upon past relationships and develop many new contacts as well – exactly what Indaba is all about. Reluctantly I had to decline over 250 invitations for appointments as we simply ran out of time but those that we did have were most valuable. Ultimately we had to resort to breakfast meetings starting at 7.00am and also dinner meetings that usually went on until about 11.00pm and then appointments every 30 minutes every day!

We have been able to successfully negotiate pricing that will result in us being able to offer some even greater value to our clients in the future.

Following Indaba we went to Cape Town to evaluate other hotels. The Franschhoek Country House was the outstanding destination. A super location with the magnificent Monneaux Restaurant at which we had dinner with some of my cousins. We had to wake at 2.45 am to get to Cape Town in time to catch the first flight of the day at 5.45 am to Joburg so that we could get to Savanna in time for the afternoon game drive! What we wont do not to miss a drive!
Two glorious days at Savanna followed. David Blumberg (Savanna shareholder and very good friend) and Dee were there and we had a good time in their company. We had some beautiful sightings – 7 week old Wild Dog pups, a lioness moving her few days old cubs and of course, the fantastic Leopard sightings. (Some pictures of these sightings appear below in the Savanna News)

This was followed up by visits to Makalali, Motswari and Shumbalala lodges and a visit to the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre - something not to be missed by any of you if you are ever in this region. Playing with baby Cheetahs was a highlight and Hilary nearly stole them to bring back home! This was our first visit to Shumbalala and this lodge will now be added to our recommended list.

A frantic drive back to Joburg saw me catch the flight to Sydney and Hilary go on to Ireland to visit her rellies. No doubt we will get chapter and verse of her travels when she returns!

Our new Virtual Itineraries have received excellent feedback. We definitely lead the field in Australia in this regard. All out itineraries now go out in this way. Check the Home page of our web site for an example.

Now it is back to routine work again and implementing the information gleaned from Indaba.

BREAKING NEWS

We have just received confirmation that the first of our Pink Diamond Hosted Safaris is now a “go”. These exclusive safaris will be hosted by an Australian sporting “great” and will be led by myself and Hilary. They will be a two week safari covering the very best that Southern Africa has to offer – Eagle Island in the Okavango, Savute Elephant Camp in the North Eastern Botswana Savute area, Victoria Falls and, of course, Savanna in the Sabi Sands. We will take a television crew with us to make a documentary of the safari.

It will be a fully inclusive safari with everything covered – flights, accommodation, transfers, all charter flights, meals, drinks, activities, porterage, gratuities etc. Only spending money will be needed.

Our first host will be Alan Border – the iconic Australian Cricket Captain – who has done so much for this sport. This safari will take place in August 2012 as we have to book the lodges out entirely for our own use. We have room for 7 couples (14 clients) to join the safari. This will enable cricket lovers, as well other sporting types, a great opportunity to get to know Alan, enjoy fantastic wild life and have a holiday they will not soon forget.

If you would like to be part of this amazing safari contact us and get your space reserved as I am sure they will all go quickly.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT UPDATE

Yellow Fever Notification

“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revised the Yellow Fever vaccination recommendations for Africa. The South African Department of Health has issued the following information regarding the requirements for travellers from and to South Africa:

Zambia: Returning travellers from South Africa to Zambia and those travelling from Zambia to South Africa will now require proof of Yellow Fever vaccination. Previously, proof of Yellow Fever vaccination was not required.

Tanzania: Returning travellers from South Africa to Tanzania and those travelling from Tanzania to South Africa will require proof of Yellow Fever vaccination. This is unchanged from the present regulations.

All in-transit passengers between the two destinations, irrespective of the time period in transit, will also require proof of Yellow Fever vaccination.”

This means that any of our clients who enter Tanzania or Zambia – even in transit – will need Yellow Fever vaccination.

News from Savanna.

With acknowledgement and thanks to Paddy Hagelthorn and the Savanna Team

The highlight for the past two weeks has definitely been the appearance of the wild dog pups! Most literature states that the pups emerge from the den at around four weeks, and it was almost to the day on four weeks, that our pups emerged! The first sighting was with Greg, as he was sitting at the den with the Alpha female. The rest of the pack suddenly returned after a successful kill and regurgitated food for her. The excited pups emerged with all the commotion before going back into the den. For one of the first video clips of these pups, have a look at http://www.youtube.com/user/SavannaLodge#p/u/6/9AWlZtqN_1A

Since then we have had fantastic viewing of these pups on regular occasions, and they are becoming bolder by the day! Over the next month or so, we are sure to have more fantastic viewing of these endangered animals!

One morning we found three of the adults having just made an impala kill, which the three of them finished in less than 10 minutes before heading off back to the den to feed the pups.

The other joy to watch these past few weeks has been the Ximungwe pride with their cubs. The female with the older cubs, now about 9 months old, seems to like rocks, and we found them early in the week around Mackenzie Camp. She took them west to Flat Rocks, where they lay down on the cool rocks, and the cubs did what cubs do best... play!

Later in the week they were found at night, and again the playfulness of the cubs came through. After following them for a while, they decided to try their luck at tree climbing.

They seem to be sticking around the southern areas of our property most of the time and they were found the next morning again around Mackenzie Camp, enjoying the early morning sun.

The short-tailed female and her two younger cubs are also doing very well. They have been spending most of their time in the central areas of our concession, but have not been seen all that often. On one occasion, after having walked some distance from Dam 5 with the cubs, the mother also decided to test out her tree-climbing abilities. It is quite obvious to see that lions, with their extra weight, are not as agile in trees!

Once again, the large herd of buffalo has been giving us great viewing. They have been frequenting the clearings, making viewing so much better in the wide open spaces. At Georgie’s dam, the herd came down to drink late one afternoon, and the male hippo in the dam took umbrage at his water hole being invaded. He gave the classic yawn, as a threat display in an attempt to scare off the buffalo, but it had little effect on them!

Although the majority of births happen during our summer months, there are still a few calves being born, and one particular calf was seen with the umbilical cord still attached!

The hippo which had been seen at Georgie’s dam was found later in the week at Windmill Mackenzie dam. He too performed for our guests, late in the afternoon, as he started getting restless to go out on his nightly feeding bouts.

We have had a few interesting rhino sightings these past two weeks! One morning we found the pack of wild dogs trotting down Mackenzie Cutline, and watched in amusement as they disturbed a group of rhino having a late sleep in on the road! The dogs seemed to be full of energy, and teased the rhino for a few seconds before dashing off.

The oldest of the Mapogo coalition also disturbed two rhino resting on the road nearby, but he was less fazed by them, and they too seemed to be quite relaxed as he strolled by quite close to them.

Speaking of the coalition, they have been more active these past couple of weeks. The evenings are getting cooler, and so they seem to be active a little earlier in the evenings, and for longer in the mornings. This is particularly true when there is a female in oestrus! One of the Ximungwe females is on heat, and has been getting a lot of attention from all three males! They have been seen mating on numerous occasions this past week.

She then seemed to have had enough, and managed to slip away from all three while they were resting. When they realised, they stretched and then headed off after her, following her scent, and demonstrating the Flehmen grimace, which they use to test the reproductive state of the female.

The leopard viewing has been good as usual, but primarily limited to Metsi and Tlangisa. Early in May, Tlangisa was up to her inquisitive self, and had moved way north again all the way to Ebony Dam, which is Hlabankunzi’s territory. She seemed pretty relaxed in this unknown territory and gave us great views on top of a termite mound.

She was again found a few days later much further west, into Metsi’s territory, still a long way from her normal area. Again, she seemed very relaxed, until she seemed suddenly to see something while in a marula tree. She then realised it was Metsi and her two cubs very close to her, so she shot down the tree and disappeared south!

Metsi and her two cubs were on an impala kill and for the next day and a half gave us fantastic sightings! The cubs are both doing very well, and the nervous male seems to be relaxing slightly when Metsi is near.

The crocodiles have returned to the causeway across the Sand River, where they are often found when the water level drops during the dry season. Sandy banks are exposed, where they are able to bask in the sun, and the causeway forces the water through a narrow gap, where they are often seen catching fish to supplement their meat diet. There is a particularly large crocodile there at the moment, and is estimated at close to 4 metres in length!

There has been a herd of giraffe close to Savanna Camp over the past few days. This has allowed us to get some good sightings of these majestic animals early on in the drive, even before sunrise!

A few of our guests were extremely fortunate this week to get a brief glimpse of a lion cub less than one week old! None of the guides was even aware that the cubs had been born yet, and while we were enjoying a sighting in a drainage line with two Ximungwe lionesses, two cubs and a male, a third female suddenly came out of a thicket with a small cub in her mouth, and crossed the drainage line in a southerly direction! She returned to the thicket to collect a second cub, before the sighting was closed due to the young cubs being present. Normally, we only view the cubs once they are at least a month old, so it will be a good few weeks before anyone sees these cubs again!

The elephant numbers have remained high in the area, and they are starting to feed more and more on the woody vegetation, as the grass loses its palatability with the approach of winter. The herds are also gathering along the permanent water courses, as the tree density is better there. A few areas still have some good grass available, and the bulls are making use of these to get the last of the available grass.

The bird life has also been good, with excellent views of some of the majestic and rare birds in our area. The martial eagle is one of the largest eagles in the area, and is capable of catching new born impala lambs!

A yellow-billed oxpecker was seen on the large herd of buffalo which afforded some rare opportunities for us to photograph it here.
Some unusual and often overlooked species were also enjoyed these few weeks, including a well hidden grey tree-frog (which is aptly named) and a red-tipped butterfly.

The End!

Well that is it for this month.

Happy Safaris!

John
61 (0)2 4984 9747
61 (0)411 749 627

jma@destinationsafrica.com.au
www.destinationsafrica.com.au

You are receiving this email because you have subscribed, been a guest of ours, requested an itinerary, are an agent or an associate or friend of Destinations Africa. 

To unsubscribe from this list, send an email to jma@destinationsafrica.com.au with the heading “Unsubscribe”

Our mailing address: 10A Bayview Street, Nelson Bay, NSW, 2315, Australia