MANAGERS REPORT

Dear Friends

April is here and we can feel the early morning chill as winter is creeping in the back door. The last of the rains has fallen and the leaves are starting to change to beautiful shades of orange and red and covering the ground below them.

March and April has both been very busy with lots of new faces as always and many familiar ones returning for a yearly visit. We had the fortune of having Brian and Cheryl stay with us for their second wedding anniversary after getting married at Madikwe Hills, as well as four other couples on the same weekend on honeymoon at Madikwe Hills. Congratulations to you all!!

Game viewing has been up to standard as always with the herds of Elephant, Buffalo and other antelope frequenting the water in front of the camp more often as water elsewhere in the reserve starts disappearing with the approach of winter.

Hope all had a wonderful Easter and we are looking forward to hosting you at the Hills.

Hennie and Adrienne de Clerk
General Managers

BUSH BUZZ

An animal not that frequently seen in Madikwe is the conspicuous and illusive Leopard.  But this month we were graced by the presence of two of these nocturnal solitary cats. It was already late, and on our way back to the lodge Gary called in the sighting of two young Leopards walking in the road.  As we raced to the spot where he had tracked them, they in the mean time decided to disappear into the dense bush.  As we rarely get the opportunity to see these animals, I decided to drive to the other side of the thicket in the hope of spotting them.  We drove for quite some time with no luck and just as I turned around to head back to the lodge, Dennis my tracker spotted the two cats emerging from the grass, retaining their playful nature just as Gary had described.  We followed these killers of consummate grace till their descent into the sunset.  What a way to end off a day!

Probably one of the best lion sightings of this month was of the Dipello female and her two new cubs.  This was one of the first glimpses of the cubs after she decided to take them out of their niche.  We followed these lions for quite some time through the bush and had one of the cubs walk closer to the vehicle in exploration. The mother was at ease but attentive and did not mind our presence near her precious young.  She frequently stopped in the road, just to let the little ones catch up to her pace.

At this time of the year, great herds of Elephant come to the water hole in front of the lodge as the dry season is fast approaching.  These gentle giants emerge from the dense bush surrounding the lodge at lunch time for a quick bath and drink before they head off again in search of greener sustenance.

Frans had a great sighting of buffalo this month.  As they were getting ready to continue their game drive after enjoying refreshments they were surrounded by a vast number of Buffalo, and just as suddenly as they appeared, they quickly stampeded off into the bush.

We had astonishing Rhino (Ceratotherium Simum) sightings in April.   The majority of Rhino’s detected were on the Madikwe Plains because of the lush environment due to the unusual extended rainy period.  More often these animals are seen alone, but this morning we discovered eight White Rhino grazing together, this being rather unusual for these unsociable mammals.

The Dwarsberg Wild Dog pack was seen frequenting in the far south-western side of the park for most of the month.  Gary ventured towards this area and his persistence paid off as he located the pack lazing in the road.  Whilst viewing them for a short period of time the pack heard a rustle which captured their attention and made them sprint off and head into the direction of the sound. Venturing after them again, Gary found the pack busy devouring a Steen buck (Raohicerus campestris).

An ornithological visual that captured both me and my guest’s attention was the Lilac breasted roller (Coracias Caudata), locally known as the Lethlakêla, attacking a fully grown Baboon Spider.  These spiders have enormous fangs, capable of delivering a very painful bite!  The spider made his escape as the bird was distracted by our presence and looped away.

Our Head Ranger, Gary Rose, has left us and will find himself in Zambia early June, we wish him all the best.  Set out below is the last Rangers Report from him and some of Gary’s experiences at Madikwe.

“Everyone has been young before, but not everyone has been old before”
AFRICAN PROVERB

As I sit on the deck at the main lodge, admiring the herds of elephants that come to drink at our waterhole………watching the sunrise over Madikwe plains, with the vocalization of lions and the silhouettes of wildebeest and zebras, looking in the direction of their most feared predator.

I am writing my last piece for the rangers report, and I am thinking back to my time I have spent here at Madikwe Hills……..Madikwe Game Reserve!!

I still remember my first game drive, finding 12 Wild dogs ( Lycoan Pictus), feeding on a Kudu…………my first wild dog sighting ever!!!!!

My first reaction when I saw the Batia Brothers, then the dominant males around Madikwe plains. Kalahari lions, big, aggressive, black maned beautiful creatures……with an insatiable appetite for wildebeest!

I watched these males as they patrolled their territory, defended their territory and their prides. Proud fathers of a good, healthy population of lions……….the young cubs I first set my eyes on, are now very efficient hunters, as well as lioness with their first litter of cubs.

It is difficult for me to elaborate a sighting, that was “my best sighting”……..every drive was different and beautiful in it’s own way, whether it be a leopard pouncing on a Crested Francolin, next to the land rover, wild dogs chasing a breeding pair of Kudu’s into one of our man made dams ,swimming after them and drowning them.

The countless attempts of lions stalking their prey, the herds of Elephants at our waterhole and buffalo’s that watch us with weary eyes, as we sit in the land rover on a very cold winter morning, in our beanies and scarf’s.

I have been very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work in a lodge like Madikwe Hills, and I have been blessed to work in Madikwe Game Reserve. I leave here having learnt a lot from guests, as well as from my  colleagues  in the bush.

THANK YOU.
Gary Rose

“Knowledge is like a garden, if it is not cultivated it cannot be harvested”
AFRICAN PROVERB

Sightings totals for the Month

White rhino:52 Black rhino:1 Elephant:42 Buffalo:19 Lions:38 Cheetah:2 Leopard:5 Hippo:4 Wild dog:13

Note: The above sightings totals reflect the number of individual sightings of animals, not populations of animals in the area. e.g. If we see a herd of 12 buffalo this is noted as one sighting. These sightings are then tallied to get the figure reflected above.