MANAGERS REPORT

Dear Friends

Much to my surprise June has been milder in temperatures than I expected. With all the rain we received throughout the season I expected an early cold winter, but the mornings and evenings were very chilly as always this time of year with lovely mild to warm temperatures during the day.

Game viewing as always is brilliant with a lot of Lion activity around the camp. We have been fortunate enough to see the female with her youngsters, as well as two of the male lions in front of the camp and in the surrounding areas on a few occasions.

A large number of Blue Wildebeest, Impala and Kudu are also being brought in to the reserve in order to get the buffer species numbers up, as these are the animals identified as the main food source for the predators.

The Molatedi school project is going very well with the school building now standing roof height and the builders starting construction of the inner walls.  We would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous donations towards funding for the crèche: Margaret & Bryan Mulligan, Mateya Wildlife Trust, Northam Bouers and Molatedi Community Centre.  Without your donations the building of the new crèche would not have been possible.

Over to Jaco for the rangers report.

Hennie & Adriënne de Clerk
General Managers

RANGERS REPORT

It is an honor and huge privilege for me to present the rangers report for the first time here at Madikwe Hills. I moved up from Zululand to make Madikwe, my new home, and so far I have been treated to some awesome new experiences. It is winter now in Madikwe and I am still struggling a little bit to adapt to the colder winter temperatures over here to that I was used to. But never the less, when I arrived here the landscape blew me away immediately. The majestic Dwarsberg mountain range rolling down through multitudes of alley’s into endless valleys stretching for as far as the eye can see. And the only thing you can see is our paradise home, Africa.

I wasn’t here for long when I knew the maize of roads well enough to go on my first game drive here in Madikwe. With huge anticipation me, my tracker, and my guests boarded the vehicle, ready to set out into the bush and the unknown. We drove a quaint little road at the foot hills of the Dwarsberg Mountain inspecting every inch for any signs of activity of any sorts. Being an entomologist I hit brakes for even the smallest little insect to inspect, appreciate, and then to set it free. It was near the end of the road when we entered a very narrow piece of the road, just wide enough to fit the vehicle through. It was as sudden as it was expected, a wall of grey where ever we looked. We drove straight into a breeding herd of elephants without even knowing it.

For a long time we just sat there still and quiet in awe of these majestic beasts as they moved around us. All you could hear was slow soft breathing, branches breaking and teeth grinding their very tough and fibrous food. The most spectacular sound was that of a low rumbling sound they use to communicate within the herd. This is extremely intense at close range and shakes your chest vigorously like that of a rock concert. After some time I decided it was time for us to leave them alone. As with humans and any other animal, don’t over stay your welcome. As I was about to start the Land Rover the one female shook her head and started approaching us with a very aggressive posture and lightning speed. Head shaking, tail stiff and head held high. This is elephant language to stay away and to preferably leave as soon as possible. She stopped about two meters in front of my vehicle and just stood there with a most intense gaze. She investigated us using all her senses to try and calculate if we are friend or foe. After some very anxious moments she decided that we are not a threat to her, her baby or the rest of the herd and turned away continuing her daily routine.

When she was a good distance away I started the vehicle and preceded backing out of the sighting. A few meters back I found a gap in the dense vegetation sufficient enough to turn the vehicle around and we headed out of there. A safe distance away I stopped the vehicle in a beautiful spot for sundowners. As I looked back I could see that everybody was still frozen in place. Rigid bodies and wide eyes said everything. I explained to everybody what had happened and subsequently you could see the simultaneous sigh of relief.  Tension dropped like a land slide from their shoulders giving way to bubbling excitement about our close encounter.

As the crimson red sky started to fade to ever duller colors on the horizon we started packing up and got back on the vehicle. Night time in the bush is no place for a human being for the big cats rule the night. Moments from starting the vehicle we heard it. An almighty roar seized our attention as the king of the beasts announces his presence and territory. Shortly the rest of his family joined in thunderous coir enveloping us in a shroud of resonance that vibrates our bodies and intimidates us to the very last ounce of our being.

They were close, very close. We headed off in their direction contemplating how good an idea that really was. It was not long before we caught sight of them. The two dominant males Ditaba and Sepedi stood in the road, defiant. Their body language was radiating pride and confidence. Soon the females joined them in the road followed by their legacy, three 3 month old cubs. They were eight in total. They started heading down the road into our direction. We stood our ground and held our breaths as they started to pass us. One by one they walked past at arms length only giving us a passing glimpse as they moved on down the road behind us. It was incredibly exciting and we followed them for some time before they turned off into the bush melting away into the darkness like phantoms. We decided that it was time for us to head for home and we turned around leaving these magnificent cats to their business.

This month that illusive spotted cat, the leopard, was gracious enough to show his shy body to us quite a few times. Brief glimpses of a young male, and a female with her adolescent cub were captured at one of the major watering holes in the reserve. Not long ago the dominant male of the area around Madikwe Hills decided to give us a visit right here in the camp. Late that night I ran into this awesome cat in front of our reception area. We exchanged a couple of nervous words to each other and quickly parted companies before an argument started. I can tell you that this is one argument I do not want to get involved in, he is a very persuasive animal indeed.

Other wonderful sightings included porcupines, caracal, bush babies, a Spotted Eagle Owl and an African Wildcat. Very special indeed to us all here, was 3 sightings of an odd looking creature called a Pangolin. This animal is exceptionally rare to see and finding three of them in just one week was incredible.

All in all my first month or so in Madikwe have been very special indeed. I hope that things will continue like this so that we can share these remarkable creatures with everyone that comes and visit us.

Kind regards from the Madikwe Hills Ranger team.
Jaco, Frans, Werner, Pieter and Sam