MANAGERS REPORT

Dear Friends

The Month of August brought a taste of what can be expected this summer season. Hot to very hot sunny days spent lounging next to the pool with an ice cold beverage, massages in our air-conditioned spa and of course great game viewing early morning and late afternoon, not to mention the mouthwatering food out of Lara’s kitchen, served on the main deck, whilst the Elephants put on a mud bathing show at the water hole.

Temperatures are heading towards the low 30°C with milder, but pleasant evenings. The sky is clear and bright at night with superb views of the different stars and constellations. Sunrise and sunset brings magnificent views over the landscape with colors ranging from bright orange to dark red skies.

The Molatedi crèche is making great progress and we hope to have the school finished and ready by the end of September. Thank you to the various people whom have contributed towards the project. Lu-Allett Boerdery – Lucas, Brian & Cheryl Macaulay, Louis & Marlene Dethian, Margaret & Bryan Mulligan, Steve & Sheila Castle, Mr & Mrs Cumming, Seasons in Africa and Sallyann Ratcliffe The school will have a huge impact on many young lives hoping for a better future in education.

July’s Employee of the Month is Donald Tsatsi.  He has been an employee at Madikwe Hills from February 2007 as a Waiter.  His attitude towards his job and colleagues are always a positive and professional one and the service he renders in the F&B department goes beyond expectations.  Congratulations!  We are proud to have you as part of the team!

Our August Employee of the month was welcomed by the Madikwe Hills team May 2008 in the Ranger’s Department. This employee has shown such dedication from the beginning and where help is needed, he always assists with eagerness.  Werner Dippenaar was appointed as a Ranger at Madikwe Hills and takes pride in his position and his optimistic love for Nature, making him a real asset!  Well done Werner, your positive energy enhances staff moral.

Now over to Jaco and his team for this month’s Rangers Report.

Hennie & Adriënne de Clerk
General Managers

RANGERS REPORT

August is known in South Africa as the windy month. The belief is that a windy August means the prospect of good rains. In my experience of this time of the year, the winds have not been very forceful indeed. Some days have been windier than others but not like I can remember it. Since we are still in the dry season the bush is still very dry and dull. But it has a beauty in itself and a welcome dash of color is provided by the flowering Aloe’s at the moment.

The aloe flowers produce large quantities of nectar and are a very good source of food for many species of birds and insects during this time. Bird species like Crested Barbet, Marico sunbird, White bellied sunbird, red-eyed bull-bulls, and Grey Loeries (to name but a few) visit these plants at a regular basis. Bees are also attracted in their masses to the energy rich nectar that the Aloe flowers provide. These flowers are perfectly designed and have co-evolved to be pollinated by certain species of birds, like sunbirds in this case, and certain insects to ensure their survival. In Aloe’s the petals of the flower are fused to create a tube with a smaller opening at the tip. The anther and stigma of the flower protrude to the outside of the flower. When a sunbird arrives at the flower it inserts its long beak into the specially designed frame of the flower to get to the nectar at the bottom. When the bird is busy eating the energy rich nectar, the pollen from the anther that sticks out the top rubs of on its forehead. When the nectar is finished the sunbird will go to the next flower for some more nectar. The pollen he gathered at the previous flower will now rub off on the exposed stigma of the new flower thus fertilizing it and also collects new pollen to take to yet another flower. This process ensures maximum genetic diversity.

It was early morning about 5:30 am, and the call was unmistakable. Lions are close by to the lodge and it sounds like it is coming from Tshukudu dam (Local dam viewable from room 7).  A short while later he sounded again. It was very forceful indeed, yet different. Normally this lion male we call “Ditaba” roars with defiance and challenge. Today it is timid almost caring and then I realized what was happening. Our big boy has a girlfriend!!! Sure enough as we followed the tracks and the thunderous sound of his voice we discovered them at the very place we thought. They were on the western side of the dam slowly walking closer to the water’s edge. With the fiery sun warming up the African bush and illuminating their tawny colored bodies they stood next to the water. The dam’s water was like a mirror reflecting the images of these super cats almost ghostly on its surface. All that we could do was to watch wide eyed at this beautiful and majestic scene and to take in and appreciate every second of it.

The wild dogs have also featured quite a bit in the last month with several sightings of these highly endangered animals. One morning Pieter, one of our rangers, made the call that he had discovered them in the mountainous area we call “Ambush Alley”. We all rushed to the location with great anticipation of what’s waiting for us. They had killed a kudu and just finished the last bits when we arrived. The excitement of the kill still lingered in the air and some of the wild dogs still ran up and down the area frantically while others where squabbling over the bones. This was an amazing sighting since they passed the vehicles left and right at arms length. The pictures that resulted were stunning indeed. Unfortunately though tragedy struck the pack of wild dogs we call the “Collection pack”. They had an unfortunate run in with lions and most of the pack was killed. The survivors were put back into the Boma for recovery and we are now trying our best to bring in new wild dogs to try and re-establish a viable pack that we can release into the wild again. The remaining pack of wild dogs are going strong and living live to the fullest.

The bush is ever full of surprises and sometimes you just have to read the signs and be patient enough to witness really awesome happenings. Not too long ago we were sitting next to a group of 11 lions at one of our major watering holes. As the sun started to set some of the younger lions saw some waterbuck at the other side of the dam coming down to drink. They seemed very interested indeed and started stalking them. At first it looked like fun and we decided to skip our sundowners and watch what happens. When one of the mature lionesses got up and crouched away into the bush things got serious and our anticipation started to soar. I repositioned the vehicle to get a good view of the whole area. Slowly they edged closer to the unsuspecting waterbuck when suddenly I heard a noise to the side of the vehicle. It was a massive herd of buffalo’s slowly walking out of the thick bush to go and drink some water. Suddenly the lions saw them and their focus changed immediately. They were now fixed on the unsuspecting buffalo still approaching the dam. I thought to myself that this is going to be very interesting indeed. The buffalo kept on approaching to within only meters of the lions without seeing them. In the dappled light and yellow grass these lions were, for the lack of a better word, invisible and ready to attack. Suddenly the lead buffalo bull saw them and with an almighty below immediately charged the lions instead of running away. This caught the lions off guard and they scattered in every direction. It was a reaction they did not expect from the buffalo’s and got out of there as soon as their frightened legs could carry them. With that below of the first buffalo the rest followed trend and rushed at the lions in all their combined furry. It’s almost like that below literally meant “charge!!!!” and they moved like one big monstrous entity towards their enemy. Hundreds of angry hooves slamming the earth, the psychotic bellowing of dozens of buffalo and lions growling almost sounded like a volcano erupting right next to us. A blanket of dust hanged over the area and the thunderous noise was ear numbing and bone chilling all at the same time. When the dust settled some very egotistical buffalo stood triumphant and some very ego deprived lions learned a very valuable lesson. This sighting just shows us again that the predators don’t have it all their own way all the time and sometimes they have to sit and watch with their tummies rumbling.

Until next time.

Your Madikwe Hills Ranger Team