Yesterday’s Panorama Route Trip
Posted by Carlene
After many cloudy evenings and mornings we headed off to do the Panorama Route with Elaine, Stephen, Pauline and Colin. We were really lucky to wake up and find we had perfect weather. After a nice lay in and a quick breakfast we headed out. We took to the road in high spirits and had many good laughs.
Our first stop was the Three Rondawels where we could look over the Blyde Canyon and be up high where the birds fly. We were also able to have a look at the curios that is handmade by the locals. Next we went off to Bourke's Luck Potholes, these are "potholes" that are created by a continuous flow of water and whirlpools. There are many places to sit and enjoy the scenery and hear the sound of rushing water.
Our next stop was God's Window, it is a nice hike up to the Rainforest at the top of the mountain. You can then see around you for miles. In the movie the God's must be Crazy the little Kalahari Bushman throws the glass Coke bottle off God's Window because he thinks it is the edge of the world and that the evil will then be gone.
Our last stop for the day was in Graskop where we had a lovely lunch at Harri's Pancakes and a bit of retail therapy. Graskop is a town filled with arts and crafts and there is anything and everything.
So all in all we had a great sunny day!!
Carlene
Philo Erection
Posted by Quinton
Recently, while out on safari, after all the rain that we have had, we came across this sleeping impala. This specific antelope will lie down as this limits the amount of body heat lost through their skinny legs. If one takes a closer look at the Impala Rams fur you will see that he is soaked but the hair is erected from his body. This action is called philo erection. What the animal does is erect his/her fur, by doing this any heat loss through the body warms the air in between the fur acting like a thermal blanket. Other animals are also able to do thiss, such as cats and dogs which raise the hair on their back to make themselves appear bigger and more threatening. Nyala Bulls will also raise the hair on their back for the same reason whilst trying to intimidate an opponent. They will very rarely come to blows with other bulls and settle their disputes in this manner. This has given them the name “gentleman of the bush”.
Another tough day in the office!
Posted by Henry
It was going to be another beautiful day in Africa as we set off on an early morning Safari. We were spending the whole day in Kruger National Park and while we were driving, the sun rising in the east, we were all very quiet.
Early mornings are more difficult for some, not everyone can wake and go. Some need a cup of coffee and for others the best remedy is a exciting Leopard sighting!
Almost as if it was scripted, Sean called out 'Leopard'! There he was, sitting upright and proud, in a tall Marula tree. Everyone was suddenly wide awake. While we were watching him all was calm, apart from the hushed excitement in the vehicle. He stood up and went down the tree, disappearing into the tall grass. That's what we thought ... The peace of the early morning was shattered by a shrill squealing sound. That's when I realised that he didn't just go down the tree to carry on with his day, but he had just caught a Warthog! Just as suddenly as he had disappeared down, he got back up the tree, Warthog in his mouth. Unbelievable!!! Soon after that he went back down the tree and disappeared from view. What a start to the day for an africa safari!
The rest of the safari provided us with many exciting moments and experiences, from the clan of Hyena's to the family group of Ostriches. The Big Bull Elephant that came strolling down the road gave us some fantastic photo opportunities.
There were also moments of fun and laughter. Most entertaining was definitely the troop of Baboons we found swimming in a natural pool in the river. It was just like watching kids splashing and playing, as iof they were on some sort of Africa holidays. 
As the sun was finally going down on a great day on Safari, we came across a majestic, old, bull Elephant. We watched him walking away from us down the road, almost as if he came to bid us farewell.
What a special day....!! Wow!
January 2012 Floods
Posted by Henry
Dear All
As many of you already know our area was recently hit by the worst flooding that had been seen for many years. Luckily the Vuyani Safari Lodge sustained no damages at all, as we are located at a healthy distance from the nearby riverbed.
On Tuesday the 17th of January 2012 the day started as any other day with no threat or prediction of even heavy rain. However, in the late afternoon the rain started falling, but as it was much needed we were all very grateful at the time.
By Wednesday morning (the 18th) we were greeted by swollen rivers and it was still raining. In total we received 570mm of rain over 48hour period. What makes this so remarkable is the fact that our annual rainfall is between 450mm-550mm per annum. We had that and more in 48hours. Then it all stopped and as quickly as the rivers had come up, their levels started to drop. We had just been hit by a Tropical Cyclone called Dando.
Vuyani Safari Lodge was one of the few lucky Safari Lodges in the area, we sustained no damage to the lodge and were able to continue as normal. We are very grateful for that fact, especially when we think of all our friends that are in the same industry as us whose Lodges not only sustained damage, but in some cases were washed away completely.
Many of the people in our community that live close to the very big rivers that caused most of the damage, sustained substantial damage to their property. As a community it has been remarkable to see all of us rally together and get infrastructure in the area back up to speed in no time.
Apart from some minor damage to our road infrastructure, which we were able to repair swiftly, we are all well and going strong. We have a phenomenal team at Vuyani Safari Lodge and I would like to say a special thank you to all of them for their dedication and professionalism through this trying time.
Henry Parsons
P.S. What has been quite incredible is how intuitive the animals have been. When we looked back at the event we realised that on the Monday, prior to the heavy rain and flooding, all the animals we saw on our Safaris had moved to higher ground. If only humans were as in tune with nature!
Friday the 13th HAHAHA
Posted by Quinton
Hi all, man did we show Friday the 13th a thing or two about bad luck!
Early that morning I got word that Jacques and Byron, on their way to work, had spotted our 2 Male Cheetahs but were having a bit of trouble relocating them to show Colin and Pat.
I arrived at the safari lodge at around 7 and decided to head out to go and have a look if I could give the guys a hand. What luck, around 5 minutes later I gave Jacques a call on the wireless and told him I had found the 2 Boys lying flat cat and in no hurry to move at all.
Jacques who had then been following up on some fresh wild dog tracks joined me for the sighting. I then left the sleeping felines and went to go and see if my luck could improve by following up on the dogs. Gave Henry a call and asked if he was up for a bit of a tracking session.
Jumping into his car and only 2 mins from the Lodge, 2 wild dogs crossed the road in front of him. They were on the Hunt darting from Termite mount to Termite mount for vantage over the surroundings.
The Dogs moving so quickly through the thick summer bush it was difficult to keep up with them and visual of the dogs was soon lost.
Africa safaris might for many be about the much-marketed Big5, but for us rangers the rarest and most elusive animals are really what it's all about. And the Cheetah and Wild Dog are certainly two of those! What a lucky day for us and the guests!
Quinton Chick
Vuyani Safari Lodge Manager and Head Ranger
Morning Drive with Elephants
Posted by Quinton
Our morning safari drive started off well with some good sightings of Kudu, Warthog and Impala. We hadn’t driven very far from the safari lodge when we found some fresh dung and signs of our elephant heard. After tracking them for the past two days I took the opportunity to follow up on the fresh signs they left behind and try to locate these massive animals. Driving along we could clearly see the destruction these animals had left behind on the vegetation, bark stripped off trees, and some trees were pushed over so that the elephants can get to the roots and loads of broken branches and shrubs. We followed the trail all the way to the dry river bed, knowing the elephants would be thirsty after consuming a great amount of vegetation. I knew about some puddles that dammed up after our recent rain and decided to make our way to the area as fast as possible. As we arrived at the first mud wallow we got our first glimpse of one of the female elephants who showed some interest in our arrival. We allowed her to settle down and continue to drink before we moved closer. The whole herd was playing, drinking and just having fun in the water. After they had their fill of water we followed them to a sandy area were we watched them dust bathing and one by one moved off into the dense bush. Rudi, Tracy, Sean and I were very lucky to have spent so much time with the elephants and observing their behaviour. Nice.
Erich Jamneck
Senior Ranger
Vuyani Safari lodge
Merry Christmas to All
Posted by Quinton
Hi all!
Here at the Vuyani Safari Lodge we would like to wish everybody a Merry and Happy Festive Season!!
Lately we have had a fantastic sighting of the Lions. One of the females gave birth to a baby lion a couple of months ago. This time we were not able to find the youngster but had a really nice up close and personal sighting with the remaining sub adult male and the two girls.
After a long trip back from O R Tambo international. We settled down for a nice dinner back at the Lodge. Erich decided to head out and see if he could find the lions to maybe do a late night drive for our guests.
It wasn't long before Erich called back and said that he had managed to find them and Jacques should bring the guests out to have a look.
The lions were in an open area enjoying the cool evening air. The sighting turned out great with them lying close to the game viewer in a complete state of relaxation. Perfect African safari ...
Happy Elephants!
Posted by Quinton
On our afternoon safari Jacques and I set out to look for the Lions when Carlene, our chef, radioed in that she saw an Elephant bull on her way to drop off the staff. We quickly changed our route and set out to relocate the big animal. On our way to where she had spotted the big bull we found fresh tracks of the whole herd and followed them to a Sickle bush thicket were we found them relaxed and feeding. The young Elephants were very playful, bumping heads, jumping on each other’s backs and chasing every member of the herd in circles. We spent almost 40 minutes with the herd until the matriarch decided it was time to move on. One by one they crossed the road greeting us in turn before disappearing into the thick bush. What an awesome encounter!
Erich Jamneck
Thanks to Junho Park for supplying the Photos!
The Elusive Leopard
Posted by Henry
Once again, an awesome sighting that blew our mind. As the whole country is getting a lot of rain these days, we are not allowing it to dampen our moods out on Safari. Myself and Kris had taken out Kelly and Elizabeth for their first safari at Vuyani. They had told us they would really like to see some cats, so we had our work cut out for us. And we searched high and low for these elusive cats. It was a nice cool cloudy afternoon when we stopped for our sundowners, by then we had seen some beautiful sightings of giraffe and other plains game.
After sundowners we did all we could to find a cat and it paid off! As we headed back towards the lodge we crossed through an open plain, and just ahead of us a young male leopard crossed the road in front of us. We all nearly jumped out of our seats with excitement. We kept the spot light on the leopard and followed him across the plain; He had a very proud look about him and clearly wasn’t bothered by us following him. The off roading following the leopard was just as exciting. He eventually heard a noise in the bush and darted off to go and see what it was and we then lost his visual and then let him be the proud leopard he is meant to be. We then headed back to the lodge to have a nice cold beer to celebrate our wonderful sighting of the elusive leopard. For anyone on an African safari, this is an unforgettable highlight, and even for seasoned rangers, it is very far from an every day common sighting!
Bush Pigs
Posted by Quinton
Recently on Morning Safari we were lucky enough to bump into a family of 7 Bush Pigs then later on a Sow with her single piglet. She appeared very round so I suspect she was quite far pregnant and close to giving birth.
Bush Pigs are predominantly nocturnal animals and are omnivorous feeding on all sorts of plant material, carrion and sometimes even killing and eating small rodents, snakes and other vertebrates.
They will reach around 50 to 90 cm in height and up to 1.5M in length, weighing up to 115KG. The gestation period (pregnancy period) is about 120 days giving birth to up to 6 piglets. They will reach sexual maturity at just under 2 years and have a life expectancy of around 20 years.
I was unable to get any shots of them so have included this picture from the internet.
Take Care and Season Greetings
Quinton Chick - Lodge Manager and Head Ranger