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!