|
Mabula Lodge : Rangers Diary March 2011
|
| |
As with every month, March was another wonderful month at Mabula Private Game Lodge. I know exactly where to start, because this gives us some serious bragging rights! On the 15th of March the Mabula wildlife services department attended the world tourist guides day at Zebula country lodge hosted by the department of economic development, environment and tourism. Lots of fun was had by all and it was good to network with other guides from around the lovely province of Limpopo.
However the highlight of the day was the announcement of the Provincial tourist guide awards and yes indeed we are all very proud to say that we work with the provinces number one guide!
|
 |
|
Isaiah Banda one of the senior rangers here at Mabula was named Limpopo’s number one guide for 2011 and this puts him in line to go to the National guide awards, to potentially become the number one guide in the country.
Well done Banda!
|
|
So as we are heading into autumn, the Flora of the reserve will be going through a serious face lift. With everything getting slightly dried out and the trees and grasses going into hibernation, however we have still been having the typical late afternoon summer Highveld thunder showers which are always welcomed by the Fauna and Flora alike.
And with this same seasonal change marks the starting point for migration and in particular the migration of many Mabula bird species. Such as the Amur falcon which travels to the River Amur in China, it is about a three week trip over the Indian Ocean. The flocks of European bee eaters which breed here on Mabula, but leave our colder winter months for the beautiful summer days in France and Italy. And how can we forget the brilliant blue Woodland Kingfisher whose captivating call always marks the beginning of summer will be leaving us for the hot equatorial countries of Africa.
With all this said winter is still a very beautiful time in the bush and generally assists with sightings as the vegetation is not as dense offering less cover for the animals.
|
|
|
Updates on the game are all positive, the Elephants have been very active exploring all the reserves corners after spending a few months in the northern parts of the reserve but always go back to say hi to the guests around the Modjadji camp fires at night. There are a few new faces on the reserve with both the buffalo and rhinos producing offspring which is always amazing to see! But this keeps us all on our heels as the mothers become highly protective as any mother with a new born is. Finally the lion cub that is now about three months old is a furry ball of energy and getting very inquisitive. It’s great to see how the cub has brought this same life and energy into the whole pride as he just doesn’t give them a moments rest!
|
|
|
So all is well on Mabula Private Game lodge and we can’t wait to see what the new season has in store for us. New weather, guests, friends, great safaris and camp fire tales over a sherry.
|
|
|
Take care,
Mabula Lodge
|
|
|
c