Got something to tell you!

Pisst...I have something to tell you!
Xivindzi and Xivambalana.

Hi everyone!

What an amazing week and half! After 4x4ing with my little sedan, I managed to get back to the sands yesterday! I was going to spill the beans on my future earlier in the week, but as the saying goes plans of mice and men....., so I had to leave you with a cliff hanger! I was only going to spend a night with Joe and Penny in Kruger, but circumstances changed which allowed me to stay the week with them and I am so glad I could! We had wonderful sightings of the magnificent 7 including hunting cheetah and leopard as well as a pack of 15 wild dogs strolling by the vehicle! Apart from the delicious food and many fantastic moments, the company was wonderful and all enjoyed more than just a giggle I can tell you! I even participated in a few firsts as well; being in the tail end of cyclone was one of them. I think the northern sands has been quite lucky with very little damage compared to the South and even Hoedspruit. (I will write a separate blog about the trip though!) 

Cheetah from Kruger after the rains

Anyway I digress! Before I went to Kruger to see Joe, Penny and her family, I was busy organizing my head and life! After the time spent with my family in the UK it has helped me to decide which direction I want to head in. I do miss the Uk and my family, but I still love Africa and her creatures, especially the cats and rhinos as you all know. With this in mind I have decided to join the Ingwe Leopard Research. 

The Kruger before the rains

There is need of a zoologist to run the research and the Black leopard campus volunteer scheme. Although it is something I have never done before, I do enjoy a new challenge and have wanted to do some form of research even before I joined WildEarth. At this stage in my career I believe it is the best step for me, but I still want to keep a track of what happens with Karula and her family, even if it is popping up on leave to see her and of course I will keep you posted too! There is going to be a lot of scope for development and new skills to learn, which I am very excited about and of course learning more about these special spotted felines is going to be fascinating! 

I will be based in a small camp nestled in one of the valleys in Lydenberg at Thaba Tholo game reserve and it is a stunning little spot! A small waterhole which is frequented by game and sometimes, I would wager, leopard, will be over looked by the volunteer tents as well as mine! I will be keeping you all up to date on the progress and of course about the leopards and my tales. I hope you will join me for this next chapter and who knows where it will lead! 

If there is anyone wanting to know more information about the Ingwe Leopard Research here is the link http://www.ingweleopard.com/. If anyone does want to volunteer please get in touch with us! 

Karula and a 6 month old Xivindzi

And just one more bit of news before I sign off, I am sure everyone will be over joyed to hear Karula and both cubs were seen this morning enjoying playing in the puddles as the walked down Vuyatela access road. Sadly I didn't get to see them but staff did! I will try and get out in the next couple of days to check on the hyena den! 

Keep well,

Tara

Back in SA at Djuma - 1 month on!

One of the baby impala on the open area!

Happy New Year everyone!!

I can't believe I have been back in South Africa only a couple of days, it feels like I have been away for so long and yet it feels it hasn't been a day since I left! Confused? Me too! My head is all over the show so if this doesn't make any sense I do apologize now, it will still be the effects from the 35ish hours of traveling! (Luckily this time there was no running involved!)

Young elephant we saw today on drive!

I have no news to tell you all as yet about me, but hope to have in the next week or 2. I am at Djuma for a visit and thought everyone might appreciate hearing about the love of our lives while I was here, so without further ado here we go!

One of the zebra herds on the open area  this morning!

I could swear I saw Teddy run off as I drove in to camp on the 13th after a long 6 hours on the road. It was small enough and dark enough for it to have been, although I was quite exhausted and it is possible I could have miss identified our short furry friend. Sadly he/she didn't come back out to say Hi, but I had a huge smile on my face as I felt I had just been welcomed home by Djuma! Although I didn't realize what a welcome back I was about to have, in more ways than one! (Just a note on the side, if ever you leave a fridge for a while, you might want to make sure the door is wedged open!) After a major clean up operation and a much needed sleep, it was time to go and see who would come out to say happy new year!

Water monitor from this morning's drive.

Jaco hadn't been out on a drive in a while, so he came with me to check out the hyena den on Zoe's road, but as I expected, nobody was home and it looked like it had been a while since there had been anyone there. I did wonder if the den off Phillamon's cutline was in use again instead and after Jaco told me the cubs were seen often by the bush braai site on the open area, I thought it was worth investigating.

Hyena adult from yuesterday afternoon.

I am so glad we did! As we pulled in we noticed one of the adult hyenas lying in a tunnel entrance! She kept looking over shoulder into the tunnel, which gave the impression there were cubs behind her, so we sat for a while and waited hoping to see which cubs were there. Sadly there was no sign of the little terrors, but we did receive a radio call about Karula not too far away at Tree house dam as we were heading to the den earlier. We wanted to delay our approach to allow the other vehicles with guests to see her first and have time with her. As we realized we would not have luck with the hyenas anytime soon, another call came to tell us her daughter, Xivindzi was on Weaver's nest road close to the junction of Gowrie main.

Our lady of Djuma, Karula

Her mother was evidently calling, but it is hard to say if Xivindzi could hear her, as she was taking her merry sweet time about responding if she had. She may have just been waiting around for Kaula's return, looking for her own dinner and it was just by chance she was heading in the right direction towards her mother!

 With the rain that Djuma has had, the vegetation has expanded 10 fold and unfortunately Xivindzi was quite happy to sit and be just out of sight of my camera! When she did eventual move, the greenery swallowed her up as quickly as a rain drop dissolves and becomes part of the sea.

Luckily by this time there was space for us to join our lady and we did so, just north of Tree house dam, as she continued to call her wayward children, which came to no avail except for the apperence of a hyena, possibly the one we had seen a bit earlier. No doubt she heard Karula's calls and came to inquire if there was a free meal on offer! 

Karula keeping a very close watch on the hyena!

You can imagine the queen of Djuma was none too happy about the uninvited guest, but the spotted cousin kept a respectful distance and eventually comprehended there was nothing to be had and left. Karula gave up her own search for the time being and took a load off atop a termite mound! Some of you might remember the day she called the boys for hours with no answer from them. The calls she gave for Xivindzi and Xivambalana were not as loud and she didn't seem too concerned at having no response from them. With the cubs being around 14 months old, they are more than likely still relying on her for food and it could be she stopped so they wouldn't come to find her while the hyena was in the vicinity.

Floppy ears cubs are on the left and Teddy is standing!

With the setting of the sun, we returned to the hyena den to find, who I think were floppy ear's youngsters curled up together and Teddy; full of energy as always! Sadly I had the wrong lens for the light, but it was too light for the spot light to work, but at least you can see them! Teddy would be around 5-6months old now and has the spotted coat like that of the older hyena, but it is still quite dark and is more fluffy than even floppy ears 2! 

Teddy seeing something more exciting in the bush!

Teddy caught our scent and looked like s/he wanted to come over, but seemed a bit intimidated by the vehicle. It is hard to say if there was some recognition or just general interest, but s/he took a few steps closer each time while sniffing the air and when I spoke s/he did venture closer still. Evidently though something else more important came up that needed urgent attention and Teddy's focus was drawn away from us! We left the young clan members as they scurried off into bush in answer to an adult calling and with night drawing in, it was time to check on Karula and her daughter again. 

Karula on the right and Xivindzi on the left.

A lap around Tree house dam brought nothing, but as we approached elephant skull and weaver's nest junction for a final lap of the dam who should stroll out in front of us? The ladies of Djuma, Karula and Xivindzi! They gave us a royal walk by, right next to the vehicle and continued down weaver's nest towards Gowrie Main! Xivindzi seems to be a typical teenager, leading the way and showing she is all grown up, but every so often needing her mother's attention! It was a perrrfect end to a wonderful day!

The 2 ladies strolling down the road, Karula on the right her daughter on the left.  

This morning I joined Texan and Lotts of drive and for the first time I saw the Manyeleti boundary, more of Buffleshoek property and the first rock at torchwood! 

First rock!

It was great to see the places we have heard mentioned so often on the radio!

We had a beautiful sighting of elephants, a quick glimpse of 2 rhino (not sure who they were I doubt it was any of the ones we used to see on drive),

the male giraffe with a patch missing on his neck, showing us his sense of humor so early in the morning! 

There has been a return of a crocodile at Twin dams...I thought you might like to know about that! 

The wildebeest herd has had young. I saw 3 but there could be more! This little one can't be more than 2 months old!

The baby impala look to be doing well and are enjoying the protection of the large creches!

I even had a buffalo bull blocking my path on the way down to the lodge this morning!

These last pictures are of the weaver birds who were making the nests at tree house dam. If you remember there was only a couple of males who were busy when we left with very few nests that had been built, as you can see it is no longer the case! The sound was deafening! 

I hope you enjoy hearing about the residents. If I head out again or if I have any news of the residents of Djuma or about what I am doing I will be blogging!

Until next time take care and keep smiling (everyone will wonder what you are up too!)

Written by Tara

Life in 2 extremes!

The dune we had to climb!

Hi Everyone!

I hope all the festive preparations are going well for you all! We have finished dressing the tree, it's just the decorations to go up outside the house that is left to do! Dad and I are waiting for the opportunity to sneak out and do it to surprise mum, which should happen later today! I can't believe just over a week ago I was sitting on the beach in Mozambique having a cheeky tipitimto rum and raspberry and enjoying the warm waters!

Had to show you the glasses!!

The week away started by packing the vehicles at the crack of dawn pausing for a moment to relish the serenade of a male leopard calling somewhere on the quarantine open area! The convoy of 3 vehicles carrying 12 friends in crazy over sized glasses met at Gowrie gate eager for what lay ahead!

A quick refuel at Hoedspruit for human and vehicle alike, lasted a bit longer than planed as Marc came to join us to say fair well, then it was on to Phalaborwa!

Bull elephant from Kruger

The sun was shinning and spirits were high as we made our way through the Kruger National Park enjoying a herd of buffalo and a couple of bull elephants along the way to Giryondo boarder post. (I can't deny it was also bliss to jump into the pool at Lataba day visitors centre to cool off, as lady landie had no air conditioning!) Sadly this will be the last time we can do this trip in a day, not because of anything we have done I hasten to add! It is due to the rules of the park which have changed. Anyone wishing to use Giryondo must now spend a night in the Greater Kruger National Park. This decision has come from too many over loaded and non roadworthy vehicles that make use of the boarder post for commercial reasons rather than being holiday makers. This meant we had to use Komatipoort boarder post on the way back which did add to our journey time somewhat!

Village in the Limpopo park

Once on the Mozambique side of the boarder in the Limpopo national park we saw very little except signs left by elephant and you can guess what they were! A 2 hour trek through the park past a number of small villages, brought us to the gate and Massingir dam which lies just outside the park. I have stayed at the camp site inside the reserve that over looks the dam before and can recommend it.  The chalets had electricity and running water and was very reasonable in price!

After another 4 hours drive to the coast we finally made it to our little spot of paradise! It was everything we had hoped for at Zona Braza! The golden beach was just a couple of minutes stroll down the dune; although it was slightly longer to get back and the work out involved stopped me feeling guilty about all the delicious seafood we had eaten over the week! I am sure you can imagine how much fun was had by all! I managed to stub my toe on the wooden walk way which lead to the beach which was quite painful but has healed well now and apart from a couple of other minor foot injuries it was a huge success! Mission extreme relaxation completed! We could even laugh while we were stuck in traffic for over an hour at Maputo on the way home!

The dune road we had to walk down!

A couple of days later, after finally packing up my room and saying goodbye to the sands, I made my way to Johannesburg, popping in on Graham Cooke and his wife before flying back home to the chili UK feeling like I could take on anything!! (It was a good job I felt like that: Warning! If you fly via Doha with Qatar be prepared to run for your gate!) I must admit I was a little concerned I only had 30mins between flights, but then I thought, well there must be a good system in place if my boarding pass says quick transfer and is edged with orange. There was even a video to watch on the plane which explain everything in detail! Awesome I thought; well organised!

Last day on the beach!

Hum! Well it looked well organised on the outside! A short bus ride took us from the tarmac to the terminal. According to my ticket the next flight should have started to board already. As we got inside the airport, the que was huge and everyone had an orange boarder to their tickets, some showed theirs to the officials and they pointed to the same que I was in, so I thought Ok I can't be special either then! It was 20mins to take off, but at this point I still had faith surely if they are this laid back the gate must be close by? Having finally got through security I had only10mins before my plane was suppose to be in the air, hum, panic? Nope, no need it is all under control... so I thought!

The promenade at Arnside

Following signs for gate 39, I went upstairs only to loose the signs at the top. Seeing only gates 12-14 and nothing else, now was the time to panic! I asked a couple of staff the direction for the gate. The first  was not  particularly helpful. The second pointed the way and said you better hurry as it is last call, (no kidding I thought!) So there I go bags in hand, shoe slipping off my foot, as I legged it down the corridor to the furthest gate away from where I arrived! Finally I made it, I think by the time the plane was suppose to be in the air! I tried to explain as best I could in between the gasps for breath, to the desk clerk, who was less than amused at my late arrival, that there was more of us to come! (Note to self, do more exercise in future!)  It turned out there were 2 others left and I wouldn't mind but there was a good number of us on the bus ride to the plane, which ended up being a bit of a scenic tour to boot! But at least I made the flight and I even had a row of seats to sleep off my efforts! 

I am so happy to be home though, as much as I am missing the bush, Karula, the drives and all the WE family. I still have to decided which direction to go in next year in terms of work. I have a number of ideas, but when I formulate a plan I will let you all know! This month I have decided is for enjoying much needed family time. I have already visited family who I haven't seen in 2 years and friends I haven't seen in 7 years. For the new year I will be spending time with relatives in the South again! It has been freezing, but as yet no snow has fallen in the village, only on the lake district hills in the distance! The village itself has a great festive vibe and I must admit I felt like a kid again as we were decorating the tree. Singing along to the Christmas songs, with the fire dancing along as well and drinking hot chocolate with a drop of Bailey's in! In a word magic!

The viaduct and lake district hills

I have a feeling this year is going to be an interesting one, so watch this space! I would like to wish everyone who celebrates at this time of year a Very Merry Christmas and I hope it is as Special as each of you are. Enjoy the New Year and I am thrilled to know you will still be with me for the next adventure! 

All the best and enjoy.

Love Tara

PS Pictures will be included I hope next week! - Ok I bit late but better late than never!! There is no picture of my stubbed toe, but it has healed! Oh and we did manage to do the outside tree but forgot to take pictures! 

Just a quick note....

Hi everyone, this is where I will be posting blogs from now on! I will post the blogs I posted on WildEarth about the leopards here too, so they are all together, as well as what I am going to be up too once I know what I will be doing!! :) I feel honoured to have been your guide for over a year and a half and look forward to the next chapter of my life with many more friends on board! Thank you for all your support and encouragement during such a wonderful and exciting experience that I am so proud and pleased to be able to say I have been apart of! This isn't a goodbye from me and I hope it isn't from you either!

Here is the link to my new calender, as before there is a large and a small version, with various pictures of the animals of Djuma we have come to love over the years, including Teddy and pals, the Nkuhuma lionesses and a tribute to the Gijima boys, vultures, elephants old and young and of course the leopards, the new cubs, the men in Karula's life and the lady herself!

http://www.lulu.com/product/calendar/more-djuma-residents---small/18630897

Take care,

Tara