We start the drive Brent as your guide with Jeandre on camera. On our other vehicle we have Sam and Dave. We have Rebecca and Kirsten in Final Control.
We see a beautiful sunrise with Brent and can hear the scrub Robins calling
We head over to Sam who has some Impala rutting.
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Over to Brent
We have some Elephants
With the dry season and drought, there are many more Elephants moving into the area. This one is about 15 years old.
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Brent talked about his scarf that he wears often. It is called a Kikoy and he gets them from East Africa. He has quite a collection of them.
Over to Sam He has been to both Hyena dens and they appear to be inactive. He does not smell or hear any sign of them
Sam owns a Kikoy as well. His friend Megan got it for him . He loves his and sometimes uses it as a towel
Over to Brent who has a large Buffalo
This old Buffalo appears to have a sore back leg or it could be just morning stiffness. He is walking really slowly and carefully.
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A really old female catches Brent's eye. All marked up with only 1 horn. Brent said if Buffalo's could talk, she would be the one he would want to talk to.
We watch the Oxpeckers so busy picking mites off the Buffalo.
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Brent now driving and looking for tracks. He is trying to get a good shot of the sunrise without a power line in the way.
A Golden Orb of light
Over to Sam who is talking about how Elephants have very tough skin and it is very thick so they don't have problems with Ticks because the ticks cannot bite through the skin and thorns do not penetrate their thick skin
Sam is asked by a viewer if they would step in if an animal was injured and no they would not. Nature takes its course. It is not for them to decide.
Sam finds us an Arrow Marked Babbler
There are 2 of them preening.
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Beautiful pic of a silhouette of a Knob Thorn Tree
Sam steps out of the vehicle and gets a thorn. He is fixing Elvis's trunk.
Sam is asked a question about Wildfires.
Wildfire happen but it is a good thing. The fire causes seeds to burst and helps the bush regenerate itself. Each staff member is trained in how to deal with Wild Fires. Fires are not so good for human settlements and of course wild fires will kill wild life so they control them the best way they can.
Over to Brent
He has found the Nkahuma Pride tracks heading towards the eastern boundary. A mystery pride of female lions have been sighted north of here. No one seems to know which pride this could be.
Brent talks about how the lion prides get their names
The nkahuma pride was first sighted under a large Brown Ivory Tree. Brown Ivory Tree in Shangaan is Nkahuma.
The Salala Pride got their name from a Pan in Londolozi.
The Mangen Pride named after the Mangen drainage line.
The Styx pride he isn't positive but he thinks the name is connected to the River Styx.
Over to Sam
There is lots of elephant dung near the waters edge so most likely a large herd has been here recently to drink
We see a Yellow Billed Hornbill and a Buffalo Weavers nest.
Buffalo Weavers Nest
Burchells Starling
Pied Wagtail
Sam brings us closer to the watering hole and there we find a Hippo
We watch Fork Tailed Drongo's repeatedly skimming and entering the water and then flying back to their branch., Quite an amazing site to see them do it over and over again. Check the video below.
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Over to Brent who has some Elephants.
He suggests this Ellie is in his mid to late 20's.
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Brent is asked what it is like living in the bush. He has lived in the bush his entire life. His family had a game Farm. He wouldn't want to be anywhere else. The downside is that it is hard to get good seafood out in the bush and he really likes sushi.
The upsides heavily outweigh any downsides. A viewer has asked Brent what was his scariest moment ... Brent says it was in the Central African Rainforest where he got tossed by an Elephant and dislocated his hip. (Brent recently traveled to Durban to have his injury re evaluated as it is still painful. He will be having a ligament repair in June and recuperation time will be approximately 6-8 weeks)
Brent feels colder now and wonders if a front is moving in.
Over to Sam who hears an Elephant cracking branches. The birds are now being elusive and keep flying off.
Sam explains that we as humans hear at 25 Hertz whereas Elephants can hear at 5 Hertz.
Sam answers the same question that Brent had about living in the bush. He has only been here 6 weeks. The upside is the biggest thing because he gets to be immersed in an ecological system. It us very good for his mind and his health.
He is fascinated how animal systems work and not being part of the City.
The downside is not having his family around. He misses his parents and twin brother who is starting his own business and his sister is a lawyer. He is going home in 2 weeks and will be doing a lot of swimming and surfing.
He really likes the people in the camp. They are great peoples. Dave and Sam like to go outside late at night to view the stars and try to locate a satellite.
We are over with Brent now who has located a very old Nyala Bull
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Brent now spots a Glossy Starling who is breaking up Elephant Dung to get at insects.
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Over to Sam who has found an old piece of bark that he finds interesting. He is cracking it open. He wonders what insect has made this.
Termites were once in here but now perhaps a spider has made its home here.
IT SCARED SAM!!!!!
There was a spider
DEAD!
But gave him " A HUGE FRIGHT" he said.
We were going over to Brent.. no... staying with Sam (because thats a cancelled thing he says)
Sam shows us a lead wood tree. A very strong wood., They can stand 800 years.
Heading into the drainage line. Elephants have knocked a tree over and completely blocked the road.. need to turn around.
Sam does his best not to drive over Elephant Dung in the road because there might be Dung Beetles in it and he wouldnt want to harm them.
There is now a new rule (no off roading even if following tracks) It is because of the dryness. The sand is not as compacted so off roading would disturb the ground much more then in the wet season.
We are at Tree House Dam now and we see a large Buffalo.
Sam says "He is a Big Big Boy"
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Click Link Below To View Video
( Brent is having technical difficulties and needs a cable of some sort so Conner has gone to help him and that is why we haven't gone back to Brent)
Sam saying they get fed so amazingly well here in the camp. Amanda makes great pies. She is a fun lady and they were playing games and he hasn't laughed so much in a very long time. Rebecca was making him laugh a lot too and Wiam has just got back from a 2 day leave.
We come across a very large termite mound
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Sam gets out of the vehicle and locates a large land snail shell
He puts it to it's ear to hear the ocean. His mom taught him that.
THIS JUST IN!! There is a giraffe at the Dam Cam!! Final Control is switching out feed over to it.
Brent has his signal back and is heading over to the Djuma Dam
Brent also spots an African Hawk Eagle
Such Stunning Birds
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All of a sudden a group of Nyala got a fright and took off in every directions. Little white fluffs on their tails look like cotton balls.
Turns out it was a young impala that gave them the fright
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And so the time ends for this Drive.
Thanks too Brent. Jeandre, Sam, Dave, Rebecca and Kirsten in final control and Thanks to Conner for fixing Brent's cable.
James is off on leave for 2 weeks to visit his Mom and Dad.
Jamie is in England getting her Masters Diploma Graduation ceremony at Cambridge University and will be back on Tuesday.
Reminder : Tuesday is Sam's Birthday so lets all send him a Happy Birthday
Djuma Water Hole
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