• Be patient when looking for and watching wildlife. Be aware that the NatGeo and Attenborough wildlife documentaries were put together over some years and not a few days.
• *Remember to pause to listen and to use your sense of smell. All your senses will come alive if you are aware of them.
• *When asking questions, you will gain more and delight your guide if you listen to the answers.
• *Take joy in the smaller details, the animal tracks, the birds and the interesting landscape and vegetation. It is often when stopping to view something small that a sighting of big game unfolds.
• *Try to be unafraid of the odd insect or other creepy crawlies. While these creatures might frighten or repulse you, essentially, they have no interest in you. You are not on their menu, only in their space.

“’Nothing but breathing the air of Africa, and actually walking through it, can communicate the indescribable sensations.”

William Burchell

Three accommodation types, with private bathroom, twin beds, fans and plug points.

We are privileged to operate our safaris in the Maseke section of Balule Nature Reserve. Balule makes up part of the Associated Private Nature Reserves- an area of 197 885 ha to which Balule contributes a sizable 55000 ha. Together with the scientists of the National Park Board, decisions are made on how to best manage the fauna and flora with the ecological criteria of maintaining biodiversity.

The use of fire as a management tool is vitally important and the science of fire ecology is a changing and dynamic discipline. This year, with the high fuel load from consecutive years of higher-than-average rainfall, controlled burning just before the first rains, was employed by many reserve managers including Balule. We executed two successful block burns and are watching with interest to monitor the regrowth and recovery after the first rains we hope to receive soon.

Last week early in the morning, Maseke Game Reserve staff and volunteers gathered at a predetermined site to start and subsequently control a bush fire. For many years range managers made the mistake of overprotecting the African bush from fires. This intervention had consequences which we are still dealing with today. One conspicuous result has been an increase in the woody component of the bush – or what is commonly termed; bush encroachment. Today we know that the African bush benefits from a well-timed and managed fire.
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Fire is a useful tool in veld management and how and when you burn will depend on the result you wish to achieve. The removal of moribund plant material allows for better light penetration that stimulates grass growth. We generally try to emulate nature and burn at a time of the year when we could have a natural fire started by lightning. Electric storms occur in late winter and early summer- round about now, before the rains and when the grass is still dry from our winter months. The ground surface after a burn is highly susceptible to wind erosion and extreme fluctuations in temperature. We want to avoid leaving the land exposed for longer than necessary and prefer to burn close to when the first rains are expected.

Farewell to the August arrivals; Wahlberg Eagles

A year in the Africa bush; comprising of the earth’s journey around the sun This is punctuated by the seasons and the arrivals of migrant birds, insects, frogs and changes in our evening skies. After the winter solstice in June, the days almost immediately seem to get light earlier and we are racing our way into summer. August is considered a month when we are still in the dry season and late winter. Our first migratory birds to arrive in the southern skies are the dependable Wahlberg’s eagles, coming from north-eastern Africa to breed here. These medium-sized eagles have a confusing range of colour forms from dark brown to a pale white and are easily recognisable as they tend to come back to the same nest site year after year. They nest below the tree canopy in a fork of a tree, typically knob-thorns in this area. They set about preparing for breeding almost immediately after arriving, lining the nest with green leaves and calling to each other frequently. They are often hounded in flight by smaller birds such as fork-tailed drongos who are known for their tenacity in “mobbing” birds of prey; both during flight and while perched.

In flight Wahlberg eagles are easy to recognise, they look like two planks of wood nailed together. Their wings and straight-edged and square with a narrow square-edged body and tail. While perched they may display a small crest and the dark eye is underlined by a yellow fleshy streak called a cere that typically extends only to the middle of the eye in the Wahlberg’s Eagle. The feathers on their legs resemble baggy leggings.

The eagle pair work hard after their long flight south with preparing the nest, then incubating a single egg for about 45 days then going on into a nestling period of over 70 days during which time she will incubate and feed and he hunts and brings food. They are dedicated parents indeed.

And, so in late March as our days grow shorter, we watch them teach their fledgeling to fly before embarking on the migration to other African parts. These feisty eagles captured the attention of a young Swedish naturalist; Johan August Wahlberg after whom they are named.

He was tragically killed by a wounded elephant in the Okavango but not before many animals big and small were named after him.

At nDzuti Safari Camp, we are privileged to have access to a portion of the Olifants River as it meanders through the bushveld and into the Kruger Park. Hippos and crocodiles abound along this wide shallow river. I recall the reflection of hundreds of sets of eyes shining back at us one night as we shone a spotlight over the Olifants River at Bangu Gorge close to the Mozambiquan border. Crocs are masters of concealment; while searching for them and looking out over the river for a while; a partially submerged or log-lookalike croc might suddenly materialise, having been there in front of you all the time.

Crocs are often encountered sunning themselves of the riverbank. Being ectotherms crocodiles and all other reptiles regulate their body temperature using the environment. When crocs feel too hot they may lie out on the river bank with their mouths wide open. The breeze over the moist surface of the mouth interior causes cooling like the pant of dog does.
Crocodiles and the ambient temperature are closely connected in more ways than this. Crocodile hatchlings have their sex determined by the temperature of the nest in which the eggs grow.

Typically, all embryos start out as female but may become male when certain environmental conditions are reached. At a certain high temperature within the nest, androgenic hormones are produced by the embryos and male sex organs in the baby crocs begin to develop. It follows that the site of the nest, whether in the sun or a shady spot will determine the sex of the crocodile hatchlings.
Crocodiles are fascinating primitive creatures and a joy to watch living in the natural wild environment of the iconic Kruger Park.