Hi Everyone from a very green, lush Amakhala Reserve! We have had a wonderful amount of rain (always in need of more, but are grateful none the less!). From so many view points in the Reserve we keep hearing guests ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over the scenery.
Summer has arrived and pretty yellow flowers are covering areas like a carpet. It really is looking very pretty. See our newsletter gallery for pics of our lovely yellow carpet.
We have had a fantastic month at both lodges, possibly one of our best yet. A real mixture of guests from al l over the world, so it has definitely been an interesting one for us.
This month we had a great milestone when Bukela hosted its first conference for a large company. The corporate contingency consisted of 17 guests for the day. We laid the tables for them in the outside lapa, so that they could have the lovely scenery of the waterhole below the lodge. We were able to offer them a game drive at the end of their day of hard thinking, so they finished off their day with a great ramble around the reserve.
Aside from what we’ve been up to, the animals have been very busy too. Once again I introduce some new arrivals to our Reserve. We now have 3 brand new baby elephants, and if you check out the pic in the gallery, you’ll see the two newest babies just behind the small male in the front. Bless!! We absolutely loved this photo – the baby in the front is so tiny compared to Dad. And we just love the fury tufts on each of the young ones.
This last month our guests have really enjoyed going for a late night game drive to try and find some of the species that hide away in the day time. The later departure time also gives the guests time to enjoy their rooms, sit outside on their deck and read, or enjoy a massage in their rooms. We have been serving an early dinner at 6.30pm and setting out after that – fully bundled up & warm. It has been very successful and our Rangers have done a great job in finding some of the different species that lurk around at night. Check out the gallery for some beautiful pics of the Brown Hyena and the Aardwolf.
It seems the summer also makes the wildlife more social – it’s not just humans! – as you’ll see in the gallery. An interesting shot was taken this month of a white rhino playing with a black rhino in a mud wallow. Are these rhinos having fun or what? We have seen these two together before, so perhaps they have become friends. South Africa…. the rainbow nation….
We’re also chuffed to finally be able to show something to all our Bosses and Agents out there that may have heard a complaint of no water for a moment during their stay: we would like to show you why. Check out the gallery for a caught-red-handed pic of our big male bull at work on our pipes. We really aren’t joking when we tell you the elephants pull out and break the pipes! It drives us mad – but hey – I think we would all rather deal with these dilemmas every now and then, than have a constant supply of water and no big ellies at work. As you can see in this photo, the elephant bull has totally ignored the rocks we put surrounding the pump. They’re meant to be uncomfortable for them to stand on. Mmm, back to the drawing board for a new idea!
And with that we disappear off into the sunset to look for more interesting things to share at the end of what looks like another busy month. Thanks to our fabulous agents for sending so many guests and such fantastic people.
From us all, take care and we will catch up soon!
Kerry