Weekly Report 25th - 28th September 2007

25/09/2007
Weather: Overcast and cool
Min temp: 10*C Max temp: 19*C

07:30 Did reports and e-mails.

08:45 Went to the Ryefield. 7 x Warthogs, 3 Impala groups, 3 x Blesbok, 2 x Natal Francolin.

09:10 There was a big Kudu bull just opposite the Ryefield on the mountain side.

09:20 We headed up towards the mountain.

10:00 15 Blesbok looking good up there. There was also a Secretary bird nearby.

10:45 Near the 4th dam at the back of the mountain we saw a Duiker female.

12:00 We saw 5 x Waterbuck on their way down to the Ryefield as we headed to Geluk.

12:20 Near the entrance to Geluk we saw 3 x Kudu cows.

12:25 Duiker female a little further down the road.

13:00 5 x Kudu cows near the lodge on Geluk.

13:20 We saw a couple of Oxpeckers on the cattle near the doma at the lodge, but none had rings that we could see.

14:00 4 x Kudu cows on the way out of Geluk. It was the 3 from earlier.

14:10 White throated Robin (Coosypha humeralis) near the entrance to Vertrek.

14:15 2 x African Fish Eagles (Haliaeetus vocifer) in the sky over Vertrek.

14:30 At the top of the Vertrek/Geluk border we saw a Kudu Bull and a single warthog.

14:50 On Vertrek again we saw a Duiker female.

15:35 When we passed the Ryefield again there were 10 x Waterbuck on it and 6 x Zebras.

16:00 Headed Back.


26/09/2007
Weather : Overcast and cool
Min temp : 13*C Max temp: 22*C

07:30 Did yesterday's report.

08:00 Near the house we saw 7 x Giraffes, Vera and Dogtertjie included.

08:05 6 Zebras were on their way to the Ryefield.

08:10 5 x Giraffes near the main gate.

08:15 We headed to Geluk and saw a Duiker female near the entrance.

08:20 5 x Warthogs a little further down the road. ( 4 piglets)

08:30 On the way to the top and back of Geluk we spotted another Duiker.

09:15 On the way to the lodge on Geluk we saw a European Cuckoo (Cuculus canoris)

10:00 On the way out of Geluk we saw another Duiker male.

10:10 At the 2 ponds near the main gate we saw yet another male Duiker.

10:15 The Zebras had moved down onto the Ryefield.

13:20 Ryefield had 3 groups of Impala, 3 x Blesbok and some Warthogs. It was starting to rain softly but only lasted 5 min and did not rain again today.

14:30 At the dam near the base of the mountain we saw a Blackheaded Heron and 2 Egyptian Geese.

15:30 The Waterbuck was also on their way down towards the Ryefield and the Zebras were just leaving.


27/09/2007
Weather : Overcast with rain.
Min temp : 16*C Max temp: 19*C
Rainfall : 11mm

07:30 Did yesterday's report.

08:00 We headed for the Ryefield. It was raining and cold and we saw the 3 usual Impala groups and some Blue Cranes on the field.

08:35 The Giraffes were near the house as we headed towards the dam at the base of the mountain.

09:00 There were 2 x Black-headed Herons at the dam.

09:30 We spent most of the day sorting out some footage and photos. The animals were lying low because of the weather Hannes spent some of the day with Mike, they went to Mooi River to fetch a pump to fill the dams on Gevonden. Even though we had some rain, it was not near enough and the dams are drying up.

28/09/2007
Weather : Overcast and cool
Min temp : 15*C Max temp: 18*C

07:30 Did yesterday's report.

07:45 We filled the vehicle with fuel and helped Mike with the pump for the dams. We then had a problem with the battery and had to jump start the vehicle. It is fine now.

08:30 We headed down to the Ryefield. The usual 3 groups of Impala, some Blue cranes and about 6 Warthogs were on the field.

08:40 We came across some bachelor Impalas moving down towards the Ryefield.

09:00 On the way to the dam at the base of the mountain we saw another small group of bachelor Impalas. We also saw 12 x Giraffes including the 4 calves. There were some Zebras near the dam and 2 x Egyptian Geese

09:30 On our way up to the show lodge we saw 1 Kudu bull and 3 x Mountain Reedbuck.

09:45 Near the lodge there was a small group of Impalas and a group of 7 adult Zebras.

10:30 We headed round the back along the river. Did not see anything.

11:45 The posts for the electric fence are coming along good.

12:00 We spent some time with Mike and tried to sort out the electrical for the pump needed to fill the dams.

12:45 In the clearing on the mountain side we saw the Waterbuck.

13:30 The 7 Zebras had moved down towards the house and was at the 2 ponds near there.

14:00 We headed up towards the mountain but did not want to go up because the roads were wet. We did not see anything on the way.

15:00 We went to Ladysmith. The vehicles mud flap had arrived and we had it fixed.


This weekend it rained 19mm.