30/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 07°C
Max temp: 22°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Ladysmith to get AFTW Vehicle’s front right wheel fixed and to get some blades for the grass cutter at AFGRI
12:00 Got back home and changed the wheel of the AFTW Vehicle
12:10 Went up the mountain to check how we are going to place the container for the batteries and repeater of the radios
13:10 Saw 3 Blesbok on top of the mountain while going to the container
13:20 Marked out a position for the container next to the foundation of the mast, now we will put a foundation for the container there then all will be finished
14:00 At the bottom of the mountain coming back I saw 3 Kudu bulls and 3 Zebras next to the road
14:30 Went to ryefield
14:55 At the ryefield I saw 24 Waterbuck, they seem to like it there now and they are
getting pretty used to the vehicle by now
15:00 Saw 3 Sacred Ibis also on the ryefield near the centre pivot
15:30 At the 2 ponds near the main gate I saw 4 Warthog males wallowing in the mud
16:00 Went back to the farm house to check my e-mails and get the reports from the game guards
16:30 Went to switch off the centre pivot and take the game guards home
17:30 Home
01/07/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 05°C
Max temp: 19°C
06:45 Fetched staff
07:30 Got everything ready to go and burn the firebreak at the back of the mountain at N3 Highway
09:00 Started burning the firebreak; started slow for the grass was still a bit wet, but later as it started to get warmer it went well, burned about 200m along border fence
12:30 Finished firebreak
13:30 Went around mountain to check on the prickly pears and cochineal
14:00 The cochineal is spreading nicely and I found some more Prickly Pear Moth
larvae on the prickly pears
15:00 Went back to the place where we burned firebreaks just to double check that
everything is ok there
16:00 Saw 6 Zebras with 4 Oxpeckers on them near the house
16:30 Took staff back
17:15 Home
02/07/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 05°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Checked on the Prickly Pear Moths I have. They are still in their larvae stage and are burrowing nicely in the prickly pear leaves I gave them
09:00 The fencing material arrived and we offloaded it at the workshop
10:00 Went to Pietermaritzburg with Mike to go and see the people who gives courses in First Aid, got a quote from them for a Level 3 First Aid course, we also went to Protecta Wear to get gloves for the staff
15:45 Stopped at Mooi River on the way back to fetch the new water cart and to check
on the river pump to see what is wrong with it.
17:30 Home
03/07/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 03°C
Max temp: 19°C
06:45 Took AFTW Vehicle in for a service and to get 2 bolts for the tractor
13:30 Got home and I went straight up to mount Sully to check on the Blesbok, could only see 3 up there, one cow and 2 calves.
14:30 Went to the ryefield, I saw 7 Blesbok there, so I think that some of the blesbok
from the top of the mountain have come down to the ryefield
15:30 Went to the back at the N3 side to look for the Hartebeests, only saw the one-
horned animal near the river
16:30 Home
04/07/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 07°C
Max temp: 21°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to drop the alien plant team at the R103 to ring bark some Gum Trees
09:30 Went to the back of Geluk Farm to check on the progress the TLB Dozer is
doing fixing the road there so that it is easier to do firebreaks and fencing at the back of Geluk
12:30 Went to check on the Waterbuck on the ryefield, saw 24 animals again today,
I can still only make out 8 calves, but I think there may be more than that
13:30 Went to Geluk farm to check on everything there, went to the dam at the old
bush camp, it has enough water left for the winter
14:30 Went to Vertrek farm to look for the Blue Wildebeests, could not find them and I
checked the water holes, there is enough water for the animals
15:30 Left to go and pick up the alien plant team at the R103 at the back of Vertrek
16:30 Home
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
23rd - 27th June 2008
23/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 06°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:00 Went to Colenso to fetch the Handyman
08:45 Went in to Ladysmith to get a jigsaw and parts for the toilet and bits and pieces
for fixing the house and lodge
12:00 Saw 12 Giraffes on the main road at the stream leading to Tugela river
12:30 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, only saw 1 Grey Heron
13:00 Helped the handyman with the toilet to put another valve and float in
13:30 Went up to Mount Sully, saw 5 Zebras on the road leading up the mountain
14:00 Saw 2 Mountain Reedbuck just as I got to the top
15:15 Going down at the back near the N3 highway I saw 5 Kudu cows
15:30 Checked the prickly pears where I found the Prickly Pear Moths; looks like they
are attacking the prickly pears nicely
16:00 Took Handyman home
16:45 Home
24/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 04°C
Max temp: 18°C
07:30 Report
08:00 Fetched Handyman
08:45 Went to ryefield to see which animals arrive there first
09:25 At the ryefield, some Impalas were on the field already and the 3 Blesbok were
making their way there, followed by another group of Impala and 24 Waterbuck,
no sign of the warthogs yet
10:00 Went back to the house to help the handyman with the office door that is stuck
10:30 Helped Mandla with his report
11:00 Went to Geluk to see if I could find the Wildebeest
11:30 Could not find them so I went to Vertrek to look for them there
12:30 Still could not find them, but I did see a group of 9 Kudus
13:00 Went to a neighboring farm to pick up a metal detector that I will use to see
what kind of artefacts I may find on the farm
14:30 Got home and went to Geluk to burn firebreaks, the grass is still a bit wet to burn
but we did manage to burn a little bit
16:00 Took handyman home
16:45 Home
25/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 05°C
Max temp: 21°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Fetched Handyman in Colenso
09:30 Went to the ryefield to check on all the animals there, the usual were there - Groups of Impala, 3 Blesbok, 2 Warthogs and 24 Waterbuck
10:30 Went up to the lodge with the handyman, fixed the one leaky tap and the door that was stuck
11:30 Went home to check on the Prickly Pear Moths, they are still in their larvae form
and as soon as they turn into moths I will release some in Prickly Pear infested
areas
12:30 Went to the N3 Highway at the back to fetch two guys to help with the container
for the radio
13:30 Container arrived at Geluk farm, we offloaded it onto a trailer and secured it so
that it wont fall off if we transport it, that took a while to do, we will take it up the
mountain tomorrow
15:45 Took the container to Gevonden farm
16:30 Took staff back
17:15 Home
26/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 05°C
Max temp: 22°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Got ready to take the Container up the mountain, we double checked everything
and fixed all the stuff that needed fixing
09:30 Started to make our way up the mountain with the container
10:40 At the steep part of the mountain we put the Land Cruiser in front of the tractor
and trailer so that we can have more traction going up, but that did not work
because the cruiser did not have enough traction and the chain got loose and the tractor and trailer slid backwards and jackknifed halfway up the steep section, luckily no one got hurt. Now we had to make a plan to get it all sorted out.
12:00 We borrowed another tractor from a neighbor that was also four wheel drive as
ours and he had to drive all the to the back and up the mountain from the other
side and reverse down the hill to get to the container.
13:15 We connected the two tractors with chains and started the climb to the top, went
very slowly, but we got the container on top
14:15 Took the container to the place where the mast for the radios will be
15:25 Offloaded the container with the help of the TLB Dozer.
16:30 Home
27/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 04°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went up the mountain to check on the Blesbok
09:30 Saw 7 blesbok on top of the mountain
09:40 Went down the back of the mountain
10:00 Saw 3 kudu cows just as I reached the bottom at the other side
10:30 Went to the lodge to check on the dam there, still got some water and I saw 2
warthogs there
11:30 Went to the ryefield to check on all the animals there, saw 7 blesbok, 24
waterbuck and 76 Impala and 4 warthogs
12:30 Went to the back at the N3 Highway where they are burning firebreaks
13:00 They burned about 2 km along the highway
13:40 Went down to the river to get the river pump out so that we can see what is
wrong with it, because it’s not pumping the water to the dams
14:40 Got the pump out of the freezing cold Tugela waters and took it to the house
15:00 Went to Vertrek to look for the blue wildebeest
15:30 Could not find them but saw 7 kudus along the way
16:30 Home
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 06°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:00 Went to Colenso to fetch the Handyman
08:45 Went in to Ladysmith to get a jigsaw and parts for the toilet and bits and pieces
for fixing the house and lodge
12:00 Saw 12 Giraffes on the main road at the stream leading to Tugela river
12:30 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, only saw 1 Grey Heron
13:00 Helped the handyman with the toilet to put another valve and float in
13:30 Went up to Mount Sully, saw 5 Zebras on the road leading up the mountain
14:00 Saw 2 Mountain Reedbuck just as I got to the top
15:15 Going down at the back near the N3 highway I saw 5 Kudu cows
15:30 Checked the prickly pears where I found the Prickly Pear Moths; looks like they
are attacking the prickly pears nicely
16:00 Took Handyman home
16:45 Home
24/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 04°C
Max temp: 18°C
07:30 Report
08:00 Fetched Handyman
08:45 Went to ryefield to see which animals arrive there first
09:25 At the ryefield, some Impalas were on the field already and the 3 Blesbok were
making their way there, followed by another group of Impala and 24 Waterbuck,
no sign of the warthogs yet
10:00 Went back to the house to help the handyman with the office door that is stuck
10:30 Helped Mandla with his report
11:00 Went to Geluk to see if I could find the Wildebeest
11:30 Could not find them so I went to Vertrek to look for them there
12:30 Still could not find them, but I did see a group of 9 Kudus
13:00 Went to a neighboring farm to pick up a metal detector that I will use to see
what kind of artefacts I may find on the farm
14:30 Got home and went to Geluk to burn firebreaks, the grass is still a bit wet to burn
but we did manage to burn a little bit
16:00 Took handyman home
16:45 Home
25/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 05°C
Max temp: 21°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Fetched Handyman in Colenso
09:30 Went to the ryefield to check on all the animals there, the usual were there - Groups of Impala, 3 Blesbok, 2 Warthogs and 24 Waterbuck
10:30 Went up to the lodge with the handyman, fixed the one leaky tap and the door that was stuck
11:30 Went home to check on the Prickly Pear Moths, they are still in their larvae form
and as soon as they turn into moths I will release some in Prickly Pear infested
areas
12:30 Went to the N3 Highway at the back to fetch two guys to help with the container
for the radio
13:30 Container arrived at Geluk farm, we offloaded it onto a trailer and secured it so
that it wont fall off if we transport it, that took a while to do, we will take it up the
mountain tomorrow
15:45 Took the container to Gevonden farm
16:30 Took staff back
17:15 Home
26/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 05°C
Max temp: 22°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Got ready to take the Container up the mountain, we double checked everything
and fixed all the stuff that needed fixing
09:30 Started to make our way up the mountain with the container
10:40 At the steep part of the mountain we put the Land Cruiser in front of the tractor
and trailer so that we can have more traction going up, but that did not work
because the cruiser did not have enough traction and the chain got loose and the tractor and trailer slid backwards and jackknifed halfway up the steep section, luckily no one got hurt. Now we had to make a plan to get it all sorted out.
12:00 We borrowed another tractor from a neighbor that was also four wheel drive as
ours and he had to drive all the to the back and up the mountain from the other
side and reverse down the hill to get to the container.
13:15 We connected the two tractors with chains and started the climb to the top, went
very slowly, but we got the container on top
14:15 Took the container to the place where the mast for the radios will be
15:25 Offloaded the container with the help of the TLB Dozer.
16:30 Home
27/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 04°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went up the mountain to check on the Blesbok
09:30 Saw 7 blesbok on top of the mountain
09:40 Went down the back of the mountain
10:00 Saw 3 kudu cows just as I reached the bottom at the other side
10:30 Went to the lodge to check on the dam there, still got some water and I saw 2
warthogs there
11:30 Went to the ryefield to check on all the animals there, saw 7 blesbok, 24
waterbuck and 76 Impala and 4 warthogs
12:30 Went to the back at the N3 Highway where they are burning firebreaks
13:00 They burned about 2 km along the highway
13:40 Went down to the river to get the river pump out so that we can see what is
wrong with it, because it’s not pumping the water to the dams
14:40 Got the pump out of the freezing cold Tugela waters and took it to the house
15:00 Went to Vertrek to look for the blue wildebeest
15:30 Could not find them but saw 7 kudus along the way
16:30 Home
Monday, 23 June 2008
Weekly Report 9th - 13th June 2008
09/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 09°C
Max temp: 12°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Ladysmith to take trailer tyre to get fixed, went to Diesel Electric to get
the tractors starter motor fixed. Took Bibs to Gail to get logos on, but she was
not available at the moment.
12:00 Got home and sent reports through, I still can’t get my mail to go through to the
U.K. Will have to sort that out quickly.
13:00 Went up the mountain to look for Giraffes, saw 12 just as I left the farm house.
13:30 Just as I reached the foot of the mountain I saw a Grey Duiker male
14:00 Got to the top of the mountain and scanned the area below with my binoculars, only saw 2 Kudu cows, it was very cloudy and cold and most of the animals were deep inside the bushes hiding from the chilly wind.
15:00 Got down and found a dead Brown Hooded Kingfisher on the veranda of the farm
house, must have flown into the window. Took some photos of the bird to get a
closer view of the colours of the feathers.
15:30 Went over the stocking density files of the farm to see what we can do to bring in
more animals and what we need to bring in. Me and the Game Guards are going
to spend most of the week counting all the animals we have, to see what we
need to bring in.
16:30 Home
10/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 21°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Left to the mountains side to count Impalas
09:30 Found the first group halfway up, there was 5
10:30 I turned around at the foot of the mountain and went to the pond at the foot of the
mountain, on the way I counted 37 Impala
11:30 I went up to the lodge to check for Impala there, did not see any, only 12 Giraffe
12:30 Went home to go over the stocking number on UmPhafa for Impala, if I worked it
I worked it out correctly we can stock up to 333 Impala, but I think we have
Enough for the moment
14:00 Went to the main gate and that surrounding area, counted 6 Zebra and saw a
Sacred Ibis but no Impala
15:00 Got to the ryefield area and counted 11 Waterbuck and 95 Impala, searched around the area but did not find any more
16:30 I counted 137 Impala, but that’s just the animals I could see from the road and I
estimate that their numbers are well above 150
11/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 14°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Ladysmith with Mike to get the AFTW Vehicle’s s tyre fixed and to
take the bibs to Gail to get the logos on
12:30 Went up to Mark Newton’s place to get some shale to fix the roads up that side.
We got the TLB driver up there and showed him where he can dig and get shale
14:30 Got back and changed the tyre on the vehicle
15:00 Went to the back at the N3 side, to look for the Red Hartebeests, they were
nowhere to be found, I drove around through the back valley near the lodge
and still could not see them.
15:50 Just as I went over the hill at the lodge I saw the Hartebeest with one horn
15:55 And not 200m down the road 3 more ran over the road, we are still looking for the
others
16:30 Home
12/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Left to go up to mountain to see if I could find the Hartebeests
09:00 Saw a group of Impala just at the foot of the mountain
09:55 On top of mount sully I took a look through my binoculars on the valley bellow, I
spotted 11 Giraffes and 4 Mountain Reedbuck
10:40 As I made my way down the mountain, because I could not see the Hartebeests
there, I saw one male Grey Duiker
11:30 I decided to go to the ryefield, because that is where I saw some of the
Hartebeests often through the week, I saw 7 Waterbuck making there way to
the ryefield
11:40 I decided to stay there for a while and see if the Hartebeests show up.
At the ryefield I saw 20 Blue Cranes, 97 Impala and 3 Blesbok
11:55 10 Waterbuck showed up 25 min after first group arrived there, there were now
17 on the field, 6 calves and 11 Adults, 1 of which was the bull. 2 of the calves are male and have already got about 4 inch horns
12:00 9 Blue Cranes showed up and landed with the group of 20
12:05 The first Warthogs came to the field, there was 5
12:10 Another group of 5 Warthogs made there appearance
12:15 And then another group of 3 Warthogs showed up
12:30 No animals were going on or off the field anymore and I decided to go and check
my e-mails and contact the First Aid Course people
13:00 Home, checked e-mails and sent message for the First Aid
13:30 Went to the main gate to check the cochineal I put on the prickly pears all along
the main road
14:30 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain
14:45 At the pond I only saw 1 Kudu cow
15:00 I looked through the binoculars to the fence running down the mountain to the
main gate, I thought I saw a Hartebeest and went to investigate
15:30 When I went up all along the fence I could not find any Hartebeests I only saw
a Kudu Bull
15:35 I saw 2 Zebras at the foot of the mountain along the fence
15:55 Driving around looking for the Hartebeests in that area I saw another 3 Zebras
16:30 Could not find any Hartebeests there so I head back Home
13/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 14°C
Max temp: 20°C
06:45 Fetched staff at farm market
07:30 Report
08:30 Drove to top of mount sully to look for the Blesbok
09:30 Saw 4 Blesbok on top of the mountain, could not see the rest
10:00 Went own the other side of the mountain, saw 2 Kudu cows just as I made my
way down
10:30 On the other side I checked on the cochineal I put on some of the prickly pears,
they are starting to spread nicely over the plants
11:00 Saw 4 Mountain Reedbuck on the hill on the N3 side of the mountain
11:30 Saw 3 Red Hartebeests on the hill near the lodge
12:00 Went home to check e-mails
12:30 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain
13:00 There was nothing there
13:15 Saw 1 Warthog male on the road to the pond on my way back
13:45 Went to the ryefield, saw a group of 84 Impala, 3 Waterbuck and 3 Blesbok
14:30 Went to check the fence at main gate, all looks good all the way to the river
15:30 On the way back to the farm house I saw 10 Giraffes and 6 Zebras
16:00 Home
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 09°C
Max temp: 12°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Ladysmith to take trailer tyre to get fixed, went to Diesel Electric to get
the tractors starter motor fixed. Took Bibs to Gail to get logos on, but she was
not available at the moment.
12:00 Got home and sent reports through, I still can’t get my mail to go through to the
U.K. Will have to sort that out quickly.
13:00 Went up the mountain to look for Giraffes, saw 12 just as I left the farm house.
13:30 Just as I reached the foot of the mountain I saw a Grey Duiker male
14:00 Got to the top of the mountain and scanned the area below with my binoculars, only saw 2 Kudu cows, it was very cloudy and cold and most of the animals were deep inside the bushes hiding from the chilly wind.
15:00 Got down and found a dead Brown Hooded Kingfisher on the veranda of the farm
house, must have flown into the window. Took some photos of the bird to get a
closer view of the colours of the feathers.
15:30 Went over the stocking density files of the farm to see what we can do to bring in
more animals and what we need to bring in. Me and the Game Guards are going
to spend most of the week counting all the animals we have, to see what we
need to bring in.
16:30 Home
10/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 21°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Left to the mountains side to count Impalas
09:30 Found the first group halfway up, there was 5
10:30 I turned around at the foot of the mountain and went to the pond at the foot of the
mountain, on the way I counted 37 Impala
11:30 I went up to the lodge to check for Impala there, did not see any, only 12 Giraffe
12:30 Went home to go over the stocking number on UmPhafa for Impala, if I worked it
I worked it out correctly we can stock up to 333 Impala, but I think we have
Enough for the moment
14:00 Went to the main gate and that surrounding area, counted 6 Zebra and saw a
Sacred Ibis but no Impala
15:00 Got to the ryefield area and counted 11 Waterbuck and 95 Impala, searched around the area but did not find any more
16:30 I counted 137 Impala, but that’s just the animals I could see from the road and I
estimate that their numbers are well above 150
11/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 14°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Ladysmith with Mike to get the AFTW Vehicle’s s tyre fixed and to
take the bibs to Gail to get the logos on
12:30 Went up to Mark Newton’s place to get some shale to fix the roads up that side.
We got the TLB driver up there and showed him where he can dig and get shale
14:30 Got back and changed the tyre on the vehicle
15:00 Went to the back at the N3 side, to look for the Red Hartebeests, they were
nowhere to be found, I drove around through the back valley near the lodge
and still could not see them.
15:50 Just as I went over the hill at the lodge I saw the Hartebeest with one horn
15:55 And not 200m down the road 3 more ran over the road, we are still looking for the
others
16:30 Home
12/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Left to go up to mountain to see if I could find the Hartebeests
09:00 Saw a group of Impala just at the foot of the mountain
09:55 On top of mount sully I took a look through my binoculars on the valley bellow, I
spotted 11 Giraffes and 4 Mountain Reedbuck
10:40 As I made my way down the mountain, because I could not see the Hartebeests
there, I saw one male Grey Duiker
11:30 I decided to go to the ryefield, because that is where I saw some of the
Hartebeests often through the week, I saw 7 Waterbuck making there way to
the ryefield
11:40 I decided to stay there for a while and see if the Hartebeests show up.
At the ryefield I saw 20 Blue Cranes, 97 Impala and 3 Blesbok
11:55 10 Waterbuck showed up 25 min after first group arrived there, there were now
17 on the field, 6 calves and 11 Adults, 1 of which was the bull. 2 of the calves are male and have already got about 4 inch horns
12:00 9 Blue Cranes showed up and landed with the group of 20
12:05 The first Warthogs came to the field, there was 5
12:10 Another group of 5 Warthogs made there appearance
12:15 And then another group of 3 Warthogs showed up
12:30 No animals were going on or off the field anymore and I decided to go and check
my e-mails and contact the First Aid Course people
13:00 Home, checked e-mails and sent message for the First Aid
13:30 Went to the main gate to check the cochineal I put on the prickly pears all along
the main road
14:30 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain
14:45 At the pond I only saw 1 Kudu cow
15:00 I looked through the binoculars to the fence running down the mountain to the
main gate, I thought I saw a Hartebeest and went to investigate
15:30 When I went up all along the fence I could not find any Hartebeests I only saw
a Kudu Bull
15:35 I saw 2 Zebras at the foot of the mountain along the fence
15:55 Driving around looking for the Hartebeests in that area I saw another 3 Zebras
16:30 Could not find any Hartebeests there so I head back Home
13/06/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 14°C
Max temp: 20°C
06:45 Fetched staff at farm market
07:30 Report
08:30 Drove to top of mount sully to look for the Blesbok
09:30 Saw 4 Blesbok on top of the mountain, could not see the rest
10:00 Went own the other side of the mountain, saw 2 Kudu cows just as I made my
way down
10:30 On the other side I checked on the cochineal I put on some of the prickly pears,
they are starting to spread nicely over the plants
11:00 Saw 4 Mountain Reedbuck on the hill on the N3 side of the mountain
11:30 Saw 3 Red Hartebeests on the hill near the lodge
12:00 Went home to check e-mails
12:30 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain
13:00 There was nothing there
13:15 Saw 1 Warthog male on the road to the pond on my way back
13:45 Went to the ryefield, saw a group of 84 Impala, 3 Waterbuck and 3 Blesbok
14:30 Went to check the fence at main gate, all looks good all the way to the river
15:30 On the way back to the farm house I saw 10 Giraffes and 6 Zebras
16:00 Home
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
26th - 30th May 2008
26/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 09°C
Max temp: 20°C
Rainfal: ½ mm
07:30 Report
08:30 Me and Michael went to the rye grass field to fix a pipe on the centre pivot
09:45 Helped Michael with his report
10:45 Went to spend some time with the Wildebeests on Vertrek
11:30 Got to Vertrek and started to search for the animals, could not find them there
12:30 Got back home and worked on the fact file and e-mails
13:30 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, did not see anything, sat there for
a while to see if any animals come to drink, nothing
14:30 Went to the back valley near the lodge, drove all the way to the N3, only saw
2 Kudu cows. At the N3 I drove back al along the fence to look for faults on the
fence, found one along the tugela river about 500m from the power box. Fixed it.
16:30 Home
27/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 22°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Ladysmith to Waltons to get envelopes and staples and to get post
12:00 Went to the fence to check if there is any faults on the line, non faults
13:30 Home trying to sort out the internet and e-mails, e-mails don’t want to go through
15:00 Worked on the fact files and sorted photo’s out to put on a cd.
16:30 Helped Mandla with his report to the Zoo
16:30 Home
28/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 10°C
Max temp: 22°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Got quotes for first aid courses in Pietermaritzburg
10:00 Went to Ladysmith to see if I can get a place to put the logo’s on the bibs, found
nothing so far
12:00 Took Dee to the bus station at Tugela Toll Plaza
13:15 Waited for the bus for 2 hours, it was late, she left 15:15 to Bloemfontein
16:15 Arrived home, went over the game guard reports with the game guards
16:30 Finished
29/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 11°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:00 Went to the ryefield, watched and photographed 3 young Impala rams play fighting. Also saw a big male with something under his eye, not sure what it
is, but it looks like a piece of horn or piece of skin he injured during a fight.
09:00 Left to go look for the Wildebeests
09:30 Got to Vertrek and started looking for them, I’ve looked all over, could not find them, only saw 4 warthogs
11:30 Got home after failing to find Wildebeest, tried to send my e-mails through
12:45 Went in to Ladysmith to get a splicing kit for the river pump and went to the bank to sort out my online banking
15:20 Got home and went to check on the road that they are fixing going up the mountain, it looks very good
16:30 Home
30/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 11°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Took the Game Viewer to Colenso to get petrol
09:30 Drove around the mountain to the N3 side
09:45 On the way to the mountain, saw 6 Zebras and a group of Impalas
10:30 Halfway up the mountain saw 2 Kudu cows
11:00 Reached the top of the mountain
12:00 At the back valley going down on the other side of the mountain I only saw
3 Kudus, could not find the Blesbok on top of the mountain
12:10 I drove all along the fence to check for faults, did not find any
13:00 Got home and did my e-mails and sort out photo’s I took going around the
mountain
14:00 The staff had a barbeque, so I helped them get started and organized
15:30 After their barbeque I took them home
16:30 Home
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 09°C
Max temp: 20°C
Rainfal: ½ mm
07:30 Report
08:30 Me and Michael went to the rye grass field to fix a pipe on the centre pivot
09:45 Helped Michael with his report
10:45 Went to spend some time with the Wildebeests on Vertrek
11:30 Got to Vertrek and started to search for the animals, could not find them there
12:30 Got back home and worked on the fact file and e-mails
13:30 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, did not see anything, sat there for
a while to see if any animals come to drink, nothing
14:30 Went to the back valley near the lodge, drove all the way to the N3, only saw
2 Kudu cows. At the N3 I drove back al along the fence to look for faults on the
fence, found one along the tugela river about 500m from the power box. Fixed it.
16:30 Home
27/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 22°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Ladysmith to Waltons to get envelopes and staples and to get post
12:00 Went to the fence to check if there is any faults on the line, non faults
13:30 Home trying to sort out the internet and e-mails, e-mails don’t want to go through
15:00 Worked on the fact files and sorted photo’s out to put on a cd.
16:30 Helped Mandla with his report to the Zoo
16:30 Home
28/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 10°C
Max temp: 22°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Got quotes for first aid courses in Pietermaritzburg
10:00 Went to Ladysmith to see if I can get a place to put the logo’s on the bibs, found
nothing so far
12:00 Took Dee to the bus station at Tugela Toll Plaza
13:15 Waited for the bus for 2 hours, it was late, she left 15:15 to Bloemfontein
16:15 Arrived home, went over the game guard reports with the game guards
16:30 Finished
29/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 11°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:00 Went to the ryefield, watched and photographed 3 young Impala rams play fighting. Also saw a big male with something under his eye, not sure what it
is, but it looks like a piece of horn or piece of skin he injured during a fight.
09:00 Left to go look for the Wildebeests
09:30 Got to Vertrek and started looking for them, I’ve looked all over, could not find them, only saw 4 warthogs
11:30 Got home after failing to find Wildebeest, tried to send my e-mails through
12:45 Went in to Ladysmith to get a splicing kit for the river pump and went to the bank to sort out my online banking
15:20 Got home and went to check on the road that they are fixing going up the mountain, it looks very good
16:30 Home
30/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 11°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Took the Game Viewer to Colenso to get petrol
09:30 Drove around the mountain to the N3 side
09:45 On the way to the mountain, saw 6 Zebras and a group of Impalas
10:30 Halfway up the mountain saw 2 Kudu cows
11:00 Reached the top of the mountain
12:00 At the back valley going down on the other side of the mountain I only saw
3 Kudus, could not find the Blesbok on top of the mountain
12:10 I drove all along the fence to check for faults, did not find any
13:00 Got home and did my e-mails and sort out photo’s I took going around the
mountain
14:00 The staff had a barbeque, so I helped them get started and organized
15:30 After their barbeque I took them home
16:30 Home
19th - 23rd May 2008
19/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 11°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Helped Michael with his report
09:30 Went up to the lodge to get everything cleaned and sorted up there, took the
rubbish away and helped clean the house till 13:30
14:00 Saw all 12 Giraffes up near the lodge with 9 Zebras
14:30 On the way back from the giraffes I saw 2 Blesbok on the road to the lodge
14:40 Got down to the ryegrass field and I counted 67 Impalas, 7 Warthogs and 1
Blesbok
15:00 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, on the way I saw 1 Impala ram
15:20 At the pond there was another Impala ram drinking water, and the bones of
Speedy the giraffe were nearby, I asked the game guards to collect them and put them there
15:45 Went to the lodge to pick up Dumisan one of the staff that helped me clean up
the lodge, on the way I saw 3 Red Hartebeest on the hill
15:55 Saw Michael and Vukani on the road heading to the farm house, I told them
about the Hartebeest and they said they saw them
16:10 Picked up Dumisan and on the way back we saw 3 Zebras with a group of 24
Impalas.
16:30 Home
20/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 10°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
09:10 Saw 6 Giraffes on the road that goes to the top of Mount Sully
09:25 Saw 3 Zebras not far from the giraffes
09:45 Got home and loaded the cement for the school
10:20 Dropped cement at school
11:00 Got home and did my e-mails
12:30 Went up the mountain to look for the blesbok
13:00 Did not see them up there
13:10 Found Michael and Vukani, we went to Vertrek farm to look for the
Blue Wildebeest
13:50 Arrived at Geluk and started to look for the animals
14:30 We spotted one Blue Wildebeest on a hill, we could only see him through the
binoculars, he was very far away. We did not find any other animals so we
decided to head back
15:30 We got back to Gevonden and started to test the electric fence all along the
Tugela river all the way to the N3.
16:30 Home
21/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 10°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:00 Went to Vertrek with Michael and Vukani to look for the Blue Wildebeest
09:00 We found 8 animals; 1 male, 4 females and 3 calves. We stayed with them for a
while observing them. They seem to get use to the vehicle; got a few photos, but
it’s still a bit far, will go every day to get them use to us
10:00 Got back home and went to Ladysmith to get a few things
11:45 Worked on the animal fact file and sorted out photos
12:30 Went to look for the giraffes, found them on the road leading to Mount Sully, saw
12 animals
13:45 Got back home and updated the virus program on the computers, took me
2 hours to get it downloaded, in that time I went over the game guards report
cards
15:45 Went down to the rye grass field, saw a group of Impala bachelors
16:15 On my way home I saw 11 Zebras and the Hartebeest with one horn
16:30 Took the staff back to the Farm Market
17:20 Home.
22/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 10°C
Max temp: 21°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Vertrek to look for the Blue Wildebeests
09:30 Found them in the valley with a herd of cows. I get closer to them everyday
and today I got within 50m of them, they are getting pretty much used to the
vehicle now. I stayed with them until 12:30
13:30 Went to the rye grass field, I saw ± 70 Impala and one of the ewes had a
1 to 2 day old lamb with her. I also saw 17 Warthogs and 3 Blesbok
14:00 Got home and did some office work and e-mails
15:00 I went back to the ryefield to take a photo of the lamb, when I got there the
Waterbuck was there, 7 of them, 4 adult females and 3 juveniles, 2 of the young
ones is males.
15:45 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, on the way I saw 1 Giraffe
16:00 At the pond was nothing except a Grey Heron so I turned back
16:30 Home.
22/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, saw 3 Kudus on the way
11:30 Went to Ladysmith to get Dee a bus ticket to Bloemfontein
14:00 Arrived at the house and went to the Rye grass field to see if that baby Impala is
still there; he is and is looking good.
14:10 There also was 75 Impalas, 3 Blesbok and 8 Waterbuck.
14:55 At the 2 ponds near the house I saw a big kudu Bull and he looked magnificent
15:00 As he ran off I noticed the Giraffes behind him, all 12 was there
15:30 Went down to the power box for the electric fence to check on everything, all is
good
16:00 Went to check on the dam near the lodge, its looking good, got water in
16:30 Home
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 11°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Helped Michael with his report
09:30 Went up to the lodge to get everything cleaned and sorted up there, took the
rubbish away and helped clean the house till 13:30
14:00 Saw all 12 Giraffes up near the lodge with 9 Zebras
14:30 On the way back from the giraffes I saw 2 Blesbok on the road to the lodge
14:40 Got down to the ryegrass field and I counted 67 Impalas, 7 Warthogs and 1
Blesbok
15:00 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, on the way I saw 1 Impala ram
15:20 At the pond there was another Impala ram drinking water, and the bones of
Speedy the giraffe were nearby, I asked the game guards to collect them and put them there
15:45 Went to the lodge to pick up Dumisan one of the staff that helped me clean up
the lodge, on the way I saw 3 Red Hartebeest on the hill
15:55 Saw Michael and Vukani on the road heading to the farm house, I told them
about the Hartebeest and they said they saw them
16:10 Picked up Dumisan and on the way back we saw 3 Zebras with a group of 24
Impalas.
16:30 Home
20/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 10°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
09:10 Saw 6 Giraffes on the road that goes to the top of Mount Sully
09:25 Saw 3 Zebras not far from the giraffes
09:45 Got home and loaded the cement for the school
10:20 Dropped cement at school
11:00 Got home and did my e-mails
12:30 Went up the mountain to look for the blesbok
13:00 Did not see them up there
13:10 Found Michael and Vukani, we went to Vertrek farm to look for the
Blue Wildebeest
13:50 Arrived at Geluk and started to look for the animals
14:30 We spotted one Blue Wildebeest on a hill, we could only see him through the
binoculars, he was very far away. We did not find any other animals so we
decided to head back
15:30 We got back to Gevonden and started to test the electric fence all along the
Tugela river all the way to the N3.
16:30 Home
21/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 10°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:00 Went to Vertrek with Michael and Vukani to look for the Blue Wildebeest
09:00 We found 8 animals; 1 male, 4 females and 3 calves. We stayed with them for a
while observing them. They seem to get use to the vehicle; got a few photos, but
it’s still a bit far, will go every day to get them use to us
10:00 Got back home and went to Ladysmith to get a few things
11:45 Worked on the animal fact file and sorted out photos
12:30 Went to look for the giraffes, found them on the road leading to Mount Sully, saw
12 animals
13:45 Got back home and updated the virus program on the computers, took me
2 hours to get it downloaded, in that time I went over the game guards report
cards
15:45 Went down to the rye grass field, saw a group of Impala bachelors
16:15 On my way home I saw 11 Zebras and the Hartebeest with one horn
16:30 Took the staff back to the Farm Market
17:20 Home.
22/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 10°C
Max temp: 21°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Vertrek to look for the Blue Wildebeests
09:30 Found them in the valley with a herd of cows. I get closer to them everyday
and today I got within 50m of them, they are getting pretty much used to the
vehicle now. I stayed with them until 12:30
13:30 Went to the rye grass field, I saw ± 70 Impala and one of the ewes had a
1 to 2 day old lamb with her. I also saw 17 Warthogs and 3 Blesbok
14:00 Got home and did some office work and e-mails
15:00 I went back to the ryefield to take a photo of the lamb, when I got there the
Waterbuck was there, 7 of them, 4 adult females and 3 juveniles, 2 of the young
ones is males.
15:45 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, on the way I saw 1 Giraffe
16:00 At the pond was nothing except a Grey Heron so I turned back
16:30 Home.
22/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 20°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, saw 3 Kudus on the way
11:30 Went to Ladysmith to get Dee a bus ticket to Bloemfontein
14:00 Arrived at the house and went to the Rye grass field to see if that baby Impala is
still there; he is and is looking good.
14:10 There also was 75 Impalas, 3 Blesbok and 8 Waterbuck.
14:55 At the 2 ponds near the house I saw a big kudu Bull and he looked magnificent
15:00 As he ran off I noticed the Giraffes behind him, all 12 was there
15:30 Went down to the power box for the electric fence to check on everything, all is
good
16:00 Went to check on the dam near the lodge, its looking good, got water in
16:30 Home
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Weekly Report 5th - 9th May 2008
05/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Helped Michael with his report
09:30 Went to Ladysmith to get wire clamps for the rhino fence cable
12:00 Got back and took clamps to fence
13:00 Did e-mails
13:30 Went to fence with Mike to pull cable on the last section of rhino fence
14:40 Went to house to fetch generator and grinder to cut cable
15:00 Went to the donga to pull cable with TLB, because the tractor could not get to a
place where the cable was tied to the fence
15:55 Found a dead porcupine not 10m from where we were working, cause of death
unknown
16:30 Home - Michael came to me to tell me of the day and what they saw. He said that
they found 10 Blesbok and 2 young ones, tomorrow I will go with Michael to see if we can find the rest.
06/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 18°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the top of the mountain to look for the blesbok and their babies with
Michael and the 2 game guards
08:50 On the way saw the waterbuck, could not count them, they were standing in
very thick bush
09:00 Just further from the waterbuck, saw 4 Giraffe bulls
09:30 On top we saw 15 adult blesbok and 6 babies, one baby is missing, we assume
that it must have been caught by a jackal or caracal
09:40 Took the game guards to Vertrek
10:25 Dropped the guards at Vertrek
12:00 Went to Ladysmith to get the satellite TV working for the lodge
12:45 Got a puncture on the way to Ladysmith
13:00 Got to Ladysmith and fixed tire and sort DSTV out
16:30 Home
07/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went up to the lodge to get the DSTV signal sorted out
08:40 On the way I saw the 6 Zebras that are always around the area, the 3 foals are getting big now and sooner or later the little stallion foal is going to be kicked out
of the group by the dominant stallion
09:00 Got to the lodge and turned the DSTV on, it showed a couple of errors, so I
called the service provider and they refreshed the signal
09:30 Got a call from Mike asking me if I can go and fetch him at the gate after he was
looking for faults on the electric fence, so that I can take him back to his vehicle
on top of the mountain.
10:00 Got to the gate and picked him and one of the staff up and left for the top of the
mountain
11:30 Got to his vehicle and dropped them there
12:45 Got home and helped Mandla with his reports
13:30 Went back up to the lodge to double check if the DSTV is still working, it was
14:10 Got back home and picked up Vukani, one of the game guards and we went to
the pond at the foot of the mountain to pick up the giraffe bones of one of the
giraffes that died there
15:00 Took the bones back home and offloaded them at the workshop
15:10 Saw a Green Spotted Bushsnake near the house that have just finished eating
an Agama
15:20 Took a drive down to the rye grass field to check on the grass and pivot
15:30 Saw 3 big Kudu bulls on the way crossing the road near the big donga
15:40 At the rye grass field there was 3 warthogs and some Impala, the pivot looks fine
and the grass is starting to grow
16:30 Got home and took the staff back to Colenso
17:30 Home
08/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Drove to the gate to check on the cochineal that I put on some prickly pears there. It looks like the cochineal is growing nicely on them
09:00 Went to the back of the mountain on the N3 side to check on the cochineal there,
- the cochineal there is growing nicely as well. I saw on one of the prickly pears
that some kind of worm is attacking it and killing it, I will try and find out what kind
of worm it is
11:00 Reached the top of the mountain from the back, saw one kudu female just as I
reached the top
11:30 On the way down I saw that some prickly pears already have cochineal on them
and that it is spreading nicely all over the plant
12:30 Reached the house and did some e-mails and office work
13:30 Went to the fence at the main gate to check on the cable along the rhino fence,
everything looks fine
14:00 Went to the rye grass field, saw a group of Impalas that are already grazing on the grass that is coming up, and just on the other side a male warthog with three little males are enjoying the rye grass as well
15:00 Went to the pond near the foot of the mountain and saw one waterbuck female
and 2 kudus with 3 Red Billed Oxpeckers on them
15:30 There was nothing at the dam, so I turned back
16:00 Went to the lodge to check on the dam there, water is still good
16:30 Home
09/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 10°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Did report
08:30 Saw that the AFTW vehicle had a flat tire, changed it
10:00 Went to Ladysmith to get the tyre fixed and take Mike’s vehicle to get the railings
modified for a canvas top at Crab Engineering. Spend the rest of the day in
Ladysmith waiting for the railings
16:30 Home
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Helped Michael with his report
09:30 Went to Ladysmith to get wire clamps for the rhino fence cable
12:00 Got back and took clamps to fence
13:00 Did e-mails
13:30 Went to fence with Mike to pull cable on the last section of rhino fence
14:40 Went to house to fetch generator and grinder to cut cable
15:00 Went to the donga to pull cable with TLB, because the tractor could not get to a
place where the cable was tied to the fence
15:55 Found a dead porcupine not 10m from where we were working, cause of death
unknown
16:30 Home - Michael came to me to tell me of the day and what they saw. He said that
they found 10 Blesbok and 2 young ones, tomorrow I will go with Michael to see if we can find the rest.
06/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 18°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the top of the mountain to look for the blesbok and their babies with
Michael and the 2 game guards
08:50 On the way saw the waterbuck, could not count them, they were standing in
very thick bush
09:00 Just further from the waterbuck, saw 4 Giraffe bulls
09:30 On top we saw 15 adult blesbok and 6 babies, one baby is missing, we assume
that it must have been caught by a jackal or caracal
09:40 Took the game guards to Vertrek
10:25 Dropped the guards at Vertrek
12:00 Went to Ladysmith to get the satellite TV working for the lodge
12:45 Got a puncture on the way to Ladysmith
13:00 Got to Ladysmith and fixed tire and sort DSTV out
16:30 Home
07/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went up to the lodge to get the DSTV signal sorted out
08:40 On the way I saw the 6 Zebras that are always around the area, the 3 foals are getting big now and sooner or later the little stallion foal is going to be kicked out
of the group by the dominant stallion
09:00 Got to the lodge and turned the DSTV on, it showed a couple of errors, so I
called the service provider and they refreshed the signal
09:30 Got a call from Mike asking me if I can go and fetch him at the gate after he was
looking for faults on the electric fence, so that I can take him back to his vehicle
on top of the mountain.
10:00 Got to the gate and picked him and one of the staff up and left for the top of the
mountain
11:30 Got to his vehicle and dropped them there
12:45 Got home and helped Mandla with his reports
13:30 Went back up to the lodge to double check if the DSTV is still working, it was
14:10 Got back home and picked up Vukani, one of the game guards and we went to
the pond at the foot of the mountain to pick up the giraffe bones of one of the
giraffes that died there
15:00 Took the bones back home and offloaded them at the workshop
15:10 Saw a Green Spotted Bushsnake near the house that have just finished eating
an Agama
15:20 Took a drive down to the rye grass field to check on the grass and pivot
15:30 Saw 3 big Kudu bulls on the way crossing the road near the big donga
15:40 At the rye grass field there was 3 warthogs and some Impala, the pivot looks fine
and the grass is starting to grow
16:30 Got home and took the staff back to Colenso
17:30 Home
08/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Drove to the gate to check on the cochineal that I put on some prickly pears there. It looks like the cochineal is growing nicely on them
09:00 Went to the back of the mountain on the N3 side to check on the cochineal there,
- the cochineal there is growing nicely as well. I saw on one of the prickly pears
that some kind of worm is attacking it and killing it, I will try and find out what kind
of worm it is
11:00 Reached the top of the mountain from the back, saw one kudu female just as I
reached the top
11:30 On the way down I saw that some prickly pears already have cochineal on them
and that it is spreading nicely all over the plant
12:30 Reached the house and did some e-mails and office work
13:30 Went to the fence at the main gate to check on the cable along the rhino fence,
everything looks fine
14:00 Went to the rye grass field, saw a group of Impalas that are already grazing on the grass that is coming up, and just on the other side a male warthog with three little males are enjoying the rye grass as well
15:00 Went to the pond near the foot of the mountain and saw one waterbuck female
and 2 kudus with 3 Red Billed Oxpeckers on them
15:30 There was nothing at the dam, so I turned back
16:00 Went to the lodge to check on the dam there, water is still good
16:30 Home
09/05/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 10°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Did report
08:30 Saw that the AFTW vehicle had a flat tire, changed it
10:00 Went to Ladysmith to get the tyre fixed and take Mike’s vehicle to get the railings
modified for a canvas top at Crab Engineering. Spend the rest of the day in
Ladysmith waiting for the railings
16:30 Home
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Weekly Report 21st - 25th April 2008
21/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 07°C
Max temp: 23°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the last bit of rhino fencing to weld some angle iron and reinforcement onto the
fence, finished there at 12:30
12:30 Took the welder back
13:00 Went to the lodge to check if everything was alright after the weekends rain. We had
about 20mm of rain on the weekend. Everything is in order at the lodge
13:45 Went to the rye grass field to check on the progress of planting. We could not plant today, because of all the rain, the field was too wet and the tractor will get stuck.
14:15 Went to the fence to look for faults. Some of the corner post have been pulled out of the ground by the cable. The ground was wet so it made it easy for the high strung cable to pull it out, we’re going to have to put more reinforcing on.
15:45 Went to pick up the staff
16:30 Took staff back
17:30 Home.
22/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 08°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Took sprayers with me to spray the rhino fence at the N3. We only sprayed about 100m, because that little section was not done properly.
10:30 When we finished there I took them to another part of the rhino fence near where the big stream meets the Tugela, we sprayed about 200m there.
12:30 After that we went to the rye grass field and sprayed all along the fence, until the fence at the border of Gevonden and Weenan Safaris.
15:55 We finished the spraying and went back.
16:15 Went to pick up the staff at the pecan nut trees along the Tugela river
16:35 Home
23/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 08°C
Max temp: 15°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Saw 20 Impalas near the workshop going up the mountain
08:50 Saw 1 Impala ewe on her own in the bushes at the foot of the mountain
09:00 I turned back and as I got to the place where the ewe was I saw 2 Impala rams sizing each other up for a fight.
09:20 Went to the lodge and on the way I came across a group of 24 Impalas
09:25 Not 500m from them I saw 3 Blesbok, I presume it was Bes, Les and Shaun
Rounding the corner on the way to the lodge I saw 5 Giraffes on the little hill near the road
09:40 Just as I turned back from the lodge a Impala ram was chasing a female across the road, he had a fresh cut under his eye and it was starting to swell, no doubt he got that from fighting for the female he was chasing
10:00 Going back the way I came I saw the 5 Giraffes again, 3 of them was chewing on old bones lying in the veld.
10:25 I went down to fetch the camera, when I got back, there was now 11 Giraffes, 5 babies and 6 adults.
10:47 Followed them around for a while and just when I was about to go down the road to get in front of them the 12th giraffe showed up.
11:00 I looked to my left and saw that the Waterbuck male was on his own near the Tugela river
11:15 Got a call from Mandla to go and help him with his report
13:10 Went to the rye grass field
13:20 On the way there was 2 groups of 3 Impalas each fighting in the road, two will tackle each other and the third will wait to see who loses and then jump in and attack that one
13:30 On the side of the rye grass field I saw a group of 40 Impala, 1 male and 39 ewes and lambs
13:55 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain
14:25 Saw nothing there except for a Grey Heron looking for food in the water grass
14:35 When I came back there was 6 Zebras with the group of 20 Impalas from this morning
14:45 Went to he office to download photos onto the computer- photos I took during the day
15:45 Left to pick up staff at the Tugela river
16:30 Home
24/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 09°C
Max temp: 20°C
06:45 Went to pick up staff at farm market
07:30 Took staff to Tugela river, to harvest pecan nuts
09:00 Took sprayers up the mountain to spray last leg of fence to the main gate
10:30 Went to Ladysmith to get 7 bags of cement for the school floor
12:45 Dropped the cement at the school
13:30 Got home and phoned Cindy the headmistress that I have delivered the cement and they can start fixing the floor
14:00 Went to the rye grass field to observe 3 Blesbok with a herd of Impala. The Blesbok seem to mingle quite well with the Impala and the Impalas don’t mind having them around. Only the ram seems to be a bit cautious around them, butI think it’s because of the rutting season and all the rams are a bit high strung
15:30 On the way back to the house I saw 7 of the Waterbuck in the big stream that connects with he Tugela river
16:00 Picked up Michael and Vukani and went with them to pick up the sprayers. On the way we saw 2 more Waterbuck and a sounder of 8 Warthogs, 1 male, 1 female and 6 babies
16:15 Picked up the sprayers at the base of the mountain
16:30 Home
17:00 Report
25/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 08°C
Max temp: 23°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the rye grass field, to look at the centre pivot pump
09:00 The pump started but would not pump water, so we fixed it
11:30 Dug holes to put in more reinforcement for he post, because of the rain, the post pulled out of the ground
13:30 Had to dig three holes, two at the rye grass field fence and one at the pecan nut trees
15:55 Dug the last hole and went to fetch sprayers at the main gate
16:30 Home
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 07°C
Max temp: 23°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the last bit of rhino fencing to weld some angle iron and reinforcement onto the
fence, finished there at 12:30
12:30 Took the welder back
13:00 Went to the lodge to check if everything was alright after the weekends rain. We had
about 20mm of rain on the weekend. Everything is in order at the lodge
13:45 Went to the rye grass field to check on the progress of planting. We could not plant today, because of all the rain, the field was too wet and the tractor will get stuck.
14:15 Went to the fence to look for faults. Some of the corner post have been pulled out of the ground by the cable. The ground was wet so it made it easy for the high strung cable to pull it out, we’re going to have to put more reinforcing on.
15:45 Went to pick up the staff
16:30 Took staff back
17:30 Home.
22/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 08°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Took sprayers with me to spray the rhino fence at the N3. We only sprayed about 100m, because that little section was not done properly.
10:30 When we finished there I took them to another part of the rhino fence near where the big stream meets the Tugela, we sprayed about 200m there.
12:30 After that we went to the rye grass field and sprayed all along the fence, until the fence at the border of Gevonden and Weenan Safaris.
15:55 We finished the spraying and went back.
16:15 Went to pick up the staff at the pecan nut trees along the Tugela river
16:35 Home
23/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 08°C
Max temp: 15°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Saw 20 Impalas near the workshop going up the mountain
08:50 Saw 1 Impala ewe on her own in the bushes at the foot of the mountain
09:00 I turned back and as I got to the place where the ewe was I saw 2 Impala rams sizing each other up for a fight.
09:20 Went to the lodge and on the way I came across a group of 24 Impalas
09:25 Not 500m from them I saw 3 Blesbok, I presume it was Bes, Les and Shaun
Rounding the corner on the way to the lodge I saw 5 Giraffes on the little hill near the road
09:40 Just as I turned back from the lodge a Impala ram was chasing a female across the road, he had a fresh cut under his eye and it was starting to swell, no doubt he got that from fighting for the female he was chasing
10:00 Going back the way I came I saw the 5 Giraffes again, 3 of them was chewing on old bones lying in the veld.
10:25 I went down to fetch the camera, when I got back, there was now 11 Giraffes, 5 babies and 6 adults.
10:47 Followed them around for a while and just when I was about to go down the road to get in front of them the 12th giraffe showed up.
11:00 I looked to my left and saw that the Waterbuck male was on his own near the Tugela river
11:15 Got a call from Mandla to go and help him with his report
13:10 Went to the rye grass field
13:20 On the way there was 2 groups of 3 Impalas each fighting in the road, two will tackle each other and the third will wait to see who loses and then jump in and attack that one
13:30 On the side of the rye grass field I saw a group of 40 Impala, 1 male and 39 ewes and lambs
13:55 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain
14:25 Saw nothing there except for a Grey Heron looking for food in the water grass
14:35 When I came back there was 6 Zebras with the group of 20 Impalas from this morning
14:45 Went to he office to download photos onto the computer- photos I took during the day
15:45 Left to pick up staff at the Tugela river
16:30 Home
24/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 09°C
Max temp: 20°C
06:45 Went to pick up staff at farm market
07:30 Took staff to Tugela river, to harvest pecan nuts
09:00 Took sprayers up the mountain to spray last leg of fence to the main gate
10:30 Went to Ladysmith to get 7 bags of cement for the school floor
12:45 Dropped the cement at the school
13:30 Got home and phoned Cindy the headmistress that I have delivered the cement and they can start fixing the floor
14:00 Went to the rye grass field to observe 3 Blesbok with a herd of Impala. The Blesbok seem to mingle quite well with the Impala and the Impalas don’t mind having them around. Only the ram seems to be a bit cautious around them, butI think it’s because of the rutting season and all the rams are a bit high strung
15:30 On the way back to the house I saw 7 of the Waterbuck in the big stream that connects with he Tugela river
16:00 Picked up Michael and Vukani and went with them to pick up the sprayers. On the way we saw 2 more Waterbuck and a sounder of 8 Warthogs, 1 male, 1 female and 6 babies
16:15 Picked up the sprayers at the base of the mountain
16:30 Home
17:00 Report
25/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 08°C
Max temp: 23°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the rye grass field, to look at the centre pivot pump
09:00 The pump started but would not pump water, so we fixed it
11:30 Dug holes to put in more reinforcement for he post, because of the rain, the post pulled out of the ground
13:30 Had to dig three holes, two at the rye grass field fence and one at the pecan nut trees
15:55 Dug the last hole and went to fetch sprayers at the main gate
16:30 Home
Monday, 21 April 2008
14th - 18 April 2008
14/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 14°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Helped Michael with his report
09:30 Went to the school to give Cindy the school keys
10:40 Did my e-mails and sorted he school photo’s out on the computer
12:00 Went up to the lodge, to check if everything is still fine up there, saw 1 Mountain eedbuck
ram along the road on the side of the mountain
13:30 Went to change the trailer tire, but as I was changing it, my jack broke, so I had leave it
for now, will make a plan tomorrow.
14:20 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, I saw some giraffe there, wanted to check
on the young ones, they were not there, only 4 bulls and a female.
15:00 Came back home to find a lone Impala ewe in the garden, we think she may be starting
to go blind and deaf, because you can virtually walk up to her and touch her, before she realizes your there.
15:30 Went with Michael to the foot of the mountain, we were looking for a spider that he saw
on Friday, could not find it.
16:00 Went to pick up the staff at rye grass field.
16:30 Took staff home
17:30 Home.
15/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the back where we released the Python, took GPR marking
09:30 Went to the N3 Highway to check the fence, followed it all the way to the Tugela, could
not find any faults.
12:00 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain to check on the giraffe carcass, it’s almost
just bones left, another week and it will be completely bones.
13:45 Went to rye grass field to help with the spreading of fertilizer
15:30 Fetched the pressure pump to pump up the wheels of the centre pivot
16:00 Went to fetch the staff at the lodge where they are fixing the drains for the road
16:30 Home.
16/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Dropped Mandla and Michael at Cloustans to do a patrol there
09:30 Went to the back valley to see if I could find more prickly pears, so that I can put some
cochineal on them.
11:20 Went to Colenso school to help them weld security gates, they did not have any body to
help them, so they asked me if I can go and show there grounds man how to weld.
14:00 Came back from Colenso school, to do some office work
16:00 Went to the rye grass field to check on progress on fertilizing the field
16:30 Home
17/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 23°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the top of the mountain, on the way I saw 9 Zebras, could not see any foals with them.
09:10 When I got to the top I, drove all around the mountain to the back looking at prickly pears, to see which ones have cochineal on them and which don’t.
10:00 Got to the other side where I have put some cochineal on some of the plants, the chineal is spreading nicely on them.
11:00 Got to the lodge too se if everything is alright there.
11:30 Took the TLB to go and load some cable for the fence on the other side of Clenso
13:00 Got back home and went to Winterton to get rye grass seed for planting
15:00 Got back and helped Mandla with his report
16:30 Home
18/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the rye grass field to check on the ploughing of the field, It is almost finished, so
we will be planting soon.
10:00 Went with Mike and two of the game guards to put a pump into the Tugela river, so that
we can supply water to the dam near the lodge and the two dams near the main house.
12:25 Finished with the pump, but when we tested it, it showed a fault somewhere, we are fixing the problem at the moment.
13:30 Went with Mike to the fence to see if we can pick up any faults on the electric fence,
showed one fault, we could not find and will go and have a look on Monday.
15:50 Got home and saw the Impala ewe (that seems to blind and deaf) in the garden, she did not pay any attention to me, although she could smell me. She looks quite happy and healthy and seems to like the garden.
16:30 Home.
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 14°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Helped Michael with his report
09:30 Went to the school to give Cindy the school keys
10:40 Did my e-mails and sorted he school photo’s out on the computer
12:00 Went up to the lodge, to check if everything is still fine up there, saw 1 Mountain eedbuck
ram along the road on the side of the mountain
13:30 Went to change the trailer tire, but as I was changing it, my jack broke, so I had leave it
for now, will make a plan tomorrow.
14:20 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, I saw some giraffe there, wanted to check
on the young ones, they were not there, only 4 bulls and a female.
15:00 Came back home to find a lone Impala ewe in the garden, we think she may be starting
to go blind and deaf, because you can virtually walk up to her and touch her, before she realizes your there.
15:30 Went with Michael to the foot of the mountain, we were looking for a spider that he saw
on Friday, could not find it.
16:00 Went to pick up the staff at rye grass field.
16:30 Took staff home
17:30 Home.
15/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the back where we released the Python, took GPR marking
09:30 Went to the N3 Highway to check the fence, followed it all the way to the Tugela, could
not find any faults.
12:00 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain to check on the giraffe carcass, it’s almost
just bones left, another week and it will be completely bones.
13:45 Went to rye grass field to help with the spreading of fertilizer
15:30 Fetched the pressure pump to pump up the wheels of the centre pivot
16:00 Went to fetch the staff at the lodge where they are fixing the drains for the road
16:30 Home.
16/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Dropped Mandla and Michael at Cloustans to do a patrol there
09:30 Went to the back valley to see if I could find more prickly pears, so that I can put some
cochineal on them.
11:20 Went to Colenso school to help them weld security gates, they did not have any body to
help them, so they asked me if I can go and show there grounds man how to weld.
14:00 Came back from Colenso school, to do some office work
16:00 Went to the rye grass field to check on progress on fertilizing the field
16:30 Home
17/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 23°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the top of the mountain, on the way I saw 9 Zebras, could not see any foals with them.
09:10 When I got to the top I, drove all around the mountain to the back looking at prickly pears, to see which ones have cochineal on them and which don’t.
10:00 Got to the other side where I have put some cochineal on some of the plants, the chineal is spreading nicely on them.
11:00 Got to the lodge too se if everything is alright there.
11:30 Took the TLB to go and load some cable for the fence on the other side of Clenso
13:00 Got back home and went to Winterton to get rye grass seed for planting
15:00 Got back and helped Mandla with his report
16:30 Home
18/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 13°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to the rye grass field to check on the ploughing of the field, It is almost finished, so
we will be planting soon.
10:00 Went with Mike and two of the game guards to put a pump into the Tugela river, so that
we can supply water to the dam near the lodge and the two dams near the main house.
12:25 Finished with the pump, but when we tested it, it showed a fault somewhere, we are fixing the problem at the moment.
13:30 Went with Mike to the fence to see if we can pick up any faults on the electric fence,
showed one fault, we could not find and will go and have a look on Monday.
15:50 Got home and saw the Impala ewe (that seems to blind and deaf) in the garden, she did not pay any attention to me, although she could smell me. She looks quite happy and healthy and seems to like the garden.
16:30 Home.
Friday, 18 April 2008
7th - 11th April 2008
07/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 17°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went with Michael to look at the 2nd dead giraffe, it is a female.
09:30 Did e-mails and photos
11:30 Drove to the lodge and then around the mountain to look for the rest of the rest of the
giraffes, could not find them only saw one lone Impala ram.
14:30 Got back home, saw 12 Giraffes in front of the house, only one missing.
15:00 Mandla came back to do his report, he said he saw all 13 remaining giraffe when he came up to the house, that means all of them is alright.
15:25 Went up the mountain to fetch the sprayers at the fence on top.
16:30 Home.
08/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 18°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Geluk to see if I could find the Blue Wildebeest, saw nothing.
10:00 Went to look at the 2 giraffe carcasses, the scavengers are trying their best to finish them
off. No vultures yet.
12:00 Got a call from Mike to go and capture a 4m long python in his lands where the tractors are busy in the lands. He ask m if I can relocate it to Umphafa where it will be out of the way of all the heavy machinery.
13:00 Released the python on Umphafa at the back valley just behind the lodge site.
14:30 Went up the mountain to fetch the sprayers.
15:30 Brought them down, and left to fetch the team that is working on the electric fence.
16:30 Home.
09/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 19°C
Max temp: 28°C
07:30 Did the report
08:30 Left to fix the school floor.
09:30 Fetched the cement from Ladysmith.
11:00 Fetched the classroom keys from Cindy the headmistress. Stayed the rest of the day
there fixing the one classrooms floor, tomorrow we will finish and start with the second classroom.
16:30 Home.
10/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 17°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to school to continue fixing the floor, we got halfway through laying the cement and mixing it, it takes a bit of time to fetch the water and mixing it with the cement, sand and stone.
16:00 We finished ¾ of the floor, tomorrow we will finish it off.
16:30 Home.
11/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Left to go and finish the school floor.
12:00 Finished fixing the floor, and I took the guys back to the farm.
13:00 Went to Ladysmith to Waltons to go and sign a invoice and to get some groceries
15:30 Got home and fetched the guys working on the fence.
16:30 Home.
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 17°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went with Michael to look at the 2nd dead giraffe, it is a female.
09:30 Did e-mails and photos
11:30 Drove to the lodge and then around the mountain to look for the rest of the rest of the
giraffes, could not find them only saw one lone Impala ram.
14:30 Got back home, saw 12 Giraffes in front of the house, only one missing.
15:00 Mandla came back to do his report, he said he saw all 13 remaining giraffe when he came up to the house, that means all of them is alright.
15:25 Went up the mountain to fetch the sprayers at the fence on top.
16:30 Home.
08/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 18°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Geluk to see if I could find the Blue Wildebeest, saw nothing.
10:00 Went to look at the 2 giraffe carcasses, the scavengers are trying their best to finish them
off. No vultures yet.
12:00 Got a call from Mike to go and capture a 4m long python in his lands where the tractors are busy in the lands. He ask m if I can relocate it to Umphafa where it will be out of the way of all the heavy machinery.
13:00 Released the python on Umphafa at the back valley just behind the lodge site.
14:30 Went up the mountain to fetch the sprayers.
15:30 Brought them down, and left to fetch the team that is working on the electric fence.
16:30 Home.
09/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 19°C
Max temp: 28°C
07:30 Did the report
08:30 Left to fix the school floor.
09:30 Fetched the cement from Ladysmith.
11:00 Fetched the classroom keys from Cindy the headmistress. Stayed the rest of the day
there fixing the one classrooms floor, tomorrow we will finish and start with the second classroom.
16:30 Home.
10/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 17°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to school to continue fixing the floor, we got halfway through laying the cement and mixing it, it takes a bit of time to fetch the water and mixing it with the cement, sand and stone.
16:00 We finished ¾ of the floor, tomorrow we will finish it off.
16:30 Home.
11/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Left to go and finish the school floor.
12:00 Finished fixing the floor, and I took the guys back to the farm.
13:00 Went to Ladysmith to Waltons to go and sign a invoice and to get some groceries
15:30 Got home and fetched the guys working on the fence.
16:30 Home.
Monday, 7 April 2008
31st March - 4th April 2008
31/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 18°C
Max temp: 25°C
Rainfall: 40mm
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Colenso to get airtime for my cell to buy Data bundle for internet
09:30 Went up to the giraffe carcass to see what’s happening there; the jackal are starting to
feed on it some more, but it still got a lot of meat on.
11:00 Went to the ryefield to check on the Waterbuck, saw 14 there, they seem to like it there
and we see them pretty much everyday. The calves are starting to put on some weight and are looking much bigger. They seem to get use to the vehicle now and don’t run away like they use to. Between the Waterbuck, Zebra and Impala, they are mowing that Ryefield to the ground.
13:00 Went up to the lodge with the builders to put in the down pipe fro the gutters.
14:30 Michael and I went to the main gate to put some cochineal on prickly pears that is starting to grow all along the main road.
15:50 As we drove back we made quick detour to check the ryefield again for the Waterbuck, saw 9 at first, but as we came closer 5 more stood up from where they were lying, so all 14 I saw in the morning were still there. We started with 13 Waterbuck and lost one. From there it increased by 5, now we have 17
16:30 Home.
01/04/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 18°C
Max temp: 25°C
06:45 Diesel truck arrived to deliver diesel
07:30 Report
08:30 Took Michael and the 2 new game guards to Vertrek
09:30 Got everything ready to go and weld angle irons onto the rhino fence
11:45 Finished welding the angle irons onto fence
12:00 Got home, started cutting rods to weld onto fence so that we can put the cable up
13:20 Went to rhino fence at ryefield to weld on support rods for the cable
16:15 Finished welding on rods
16:30 Home.
02/04/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 17°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Ladysmith to get sand and stone for the school floor, and to get cement
12:30 Went to check for faults on electric fence, found 2 faults
15:00 Got a puncture on the left front tyre of the AFTW Vehicle, a piece of wire punctured the tyre
15:30 Got home and took the tire of, replacing it with the spare.
15:45 Mandla showed up and I helped him with his weekly report
16:30 Finished
03/04/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went with Michael and one of the new guards to the back of the mountain to clear roads, while we were back there we saw 2 Hartebeest and 5 Kudus
12:30 Got home, walked into the garden to find a herd of Impalas and 6 Zebras on the lawn, grazing. The Zebra are getting use to the surroundings and are not afraid anymore. Saw one baby Impala without a mother, will keep an eye on him.
13:30 Went to check on the cochineal I put on the prickly pears all over the reserve, the insects are spreading nicely over the leaves.
15:00 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain to check on the giraffe carcass, the jaw bone have been eaten and part of the chest, but there is still a lot of giraffe left.
15:45 Saw 2 vultures flying over mount sully, so I went up to the mountain to see if I can get a better view of them, they circled a few times and then were of.
16:00 I got home to see if I can find the baby Impala without it’s mother, I saw him with the same herd, he is still very young and was one of the very late lambs born. Luckily he keeps to the group of Impala’s, but I fear he will need to drink soon,he/she still looks strong so hopefully he/she will survive the night.
16:30 Home.
04/04/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went up the mountain to check on the Blesbok, 14 and all 7 young ones.
10:00 Went to Geluk to see if I can find the Blue Wildebeest, could not find them, saw2 warthogs and that was it.
12:00 Got a call that they are delivering the sand and stone I ordered for the school floor, went to the school to make sure they delivered the exact amount, and to take pictures of the repaired classroom.
14:00 Got home to send the pictures and load them onto the computer.
15:00 Went up the mountain with Mike to fetch the staff working on the electric fence.
16:30 Home.
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 18°C
Max temp: 25°C
Rainfall: 40mm
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Colenso to get airtime for my cell to buy Data bundle for internet
09:30 Went up to the giraffe carcass to see what’s happening there; the jackal are starting to
feed on it some more, but it still got a lot of meat on.
11:00 Went to the ryefield to check on the Waterbuck, saw 14 there, they seem to like it there
and we see them pretty much everyday. The calves are starting to put on some weight and are looking much bigger. They seem to get use to the vehicle now and don’t run away like they use to. Between the Waterbuck, Zebra and Impala, they are mowing that Ryefield to the ground.
13:00 Went up to the lodge with the builders to put in the down pipe fro the gutters.
14:30 Michael and I went to the main gate to put some cochineal on prickly pears that is starting to grow all along the main road.
15:50 As we drove back we made quick detour to check the ryefield again for the Waterbuck, saw 9 at first, but as we came closer 5 more stood up from where they were lying, so all 14 I saw in the morning were still there. We started with 13 Waterbuck and lost one. From there it increased by 5, now we have 17
16:30 Home.
01/04/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 18°C
Max temp: 25°C
06:45 Diesel truck arrived to deliver diesel
07:30 Report
08:30 Took Michael and the 2 new game guards to Vertrek
09:30 Got everything ready to go and weld angle irons onto the rhino fence
11:45 Finished welding the angle irons onto fence
12:00 Got home, started cutting rods to weld onto fence so that we can put the cable up
13:20 Went to rhino fence at ryefield to weld on support rods for the cable
16:15 Finished welding on rods
16:30 Home.
02/04/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 17°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went to Ladysmith to get sand and stone for the school floor, and to get cement
12:30 Went to check for faults on electric fence, found 2 faults
15:00 Got a puncture on the left front tyre of the AFTW Vehicle, a piece of wire punctured the tyre
15:30 Got home and took the tire of, replacing it with the spare.
15:45 Mandla showed up and I helped him with his weekly report
16:30 Finished
03/04/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went with Michael and one of the new guards to the back of the mountain to clear roads, while we were back there we saw 2 Hartebeest and 5 Kudus
12:30 Got home, walked into the garden to find a herd of Impalas and 6 Zebras on the lawn, grazing. The Zebra are getting use to the surroundings and are not afraid anymore. Saw one baby Impala without a mother, will keep an eye on him.
13:30 Went to check on the cochineal I put on the prickly pears all over the reserve, the insects are spreading nicely over the leaves.
15:00 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain to check on the giraffe carcass, the jaw bone have been eaten and part of the chest, but there is still a lot of giraffe left.
15:45 Saw 2 vultures flying over mount sully, so I went up to the mountain to see if I can get a better view of them, they circled a few times and then were of.
16:00 I got home to see if I can find the baby Impala without it’s mother, I saw him with the same herd, he is still very young and was one of the very late lambs born. Luckily he keeps to the group of Impala’s, but I fear he will need to drink soon,he/she still looks strong so hopefully he/she will survive the night.
16:30 Home.
04/04/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Went up the mountain to check on the Blesbok, 14 and all 7 young ones.
10:00 Went to Geluk to see if I can find the Blue Wildebeest, could not find them, saw2 warthogs and that was it.
12:00 Got a call that they are delivering the sand and stone I ordered for the school floor, went to the school to make sure they delivered the exact amount, and to take pictures of the repaired classroom.
14:00 Got home to send the pictures and load them onto the computer.
15:00 Went up the mountain with Mike to fetch the staff working on the electric fence.
16:30 Home.
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
17th - 20th March 2008
17/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 18°C
Rainfall: 33mm
07:30 Reports
08:00 Load shedding from Eskom
08:10 Went up to the lodge to see if everything was still fine there.
09:20 Went to ryefield, saw 11 Waterbuck standing just on the edge of the field in the long grass. The male was with them.
09:30 Went to the 2 ponds near the main gate, saw 3 x Warthogs and a family of Yellow billed ducks. Have not seen the White Faced Ducks there for a while now.
10:10 As I drove back I saw a group of Bachelor Impala, it looks like the Impala is starting to form their different territories now, which means rutting season is starting.
11:00 Went to tugela river and I saw 4 Mountain Reedbuck on the side of the hill. The tugela river is flowing strongly now after all the rain this weekend.
12:05 Drove up to the pond at the foot of the mountain, saw a big Kudu bull on the way, browsing on a Acacia Karoo.
12:20 Near the pond on the side of the hill I saw 2 more Mountain Reedbuck. They were probably coming down to have a drink. Mountain Reedbuck always stay close to water.
12:30 Drove to the back where I put the cochineal on the prickly pears to see how things are progressing, the cochineal are spreading nicely all over the leaves. Hopefully in a few weeks they would have spread all over the plant
13:20 I took a walk around the area and I saw that some of the prickly pears already have some cochineal growing on them, which is a good sign that the plants are being targeted by cochineal.
14:35 As I drove back I saw that the Mountain Reedbuck have moved from their original location, where they were joined by two other.
15:00 Got home and helped Mandla and Michael with their reports and we had a meeting on how their training went. They have some nice ideas and proposals that we can implement here on UmPhafa, not just for monitoring the rhino but also for the rest of the game.
16:30 Finished the meeting and will submit their report on Wednesday.
18/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 18°C
Rainfall: 7mm
06:45 Pick up staff at Farm Market because Mike took his vehicle for a service
07:30 Took staff to fence to continue to put up electric fence
08:30 Got back to the office to do reports and e-mails.
11:20 Went to the back to put cochineal on 2 more prickly pears, forgot to take the GPS with, but will take coordinates tomorrow.
13:20 Contacted FGSA about the one book that they still owe us, they will come back to me.
13:45 Worked in the office for the rest of the time going over fact files and photo’s.
15:45 Went to pick up staff at the fence.
16:30 Took staff to farm market
17:30 Home.
19/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 16°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Reports with Michael and Mandla
08:00 Load shedding from Telkom
08:10 Took Mandla and the two new guards to Geluk
10:00 Went to lodge to check if everything was still fine. Went to the dam near the lodge to see the water level- level has risen after all the rain we had so far. Saw lots of tracks their ( Mountain Reedbuck, Impala, Kudu, Giraffe and Jackal, Zebra)
12:00 Went to the back to walk around and see if I can find historical sites and graves, so far did not find any, but I will continue to look for them and take pictures and GPR locations.
13:45 Came back to the house to do some office work. Worked on the fact files and brought the bird sheet up to date.
14:40 Helped Michael with his report on Weenen Game Reserve and the Rhino training
15:40 Went to switch on the electric fence, so that we can see if there is any faults on the fence we put up so far.
16:30 Home.
20/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 16°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Reports
08:00 Went up the mountain with Mike to drop the staff at the fence to continue fencing.
10:00 Got back down from the mountain
10:10 Got a call from Michael the head game guard that one of the female Giraffes is lying on her side and cant stand up. She was lying on a hill near the pond at the foot of the mountain.
10:20 Got there, then I saw it was Speedy, the giraffe without horns. We kept her head up and kept her cool with water while we waited for more people to help us put on her in a upright position I gave her some stressnil to keep her calm, but she just could not hold on, she was too weak. She died just as the people arrived.
12:45 We examined her and found nothing unusual, other than a bleeding nose and mouth, we suspect that she must have slipped on the rocks or got a fright and started running and then slipped and fell then hit her head on the ground or a rock. Giraffes are prone to broken legs and head injuries due to falling over rocks or slipping on wet soil.
14:00 We left her there and will monitor the carcass to see what scavengers and carrion eaters it will attract.
15:05 Left to go and pick up the staff on top of the mountain.
16:30 Took staff to Farm Market
17:20 Home.
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 18°C
Rainfall: 33mm
07:30 Reports
08:00 Load shedding from Eskom
08:10 Went up to the lodge to see if everything was still fine there.
09:20 Went to ryefield, saw 11 Waterbuck standing just on the edge of the field in the long grass. The male was with them.
09:30 Went to the 2 ponds near the main gate, saw 3 x Warthogs and a family of Yellow billed ducks. Have not seen the White Faced Ducks there for a while now.
10:10 As I drove back I saw a group of Bachelor Impala, it looks like the Impala is starting to form their different territories now, which means rutting season is starting.
11:00 Went to tugela river and I saw 4 Mountain Reedbuck on the side of the hill. The tugela river is flowing strongly now after all the rain this weekend.
12:05 Drove up to the pond at the foot of the mountain, saw a big Kudu bull on the way, browsing on a Acacia Karoo.
12:20 Near the pond on the side of the hill I saw 2 more Mountain Reedbuck. They were probably coming down to have a drink. Mountain Reedbuck always stay close to water.
12:30 Drove to the back where I put the cochineal on the prickly pears to see how things are progressing, the cochineal are spreading nicely all over the leaves. Hopefully in a few weeks they would have spread all over the plant
13:20 I took a walk around the area and I saw that some of the prickly pears already have some cochineal growing on them, which is a good sign that the plants are being targeted by cochineal.
14:35 As I drove back I saw that the Mountain Reedbuck have moved from their original location, where they were joined by two other.
15:00 Got home and helped Mandla and Michael with their reports and we had a meeting on how their training went. They have some nice ideas and proposals that we can implement here on UmPhafa, not just for monitoring the rhino but also for the rest of the game.
16:30 Finished the meeting and will submit their report on Wednesday.
18/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 15°C
Max temp: 18°C
Rainfall: 7mm
06:45 Pick up staff at Farm Market because Mike took his vehicle for a service
07:30 Took staff to fence to continue to put up electric fence
08:30 Got back to the office to do reports and e-mails.
11:20 Went to the back to put cochineal on 2 more prickly pears, forgot to take the GPS with, but will take coordinates tomorrow.
13:20 Contacted FGSA about the one book that they still owe us, they will come back to me.
13:45 Worked in the office for the rest of the time going over fact files and photo’s.
15:45 Went to pick up staff at the fence.
16:30 Took staff to farm market
17:30 Home.
19/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 16°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Reports with Michael and Mandla
08:00 Load shedding from Telkom
08:10 Took Mandla and the two new guards to Geluk
10:00 Went to lodge to check if everything was still fine. Went to the dam near the lodge to see the water level- level has risen after all the rain we had so far. Saw lots of tracks their ( Mountain Reedbuck, Impala, Kudu, Giraffe and Jackal, Zebra)
12:00 Went to the back to walk around and see if I can find historical sites and graves, so far did not find any, but I will continue to look for them and take pictures and GPR locations.
13:45 Came back to the house to do some office work. Worked on the fact files and brought the bird sheet up to date.
14:40 Helped Michael with his report on Weenen Game Reserve and the Rhino training
15:40 Went to switch on the electric fence, so that we can see if there is any faults on the fence we put up so far.
16:30 Home.
20/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 16°C
Max temp: 25°C
07:30 Reports
08:00 Went up the mountain with Mike to drop the staff at the fence to continue fencing.
10:00 Got back down from the mountain
10:10 Got a call from Michael the head game guard that one of the female Giraffes is lying on her side and cant stand up. She was lying on a hill near the pond at the foot of the mountain.
10:20 Got there, then I saw it was Speedy, the giraffe without horns. We kept her head up and kept her cool with water while we waited for more people to help us put on her in a upright position I gave her some stressnil to keep her calm, but she just could not hold on, she was too weak. She died just as the people arrived.
12:45 We examined her and found nothing unusual, other than a bleeding nose and mouth, we suspect that she must have slipped on the rocks or got a fright and started running and then slipped and fell then hit her head on the ground or a rock. Giraffes are prone to broken legs and head injuries due to falling over rocks or slipping on wet soil.
14:00 We left her there and will monitor the carcass to see what scavengers and carrion eaters it will attract.
15:05 Left to go and pick up the staff on top of the mountain.
16:30 Took staff to Farm Market
17:20 Home.
Monday, 17 March 2008
Weekly Report 10th - 14th March 2008
10/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 21°C
Max temp: 32°C
06:45 Left to pick up staff
07:45 Took staff to the fence to put up electrics.
09:00 On the way back I found a Prickly Pear with the cochineal insect that was not put on by us. That means there are some of the cochineal already on the farm.
10:30 Came back to the office to do e-mails and paper work.
14:00 M+R builders came to fix the roof, we had a meeting and a final look at what must be done.
14:45 Took them up to the lodge to get a quote on fixing bedroom 2 bathroom roof.
15:30 Went to open the gate fro them and on the way I saw 7 x Waterbuck standing on the ryefield, 1 male, 4 females and 2 babies.
16:00 Went to look for more locations to release the cochineal.
16:30 Went to one of the neighboring farms to pick up a small Woodland Dormouse, so that we can release it on the farm. They found it in one of the mattresses of one of their lodges.
17:35 Home.
11/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 30°C
07:30 Report and e-mail
08:30 Did fact file till 09:45
09:45 Barry came to erect the mast for the radio, helped him get sorted to go up the mountain.
10:30 The builders from M+R Builders came, went over everything, and they got started on fixing the roof.
12:00 Fetched the tractor and water cart from Geluk to take water up to the site where the tower for the radios are to mix cement.
12:45 Left to take water up the mountain, halfway up I got stuck with the tractor and water cart. The tractor couldn’t get a grip on the loose soil halfway up and started to slide backwards. I had to turn to avoid going over the edge; luckily it jackknifed at came to a halt.
13:55 Mike showed up and he got the tractor down, it took till 15:30 to get it down, then he left to go to check on fencing progress.
16:00 Drove back with tractor after we unhitched the water cart. Came to house check on progress roof, they stripped the roof are busy replacing all the rotten wood over the washing room.
12/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 21°C
Max temp: 31°C
Rainfall: 3½mm
06:45 Left for Ladysmith to get the AFTW Vehicle’s central locking fixed.
10:15 Got back home, let the builders in to carry on fixing the roof.
11:00 Went up to the mountain to check on progress putting up the tower.
12:00 Took photo’s of the building process. Came back down to fetch cement and sand.
13:00 Spent the rest of the day up the mountain helping mixing cement and laying the foundation of the tower.
18:00 Finished laying foundation, now we have to wait 8-9 days for cement to set and dry before putting up the mast.
18:45 Took Game guards back to town.
19:30 Home.
13/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 21°C
Max temp: 24°C
Rainfall: 3mm
07:30 Did report – Started to rain.
09:00 Took staff to fence to carry on putting on the electric fence
10:00 Went up the mountain to fetch the tractor and trailer and water cart.
12:00 Back down from mountain.
12:30 – 16:30 Office – Worked on the fact file for the rest of the day because it started to rain.
14/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 19°C
Max temp: 23°C
07:30 Reports
08:30 Went to the back o look for prickly pears and to see how the cochineal is doing on those the prickly pears.
09:30 Got to the plants, cochineal is spreading nicely.
10:30 Walked around the area for a bit, saw some other prickly pears with cochineal on them, which means there are cochineal there already attacking the pears.
11:30 Drove to the Ryefield to check on animals like Zebra and Impala and Waterbuck, couldn’t see any of them as it was cloudy and cold. They probably took shelter under the trees and bushes.
12:15 Saw a Martial Eagle in the sky above the ryefield.
13:25 Drove to fence to see how the fencing was progressing.
14:00 Left for Weenan to go pick up Michael and Mandla
15:00 Got them at the Office of Weenan Game Reserve, they were very happy to have gone there and have learned so much during their stay.
16:00 Dropped them in Colenso.
16:30 Picked staff up at farm and took them to Farm Market.
17:30 Home.
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 21°C
Max temp: 32°C
06:45 Left to pick up staff
07:45 Took staff to the fence to put up electrics.
09:00 On the way back I found a Prickly Pear with the cochineal insect that was not put on by us. That means there are some of the cochineal already on the farm.
10:30 Came back to the office to do e-mails and paper work.
14:00 M+R builders came to fix the roof, we had a meeting and a final look at what must be done.
14:45 Took them up to the lodge to get a quote on fixing bedroom 2 bathroom roof.
15:30 Went to open the gate fro them and on the way I saw 7 x Waterbuck standing on the ryefield, 1 male, 4 females and 2 babies.
16:00 Went to look for more locations to release the cochineal.
16:30 Went to one of the neighboring farms to pick up a small Woodland Dormouse, so that we can release it on the farm. They found it in one of the mattresses of one of their lodges.
17:35 Home.
11/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 30°C
07:30 Report and e-mail
08:30 Did fact file till 09:45
09:45 Barry came to erect the mast for the radio, helped him get sorted to go up the mountain.
10:30 The builders from M+R Builders came, went over everything, and they got started on fixing the roof.
12:00 Fetched the tractor and water cart from Geluk to take water up to the site where the tower for the radios are to mix cement.
12:45 Left to take water up the mountain, halfway up I got stuck with the tractor and water cart. The tractor couldn’t get a grip on the loose soil halfway up and started to slide backwards. I had to turn to avoid going over the edge; luckily it jackknifed at came to a halt.
13:55 Mike showed up and he got the tractor down, it took till 15:30 to get it down, then he left to go to check on fencing progress.
16:00 Drove back with tractor after we unhitched the water cart. Came to house check on progress roof, they stripped the roof are busy replacing all the rotten wood over the washing room.
12/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 21°C
Max temp: 31°C
Rainfall: 3½mm
06:45 Left for Ladysmith to get the AFTW Vehicle’s central locking fixed.
10:15 Got back home, let the builders in to carry on fixing the roof.
11:00 Went up to the mountain to check on progress putting up the tower.
12:00 Took photo’s of the building process. Came back down to fetch cement and sand.
13:00 Spent the rest of the day up the mountain helping mixing cement and laying the foundation of the tower.
18:00 Finished laying foundation, now we have to wait 8-9 days for cement to set and dry before putting up the mast.
18:45 Took Game guards back to town.
19:30 Home.
13/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 21°C
Max temp: 24°C
Rainfall: 3mm
07:30 Did report – Started to rain.
09:00 Took staff to fence to carry on putting on the electric fence
10:00 Went up the mountain to fetch the tractor and trailer and water cart.
12:00 Back down from mountain.
12:30 – 16:30 Office – Worked on the fact file for the rest of the day because it started to rain.
14/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 19°C
Max temp: 23°C
07:30 Reports
08:30 Went to the back o look for prickly pears and to see how the cochineal is doing on those the prickly pears.
09:30 Got to the plants, cochineal is spreading nicely.
10:30 Walked around the area for a bit, saw some other prickly pears with cochineal on them, which means there are cochineal there already attacking the pears.
11:30 Drove to the Ryefield to check on animals like Zebra and Impala and Waterbuck, couldn’t see any of them as it was cloudy and cold. They probably took shelter under the trees and bushes.
12:15 Saw a Martial Eagle in the sky above the ryefield.
13:25 Drove to fence to see how the fencing was progressing.
14:00 Left for Weenan to go pick up Michael and Mandla
15:00 Got them at the Office of Weenan Game Reserve, they were very happy to have gone there and have learned so much during their stay.
16:00 Dropped them in Colenso.
16:30 Picked staff up at farm and took them to Farm Market.
17:30 Home.
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
6th to 7th March 2008
06/03/2008
Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 34°C
Rainfall: 22mm
07:30 Reports and office work
11:00 Off load all the tools and equipment I got from Pretoria
12:00 Meeting with Ryan Brudvig in connection with the Bio Control on Prickly pears and Lantan
13:30 Followed up on the repairing of the Elworthy house. Will start Monday.
14:00 Went to help Mike with the electric fence.
16:30 Took staff back
16:45 Between Geluk and Cloustens near Tugela river I saw a group of Vervet Monkeys in the road, and as fate will have it I left the camera at home. Have not seen them in a while, it was a bit dry and warm these couple of weeks, they must be getting more food and water at the river, so I think I will see them more often near the Tugela river.
17:15 Home.
06/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy/Sunny
Min temp: 21°C
Max temp: 34°C
07:45 Took staff to the back of Mount Sully where they continue to put up the electrics for the fence.
08:55 Along the way I identified a few spots where the Prickly Pears are so that I can release the Cochineal bugs on them.
09:30 Got to the office and worked on the animal fact file and did yesterdays Report.
11:30 Left to go look for the monkeys and take some photos and GPS locations.
13:00 Went to the back where they are fencing, going up the mountain to the places where I found some Prickly Pears earlier, so that I can release the cochineal insects on them. Put the cochineal on 2 separate plants that I will be monitoring for the weeks to come.(S28°43.235-E29°39.222)
16:30 Home.
Weather: Cloudy
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 34°C
Rainfall: 22mm
07:30 Reports and office work
11:00 Off load all the tools and equipment I got from Pretoria
12:00 Meeting with Ryan Brudvig in connection with the Bio Control on Prickly pears and Lantan
13:30 Followed up on the repairing of the Elworthy house. Will start Monday.
14:00 Went to help Mike with the electric fence.
16:30 Took staff back
16:45 Between Geluk and Cloustens near Tugela river I saw a group of Vervet Monkeys in the road, and as fate will have it I left the camera at home. Have not seen them in a while, it was a bit dry and warm these couple of weeks, they must be getting more food and water at the river, so I think I will see them more often near the Tugela river.
17:15 Home.
06/03/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Cloudy/Sunny
Min temp: 21°C
Max temp: 34°C
07:45 Took staff to the back of Mount Sully where they continue to put up the electrics for the fence.
08:55 Along the way I identified a few spots where the Prickly Pears are so that I can release the Cochineal bugs on them.
09:30 Got to the office and worked on the animal fact file and did yesterdays Report.
11:30 Left to go look for the monkeys and take some photos and GPS locations.
13:00 Went to the back where they are fencing, going up the mountain to the places where I found some Prickly Pears earlier, so that I can release the cochineal insects on them. Put the cochineal on 2 separate plants that I will be monitoring for the weeks to come.(S28°43.235-E29°39.222)
16:30 Home.
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Weekly Reports 18th - 22nd February 2008
18/02/2008
Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 19°C
Max temp: 32°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Welding rhino fence at N3 side, along Tugela river.
13:10 Did E-mails and photos on computer.
14:45 Went to ryefield, saw 25 Impala rams, 2 Blesbok, 21 Zebras.
15:10 Went to the ponds at the main gate, saw a mother Warthog with 2 very small babies.
15:35 Drove to the pond at the foot of the mountain where I saw another sounder of Warthogs, 1 mother with 4 babies, I also saw a lone Impala ram not far from them.
16:00 Went up to the lodge to check on things, on the way I saw 6 Giraffes at the pond near the lodge, and a group of Impala ewe’s with lambs.
16:30 Home.
19/02/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny/overcast
Min temp: 22°C
Max temp: 33°C
Rainfall: 1½ mm
07:30 Report
08:30 3 x Zebras on the road leading to mountain (S28°43.989 – E29°40.776)
08:35 6 x Zebras and a group of Impala ewes with lambs also on the road that leads up to mountain (S28°43.801 – E29°40.601)
08:40 1 x Common Duiker on road to mountain (S28°43.602 – E29°40.462)
09:10 2 x Mountain Reedbuck and 2 x Blesbok at pond 9 on top of the mountain
(S28°42.487 – E29°40.465)
09:50 Went to the other side of the mountain to see if I can spot the rest of the Blesbok, saw the Blesbok, but they were far away and in very tall grass.
11:00 Got home, help Ed offload the office furniture.
12:30 Went to pond at foot of mountain to see if there might be some animals, nothing
13:00 Did computer work, e-mails and sorting photo’s
14:25 Went to Ryefield to see what animals are grazing there, just when I got there it started to rain and all the Blesbok, Impalas and Zebras moved to the shelter of the bush, then I saw 8 x Kudus among them in between the trees.
15:15 Went to Lodge, saw 8 Giraffes at the pond near the lodge. Walked around lodge to see if everything is still fine, checked inside, the bathroom roof of bedroom 2 got some water damage.
16:00 Home
20/02/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 22°C
Max temp: 30°C
07:30 Did Report
08:00 Took a drive around the farm, taking photos of birds and identifying them
09:30 While taking photos I saw all 15 Giraffes near the house, Vera was standing next to the house fence chewing on bones.
11:00 Went with Mike to Weenan Game Reserve to talk to Abe the head ranger of Weenan
Game Reserve about the training for Michael and Mandla involving Rhino Monitoring.
15:30 Went to pick up staff with Mike at back end of farm near the N3 Highway
16:30 Home.
21/02/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 22°C
Max temp: 30°C
07:30 Drop Michael and Mandla of at Cloustens
08:20 Did Report
09:00 Went to the school for a meeting with Cindy the headmistress
10:00 Went to Ladysmith to pick up wire rope clamps and cutter bar oil for chain saw
12:25 Send some e-mails and then went out to take some photos of different animal
species.
13:40 Saw 6 Waterbuck, 5 females and 1 baby (S28°44.504 – E29°41.368)
14:30 At the ryefield I saw 13 Giraffes, 28 Zebra, 3 Blesbok, group of bachelor Impala and a big group of Impala ewes with lambs.
15:00 Back at office sorting photos
16:00 Went with Mike to pick up the staff
16:45 Home.
22/02/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 22°C
Max temp: 30C
06:45 Took AFTW Vehicle to Ladysmith for service
13:30 Took staff to N3 highway to electrify fence after they cleared a way at Tugela
river for rhino fence.
14:30 At office trying to send e-mails
16:00 Fetch staff at N3 highway
16:30 Took staff home.
17:00 Home.
Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 19°C
Max temp: 32°C
07:30 Report
08:30 Welding rhino fence at N3 side, along Tugela river.
13:10 Did E-mails and photos on computer.
14:45 Went to ryefield, saw 25 Impala rams, 2 Blesbok, 21 Zebras.
15:10 Went to the ponds at the main gate, saw a mother Warthog with 2 very small babies.
15:35 Drove to the pond at the foot of the mountain where I saw another sounder of Warthogs, 1 mother with 4 babies, I also saw a lone Impala ram not far from them.
16:00 Went up to the lodge to check on things, on the way I saw 6 Giraffes at the pond near the lodge, and a group of Impala ewe’s with lambs.
16:30 Home.
19/02/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny/overcast
Min temp: 22°C
Max temp: 33°C
Rainfall: 1½ mm
07:30 Report
08:30 3 x Zebras on the road leading to mountain (S28°43.989 – E29°40.776)
08:35 6 x Zebras and a group of Impala ewes with lambs also on the road that leads up to mountain (S28°43.801 – E29°40.601)
08:40 1 x Common Duiker on road to mountain (S28°43.602 – E29°40.462)
09:10 2 x Mountain Reedbuck and 2 x Blesbok at pond 9 on top of the mountain
(S28°42.487 – E29°40.465)
09:50 Went to the other side of the mountain to see if I can spot the rest of the Blesbok, saw the Blesbok, but they were far away and in very tall grass.
11:00 Got home, help Ed offload the office furniture.
12:30 Went to pond at foot of mountain to see if there might be some animals, nothing
13:00 Did computer work, e-mails and sorting photo’s
14:25 Went to Ryefield to see what animals are grazing there, just when I got there it started to rain and all the Blesbok, Impalas and Zebras moved to the shelter of the bush, then I saw 8 x Kudus among them in between the trees.
15:15 Went to Lodge, saw 8 Giraffes at the pond near the lodge. Walked around lodge to see if everything is still fine, checked inside, the bathroom roof of bedroom 2 got some water damage.
16:00 Home
20/02/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 22°C
Max temp: 30°C
07:30 Did Report
08:00 Took a drive around the farm, taking photos of birds and identifying them
09:30 While taking photos I saw all 15 Giraffes near the house, Vera was standing next to the house fence chewing on bones.
11:00 Went with Mike to Weenan Game Reserve to talk to Abe the head ranger of Weenan
Game Reserve about the training for Michael and Mandla involving Rhino Monitoring.
15:30 Went to pick up staff with Mike at back end of farm near the N3 Highway
16:30 Home.
21/02/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 22°C
Max temp: 30°C
07:30 Drop Michael and Mandla of at Cloustens
08:20 Did Report
09:00 Went to the school for a meeting with Cindy the headmistress
10:00 Went to Ladysmith to pick up wire rope clamps and cutter bar oil for chain saw
12:25 Send some e-mails and then went out to take some photos of different animal
species.
13:40 Saw 6 Waterbuck, 5 females and 1 baby (S28°44.504 – E29°41.368)
14:30 At the ryefield I saw 13 Giraffes, 28 Zebra, 3 Blesbok, group of bachelor Impala and a big group of Impala ewes with lambs.
15:00 Back at office sorting photos
16:00 Went with Mike to pick up the staff
16:45 Home.
22/02/2008
Time Area and details of animal Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 22°C
Max temp: 30C
06:45 Took AFTW Vehicle to Ladysmith for service
13:30 Took staff to N3 highway to electrify fence after they cleared a way at Tugela
river for rhino fence.
14:30 At office trying to send e-mails
16:00 Fetch staff at N3 highway
16:30 Took staff home.
17:00 Home.
Monday, 25 February 2008
Weekly Reports 11 - 15th February 2008
11/02/2008
Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 21°
Max temp: 29°C
Weekend Rainfall:3½mm
07:30 Did report
08:00 Took sprayers to Cloustan’s fence to spray.
09:00 Went to Ladysmith to get cement for fence.
12:00 Got home, did e-mails
13:30 Went to do some welding on the rhino fence till 15:30
15:30 Went to fetch sprayers at fence.
16:30 Back home.
12/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 28°C
07:30 Did report and got sprayers ready for spraying.
08:00 Took sprayers to Geluk Fence to spray.
08:15 On the way saw 5 Waterbucks (2 females, 3 babies) near Ryefield.
09:30 Saw 5 Giraffes at the stream leading to Tugela River.
09:50 Got to the ryefield, saw 15 Zebras, group of Bachelor Impala, group of impala ewes with young.
10:00 Just as I got to the road from the ryefield, I saw a swarm of honey bees making their way towards the mountain.
10:20 At the 2 ponds near the main gate I saw the 2 White-faced Ducks with their 6 ducklings. Their also were 3 Kudus in the bushes near by.
11:30 Got to the pond at the foot of the mountain to see if that Waterbuck female was there that I saw on numerous occasions there. She was not, only a flock of Weaver birds.
12:10 Left the dam to go to the top of the mountain.
12:30 Saw 25 Zebras, could only see 2 foals.
13:00 Went to weld the support beams on, on the corner posts for the rhino fence at ryefield next to the river.
15:30 Finished welding.
15:40 Dropped of the welding equipment to go and fetch the sprayers at Geluk fence line.
16:30 Back home.
13/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Did Report
08:00 Trouble starting the truck, had to recharge battery and give it a jump start.
09:00 Took Michael to Geluk to patrol the fence and check on the animals.
10:30 Went with Mike to drop reinforcing pipes for the Rhino fence corner posts to be able to support the cable.
11:30 Started to weld a frame for the cable, to make it easier and faster to pull the cable.
15:45 Finished the frame, went to pick up staff at the N3 fence line.
16:30 Took staff home.
17:00 Back home.
14/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 21
Max temp: 28°C
07:45 Took staff to N3 fence line to put up electric fencing.
10:10 Saw 5 Giraffes in the road going to the ryefield.
10:15 Saw 5 Waterbuck, 2 Females with 3 Babies next to Ryefield ( S28°44.544 – E29°41.560)
10:20 Saw 21 Zebras, 3 Blesbok, 26 Impala rams, 41 Impala ewes with babies and Waterbuck baby standing with the Impala’s.
10:45 2 x Kudu calves at the 2 ponds near the main gate.
11:00 On my way back I saw 3 of the baby Giraffes standing next to the road near the Ryefield with 13 Zebras standing near them.
12:00 Sorted photos out of animals I photographed.
14:00 Meeting
15:00 Went to pond at the foot of the mountain, saw nothing there.
15:35 Drove up to lodge, saw 2 Mountain Reedbuck, 1 Female with a baby (S28°44.581 E29°40.880)
15:55 Arrived at lodge, saw nothing there.
16:00 Went to ryefield again with Michael and Mandla to show them the waterbuck Baby, couldn’t find it, only saw the mother looking for it.
16:30 Home.
14/02/2008
Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 22°C
Max temp: 31°C
06:45 – 16:00
Took AFTW Vehicle for service, spend the whole day in Ladysmith waiting for the vehicle.
16:30 Home.
Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 21°
Max temp: 29°C
Weekend Rainfall:3½mm
07:30 Did report
08:00 Took sprayers to Cloustan’s fence to spray.
09:00 Went to Ladysmith to get cement for fence.
12:00 Got home, did e-mails
13:30 Went to do some welding on the rhino fence till 15:30
15:30 Went to fetch sprayers at fence.
16:30 Back home.
12/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 28°C
07:30 Did report and got sprayers ready for spraying.
08:00 Took sprayers to Geluk Fence to spray.
08:15 On the way saw 5 Waterbucks (2 females, 3 babies) near Ryefield.
09:30 Saw 5 Giraffes at the stream leading to Tugela River.
09:50 Got to the ryefield, saw 15 Zebras, group of Bachelor Impala, group of impala ewes with young.
10:00 Just as I got to the road from the ryefield, I saw a swarm of honey bees making their way towards the mountain.
10:20 At the 2 ponds near the main gate I saw the 2 White-faced Ducks with their 6 ducklings. Their also were 3 Kudus in the bushes near by.
11:30 Got to the pond at the foot of the mountain to see if that Waterbuck female was there that I saw on numerous occasions there. She was not, only a flock of Weaver birds.
12:10 Left the dam to go to the top of the mountain.
12:30 Saw 25 Zebras, could only see 2 foals.
13:00 Went to weld the support beams on, on the corner posts for the rhino fence at ryefield next to the river.
15:30 Finished welding.
15:40 Dropped of the welding equipment to go and fetch the sprayers at Geluk fence line.
16:30 Back home.
13/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 26°C
07:30 Did Report
08:00 Trouble starting the truck, had to recharge battery and give it a jump start.
09:00 Took Michael to Geluk to patrol the fence and check on the animals.
10:30 Went with Mike to drop reinforcing pipes for the Rhino fence corner posts to be able to support the cable.
11:30 Started to weld a frame for the cable, to make it easier and faster to pull the cable.
15:45 Finished the frame, went to pick up staff at the N3 fence line.
16:30 Took staff home.
17:00 Back home.
14/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 21
Max temp: 28°C
07:45 Took staff to N3 fence line to put up electric fencing.
10:10 Saw 5 Giraffes in the road going to the ryefield.
10:15 Saw 5 Waterbuck, 2 Females with 3 Babies next to Ryefield ( S28°44.544 – E29°41.560)
10:20 Saw 21 Zebras, 3 Blesbok, 26 Impala rams, 41 Impala ewes with babies and Waterbuck baby standing with the Impala’s.
10:45 2 x Kudu calves at the 2 ponds near the main gate.
11:00 On my way back I saw 3 of the baby Giraffes standing next to the road near the Ryefield with 13 Zebras standing near them.
12:00 Sorted photos out of animals I photographed.
14:00 Meeting
15:00 Went to pond at the foot of the mountain, saw nothing there.
15:35 Drove up to lodge, saw 2 Mountain Reedbuck, 1 Female with a baby (S28°44.581 E29°40.880)
15:55 Arrived at lodge, saw nothing there.
16:00 Went to ryefield again with Michael and Mandla to show them the waterbuck Baby, couldn’t find it, only saw the mother looking for it.
16:30 Home.
14/02/2008
Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 22°C
Max temp: 31°C
06:45 – 16:00
Took AFTW Vehicle for service, spend the whole day in Ladysmith waiting for the vehicle.
16:30 Home.
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Weekly Report 4th - 8th February 2008
04/02/200
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 19°C
Max temp: 24°C
WeekendRainfall: 5mm
07:30 Did report and emails.
08:00 Power cut from Eskom. Dropped sprayers at back of mountain for fence.
10:00 Took a hike towards mountain. Turned towards the dam at the base of the mountain, where I made a horrible discovery. I found Squirt in the grass. It seems that the Jackals had gotten to him the previous night.
10:30 Hannes went with Mike to help with the Rhino fence.
13:00 Came back and worked on the fact file and photos.
15:00 Went to pick up the sprayers from the back at the fence.
16:00 Back home.
05/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Getting everything ready for fencing.
08:00 Drove towards mountain.
09:40 Saw the 4 baby Giraffes on the way to mountain (S28°43.867 – E29°40.684 )
10:00 Saw 1 lone Kudu Bull just as I got to the top of UmPhafa Mountain (S28°43.006 - E29°40.140 )
10:20 Saw only 1 Blesbok male at the top of the mountain near pond 9 (S28°42.487 - E29°40.465 )
11:00 Saw 1 lone Kudu cow on my way back from mountain (S28°43.796 – E 29°40.465 )
13:30 Went to help with the fencing till 15:00
16:00 Released an African Rock Python that we got from a local farmer. He caught the snake in his chicken pen eating his chickens. The snake is about 3m long, a bit bigger than the first one we released. We released it at the same spot as the first one. (S28°44.331 – E29°39.205 )
06/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 25°C
Rainfall: 3mm
07:30 Did report
10:00 Went to Winterton to pick up Chemicals for the spraying of the fence. Arrived back home at 12:30.
13:30 Went to Geluk to check on all the dams and their water level. Saw nothing on the way, only a European Roller on the power line. The dams looked good and almost full on Geluk.
15:20 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, saw 2 Common Reedbuck on the way.
16:00 At the pond I saw 1 Female Waterbuck.
16:30 Back home.
07/02/2008
Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 19°C
Max temp: 28°C
07:30 Got everything ready for sprayers to go and spray at Cloustan’s fence
08:00 Took sprayers away to go and spray at Cloustan’s fence line.
10:20 Went to dam at foot of mountain, saw the same Waterbuck female as the previous day (S28°43.721 – E29°41.024)
11:00 Drove to ryefield, saw 18 Impala males, ± 40 Impala females with lambs, 15 Zebras and 1 Warthog male on the ryefield (S28°44.555 – E29°41.808 )
11:20 Just as I made my way to the main road from the ryefield 8 Kudus ran across the field, 7 females and 1 young male.
11:45 Went to check on the lodge, everything is fine there. On my way back I heard 2 Black-eyed Bulbuls making a big noise, when I stopped to investigate the problem, I saw one of their new born chicks fell out of the nest. Went back home to fetch a ladder, to put the little bird back nest.
12:10 Put the little bird back in his nest.
13:10 Went to Ladysmith to get washing machine part.
15:45 Went to pick up sprayers at Cloustan’s fence line.
16:30 Back home
07/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 31°C
07:30 Report
08:00 Took sprayers to Cloustan’s fence line.
09:00 Welding Rhino fence.
11:00 Pick up staff, started to rain.
12:40 Took staff back to N3, to continue fencing.
13:55 Went with Mike to test electric fence to see if there is any fault on the line along the Tugela river. Saw a Pygmy Kingfisher sitting on fence.
15:30 Went to pick up sprayers at Cloustan’s fence.
15:45 On the way saw 2 White-Faced Ducks with 5 ducklings at the 2 ponds at the main gate.
16:30 Back home
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 19°C
Max temp: 24°C
WeekendRainfall: 5mm
07:30 Did report and emails.
08:00 Power cut from Eskom. Dropped sprayers at back of mountain for fence.
10:00 Took a hike towards mountain. Turned towards the dam at the base of the mountain, where I made a horrible discovery. I found Squirt in the grass. It seems that the Jackals had gotten to him the previous night.
10:30 Hannes went with Mike to help with the Rhino fence.
13:00 Came back and worked on the fact file and photos.
15:00 Went to pick up the sprayers from the back at the fence.
16:00 Back home.
05/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 24°C
07:30 Getting everything ready for fencing.
08:00 Drove towards mountain.
09:40 Saw the 4 baby Giraffes on the way to mountain (S28°43.867 – E29°40.684 )
10:00 Saw 1 lone Kudu Bull just as I got to the top of UmPhafa Mountain (S28°43.006 - E29°40.140 )
10:20 Saw only 1 Blesbok male at the top of the mountain near pond 9 (S28°42.487 - E29°40.465 )
11:00 Saw 1 lone Kudu cow on my way back from mountain (S28°43.796 – E 29°40.465 )
13:30 Went to help with the fencing till 15:00
16:00 Released an African Rock Python that we got from a local farmer. He caught the snake in his chicken pen eating his chickens. The snake is about 3m long, a bit bigger than the first one we released. We released it at the same spot as the first one. (S28°44.331 – E29°39.205 )
06/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 25°C
Rainfall: 3mm
07:30 Did report
10:00 Went to Winterton to pick up Chemicals for the spraying of the fence. Arrived back home at 12:30.
13:30 Went to Geluk to check on all the dams and their water level. Saw nothing on the way, only a European Roller on the power line. The dams looked good and almost full on Geluk.
15:20 Went to the pond at the foot of the mountain, saw 2 Common Reedbuck on the way.
16:00 At the pond I saw 1 Female Waterbuck.
16:30 Back home.
07/02/2008
Weather: Sunny
Min temp: 19°C
Max temp: 28°C
07:30 Got everything ready for sprayers to go and spray at Cloustan’s fence
08:00 Took sprayers away to go and spray at Cloustan’s fence line.
10:20 Went to dam at foot of mountain, saw the same Waterbuck female as the previous day (S28°43.721 – E29°41.024)
11:00 Drove to ryefield, saw 18 Impala males, ± 40 Impala females with lambs, 15 Zebras and 1 Warthog male on the ryefield (S28°44.555 – E29°41.808 )
11:20 Just as I made my way to the main road from the ryefield 8 Kudus ran across the field, 7 females and 1 young male.
11:45 Went to check on the lodge, everything is fine there. On my way back I heard 2 Black-eyed Bulbuls making a big noise, when I stopped to investigate the problem, I saw one of their new born chicks fell out of the nest. Went back home to fetch a ladder, to put the little bird back nest.
12:10 Put the little bird back in his nest.
13:10 Went to Ladysmith to get washing machine part.
15:45 Went to pick up sprayers at Cloustan’s fence line.
16:30 Back home
07/02/2008
Weather: Overcast
Min temp: 20°C
Max temp: 31°C
07:30 Report
08:00 Took sprayers to Cloustan’s fence line.
09:00 Welding Rhino fence.
11:00 Pick up staff, started to rain.
12:40 Took staff back to N3, to continue fencing.
13:55 Went with Mike to test electric fence to see if there is any fault on the line along the Tugela river. Saw a Pygmy Kingfisher sitting on fence.
15:30 Went to pick up sprayers at Cloustan’s fence.
15:45 On the way saw 2 White-Faced Ducks with 5 ducklings at the 2 ponds at the main gate.
16:30 Back home
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