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
