Rangers Diary
Rangers Diary May 2013
As Always May sees the onset of the coming winter months and animals are forced to stretch out, walking long distances to find suitable places to feed. Plants begin to reduce sending nutrients to the leaves and actually reverse the cycle by transporting nutrients back to their roots to keep them strong for winter.
Like with other months, May kept us busy with lots of exciting things happening on the reserve. The most exciting of this was that we darted 3 of our buffalo bulls and swopped them with another game reserve in order to enhance our buffalo’s blood line and genetics, by doing this we are getting new bulls on our farm to avoid inbreeding in our buffalos herds.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RANGERS DIARY MAY 2013
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Rangers Diary April 2013
April brought with it rain and Easter. We had good rains this past month, and we hope it was not the last before winter; our dams are not as full as expected, and a few last showers would be a welcome for the dry season ahead.
The memories of Easter holidays linger, as it was all fun and games at Mabula Game Lodge. With our entertainment manager Fatima Sheik keeping all the young ones extremely busy with her daily entertainment programmes, the parents enjoyed their time around our Main Poll area and bar. Our stables also contributed to this wonderful weekend and our adventure trails manager Mara, kept the kiddies entertained with horse rides at the lodge for those children too young to go out alone on horseback. Wish you were there!!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RANGERS DIARY APRIL 2013
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Rangers Diary March 2013
March started off very well and we experienced some good rain, it came at the right time when the reserve needed it the most, and we hope we will get more before the winter sets in.
I would like to remind all our guests that will be coming to Mabula that on the 1st of April we will also be changing our safari times from summer to winter so in other words Morning Safaris will depart at 06H30 and afternoon safaris depart at 15H30. We also advise our guests who are coming to Mabula for the first time to pack in nice warm clothes for the upcoming months as it can get quite chilly on safari; we also provide ponchos that have a blanket lining as extra protection against the elements.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RANGERS DIARY MARCH 2013
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Rangers Diary February 2013
February is the month with lots of happenings, even though the month is very short, one would want it to be February for the whole year. On the 21st February it is international guides day, where all the guides come together and meet each other, last year it was hosted here at Mabula Game Lodge, it was a day with lots of fun, and this year Northern Cape was the one who got a chance to spoil all the guides. It’s good to see our government supporting the guides so much.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RANGERS DIARY FEBRUARY 2013
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Rangers Diary January 2013
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome YOU the guests of Mabula Game Lodge, and further invite those that have not been to this beautiful reserve. Allow me to take you on an unforgettable journey through Mabula Game Lodge which has been in the industry for more than 30 years, Mabula Game Lodge is endowed with its exciting game viewing opportunities.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RANGERS DIARY JANUARY 2013
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Rangers Diary For Mabula – December 2012
December was a month full of fun and enjoyment for our guests, with everybody looking forward to the Christmas parties and celebrations, we at Mabula did not stand back made sure that our guests got a good memorable holiday with us this December
Rain
Rain has once again been good during December and this has helped our dams as they were extremely low, however due to the fantastic rains had our dams have filled up nicely and there is an abundance of surface water again
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Rangers Diary for mabula – November 2012
November has come and gone again and it has been a wonderful month for all of us. The reserve is looking wonderfully good with the 70mm rain we had so far for November, in total up to 109mm rain has fallen from the beginning of the wet season..
As always all our guests couldn’t wait to get on the game viewers to enjoy that which Mabula is renowned for which is Safari’s beyond your wildest expectations.
On Safari we experience a myriad of questions and I would like to answer at least one a month.
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Rangers Diary for Mabula – October 2012
At last Summer has finally arrived and we have experienced some wonderful rain during the month of October, we had about 39 mm rain in total and the bush is coming alive again. However with the much needed rain we have also experienced some wild thunderstorms and lightning from two of these storms had created bushfires one on Rainmeter Plain and the other near Sunset Hill, we are as ever extremely vigilant against fires and I am proud to announce that neither of these fires got very far as our Reserve team reacted with great speed to put both out before they became a real menace.
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Rangers Diary for Mabula – June 2012
Winter is a time in the bush, where most animal’s time will be consumed by basking in the sun, to obtain body heat in order to regulate their body temperatures, however there does come a time, usually when viewing these mega herbivores on foot, that they are surprised and dart for the water, where they seek safety, but show their unhappiness by yawning and vocalising.
Rangers Diary for Mabula – June 2012
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Rangers Diary May 2012
Winter is a time, in the African Bushveld, when most of the plants and trees retract their nutrients and store them, as a reserve, in their root systems, to ration nutrients and be able to survive the winter. Here at Mabula, which is an area known as mixed Bushveld (sourveld), nutrients become very scarce and animals are forced to work harder, use more metabolic energy in order to obtain a sustainable amount of food in order to survive.
Mabula Rangers Diary – May 2012
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March 2012
Winter, as it approaches over the horizon, brings with it an abundance of change, to the way animals and reptiles behave as well as the most obvious change, which is the astetics of the bush here on Mabula.
Let’s begin talking about the vegetation, and the “not so obvious” changes which do occur, like the trees and grasses retracting their nutrients into the roots, storing them for the following seasonal changes, because the location of Mabula is found in are area deemed as sourveld.
Plants and trees go into a semi dormant stage, whereby only vital systems will receive a limited amount of nutrients, and through correct regulation, will allow the plant to carry through to the following season.
Read more – Rangers diary March 2012
Mabula Ranger’s Diary
December 2011
As with every month, March was another wonderful month at Mabula Private Game Lodge. I know exactly where to start, because this gives us some serious bragging rights! On the 15th of March the Mabula wildlife services department attended the world tourist guides day at Zebula country lodge hosted by the department of economic development, environment and tourism. Lots of fun was had by all and it was good to network with other guides from around the lovely province of Limpopo.
However the highlight of the day was the announcement of the Provincial tourist guide awards and yes indeed we are all very proud to say that we work with the provinces number one guide! Isaiah Banda one of the senior rangers here at Mabula was named Limpopo’s number one guide for 2011 and this puts him in line to go to the National guide awards, to potentially become the number one guide in the country.
Well done Banda!
So as we are heading into autumn, the Flora of the reserve will be going through a serious face lift. With everything getting slightly dried out and the trees and grasses going into hibernation, however we have still been having the typical late afternoon summer Highveld thunder showers which are always welcomed by the Fauna and Flora alike.
And with this same seasonal change marks the starting point for migration and in particular the migration of many Mabula bird species. Such as the Amur falcon which travels to the River Amur in China, it is about a three week trip over the Indian Ocean. The flocks of European bee eaters which breed here on Mabula, but leave our colder winter months for the beautiful summer days in France and Italy. And how can we forget the brilliant blue Woodland Kingfisher whose captivating call always marks the beginning of summer will be leaving us for the hot equatorial countries of Africa. With all this said winter is still a very beautiful time in the bush and generally assists with sightings as the vegetation is not as dense offering less cover for the animals.
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Mabula Game Lodge
June 19, 2013 at 11:14 am Dine under an African sky accompanied by the rhythmic beat of traditional African dancers. A must for you bucket list!
Mabula Game Lodge
June 18, 2013 at 3:47 pm Ever thought of a Conference in the bush away from the distractions of the city? Contact us at Mabula and take advantage of our amazing conference packages on offer!
