News / Camp News

Vumbura Plains - September 2009

19 Oct 2009

The sun has just risen over a typical Vumbura floodplain bringing with it the mild to warm September weather. A gentle breeze blows through a nearby sausage tree causing the large, maroon flowers to drop gently to the ground, which in turn has attracted a small herd of kudu to the immediate vicinity. All of a sudden, a small movement of white appears from deep within the foliage of the tree and the kudu break the silence of the early morning as they make a frantic dash to escape from under the canopy. Once the excitement and the noise dies down, a somewhat disappointed sub-adult male leopard climbs slowly down from the sausage tree and disappears into the tall grasses below.

This is how the month of September started here at Vumbura Plains South.

The remainder of the month continued in much the same manner, with frequent sightings of the shy male leopard. The majority of trees shed their leaves over the month and the maroon sausage tree flowers continued to drop to the ground below, attracting antelope such as kudu and impala. The main inland areas of Vumbura Plains have dried up considerably, and the game has moved onto the dried-out floodplains where new shoots are beginning to sprout.

Sightings this month include two prides of lions, the Kubu and the Eastern prides. Guests were lucky enough to watch these lions on three different kills: two buffalo kills and one zebra kill. Two of the lionesses from the Eastern Pride disappeared later in the month; they were last seen on the zebra carcass near Boundary Crossing, and it is suspected that they may be having cubs.

Our wild dog pack of ten has also been seen fairly regularly - on almost a weekly basis. The dogs have been seen on impala kills on two separate occasions this month, with some spotted hyaena not too far behind. Vuka, the Vumbura male cheetah, who left for a dry area when the flood came up, returned at the end of the month with a very large belly - clearly he has been eating well.

With the water drying up rapidly, trapping fish in the fast-dwindling pools, bird sightings have been amazing. Most small pans have had large amounts of pelicans feasting on the trapped fish all month.

The big highlight for this month has to be the two white rhino that were last seen at the beginning of the year. Obonye (OB), our head guide, tracked and found both rhino at the top end of the Kwedi Concession, close to the buffalo fence. OB called in the sighting, allowing the majority of Vumbura vehicles to witness this amazing sighting from a safe and unimposing distance of approximately 150 metres away. The rhino were not bothered by the vehicles and tolerated all the excitement without any fuss - true star quality!

September was a great month for game here at Vumbura and we are expecting to have an even better October.

The managers and guides at Vumbura Plains in September were:
Managers: Warren Baty, Cheri Marshall & Kgabiso Lehare at South Camp.
Gordon Karovsky, Tanya Karovsky & Phenyot Tlalenyane at North Camp
Guides: Obonye Kamela (OB), Setsile Chikusi (ST) & Banyatsang Shakwa (Ban) at South Camp.
Onamile Lekgopho (Ona), Sebonta Thekiso (Zee) & Keraetswe Bosigo (Madala K) at North Camp.

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