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August 2008 Sanctuary Talking

SALES TEAM UPDATE

Director of Sales and Marketing

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Peter Dros, Director of Sales & Marketing for Sanctuary Lodges & Camps Southern Africa, effective 1st August 2008.

Peter joins us from Mala Mala Game Reserve where he spent 12 years and has vast experience on the operational and sales aspects of the luxury lodge business.

Above: Sanctuary Sales & Marketing Team, from left to right, Allison Budde, Bridget Stephenson, Ntare Mojapelo, Yolandi Scanes and Peter Dros.

RESERVATION TEAM UPDATE

We also welcome Kgomotso Mogonediwa who joined the Reservations team as a junior.

Wedding Bells

Vanessa Binne from our Reservations Department is getting married on 9 August; we wish her and her future husband all the best for their new future together.

BOTSWANA UPDATE

GREEN SEASON

Green Season is the perfect time to view newborn mammals, summer flowers, the migration of rare birds and predator viewing remains great! The season is characterised by warm, sunny days with short afternoon thundershowers. These rates are valid for bookings made after 15 August 2008 and for reservations between 01 December 2008 and 31 March 2009.

CHOBE CHILWERO

Kaye who prefers to be called Sky joined the Chilwero team as a guide in June. He witnessed one of those rare encounters between Africa’s largest land dwelling animal, the elephant and the master of stealth, the leopard on one of his afternoon game drives. The leopard was up in a tree having an afternoon siesta when one bull elephant came out of the herd heading towards the tree. Upon reaching the tree the bull simply started rubbing itself against the tree as they usually do when scratching, seemingly oblivious to the presence of the leopard. The tree began to shake quite considerably due to the rubbing and the leopard let out a loud growl which startled the elephant. The elephant looked and stretched its trunk full length in a bid to catch the leopard. The whole herd then came and started shaking the tree vigorously trying to push it over. The leopard headed for the tallest branch but after a while realized that it was losing the battle as it literally clung for dear life onto the thinnest of branches. Plucking up enough courage, it came halfway down the tree and made a huge leap into the nearest bushes and disappeared quickly before the elephants could give chase.

CHIEF'S CAMP

A bountiful month of game viewing… A baby giraffe was hunted down by a lioness during the day on the outskirts of the camp. She was then chased by an elephant and eventually came back to spend the rest of day and night feeding on the kill. The following evening she was chased off again by about 15 hyenas, which stayed on the carcass until the early the next morning, when they were in turn chased off by 2 nomadic males. The males stayed on until mid day when they moved off down the Boro road. The same lioness (we believe) again came right through the camp the following day stalking some impala. She may be pregnant and was definitely hungry. Guests managed to get a wonderful sighting of her stalking the impala for a while, unfortunately she was unsuccessful…

BAINES' CAMP

The young are plentiful, with beautiful lion cubs and their protective mother’s seen on a few occasions and elephants were mock charging the vehicle to protect their precious little ones. Guests were enthralled when four male lions made a buffalo kill not too far from the lodge; it was amazing to witness the entire feeding frenzy with the numerous sounds that accompany this ritual. Leopards were seen on a number of occasions, one with a kill up a tree and a hungry hyena skulking near by.

STANLEY'S CAMP

Something extremely different was the sighting of a pack of hyenas feeding on a dead zebra. For our USA family a hyena sighting was high on their list of priorities, but they never expected to see twenty five hyenas in broad daylight fighting and snapping at each other over their meal. They took loads of photos and the sight was indeed amazing and unusual. The lioness with her four cubs was a major people pleaser, as well as a female leopard up a tree with her fresh impala kills. Breeding herds of elephants, courting giraffes, Hyena mums with their pups, and huge herds of buffalo were also seen this past month.

ZAMBIA UPDATE

Sanctuary Donates to Chilanga Hospice

“I write on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Management and staff of the Hospice. We would like to extend our gratitude and thanks for your kind gesture to donate assorted towels, bed linen, table cloths, mattress protectors, bath mats, tent linings, assorted cushions and shower curtains to our institution. It is with great pleasure that we thank you for choosing our Hospice for your donation. It is with such tireless efforts and contributions that we are able to continue the work we are doing in our community. We must say that we are sincerely appreciate the donation and can assure you that it will be put to good use. Once again thank you very much. God bless you. Yours Sincerely MOTHER OF MERCY HOSPICE TRUST”.

SUSSI & CHUMA

This awe-inspiring retreat just received a new addition…
The stunning rim-flow pool, which makes you wonder where the pool ends and the great Zambezi starts, just adds to the superb water activities that this luxury lodge has to offer. The gentle sound of the water will allow guests to relax and enjoy sundowners and leisurely afternoons by the pool deck, or take a dip in the pool and cool down from the hot African sun, all while watching the beautiful sunset over the Zambezi River. Guests can also take romantic sunset river cruises in Sussi & Chuma’s private eight seater boats.

CHICHELE PRESIDENTIAL LODGE

A little personal tribute to Chichele - Peter Elliott, Auckland 08

the white lady of the hill beckons, Grace and favour, the tendrils of peace, drift, blessings from a welcoming hearth
a billion stars foam and sizzle above, and here, and only here, they touch the ground who showed the chairman and the king, why, what tribute owed, what honour bestowed queens and princes and despots, fat with fear - the affairs of state and the agents of calamity, the crawling millipedes, in muddy minds, come, slow now, over the chinese bridges the lady’s arms open, inside a wall-less gate, Nuisance (the elephant) roams, men must wait, be here still
the spiral arms of our milky universe, bring a circle of blessing, benediction, release, and calm and the song, the song is given, wells up, heart free, offering balm, to the battered or bewildered, or the broken
O Chichele - quest less grace, white on an antic hill, somewhere deep, deep in Africa the earth cares, and the heavens mind

A little part of my soul remains there, beside the pool under that panoply of skylights with Geoffrey and friends singing, like nowhere else on earth. A thousand thank-you’s.

PUKU RIDGE LODGE

Puku Ridge Camp is situated in a remote wildlife rich area in the South Luangwa National Park and is named after the elusive Puku antelope that inhabits the Kakumbi Dambo (floodplain), which the camp overlooks. This camp, built on a hillside, is small and intimate and provides stunning vistas of the floodplain and the wildlife that frequents it, offering day long entertainment as wildlife is always in abundance, whether it is a 300 strong heard of buffalo, a journey of Thornicroft Giraffe, a lone leopard in pursuit of an unsuspecting puku, or baboons playing for hours. Other wildlife to be seen include elephant, lion, wild dog, a wide variety of antelope and prolific bird life. A full range of day and night game drives in the South Luangwa National Park are offered by the camp, using open 4X4 vehicles driven by knowledgeable guides. The emphasis in this area is on the wonderful opportunities of walking safaris with a professional guide and an armed national parks scout. Walking safaris offer a different perspective on the bush and its plentiful inhabitants.

New images of this camp are available on http//www.sanctuarylodges.com/images – please credit Sanctuary Lodges & Camps when using these.

ZAMBEZI KULEFU CAMP

Zambezi Kulefu Camp has opened its doors…
This tented camp manages to capture the essence of the Zambezi with its mixture of strength and tranquillity. Kulefu, which means “the faraway place”, opened on 20 July 2008 and is located on a permanent channel of the Zambezi in the cool shade of a grove of Winterthorn Acacias. Six spacious canvas tents surround the magnificent Bedouin-style central area. Lit at night only by the glow of the campfire and traditional paraffin lamps makes for a truly authentic bush experience, to which Sanctuary adds a touch of luxury with gourmet dining and five-star service. This seasonal camp operates from mid April to mid November each year.

EAST AFRICA UPDATE

GORILLA FOREST CAMP, UGANDA

GFC guests and staff were treated to a very rare Gorilla visit in the very early hours of the 24th of July. The visit by the Rushegura family of gorillas was the closest and most exciting viewing of all time. As guests had breakfast while preparing to begin their day of tracking, the whole family of 14 Gorillas spread themselves all over the well manicured lawn. The highlight of the moment was when the silverback approached the reception with the young black backs (males) in tow to investigate who the similar Silverback on our reception window was. As he got closer to study the other gorilla (his reflection on the window), the other silverback approached too, prompting him to back off and watch him at a distance. He did this several times and had a chest thumping session to the delight of all the guests, staff and rangers who were watching the free show. After a while he seemed to leave the reception to the other silverback (his reflection) and embarked on enjoying the sumptuous bushes. The group then spent the next 5 hours on GFC land before departing deeper into the forest.

OLONANA, KENYA

The area has been fairly hot and dry throughout July but with some scattered, heavy downpours of rain in the late afternoon that have lasted well into the night. As a consequence the river volume is quite high and the grass is turning green once again. The Great Migration continues apace. Our guides estimate that around 10-12,000 wildebeest have now made the crossing; several hundred have already reached the immediate vicinity of Olonana. This July Olonana hosted a delegation from the US to discuss environmental issues. The delegation met children from the local Maasai school, Olopikidongoi, who performed traditional dances and poetry recitals for them, participated in planting a tree as part of our reforestation programme, and listened to a talk given by Brian Heath, Head of the Mara Conservancy.

KUSINI, TANZANIA

Kusini is the only permanent tented camp in this area of the Serengeti National Park, which affords quests a rare opportunity for exclusive game drives and intimate walking encounters. Lately the days are clear and warm and evenings cool. Guests were thrilled at the sight of a large male elephant that came into camp to feed between tents 3 & 4. There are still a lot of sightings of cheetah and lion and in the area. Close to the air strip Bat Eared Fox and Black Backed Jackal dens always provide good viewing.

SWALA, TANZANIA

Eighteen Wild dogs were spotted several times north east of the river. There was also a pride of lions which fed on a dead elephant in the river bed which provided good viewing for many days. The highlight in camp was a sighting of 3 fringe-eared Oryx which galloped past. Game viewing is improving as the areas beyond the park borders are getting drier. The zebra and wildebeest are returning to the park as are the elephants. There have also been several sightings of 2 sets of cheetahs. One is a mother with 2 sub adults and the other set is a coalition of 3 males. The camp waterhole is very productive with daily visits from elephant, waterbuck, zebra and impala.

DISH OF THE MONTH

Raspberry Cinnamon Streusel Tart
(Courtesy of Chobe Chilwero)

Ingredients:

150g blanched ground almonds
150g butter
150g castor sugar
150g self raising flour
2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 egg
250g raspberries
Icing sugar
Ice cream (vanilla)

Method:

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