Rob and Heidi Wightman have joined the management team at Chobe Chilwero during the course of the month. Heidi comes in from a hospitality background having worked in up market boutique hotels in Europe for the past three years. Rob's mechanical background will be of great help in the smooth running of the lodge. A warm welcome to the team and we look forward to achieving great things together.

Living With Elephants

February got off to a shaky start with Jabu struggling to walk due a stiff and painful front left leg. For a number of days he was spending a considerable amount of time lying down on his side to avoid putting any weight the leg. When he was on his feet he never travelled far from a termite mound which he could use to flop down against. After a week or so, the leg and wrist joint started to loosen up and he quickly improved to the point of full recovery much to our relief.

The 2006 Elephant Outreach Program is in full swing with children mainly from public, as well as, a few private schools making frequent visits to our camp and to the elephant trio. The elephants, after their month long break from guests are very eager to see people again and we find ourselves having to temper their enthusiasm as they compete to introduce themselves to our guests.

Field Notes By Doug Groves ( www.livingwithelephants.org/news.htm)

27 Feb 2006

Bright and early Morula, Thembi, Jabu, Leano and Casey (an environmental education specialist from Canada ) and I embarked upon an exploratory expedition west of camp, toward Ebony Island . Our main mission was to see if we could find ripe Morula fruit. After slogging through freshly flooded swamp and winding our way through waist high bur-bristle grass we found that the fruit on the first tree was still green and not yet ready to harvest.

Ditto for the next two trees along the trail. Finally at the fourth tree we found the forest floor full of freshly fallen Morula fruit. Small golf-ball sized globes in shades of green and gold were greedily gathered and gobbled with the delicate fleshy fingers of great grey trunks. After the long trek it felt good to rest in the cool shade of the magnificent Morula. This beautiful tree Sclerocarya birrea is among the most valued of all indigenous species. A cherished food source for many mammals, elephants play a big roll in the distribution and germination of its seeds. The morula fruit is used by man as a highly nutritious treat and brewed as an alcoholic beverage. The seeds can be eaten raw or cooked, burned like little candles or the oil extract used for cosmetic purposes. The trees bark, also a favourite of elephants, is widely used by man to treat diarrhea as well as dysentery.

Casey had never tasted the fruit so we found a few soft yellow ones for her to sample. The stringy pulp clings tightly to a large central “stone” which protects 3 seeds. “To eat”, I demonstrated, “first remove the rubbery skin, then pop the whole juicy fruit into your mouth and suck.” I must have looked like a demented chipmunk. Chuckling Casey followed suit. As she was thinking about the taste, I humbly and rudely interjected my personal interpretation.

“It tastes to me like a blend of litchi and lime”. Casey courteously concurred. After we had our fill of fruit, Leano and I helped the elephants gather the leftovers then we moved onto explore the rest of the island.

BOTSWANA

Baines' Camp

The unusual rains have made the area lush and the weather has also become humid, although not too hot. Elephant still eludes us but a good variety of animals have been seen on drives - giraffe, zebra, kudu, red lechwe, tsessabe to name a few, are regularly seen. There have been some incredible leopard sightings everyday which is a real treat. On one game drive - 4 sightings and 2 kills! A pack of 16 wild dogs were spotted regularly at the beginning of the month, but seem to have moved out of the area for the time being.

We hear the mighty roar of lions every night but they somehow vanish when out on game drives, although this past week they have been spotted more frequently. The bird life is excellent this time of the year with the migrants still in the concession – a photographer's paradise indeed!

Some superb sightings this month have been of wild dog trying to take down a wildebeest that determinedly stood his ground. They then moved off to a herd of zebra focusing on a foal that was being “crushed” by 2 mares, while the rest of the herd successfully kept the dogs at bay. They were obviously not that hungry.

The unique and educational elephant activity is back on track, which has been greatly received by our guests who come back totally “in love” after their experience. Mokoro excursions are still not operational as the water levels are still to be assessed; however the motorboat activity is still being offered.

On the soccer front, we beat the Stanley 's Camp team! The victory was only just a victory….but a victory indeed.

We hosted a number of VIP guests at Baines' Camp this month including some prominent members of the music world.

“This camp and the staff have far exceeded my expectations – you are so wonderful. We got a glimpse of a lion today, elephant tour was an experience that I will cherish forever. Thank you all very much!!!”

Chris Goodyear

“Wonderful 3 days. Great people – very relaxing and enriching, thank you for making it such”

John and Jutta Kay

"Doug and his family was wonderful. I will never forget the long, wet, hot kiss Marula gave me. I thought she was going to suck my ears off. Doug and his wife are doing some very important work there. I don't think anybody can leave without a new wonder about those magnificent beings. They are truly awesome and need to be protected. "

J.K., Nashville

Chief's Camp

An extremely wet month for us as heavy rain has been experienced almost everyday. The temperatures have been very moderate for this time of the year with Mr Sun smiling on us only occasionally.

There have been some nice leopard, an abundance of lion on the prowl, scattered rhino sightings, a few buffalo as well as some hefty hippo. The bird life on the lake in front of the deck has been magnificent offering excellent snap shots. We have also had a number of giraffe around the camp and our resident hippo is back as well – welcome home.

One of the Mombo lion brothers walked through the camp providing some great excitement. We have also had wild dog near camp that remained close by for several days providing great viewing to our guests.

The rebuild at Chief's Camp continues with some delays due to the exceptional wet weather we have been experiencing, but the first 2 rooms have been completed and are looking wonderful!

We hosted a variety of VIP guests in camp ranging from the music and media world to an international tyre company. These guests had a tremendous time with us. We also hosted a group of fourteen travel agents late February who also had a wonderful time.

“Considering that we are in the bush, the service and care is unbelievable, best camp I have been to.”

Mr and Mrs Hawkings U.K.

“Management were awesome.”

Mr and Mrs Stretton U.K.

Chobe Chilwero

We are in the middle of summer and it is raining consistently. It comes mostly as heavy downpours for short periods of time in the afternoons and clears quite quickly. The temperatures have come down considerably averaging 24 degrees Celsius daily.

This month has provided great sightings of large elephant herds quite frequently. Despite the incessant rains, some animals are coming out onto the flood plains. The hippos are always the highlight for most cruises. The Chobe River is probably one of the few places where hippos completely come out of water in broad daylight and feed. They do not scare away in the presence of boats and provide guests with wonderful images to take home with them.

A special occurrence was a day that some guests decided to venture out very early one morning with Ishmael. They drove into the park at around 6.15 am. Their first sighting was a mother leopard with two adolescent cubs finishing off an impala carcass. These guests had indicated earlier to Ishmael that they really wanted to see leopard as they have been on many safaris without any success. There was plenty to see on this drive in terms of the other game. To finish off a successful morning on their way back they drove into a pride of 14 lions lazing around, probably after a good meal during the night as their bellies were quite extended.

We are actively participating in various community projects which include the new HIV/Aids charter that was recently unveiled in Kasane. We have encouraged our staff members to be part of this worthwhile cause and participate by engaging in fund raising activities organised by the charter.

Since December last year the lodge in its entirety has been under going some paint work. The main area comprising of the lounge, dining area, reception area and breezeway have been repainted. The colour is a shade lighter than the previous one and has brightened up the lodge complimenting the décor. Repainting is still in progress in the rooms but those that have been done already have been well received by our guests.

A funny incident submitted by Patrick Runyemba, General Manager of Chobe Chilwero

The other day one of our Russian guests came rushing to me just before afternoon tea shouting “crocodile, crocodile, room, room. Come see!”. I quickly called Gilbert, a guide, and dashed off to the guest's room. A lot of thoughts and ideas were racing through my mind as we made our way there. Where and how on earth could a crocodile travel all the way up from Chobe River in the middle of the day?

Gilbert and I were discussing the best way possible to deal with this uninvited friend of ours. He suggested covering its head with a blanket and depending on its size either moving it away or call Parks. As we approached the room we were greeted by our guests wife, who was quite hysterical and pointing her finger to a bush at the door. We went dead quiet and approached the bush very cautiously. Time seemed to have stopped for a minute until I heard Gilbert laughing from the other side of the bush. It was huge monitor lizard blissfully having an afternoon siesta. He was evidently not too impressed about having his midday rest disturbed judging from the loud hissing sound he made.

VIP guests at the lodge included owners and agents from international agencies as well as personnel in the media industry. We also hosted a site inspection for 16 Russian travel agents this month.

“We will take with us back a new understanding and love for Africa . Thank you for a special birthday celebration you arranged for us. We will come back again.

Everything was excellent. We particularly appreciated the attention Patrick and Alice, the managers afforded us.”

David and Elizabeth Chenoweth.

Stanley 's Camp

General game viewing has been excellent, with a number of predator sightings, considering the time of year and the current conditions. Pictured left, Andre Pretorius, Manager (Madala White) and Dicks, (Madala Green) on their way to collect guests at Baines' Camp. Pictured right, Zane Volker, Manager, on his way to his tent.

The leapards have made up the majority of our sightings and have been falling out of the trees to be spotted by our avid photographers. Lions have been seen on numerous occasions along with the occasional cheetah and wild dog. An exceptional sighting was a herd of over 100 Elephant near camp late this month!

Our Stanley 's Camp female leopard definitely takes the cake this month with all the impala kills she has been making. Quite a few of them being in clear sight of our awe-struck guests. We even had one situation where the guides and guests didn't know which way to go as there were three individual leopard sightings to choose to view - amazing!

The building project in the staff village is currently underway and should be completed soon. At the moment we also have an AIDS councilor in camp talking to staff about practicing safe sex and managing their health and body. The councilor's name is Caroline Mazongo who is from the District AIDS co-coordinating Unit. Caroline is a young lady in her twenties, dedicated to the education and control of the spread of HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa .

The best questions guests have asked staff members this month:

“What is the most dangerous side of a snake?”

“Do Giraffes hunt in packs?”

Below images courtesy of Harold Lassers who travelled to Botswana with wife, Pamela Lassers. The Lassers enjoyed accommodations at all 4 of our camps & lodges in Botswana and had a wonderful experience. Thank you so much for providing us with these wonderful images – the mating elephants are a truly rare sighting!

EAST AFRICA

Gorilla Forest Camp

Gorilla Forest Camp now connected via satellite

GFC can now be reached, and can now reach the world, via satellite phone. This phone was acquired in order to enhance our emergency preparedness as the only missing part of all our contingency plans was fast communication. Previously we would depend on driving two kilometers from the camp to get cell phone signal.

GFC Hosts Coffee dons

GFC hosted a team of top café owners for four days. This team was led by Mr. Henry Ngabirano who is the Director of the Uganda Coffee Board and included among others Mr. Shalom Urth, proprietor of the famous Urth café in the United States . This was Mr. Urth's second visit to GFC and it was he who insisted on passing by to rest as he showed off a wonderful holiday spot he knew….and this was……GFC. In fact they were so anxious to arrive at GFC that they checked out of their previous destination a day earlier and arrived at GFC a day before they were expected. What can we say………………simply irresistible!

GFC Supports the women's group

GFC has given the local women's group the guest entertainment tender as a way of supporting the group. The deal was struck as they are the only group who offer authentic Bakiga dances. Besides this, they have strong community development programs which GFC is supporting by paying for the dance performances. Among these projects are re-forestation of the deforested areas around Bwindi and a nursery school for the underprivileged. They are credited to have started the nursery which was the first institution of learning in Bwindi.

Olonana

The Mara finally received some rain recently although it was not much. There have been scattered showers everyday for about a week which has provided some relief from the heat, although it is still very hot and the rain seems to soak away into the parched earth. Despite the drought, game viewing has been phenomenal this month.

There has been numerous leopard sightings and the leopard, Ziwadi, who was regularly seen across the river from the lodge, has moved up to the start of leopard gorge with her two cubs. She has been seen on numerous occasions by very happy guests as she does not seem to be shy of the vehicles. Photo, left, courtesy of our guest, Bill Robinson.

Guests witnessed the Musiara Marsh pride of 13 lions making a kill of three buffalo at once! As far as can be established, this is the first time in a very long time that this has happened in the Mara. Two weeks later the pride took down another buffalo, who was possibly weakened by the drought.

We still have a number of wildebeest in the Mara but due to the poor rainfall in the Serengeti many of the wildebeest opted to having their calves in Kenya rather than the traditional calving grounds in Southern Serengeti.

The “Out of Africa” lion pride is doing well and the cubs are as endearing as ever – giving guests many hours of pleasure.

It is suspected that Mary, the female rhino. is pregnant but only time will tell. We are all holding thumbs and hoping for a rhino calf in the near future. Many other animals have been dropping their calves over the past month and there seem to be new babies in every herd – a wonderful sight!

An extended electric fence had to be installed at camp in order to keep the hippos out of the camp - as we recently had a hippo that wanted to try out our pool! The camp has been busy this past month with individual bookings as well as 4 large groups and we also hosted a couple celebrating their 50 th Wedding anniversary.

Our field guides have commenced their three week annual training with the help of Gordon Omondi, an expert guide and trainer. The training includes both written and practical work and the driver guides are very enthusiastic and are thoroughly enjoying the sessions.

We have revamped our menus based on feedback from our guests on their preferences which will commence from March. Over the past month we have tried and tested the new menus and have received a very positive response. Lighter lunch meals will be served and we will be introducing local recipes - “African Night” - on request.

Enjema (be well)

Kusini

February started off dry, but the middle of the month saw 2 wonderful down pours which we hope to see more of. With the inconsistent rains, the migration is not in full force this year. They started coming down and then turned back north, hence no one could give a specific location for quite a while. The majority of the migration has been seen further North.

We have had some fantastic lion sightings as well as awesome cheetah sightings this month. The leopards remain elusive though – but guests do see them further North.

Due to the migration moving in and out of the area and its calving season, we have had many spectacular sightings. One of our guests watched a wildebeest give birth with 2 lionesses standing on watch. Once the calf dropped, the first lion grabbed it from the mother wildebeest and when the mother protested and tried to kick the lion, the second lioness killed her.

One afternoon Mauritz went down to our staff village where he could hear a vervet monkey alarm calling like crazy. The other monkeys were looking rather confused as they could not make out what on earth this monkey was complaining about. On further inspection, Mauritz noticed the monkey looking into the window of one of the vehicles standing in the village. Mauritz immediately realised what the monkey was getting so upset about. As Mauritz moved closer to the car, the monkey went berserk , trying to warn Mauritz about the danger in the car - over one of the car seats was a leopard print towel… caught you out monkey!!!! (The monkey was trying to warn Mauritz that he was about to be eaten by a killer towel!!)

Presently, renovations and expansions in our staff village are underway. We are building 10 extra rooms, extending the ablutions as well as renovating the staff kitchen and canteen.

“Very impressed with facility and especially our hosts Nicola and Mauritz – this camp rates very high relative to other camps we have visited – best bed in Africa #1”

Don and Connie Price, 10 Feb 2006

Swala

It is still very hot and humid with one decent downpour for the month and a few short showers but we could certainly do with some more. Game viewing has still been very good with lion and leopard sightings close to camp including a view during dinner of 2 lionesses and a cub having a drink at the waterhole. There are still a number of elephants in the park which indicates how dry other areas of the country are at present. We have also been treated to elephant herds passing close to camp which is unusual as we usually only have our regular bulls visiting us.

Guests this month have been treated to sightings of the elusive fringe-eared oryx on several occasions on the main entrance road. The herd of greater kudus have also been sighted regularly in and around camp (for those in the Southern African camps this is a huge tick up here as they are not found in the Crater nor in the Serengeti). Guests have also had sightings of lesser kudu in the Hondo-Hondo area of the park - Tarangire is one of the only parks where both species of Kudu occur. Birdlife is still excellent!

A group of 35 people from US Aid Africa stopped by for a visit. The guests were from EWF, Conservation International and various other eco-tourism destinations including, Uganda , Madagascar , Tanzania , Kenya , USA , and Mongolia . They wanted information on how we run our camps from an environmental, logistical and operations point of view hence Steve spent an hour discussing these issues as well as tourism in general with them.

We are in the process of redoing the screens for the water boilers with natural wood. We have also redone the steps in the arrival car park and are busy raising the bedside chests in the tents. We have also received new mats for the tent verandas.

We will be lending our tractor and a driver to the Gijedibong School which we support in order for them to plough and plant crops.

“Swala camp exceeded our expectations. Maryna, Steve, Jacob, the waiters and the Masai went out of their way to show us a good time, provide us with great food, great game viewing and safety above everything. We truly believe that the quality and variety of the menu items were fabulous. We would highly recommend Swala to everyone taking a holiday to Tanzania . We would be happy to provide a testimonial on your travel website”

Jeff and Eileen Schoenfeldt, 09 February 2006

DISH OF THE MONTH

Sweet Chilli Sauce

(courtesy of Kusini)

4 Spring Onions' chopped finely

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 Tablespoons chopped red chillies

¼ cup stock

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon brown sugar

Ø Heat oil. Add spring onions and garlic

Ø Stir for 2 minutes over low heat

Ø Add chillies and cook for 30 seconds

Ø Add stock, white wine vinegar and lemon juice

Ø Add sugar and bring to the boil

Ø Allow to cool before serving

ENJOY!!

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