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March 2007 Sanctuary Talking

GENERAL NEWS

***ZAMBIA BECKONS!***

We are delighted to announce that with immediate effect, Sanctuary Lodges & Camps are the proud new owners of the following camps and lodges located in some of the most outstanding wildlife areas in Zambia.  

In order to bring these properties in line with the level of comfort and service that you and your clients have come to expect from Sanctuary Lodges & Camps, we have taken the decision to close, with the exception of Sussi & Chuma which will remain open, all the camps and Chichele Lodge for the remainder of the year while we embark on a refurbishment programme. We plan to re-open in 2008 and will be sending you regular updates on our progress.

Should you hold any reservations for the camps that will be closed for the remainder of 2007, our team will be in communication with you shortly. 

2007 reservations for Sussi & Chuma and reservations for all camps for 2008 can be made with Sanctuary Lodges & Camps Reservations Department in Lusaka as follows:

Telephone: +260 1 284-078/284-449/284-025
Email: zambiares@sanctuarylodges.com

Sanctuary Lodges & Camps are very excited about this new development and the team look forward to assisting you with your requirements in Zambia.

Indaba 2007

We look forward to seeing you at INDABA from 12th to 15th May at our stand #109, Hall 2 in the ICC, where we will be on hand to update you on the Sanctuary Lodges & Camps properties in Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.  Should you wish to make an appointment to meet with us please contact Ryan Powell on rpowell@sanctuarylodges.com

EAST AFRICA

Gorilla Forest Camp

GFC Handles second disabled guest

GFC once again performed the unthinkable when for the second time we took a disabled guest for Gorilla Tracking. The guest, Sue from the UK has no sensation in her legs and moves with the help of a motorised wheel chair besides depending on her guide for mobile assistance. Sue was very glad to successfully track Gorillas not once…but twice. She was very jovial and considered herself special for having achieved what she did. This continues to showcase GFC’s commitment to taking you beyond your boundaries and making your dreams come true.

GFC hosts Lets Go Travel & Uniglobe team

GFC hosted a team of travel agents from Let’s Go Travel Uganda and Nairobi and another from Uniglobe London. The agents were on a fam trip to Uganda with Bwindi and GFC being the prime focus of their trip. Comments from Ms. Marinka of Let’s Go Travel Uganda were that there has been a lot of improvement, which she previously only heard about, but was now able to see it for herself.

New laundry facility now up and running

The new GFC laundry facility is now up and running and boasts a state of the art washing machine, tumble dryer as well as ironing equipment. This has improved the efficiency in the laundry department and has solved the difficulty of drying guest clothing as well as linen. A good example of this was when a guest woke the manager up at 6am as the guest wanted some clothing dried by 7:30am. The request was actioned and the guest was ready for tracking by 7:15am….15 minutes earlier than expected.

Hair Dryers now available at GFC

Due to our commitment to ensuring guest convenience and comfort at the lodge, we installed hair dryers in the guest tents. This is part of the ongoing lodge upgrading this year, with the aim of meeting all guest needs that we can anticipate and from here on…… it just gets better!

Olonana

The first quarter of 2007 has past and the rains are still incessantly pounding, seemingly determined to connect with the rains of Mara’s longest rain season. Despite the rain, game sightings have been terrific throughout the month. In the spirit of  “HARAMBEE” (Swahili word for “pulling together”), we have come together with our neighbours to repair  the airstrip access bridge which was damaged due to the heavy rains.

March 19th was a fascinating day. That morning, a few hyenas brought down a weakened hippo, but a pride of lionesses managed to snatch the sumptuous breakfast from the poor hyenas. The hyenas, seemingly unable to defend their meal, retreated into their hideout in the Oloololo escarpment. Their timid retreat turned out to be a prudent strategy to reorganise themselves in order to take stern action against the lionesses.

Drama unfolded late in the afternoon with the howl of one hyena, who spotted a group of lionesses, which was a different group from the one that snatched the kill from them earlier. Before long, the thunderous howls of hyenas from all directions cracked through the rolling carpet of grass. The lionesses sensing danger stood to face the wall of advancing hyenas. The instinct to save their life overcame the desire to protect their pride as ‘Queens of the Jungle’. With hyenas in hot pursuit, the lionesses sought refuge wherever they thought they could – in bushes and under vehicles, but the hyenas would stop at nothing to punish their offenders. They sent them scampering in all directions…

 Mary, the rhino, has been sighted several times despite the inaccessibility of her favourite spots - the bushes at swamp fringes. Honey died last month and left behind her three sons. We were very worried about their ability to fend for themselves in the absence of their mother but they have proved very resilient and are still going strong.

Kusini

Great month - the migration has moved so much closer to camp. There have been many wildebeest births witnessed and of course many youngsters are in the herds. The predators have followed closely, and lion and cheetah sightings have also been great. Leopard as mentioned, have been seen on a number of occasions providing great photographic opportunities. Guests have really enjoyed the drives and have absolutely LOVED the picnic lunches within view of the migration. Guests always enjoy the sundowner we provide on the rock at Kusini.

A sighting of the month was of a mother leopard with 2 sub adults were feeding on an impala, in a tree, about 2km from camp. They spent 2 days there and were enjoyed by many guests, on every game drive. Guests really appreciated this as leopards are not easy to come by.

We have graded the road to the airstrip and we also now have internet facilities available at Kusini, for our use as well as the convenience of the guests.

Quirky Story

‘ Identity Crisis’

We headed out to see the migration on one of our quieter days, and just loved it.  Whilst driving around the perimeter of the herds, we had a tiny baby start following our vehicle. We know this does often happen when there are many births, but this one was running away from his mother, who was frantically trying to steer him toward her! He was not lost at all, and the more we moved away, the more he followed his ‘mom’ – US!!!! After numerous nudges the mother finally got his attention toward her, and he soon followed his correct mom

‘The whole staff were beyond exceptional. A truly unique experience. They were personal, attentive, yet gave us our privacy’ 
Peter & Page Robbins

‘Thank you very much for our romantic dinner, we will never forget any one of you, and these special moments’ 
Becerra 

Swala

There have been quite a number of elephant herds and good giraffe sightings this past month and since the main bridge has been repaired, we are no longer restricted to one side of the river. Two leopards were seen about 2km from camp within a few hundred metres of one another which was absolutely fantastic! We suspect they could have been courting. Both were very relaxed and spent the whole afternoon up in the trees catching a cool breeze and no doubt trying to avoid the Tsetse flies.

We have been digging and repairing drainage furrows throughout the camp to channel the water away from the tents and pathways. Most of the varnishing of decks and furniture has been completed in preparation for the new season.

“great staff, attentive & courteous”
Daniel Kamil

“ for degree of isolation dining was remarkably good.
Ira & Cythinia Gore

“You are exceptional all the time!”
Laflamme party 

BOTSWANA

Baines’ Camp

Although the announcement of a flood coming may send some people in other areas scurrying to start damming, filling sandbags, and ordering fleets of helicopters, this is not the case in the Delta. The flood is actually a slow shallow inflow of water that spreads out from the North Western corner of Botswana having originated from Angola. It’s thrilling to watch the first trickles come across the sand, at a distance of about 1metre a minute. Every year, the flood changes channels and pathways, thanks to vegetation growth and hippos and elephants clearing new paths.

Woodland Kingfishers are noticeably absent at the end of the month, after spending five months ‘holidaying’ in the area. Their distinctive call will now only be heard again at the end of October. Giraffe seem to be hiding behind – or standing in front of – every tree. Over forty were counted at regular intervals on the way to the airstrip one day.

Much general game has moved into the area around the airstrip, to feed on the shorter grasses in the area. Leopard and lion interaction was wonderful. With leopards killing several impalas, and lions pulling down a couple of buffalo, there was enough to go around for everyone. However, this was not sufficient for one male lion, who decided to appropriate an impala kill from a leopard. The leopard was most disgruntled and remained only 10metres from the lion on the off chance that he would get bored with eating and wander off. A small chance of that happening, and needless to say, the leopard left empty handed. 

A new concept in ‘staff dining’ was launched this month. Previously, staff had been issued with ration boxes which lasted a month, and had to cook for themselves. Feeling that this did not provide a good level of diet, the company pushed for the building of a staff kitchen and provision of fresh food.  A menu was constructed offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a chef was employed to ensure that these meals were provided. Now staff have a much better diet and have much more free time as they do not have to cook their own meals. This is just one of the improvements for the community, which was discussed with the OKMCT Board.

We received a beautiful card, photos and a book from Lisanne Huggins and David Barnes, who stayed with us at the end of last year. Thank you very much, we hope to see you again soon!

"Thank you all so much for making our trip to Africa amazing.  We will never forget the amazing meals, frogs at night, game drives with Court and Colin and the all around amazing service and friendliness that every member of the staff has!  Thanks again so much!  The Cabot Kids"

Chief’s Camp

The first chill of winter has been felt but the days have still been quite hot with a few thunderstorms building up. We have received very little rain and the bush is looking fairly dry and we are expecting quite a dry winter. The game viewing has been excellent over the last month with the arrival of the flood in the western area of the concession. The Simbira channel is flowing and has attracted a lot of game to it. The water has also penetrated into the Boro West area and with that has pushed more animals back to the drier areas. Around the camp, we have had very little rain and the huge herds of elephants are moving towards the water from the main island area. Leopards have been spotted on a regular basis and an old, small female made for some very good viewing when she was seen near 1st crossing, chasing vervet monkeys in the trees.

The two small cubs in the Lethaka area have been seen often. Lions, as usual, were plentiful with the Boro West Pride with their new cubs providing easy and frequent viewing in the open areas of the Boro area. The two Chief’s Boys (named recently) have been seen in a huge area and they seem to hold the reigns in a massive area. The Downstream area has been rediscovered recently which has provided some good sighting of the Downstream pride feeding on a small elephant, as well as the two cheetah brothers on the prowl. With the water vanishing fast and the flood still a few weeks away in that area, the water holes have been very productive – a delight to our guests!

There were two fantastic rhino sightings this month and some tracks have been seen at Downstream area which is promising. The wild dogs are back and the pack of 4 has been seen round camp with the female heavily pregnant – so hopefully they will den close by. The other pack of 3 has been seen at Mother Jackalberry area. The Lethaka channel is flowing and has attracted some lechwe and a bachelor herd of buffalo to the area with some elephants on the island.

“Dear all, We really cannot imagine how you could improve your kindness and spirit of generosity and care. It is beyond anything we could have ever dreamed of. Even though camp is way beyond 5 star, we really appreciate the warmth and lack of pretentiousness we experienced. Thank you each and everyone for making our short stay so magical”
Bob & Ginny Felch

“this is by far our favorite camp. The wildlife was amazing and the staff was so friendly & nice. We wish we could have stayed longer – we loved it here"
Cabots

“could not find fault with anything, it is just a pity we did not book to stay a day or two longer”  “Well done to all staff and our grateful thanks for looking after us all“
Hitchen

Chobe Chilwero

March has been a fairly dry month considering this is the rainy season. In fact the temperatures have been mild averaging 23 degrees Celsius. This weather is ideal for game viewing as it comfortable to go out in the afternoon on activities. Elephants have been the highlight of the month. Guests enjoyed seeing hundreds of elephants coming down to the Chobe River for sundowners. They are a spectacle when they swim and play in water with their trunks raised. The month has been phenomenal with good leopard and lion sightings too. Wild dogs, which are rare in this park, were seen on three afternoons much to the delight of our guests. The Chobe River is currently in flood and there are tons of hippos and crocodiles  everywhere, not to mention elephants – fabulous photos for our guests to take home with them.

Tegan Parker has been to Africa more than a dozen times on safaris. She had virtually seen every thing there is to see except for one animal. This is the elusive animal which kept her coming back to Africa. This time when she came around, it was also a very special holiday for her as she was on honeymoon with partner Mat. When she arrived at Chobe Chilwero she had just been to the Kruger Park and was not lucky to view the elusive animal. The first two days yielded nothing for her. In fact she ended up asking some guests who were also staying at Chobe Chilwero and who had spotted leopard to pass on photos to her - she missed this one by only five minutes! She resigned to her fate.The morning of the 11th March was her last at Chobe Chilwero. She did not want to go out that morning since she was due to fly out to Stanley’s later that day. Mat, her husband, persuaded her to go out which she eventually did. It was a very quite morning so Kebby, our guide, slowly started driving back to the lodge. On a round bend and hardly five metres away from the vehicle was a huge male leopard walking towards them. He then stopped and turned around going back where he had come from. Kebby followed him at a safe distance for almost 10 minutes before the leopard went up a tree. As they got close to the tree they discovered that there was a half eaten impala carcass hoisted up the tree. The leopard started feeding on the impala. This was too much for Tegan who was in tears as she came face to face with the animal which had eluded her for almost a decade!

Some guests from Denver USA were in for a treat on an afternoon game drive. Leopards are very difficult to see in the Chobe area. On this particular afternoon they came across three different leopards, two of them mating. What a rare sight! The cherry on top for them was when they interrupted a pack of wild dogs tearing apart an impala on their way back to the lodge – many pics and fantastic stories to take home!

During the month we had guests donating some books and stationery to the local primary school. Mrs. Judith Berman, Ashley and Leigh Krongold from Melbourne, Australia brought the stationery along with them. They then went on to buy goodies for the school children. A special assembly was arranged for the presentation of the book where the children sang and danced with joy as they given sweets and the books. It was indeed a joyous occasion and we thank everyone involved with this endeavour.

“one the loveliest places we have ever stayed, thanks to everyone.”
Kerren and Bill Leely

“unfortunately words fail to describe the last two days. Watching lion cubs at play from less than 5 meters is a life changing experience.”
Sheila and Jonathan Cohen

“Absolutely fabulous, the service and staff are beyond great!!”
Madge Woods

Stanley’s Camp

There have been an increase in the volumes of general game. Large elephant herds, giraffe, zebra, buffalo and hyaena have bewildered our thrilled guests. Leopard have been sighted this month, but lions (sometimes in pairs two, sometimes prides) are seen on a regular basis, often on both morning and afternoon game drives.  Bird life is varied and guests are find them quite interesting. The rarest sighting would be an aardwolf which was a treat for all of us. Several kills have been witnessed, both a leopard bringing down an impala, a lion taking down a young buffalo and another lion killing a fully grown injured buffalo.

Stanley, our usually resident elephant, has made a reappearance after being away from camp for about three months while on musth. Not only does he spend much time right within the camp both day and night but is now bringing his friends with him. Lion tracks have also been spotted within the camp at times which has caused much excitment.  Hyaena are always coming into camp especially at night to avail themselves of any opportunity to scavenge.

DISH OF THE MONTH

Ingredients:

2 medium avocados, peeled and chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
Half cup chopped, smoked salmon
350g flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs, beaten lightly
225ml milk
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp black pepper
Chilli sauce / Tabasco to taste

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan. Place avocado, lemon juice, and tabasco sauce in a bowl, and crush lightly with a fork. Mix in salmon.
• In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking powder.
• Beat the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add the flour mixture, stirring until nearly combined. Fold in the avocado mixture, do not over mix.
• Spoon mixture into prepared tin. Bake 20 minutes only. Remove and cool.
• The secret is not to overcook these as the avocado then becomes bitter.

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