In and around the lodge

Since 2 weeks the rain has arrived. Days with plenty of sun and high temperatures like 35 til 40 degrees are followed by days with 24 hour rain. The bush, that was once a very dry place with sleeping trees and skinny, hungry animals, is turning greener by the second. It is amazing to see how the dry patches of sand (the grass was completely eaten by the warthogs or died because of the harsh sun) are turning into green seas of tinny little leaves. The smell of ozone is everywhere and the shallow clear river turned into a massive stream of orange water.

We had a 40th wedding anniversary about a week ago and unfortunately it rained 2 out of 4 days. Game drives were cancelled and we moved the tables from the veranda inside to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining area instead. Luckily the weather changed halfway and the guests did enjoy 2 game drives and even had a dip in the swimming pool on Sunday. I prepared a special anniversary dinner on request and thank god it was a success.

Now it is quiet for a while so we use our time to do several things in and around the lodge. We decided to paint the staff quarters and clean all the rubbish around it. Man, what a mess people can make. They do not care about the environment at all and due to the rain, all sorts of stuff that was hidden under the ground became visible. We collected barb wire, old cans and tins, glass bottles, mirrors, broken crockery, broken tiles, old shoes etc. They just trow it in the bush without thinking of the consequences. For me that is difficult because every day I see the warthog family of five I am remembered of what can happen when we do not take care of nature. I still miss Hyacinth; the cute warthog who got shot!!!

Speaking about animals. We know the African bush is famous because of its big animals. But there is more then the big five… When I had to go to the bathroom to my surprise I found a squirrel in the toilet? It was soaking wet and I took it out with a towel, rubbed it dry and released it. It must have had the fright of his life, but what was it doing in the toilet? We had a mouse that was so angry that it bit hard in the broom when I try to save it from the swimming pool. As a result it got stuck with it’s teeth. It took me quite some while to free him. Hope his teeth are still alright and that he does not need a brace in the future. It is the time of year that we see more scorpions and spiders and solifugids again. Soli..what????? A Solifugid. It looks like a spider but is not a true spider. It has no venom glands, does not produce silk, thus cannot make webs and digests its food inside the body rather than outside. We also call them red romans and they are incredible fast and hunt during the night. That’s why we can see them when we are having a braai in the evening and that’s why unfortunately we find them drowned in our swimming pool in the morning. Lizards and gecko’s are here all year round. It is fascinating to see these animals hunt, fight and bathe in the sun. Sometimes we have one inside our house sliding over our concrete floor, especially when the floor is polished they find it very difficult to get their grip. Sander and I love all these tinny creatures around the lodge and made some nice pictures to show.

Although we finished the big work, we will always have small jobs to be done. The old boma is totally removed now. There is just a big sandy patch as a silent reminder of the past… We want to paint the main house from the outside whenever it is a little bit drier. We still have a lit to finish for the main water pump, and are waiting for our water filter that we ordered to be delivered to the lodge. The only thing that remains is to put the second 5000 litre tank next to the other one, so that we then have 10.000 litres of water. That should be enough for at least a day or 2 with a full camp. We will reconnect the water supply and put in the water filter. If that is done Kurhula Lodge can finally make use of its own water for the first time in years!!!