Life in the African bush

Happy New year from the bush

2015-01-04T17:16:00.001+01:00

The Holidays are over and we from Amukela want to wish everybody a Happy New Year and all the best for 2015.

The last few weeks were very busy with lots of nice and happy guests.
The weather is typical for summer, warm and sunny with now and again showers and cooler days. Most of the time there were nice sightings on the game drives and I saw lots of animals on my frequent trips to town to get groceries. Arriving guests were even surprised with a black rhino with calf! The lions were regularly heard again in the evenings and a few times we heard a hyena calling from right behind my house. On Christmas morning the guests got a elephant at the waterhole for breakfast.

Off course there were Christmas presents for the boys who had a lovely time this holiday. The time flies and I can't believe the summer holiday is almost over already. One more week and school will start again. Niels will be going to third grade, Dennis can't wait to go to first grade and join the "big school" and little Felix will start with the toddler group.

Regards from the bush,

Miriam, Niels, Dennis and Felix

A busy time at Amukela Game Lodge

2014-09-15T11:42:00.001+02:00

It is a busy time at Amukela Game Lodge with animals, guests and all the things we have changed.

Although we don't see the elephants as often as we used to this winter they are still around and the last couple of nights we heard branches breaking again.
This Sunday they came visit us again...

The warthogs still come graze on our lawn and we often see kudu and waterbuck at our dams.

Our terrace looks very nice now with a new couch and chairs to relax and watch the waterhole.

We also have a new dining table and chairs.

The first rondawel has also been completely renovated and all rondawels got some nice chairs outside.

Regards from the bush

Miriam

2014-07-19T14:52:00.000+02:00

It was a busy week here on Amukela. The giraffes stopped by several times and the elephants were also seen more then once. We also saw impalas, duiker, jackals and beautiful birds. As icing on the cake we had a lonely bull buffalo.

It is still lovely winter weather, giving us beautiful mountain views during the day and breathtaking stars at night.

Off course we also had guests at our lodge who enjoyed all this.

Regards from the bush
Miriam

Family visit

2014-06-22T14:30:00.000+02:00

The second week of June my oldest sister with her husband and my parents were here to visit us.

We had a wonderful week with lots of time spend together and a lovely outing to end the week.
The children really loved all the extra attention; putting things together with their aunt and uncle, playing on the swing with grandma and talking to grandpa.
Especially little Felix was a big fan of his "opa" (the Dutch word for grandpa). All day he would call "opa, opa, come..."
I guess I don't have to say that he grandparents loved spending time with their grandchildren.

During the week when the kids had to go to school I went shopping with my mother and sister. Off course my family wanted to see the children's school so they all took turns picking them up with me. On Friday my father joined us for a special fathers day assembly at school and we had a braai and campfire that evening. When it got too cold we went inside to watch the World cup football match of the Netherlands against Spain which the Dutch won!

On Saturday we went to the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center (HESC) and went for lunch.

Unfortunately that was the end of the week already and they had to go back home, but we had a great time together and made lots of memories. It was fantastic to have them here for a while.

regards from the bush

Miriam

Elephants and power outage

2014-06-01T15:19:00.001+02:00

Yesterday was a great day here at Game Lodge. We had two of the Big 5 visiting us!

First a big elephant came to drink at our small dam. He was followed by two smaller elephants.

While the smaller elephants walked away the big elephant stayed in our riverbed to eat.

He walked up the path leading to our small gate and I could make a nice picture of him standing right in front of the gate.

While browsing he walked along the fence almost to our house before turning back.

In the meantime there were elephants at the other side of the lodge at our big dam and a buffalo came grazing at the small dam.

While the elephants moved on the buffalo stayed around and spend the hottest time of day in the mud at our small dam.

Then we heard branches breaking from the side of the bush camp. The elephants were still around and were now on this side in the riverbed. While eating the came close to the bridge before turning back.

The whole show had lasted most of the day and we enjoyed it very much!

Around 4 the power went off. It was still off when it started to get dark so we collected candles and lit them. The kids enjoyed playing games and telling stories by candlelight.
At 7 suddenly the light went on again. It was a nice ending of a beautiful day.

Regards from the bush
Miriam

Whoohoo it's winter!

2014-05-11T10:38:00.000+02:00

I know, a lot of people will think this is strange. Who is happy it is winter? Most people like summer better. But when you live here in Balule in the Lowveld in South Africa the winter is a lovely time, especially after a long hot summer.

Here in the Hoedspruit area the winter is nice and warm with average day temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit). The nights are "cold" with average about 8 degrees (46 Fahrenheit), but the advantage is that you can sit around a cozy campfire.

Officially it is still autumn but this transition period is less present then for instance in the most of Europe and here we mostly just talk about summer and winter. May is the month in which the leaves start falling, our Baobab has lost a lot at the bottom already. The Impala Lily also loses it's leaves and the first flowers appear.

Soon the bush will look dry and bare, less attractive but very good for game viewing. The winter is a good time to travel to South Africa. The dry bush makes it easier to spot the big 5 and animals are more active because it is not so hot. The temperature is very nice and the weather is very stable without the rain that can spoil the fun in summer sometimes. The mountains are very clear and the stars are even more breathtaking then in summer. Because of the cooler temperatures and the absence of rain there are almost no insects and no mosquitoes.
All in all the winter is an ideal time for a holiday to South Africa.

Personally I enjoy the cooler temperatures very much, just as the fact that you can wear your "winter clothes" for the cold nights. Summer clothes do not get packed away though, during the day the shorts and T-shirts come in handy! The cozy campfire and the beautiful stars and Milky Way are every time special again.
Still I know that in only four short months I will be happy with the warmer mornings (especially if you have to get up at 6 to get the kids to school). For now I enjoy the winter though and I hope many of you came to share this special time with me.

Regards from the bush
Miriam

An elephant at my gate!

2014-03-22T10:41:00.000+01:00

It was a busy week with animals here at Amukela.
On my way to and from school I saw giraffes on a daily basis. because of all the rain last week they prefer the higher area of the Marula road with less mud.

A warthog family comes in our camp regularly to eat from the grass. Normally this only happens in winter when food is scarce but this family doesn't seem to mind my presence.

I also see lots of zebra's and this curious kudu on my way home.

Then some elephants come to visit our waterhole. It is always nice to see these giants but when the biggest one takes a dust bad right in front of my open gate I can't help but wonder if I should have closed it...

rain and raging rivers

2014-03-16T12:56:00.002+01:00

After a reasonable dry rainy season we got lots of rain in the beginning of March.
In 2 days we had over 200 millimeter rain and the dry rivers started to flow. The leeuspruit, that runs through our camp, was one of them. The first day it was already a nice stream and the kids loved playing in the mud.

When we got more rain that night the water flowed over the bridge at the Sable road leading to our lodge. Luckily that morning when the children had to go to school the water was down enough already to cross. The debris on the bridge showed how high the water has been. one of the trees in our riverbed was leaning over quite a bit and we had to cut some branches to be able to cross our bridge.

The Zandspruit river in Raptors View took longer to go down again and lots of children could not come to school that day. Although it is dry now for quite a while already and it was even hot today and yesterday, the Leeuspruit is not entirely dried up yet.
The road on our side of the reserve is a bit damaged but not too bad. At other places the road was inaccessible for a few days.

Luckily the dry winter lies ahead of us now.

Airshow in Hoedspruit

2013-09-10T14:45:00.001+02:00

Last Saturday the Zandspruit bush and airo estate here in Hoedspruit organised an airshow.
It was a beautyful day and we took the boys there to have a look. The show strated at 10 and when we arrived around 11 it was quite busy already. Everything was well organised, there were tents for shade and benches to sit on. There were stands where you could buy drinks and food and for the kids there was a jumping castle and a slide. Our oldest boys enjoyed the show and waved to the pilots when they drove back after landing. There were many different planes and helicopters that did various stunts and flew in formation. The boys bought an airoplane from their pocket money and had good fun acting out the stunts they had seen. Eeven Felix had a good time as he walked around.
Although the show lasted the whole day we went home around 2 so Felix could take a nap and the other two boys could swim.
We had a great day and will definetely go again if it is organised again next year.
Well done Zandspruit!

Regards from the bush
Miriam

Spring

2013-08-18T20:52:00.001+02:00

We are in the second half of August now and that means spring here in South Africa. We already had the first few days of 30 degrees and over and although the water is still cold, about 18 degrees, our kids have been swimming already. The weather is still unpredictable though and one or two warm days are followed by wind and a cooler period. The nights are also still chilly but not as cold anymore as they were a month ago.

The knobthorns are among the first trees that get flowers and the first soft yellow flowers are visible already. Soon the whole valley where we live will be covered in a soft yellow blanket. So early in spring the bush is very dry and waiting for the first rain. It probably has to wait a bit longer but then everything will become lush and green again. It's hard to image that now while everything is grey and dry and with hardly any leaves.

The first changes in birds can be noticed as well. The tree where every year a pair of Tawny Eagles nest has been empty all winter but I have spotted one of the birds already, probably checking how much damage the winter has done to its nest.
On the first slightly warmer evenings we have heard some early frogs already and soon we'll have loud concerts again.
I'm looking forward to summer, especially on cold mornings when I have to take the kids to school!

Sleepless nights

2013-08-02T14:05:00.001+02:00

It is still winter here in the lowveld and that means one day already hot and the other day still cold with "only" 20 degrees Celsius.
Perfect weather to catch a cold so many people are sick this time a year.
Our family is als affected. Niels started it with a sore throat early this week and he got home sick from school on Tuesday. The next day his brother Dennis joined him with a blocked nose and earaches. Finally on Thursday also Felix got it too.

Now none of them is really very sick, just feeling not so happy . Since this is mostly at night I already had a few nights with little sleep when one or the other was waking up at night crying about soar throats, earaches or just crying in the case of Felix.

So far I'm the only one not affected since Corne now got it as well. It makes me wonder if we mothers have a special immuunsystem preventing us from getting sick while the rest of the family needs caring for.

Niels got back to school today after two days at home and I'm hoping the other two will feel better soon so I can get a good nights sleep.
Regrads from the bush,
Miriam

back home

2013-07-24T09:57:00.002+02:00

After a wonderful holiday in the Netherlands we are back home in the bush.
At arrival in the reserve we were welcomed by an elephant and back home we immediately noticed how quiet it was. After the noise in the busy Netherlands especially Corné enjoyed this very much.
Although I'm also happy to be back home I miss having my family around and I realize I really enjoyed being able to go for a walk. Just walking to the store for a little shopping was really nice. Here everything is too far away and you can't go for a relaxed stroll because of the animals. The upside is that we have much more peace and quiet, space and freedom and that you can see an elephant appearing in your backyard.

The first few days we had time to unpack and relax a little before our first guests arrived. Now we are used to the bush rhythm again and the kids have started school again. We enjoy the lovely winter weather and all flowers that were just starting to come out when we left are now in full bloom.
We already saw impala's, duiker, water buck and giraffes from our lodge and kudu's on our way to school. Our guests saw 4 of the big 5 on their game drive and the day after they saw wild dogs on their bush walk.
Plenty of things to enjoy!

Regards from the bush,
Miriam

Nature in the Netherlands

2013-07-07T20:24:00.001+02:00

Normally I write about the African bush but since we are in holiday in the Netherlands at the moment I thought it would be a good idea to write about nature here. It can't be compared to Africa but if you pay attention there are plenty of things to see. The first week of our stay we had a birds nest with small birds in the hedge of my parents garden. Since it is summer here everyting is so green and there are many flowers. The other day we had a little stroll in the early evening and saw a rabbit in one of the parks.
The kids enjoy walking in the forest, something we can't do at home because of the animals.
All in all there is plenty of nature in the Netherlands if you look for it.

Flowers in the winter

2013-06-29T14:36:00.001+02:00

Here in South Africa we have several plants that get their flowers in winter time. There is the impala lily that first looses its leaves and then gets beautyful white and pink flowers. The aloes also bloom in winter and attrack lots of birds like the sunbirds and the crested barbet.

Porcupine in our camp

2013-06-23T10:00:00.000+02:00

In the winter we regularly see the porcupine at our waterhole at night. This huge rodent has the typical black and white quils that are often used as decoration. The porcupine that lives around our camp has picked up the habit to come inside our camp. He digs a hole under the fence and he is in. Inside he has access to all those yummy plants and trees in our camp and garden. Off course we are not so happy with the latter. Porcupines dig up roots which causes plants and trees to die and he makes a mess in your garden. Willow is also not happy with the porcupine coming into our camp. Just as with the warthogs she believes that all animals have to stay outside the fence, everything inside is her territory. Porcupines are night animals so he only enters the camp when everything is quiet and everybody is in bed. As long as he stays far enough from the office, where Willow sleeps, there is no problem and he can do whatever he wants and leave undetected. But if he decides to eat closer to the office Willow hears him and starts barking. The porcupine seems not impressed as if he knows she can’t get out and even seems to tease her. Some evenings he is early and we are not in bed yet when Willow starts barking. When we go to check it out we sometimes see him hastely shuffeling away when he hears us.

Regards from the bush,

Miriam

Warthogs on the lawn

2013-06-16T10:00:00.000+02:00

It is winter and although the bush is still quite green, the nutrients in the grass are getting less now. All animals are looking for the best and greenest places to eat. From behind our fence they look at our lawn with greedey eyes but most animals don’t dare to come in to eat. The warthogs are the bravest and they venture into our camp to feed on our lawn, especially at the end of the winter when food is scarce. It is not uncommon to see a mother with one or two halfgrown piglets grazing on our lawn when the lodge is quiet.

As said it is still early winter and the bush is still quite green, but nevertheless the first warthogs have attempted to come in and we have seen the rare daredevil walking into our camp. Our dog Willow doesn’t like it, this is her camp and all other animals have to stay outside the fence. Luckily she is not brave enough to go after the warthogs and she just barks at them from a safe distance. When it is later in the winter and food is getting scarce we will lock her inside when the warthogs carfully walk into our camp. Although we will not feed them, after all they are wild animals that have to survive on their own, we do not begrudge them the green grass of our lawn.

And honestly, it is actually quite nice to have a warthog on your lawn…

Regards from the bush,

Miriam

Winter in the lowveld

2013-06-09T10:00:00.000+02:00

It is June and that means it is the middle of the winter here in the lowveld. On 21 June the southern hemisphere has it’s shortest day and June/ July are generally the coldest months here.

Now are winters here in South Africa very mild. Although there are areas where some snow can fall, it is more an exception then a rule and here in the lowveld the winters are even warm. Sometimes, after a very cold night, we see some frost on the grass but this quickly dissappears as soon as the sun rises.

When I take the kids to school at half past six in the morning it is “only” 6 degrees Celsius en we find it very cold. When I leave school at half past seven the temperature has already risen above 10 degrees and in the afternoon we often get 26 degrees.
It happens quite often that I sspeak with my family in the Netherlands and that it is here warmer in winter then in the Dutch summer. Despite that, the average African will dress warm with a coat, scarf, hat and even gloves on these “cold” mornings. Many tourists are surprised about this since they don’t find it that cold but once you live here you get used to the heat. Everything below 20 degrees Celsius is “quite cool” and below 10 degrees it’s just freezing cold. During the day it is very nice, especially in the sun, but I wil be glad whenit is August again and it starts to warm up….

Regards from the bush,

Miriam

Wild dogs in Balule

2013-06-01T13:57:00.001+02:00

Last week we had a great week for game viewing. Our guests saw four of the big five on their game drive and the rhino they saw the other day when they came back from an excursion.
On their second game drive they saw wild dog. We had buffaloes under the bridge, lions roaring closeby and elephants around the lodge. The highlight for me was when I saw a wild dog next to the gravelroad when I took the kids to school one morning. Two weeks ago we saw three wild dogs that chased a young kudu in our fence. I hope to see these magnificent creatures again before they mive out of the area.
Regards from the bush,
Miriam

I’m back

2013-05-05T12:35:00.002+02:00

After a long period in which I was too busy to write, here finally some news from the bush again.

It has not been dull in the past year.
On 12 April 2012 our latest bush baby Felix was born. Our oldest son Niels goes now to grade 1 and Dennis goes full time to pre-school.

We did see a lot of animals this past year, most amazing is that both the white and the black rhino have been seen from our lodge several times.
A few days ago I saw a lion and lioness on the road when I brought the kids to school and the elephants are visiting regularly again now it is winter.

Regards from the bush
Miriam

The lion sleeps tonight… or not?

2011-10-01T11:26:00.000+02:00

When we have guests we always hope that we will see animals around the lodge or that we will hear the lions roar at night. In September we had a full camp with 8 guests when we heard the lions roar at night. At first they were a little further away but after everyone had gone to bed they came closer. The guests go a real concert.
The next morning two of our guests went on a bushwalk. They went with an open

Birthday party in the bush

2011-08-15T15:38:00.000+02:00

Saturday afternoon we had a party with a few friends for Corné’s birthday. With 31 degrees it was a nice warm day and we sat on the terrace. Since everybody brought kids it looked like a children’s party and our boys had a great time! They even played with water in the afternoon. We just sat on the terrace and enjoyed chatting. The bitterballen (Dutch snack) that I made were a great success and it was even suggested that we should open a snack bar.
Rob en Michelle stayed for dinner. We made potjiekos and this was a great success too. Al in al it was a great party.

Regards from the bush
Miriam

Medical care in South Africa

2011-08-15T08:57:00.003+02:00

Soon we have to have our annual check-up at the dentist with the whole family. In the Netherlands I was always frightened for these events and if I had to come back for a treatment I used to have stomach-ache hours before the appointment. After my first visit to the dentist here I’m cured of that. Alex is a very nice guy, he is good with the children and he makes me feel at ease. Since I am here in South Africa my old grey fillings have been replaced with new white ones and although it is still not fun to sit there with your mouth open, I never had stomach-ache before these treatments. Of course the fact that they don’t even ask if you want anaesthetics but just give it to you (something that you have to specifically request in the Netherlands) could have something to do with it as well…
After a treatment the assistant always calls the next morning

Growing up in the bush

2011-08-09T10:37:00.002+02:00

Our children have a fantastic childhood here in the bush. They grow up in this beautiful nature, in a country where they can almost always play outside and in a place where they have lots of space to play. From the moment they started crawling they have been getting healthily dirty and their daily bath was never a luxury. Now they get a little bigger they can run around, play football, build huts and in a few weeks time it will be warm enough to swim. They love going with Daddy in the bakkie (pick-up) to bring the garbage bags to the dumpster at the gate and our old Landrover is their favourite. Yesterday we drove at the end of the afternoon

Four tips to get the best out of your safari

2011-08-06T08:58:00.000+02:00

Although there is much more to see and do in and around Hoedspruit, the Kruger Park with its wide variety of animals stays the biggest attraction. Here four tips to get the best out of your safari.

Choose the right season for a visit
Each season has its own pro’s and con’s and it is worth your effort to look into this and choose the right season for your needs. From October till March it is the rainy season so you can expect some rain. It can be quite warm in this time and there will be more insects. On the other hand, the bush will be lush and green and many young animals are born in this period. The denser vegetation can make it a little more difficult to see the animals though. From April till September

Homemade Dutch snacks

2011-08-01T11:45:00.000+02:00

People regularly ask me “what do you miss from the Netherlands?” My answer is that I, besides my family and best friend, don’t miss anything. Still there are some things that I maybe don’t miss, but that would be very nice to have here. There are some products that you can’t get (or very difficult) here. Drop is one of those, and when we visit the Netherlands we always take back a lot of this typical Dutch candy. Sometimes guests bring with some drop for us and that is very much appreciated. This way we don’t have to miss this typical Dutch candy completely here in the African bush.
Something else that they don’t have here is kroketten (and some more of these typical Dutch snacks). A while back we visited a Dutch friend who surprised us with homemade kroketten. She gave me the recipe and last week I finally tried it. It worked out really well and the kroketten were delicious! I still have quite a few in the freezer so we can enjoy them some more before I have to make new ones. Because of this success I decided to try something else as well