Limpopo-Lipadi Blog

Much has been happening at Limpopo-Lipadi in November with rich animal activity caught on the trail cameras and lots of watery goings on at River Camp!

Leopards and brown hyena are becoming almost expected features of every location where we install the trail cameras, showing up with exciting regularity and giving us some great shots in the process. Check out the latest additions to the galleries for Old Man's Dam and Mogorosi online to see what we mean. A pair of elephant bulls also showed up at Mogorosi one morning - one never knows exactly where they will appear next!

For the last few weeks Gordon has been staying on site at Limpopo-Lipadi to provide some assistance to our management team. Whilst there he is keeping eyes, ears and other senses alert to game movements and other natural occurrences and has sent the following update for November.

Possibly the best drive to work in the world ...

Irrespective of what you do or where you do it, I doubt the drive to work is anyones favorite part of the day, but on the basis that many of us (sorry, you) have to participate in this tedious ritual of the western world, some are probably better than others.

Cutting to the chase, I am sure most of you will have been quite envious of our accounts and admin manager's drive to work on the Monday after the AGM finished. Heading from home to the office the route takes her past Mbusi, and at around 0700, she passed a leopard stalking one of our feathered friends, albeit I understand, without any success.

Well, if you're going to have to commute, I personally, cannot think of a better drive to the office!

Speaking of the AGM & feathered friends ...

A sad tale this one, but many of you who attended the AGM will have become aware of our adopted friend for the weekend.

Late on the preceding Friday morning, I found a tiny bird outside my room at unit 6, I recognized it was a kingfisher and with recourse to my reference material, I identified him as being an African Pygmy Kingfisher. Indeed, it was my first sighting of this particular species which in turn raised the question among some as to whether or not this species has previously been seen at Limpopo-Lipadi? If yes, please share with us when and where you have seen them.

Moving on, it became apparent that all was not well with this little fellow, and sadly, despite the efforts of numerous shareholders and some of their guest's, it was all too much and sadly the little guy succumbed on the Saturday night.

Late night dip?

Despite various notices around the camp and strict instructions that there should be no swimming in the river, a good deal of commotion was heard after dark on Friday evening from the water outside the central facility. Thankfully those first on the scene have not been greeted with ebullient shareholders or celebrating staff, but a far more rewarding sight, a group of Cape Clawless Otter seeking an easy meal from the trapped fish. Eyewitness reports suggest four or even five otters ... and some very quick and acrobatic fish!

Seasonal Visitors

The annual invasion of summer visitors is in full swing with many of the migrant summer birds now back at Limpopo-Lipadi for our pleasure & enjoyment. Whilst not a particular "twitcher" myself, my eyes can confirm the return of the Woodland Kingfisher, my ears the Black Cuckoo and my colleague (our Operations Manager) just about everything else that should be here by now!

On the subject of what should be here by now ...

Water! Yes, always a topic of conversation for us Brits (who claim to get too much) and those that live in areas that don't get enough. Here at Limpopo-Lipadi we have had some rain in the past week, but very small amounts, and against the incredibly hot days, certainly not enough to start filling any pans, but as they say, "every little helps".

Saturday evening brought a most magnificent arrival in the shape of, not rain, but literally tons of water in the form of the Limpopo River!!! I can tell one and all that at 1900 on Saturday evening the riverbed was as dry as a bone! But by 2200 we had a fast moving river flowing past us and rising quickly up the dry and dusty banks.

The water around the edges is now very clear and in small pools outside units 6 and 7 the water is alive with thousands of tiny fry. For myself and those that witnessed this arrival on Saturday evening it was quite a humbling experience.

Back to the subject of Leopards again ...

How many hours have we all spent driving around looking for, or indeed, just hoping for a glimpse of, a friendly leopard? Countless!  ell for myself I am going to adopt a new strategy. Having earlier told the tale of the drive to work, I must now recount the tale of the drive to the shops. On returning from a shopping expedition to Selebi-Phikwe, we have been treated to a big male Leopard strolling across the main road in front of us, very relaxed, not a care in the world. Very nice timing – thank you very much - pity I had not bought (nor brought!) a camera.

... but there is plenty of game around

Despite the long hours I have managed to squeeze a few game drives and am very happy to report that driving between Tholo Dam and Old Man's Dam and points south thereof, a host of game is being seen, lots of impala, wildebeest, zebra, warthog – as you would expect, plus giraffe, red hartebeest, gemsbok, kudu, eland (with young) and many of our other smaller and bigger friends as well!

And finally, I could not leave without a word about "the dogs"

Yes, they remain amongst my firm favourites and they have been over the western side of the reserve for the past few days. Despite my efforts, they have thwarted me, but fellow shareholders and their guests have recently been treated to wonderful viewing. I may have the benefit of being here and not there (wherever "there" may be) but the green monster of envy can still tap me on the shoulder! Seriously, it seems that they have recently tangled with a porcupine, and learnt that there are limits even to their highly developed hunting skills, a few of the dogs picking up injuries and lessons in life!

This week an old eland had to be euthanised and so we positioned the trail cameras at the carcass site not far from Zanzibar Dam to see what would arrive. Over the course of the next few days the camera captured stunning images of brown hyena, leopard, vultures and civet visiting. The leopard above looks likely to be one we have identified as part of our project, but can you tell which one? 

You can see more images from this, and other dens and kills, in our online gallery. Other trail camera galleries catalogue the comings and goings at various waterholes around the reserve.

The camp has been busy for the last few weeks and this has brought more news of what is going on out in the bush and being seen on drives.

The wild dogs have left the den sites and are once again roaming as a large pack making it harder to keep tabs on them! Tracks were seen in the last few days near the River Fence.

Brown hyena are becoming a very regular sighting, especially at Mogorosi and even in daylight. Several images have also been captured on trail cameras located at the camp gates as they move through during the night.

A number of elephant bulls have been using the area around Tholo Dam and Zanzibar Dam and there are fresh tracks and feeding sign found daily on the roads there. Sightings have been made further afield at Phofu Dam and Mbusi too - watched from the hide only 25m away!

In terms of cats leopards continue to provide good viewing with one group making sightings on seven occasions in the last 8 days at Tholo Dam, Mogorosi, near Zanzibar, Mbusi and perhaps most excitingly from their deck at the lodge!

Cheetah have also popped up once more - this pair located last night in the southern section of the reserve.

And in amongst all the bigger game, the smaller species are also exciting visitors. Genets have been seen in the dry riverbed as visitors sit around their campfire, bushbabies are observed jumping about on the lodge rooftops to reach higher trees, and even an aardvark was seen foraging within a few yards of the camp gates!

The dry season is certainly going well at Limpopo-Lipadi. Perhaps it is time for you to book a visit?

You can also follow more detailed updates from one of our shareholders, blogging his stay, through our Facebook page.

April and May have been busy months at Limpopo-Lipadi with shareholders taking advantage of the autumn temperatures and lush green bush. This season's young are doing well and growing up fast - laying down the energy stores that will help them weather their first winter. The reserve has also been pleased to receive numerous visits from people who are passionate about the bush, as we are, and interested in joining the Limpopo-Lipadi family as shareholders themselves. It has been our pleasure to host you all at River Camp and show you some of the secrets and hidden places of our wonderful patch of the Tuli Block. 

Aardwolves, African wild cats, porcupines, elephants, and of course leopards featured on the sightings list much to the enjoyment of our visitors. Mauro, from Italy, was just one of these guests and has kindly shared some of the images he took during his stay, which include his first leopard - a moment we're sure will stay with him for a long time to come!

Those who have been following our leopard identification work may be interested to know that the image above is of a young female called Maya who seems to have returned to the Mogorosi area despite a foray further south earlier in the year. She certainly seems to have bulked out a little since being regularly seen as an inexperienced hunter last September. Again, we welcome submission of any and all photos of leopards taken on Limpopo-Lipadi to add to our records.

To top off a great couple of months it also appears that our wild dog pack is denning, with the alpha female, Two Spots, spending the last week or so underground at the site. Our team on the ground are monitoring their progress closely and hope to use the trail cameras to record the first movements of any new pups above ground as they occur. This news is incredibly exciting for all at Limpopo-Lipadi and will mark the second litter of pups born into the wild from this pack (and the third in total for our project aimed at preserving this endangered species).

This month sees a special feature on Limpopo-Lipadi's leopards published in International Lifestyle Magazine. ILM focuses on positive lifestyle choices from around the globe and features inspirational people alongside great design and photography.

Our feature spans four whole pages and looks amazing, whether viewed in their online publication, in the print issue, or just a standalone PDF (download from our website now)!

Share the link with friends around the world!

The leopard identification project has got off to a great start and we now have identification tips for three of our resident leopards - like those shown in the images in this blog. Shareholders can view the whole guide online and download a copy if desired.

Maya has been so named as this seems to be an easily remembered shortening of "tsamaya tlasa" which is Setawana for "walk under" in reference to her habit of passing extremely close to the viewing hide at Mogorosi including passing right beneath while shareholders are sat inside!

Shareholders and other visitors to Limpopo-Lipadi will know what a great place it is becoming for fantastic sightings of leopards. Some short-stay guests have averaged more than one a day and shareholders staying at the reserve for a month recently had a dozen sightings of thirteen animals! The regularity of encounters now makes it possible for us to begin an ambitious project to try and identify each individual leopard and learn more about it, such as where it holds territory. To help us achieve this are welcoming the active involvement of shareholders! Read on to find out more from Anton Kruger, who has suggested this project, about why we are doing this and how you can get involved.

Shareholders will be excited to hear that the waterhole regeneration programme continues apace and this month has seen work at Mbusi. The new pool is located a little to the southwest of the old trough but remains within view of the hide (as well as being sited perfectly for potential future hide developments). Feedback from shareholders has been used to create a reasonable size pool with an irregular outline to better mimic a natural waterhole. The low profile and coloured concrete mixture means it blends in very well with the surrounding soil and I'm sure all will agree this represents a major improvement on what went before.

Since the trail camera arrived on the reserve we have all been waiting for it to capture a leopard. Amazingly despite the numbers on Limpopo-Lipadi and the frequency with which they are seen by our shareholders they have remained strangely hard to catch on the trail camera. But finally this week they have showed themselves. And yes, that is plural for there was not just one but two leopards catch on the camera at Mbusi!

Leopards are my favourite creature: their stealth, adaptability and beauty is only enhanced by their frequent shyness and the challenge they present to those wishing to see them. This year has been a remarkable time for seeing leopards on Limpopo-Lipadi. What follows is our own personal story of the sightings we had during our month-long stay in September 2010. Although despite the wonderful tales and photographs found on the site we should remember that the majority of visitors to African reserves never see a leopard. The quality of viewing on Limpopo-Lipadi is just another facet of the superb wildlife experience available to shareholders in this unique project.

It is overcast today and a little cool, a huge cold front must have moved across South Africa and extended into Botswana. So we decided to skip our morning game drive and relax a bit at our River Camp accommodation, home for most of the last 5 weeks (with a 10 days break, while camping at Okavango and Savuti), during our vacation in Botswana. This is a good time to reflect a bit on our Limpopo-Lipadi stay and share with you some of the exciting moments we have been fortunate enough to witness.