The arrival of two baby giraffes at Amatikulu

 

 

 

 

In late October a new baby giraffe was added to the Amatikulu population - this was spotted by Selvan and his team. Whilst out on the 4x4 trail past the pan, we spooted the new addition complete with drying umbilical cord, and then.... we spotted another young one - also with a residual and drying umbilical cord still attached. happily we were able to report to Selvan that there were indeed two new babies in the reserve at that time. As we allknow, the giraffe are doing really well in the reserve - not only because of the abundance of food but also because they are a little big to poach!!!!

 

Here is one of the little fellows peering at us over the bush. At this stage he had little idea as to what and who we were and so he showed no inclination to move away. His Mom soon joined him and took him deeper into the bush. 

 

 



 



Sighting of Black-bellied Bustard

 

 

 

On 14 October we came across a Black-bellied Bustard on the 4x4 trail. We were watching the giraffes when this bird moved close to the car and began its unusual call. it is a loud "cluck" followed by an "extended rasping burp"! It seemed to be a territorial issue and he was not too concerned about our presence. I called this bird up on my Sasol Bird program which I have loaded on my cell phone, and began playing his call - he responed immediately! The bird spent some time looking for another of its kind in or around my vehicle. We never persisted as the bird was becoming agitated, but it confirmed to me what an excellent confirmation the recorded sounds of a bird can be if you are not already 100% certain of your ID!  

 

 

Spring flowers in the veld at Amatikulu 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amatikulu grasslands have been conserved for over one hundred years! This is a very special biome because it represents original sub-tropical coastal grassland, which is rare to find in its original form anywhere on the North Coast. This grassland is rich in diversity, and in that sense it possibly matches  the diversity of the West Coast equivalent. I photographed just some of the species which were flowering in late October this year. I spent no more than 30 minutes doing this with my cell phone, and I needed to move no more than a couple of meters from the road to capture pictures of the following plants that were flowering that day.    

 



Re-building the whale-watching tower at Amatikulu

 

 

Amatikulu has the best whale watching tower on the North Coast. With time,it has fallen into a state of disrepair and needs rebuilding. As a group we have undertaken to rebuild the tower. Selvan has collected the materials necessary and this project was to have been undertaken before Christmas. With Selvan's transfer to Harold Johnson Reserve, this project has beeen delayed until the New Year and will be undertaken under the guidance of the new OIC at Amatikulu.

 

 

The old tower was inspected in October and a list of requirements was put together for the re-build. The basic structure is solid and we need to rebuild the steps, some of the deck flooring, the side panels and the roof section. there used to be a bench in the tower and this will need to be reconstructed as well. This is going to be a hot job, and we will be working in the bush for a couple of days. It will be well worth the effort for the spectacular views one gets from this vantage point.

 

A date will be set shortly for the rebuild to begin. We are taking along a couple of portable generators, cutting machines, drills plenty of strong wire, poles,planks and shadecloth for the roof.

 

In this picture we have Selvan , Priscilla and Rick..

 

Upgrading the education centre at Amatikulu - October 2012

 

 

The education centre has received a considerable amount of attention recently with Selvan Pillay painting the facility and cleaning out the kitchen and bunking area. He had collected a number of antelope skulls and prepared them for display. He wanted them mounted in the centre.

 

 

On Saturday morning, 27 October, Clive and priscilla Watson and Rick Cameron met Selvan at the Ed. centre and mounted these skulls on the rafetrs in the centre. These skulls had been collected at Amatikulu and included the skulls of Kudu, Waterbuck, Impala, Wildebeest, Bushbuck as well as skulls of Zebra.