Reception Office Work Party

 

The reception office at Amatigulu NR has been looking particularly shabby for some time, and so a group of HO's got stuck in and gave the building a bit of a facelift after our meeting on 5 October. The fascia boards and front roof were sanded down and painted.

Pete Saville sending his colleagues up the ladder.

Paul Risi  repaired some of the woodwork above the front roof

Nearing completion

Paul Johnson, Paul Risi and Gary Frances hard at work.

Clive Watson having a "pow wow" with Mabhida Ntenga, our OIC.

 

Restoring the tables in the Education Center

Paul Risi provided enough wood the construct new surfaces for the table frames in the Ed.center. He undertook to do this job and was assisted by the rest of the group on Saturday 13 th July. There are 4 large tables to be restored.

The frames were rubbed down and re-painted.

The woodwork was attached and sealed.

Thanks Paul, for the wood, the work and the initiative!

CNW 

Winter Bird Count June 2013

The winter bird count took place on Sat 29th June. We were joined by HO from Durban North who spent the weekend camping out at Amatigulu. Counting began at 07h30 and continued until late afternoon. There were 16 counters working in 3 groups, assigned to trails 1-4 and also the 4x4 trail.

The HO group out at Matshangulu Pan 

Priscilla with Helga and Rob from the Durban North HO group

Our list for the day totaled 82 birds with 48 species being spotted on the 4x4 trail (open veld, acacia forest and fresh water pan) , 46 on trails 1 and 2 combined (river sections), and 25 on trail 3 and 4 (riverine and open woodland).

Highlights were the sighting of a secretary bird on the 4x4 trail, a palm nut vulture on the river trail and a cuckoo strike on the forest trail.

The day ended with a braai back at camp. Paul and Mahesh with Pete Saville in the "camo" jacket

Secretary Bird

Trumpeter Hornbill

Little bee-eater

Burchell's Coucal

White fronted bee-eater.

Other interesting sighting on the day included:

African green pigeon

African black swift

Yellow-rumped tinkerbird

Orange throated longclaw

Black-bellied bustard

Jackal buzzard

African fish 

Cape Shoveler

Goliath heron and young

Red-billed teal

White-faced duck

Yellow-spotted nicator

Sombre bulbul

Red-capped robin chat

Yellow-breasted apalis

Long-billed crombec

Green-backed camreoptera

Dusky flycatcher

Black flycatcher

Blue-grey flycatcher

Paradise flycatcher

CNW

Conservation workshop for local primary schools

In June we hosted two local primary schools to a conservation morning at the education centre. This workshop was initiated by the Amatigulu HO group, assisted by the Department of Agriculture and the Environment from Stanger. 60 pupils from grades 6 and 7 attended the workshop accompanied by their teachers.

The OIC for Amatigulu NR, Mabhida Ntenga addressed the school group and spoke about his role as conservator for Amatigulu, as well as the roles played by his field rangers in protecting the reserve.

The localEzemvelo Community Conservation Officer, Cyril Buthelezi, illustrated several conservation issues by way of educational games.

Delani Ndlovu from the Dept of A and E, provided the screen and projector for the event.

The workshop presented by HO Clive Watson, illustrated the following conservation issues:

1. The need to conserve our natural environment
2. The need to protect the environs of Amatigulu NR
3. The importance of anti-poaching activities
4. The potential benefits of the reserve to the local community in terms of both the local economy and employment for community members.

The teachers suggested that we form a joint steering committee to plan for further school visits and so that the workshops tie in with the curriculum in the schools.

Planning for these activities is under way.

The education center has no chairs at this stage - pupils had to sit on the floor during this presentation. potential sponsors need to be sought so that the necessary basic furniture can be obtained. The schools also need assistance with transport to and from the reserve.

CNW   

Amatikulu whale tower reconstruction.

The view looking North-East from the base of the whale tower.

 

The Amatigulu HO group began the reconstruction of the "whale tower" on this past weekend - the 2nd and 3rd of March 2013.



Several floor planks needed replacing before we could start work "upstairs"

 

 

Mabhida Ntenga, OIC Siyaya, Rick Cameron and Clive Watson doing some planning in the previous week.

 

 

The old stairway was removed before a new one could be constructed. The party brought generators, drills, circular saws, sanding and cutting discs etc etc to the site in order to achieve the desired outcome.

 

 

Greg working on the stairs,Patrick (working guest) looking on, Clive admiring the work of the "masters".

 

 

  

The stairs are now complete. Priscilla, our arbitrator, looking pleased, either with herself, or with the work done - not sure which!? Rick cameron," Clerk of Works and Chief Measurer" also looking happy with progress.Greg is up top checking on the strength of the upper staircase.

 

 

 

Clive repairing the generator cord. No power- no work!

 Good shade under this tower!

 

 

Mabhida and Greg looking like proud owners of a new whale tower!

Mabhida is famous for arriving "just in time"! We were finished the weekend's work at this stage!!

 

Phase 1 was completed on Sunday. We now have to return to build the roof structure and complete the sides. The structure is once more in usable condition. For those who have not been there, this tower provides spectacular views of the coastline for 15km to the left and a good 20km to the right. It looks over pristine coastal thornveld _ probably the best you will see on the entire KwaZulu coastline. It is well worth the visit. It is accessible by vehicle from the 4x4 trail, or by foot along one of the walking trails.

If you are interested in visiting Amatikulu or supporting the work of the Amatigulu Honorary Officers (who work for the love of it!), give us a ring on 0832746678.





 

new blog title

We have a new blog name for Amatikulu

 

 

The blog title has changed to AMATIKULU NEWS as from 8 January. The old title is no longer appropriate in the light of the fact that the Amatikulu HO group has been temporarily shut down. A new Amatikulu group will be set up shortly, and it will include the current body of interested parties as the founding group.

 

In the interim the current probationary HO's will operate through the harold Johnson HO group under the leadership of Anne Bindoff.

 

The current group will continue to work in Amatikulu reserve as their first point of interest and also in other areas as directed by the Harold Johnson program.

 

The current group will operate together with Trueman Buthelezi who is now responsible for Amatikulu, in his capacity as Conservation Manager of Siyaya Coastal Park.

 

Clive Watson 

 

 

Meeting with Trueman Buthelezi

On 6 December Rick Priscilla and I met with Trueman Buthelezi, the new officer in Charge of Amatikulu Nature Reserve. Trueman will not be resident at Amatikulu - he will remain at Umlalazi where he manages that reserve. His responsibilities now emcompass both reserves, and he will manage Amatikulu through an officer stationed there.
Trueman was busy with a program on the river at the time and we resolved to meet after the holiday reason to establish priorities for Amatikulu.