Tag Archive for Conservation

Day 2 – Tent Construction and Swazi Dancing

Duke of Edinburgh Participant 2012 / August 14, 2012 / No comments

So, before I get onto the poor tent building and our terrible dancing, it’s the next morning and sitting in front of the watering hole is a picture of perfection… Back to yesterday, after a long drive, which, in pretty much any other country, would have been boring and tedious was yet another journey of excitement, beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife kept us all entertained. We arrived at our destination buoyant from the drive, only to realise that we had to put tents up. What started out as a mess of poles ended up as a mess of a tent, but at least sleep-able, well for someone else, my tent was as sturdy as a brick house (thanks to Camping King Stuart). Tents up, Anton decided nose-breaking American football in the dark was a good idea, with Lottie letting the Lions know exactly where we were (screaming from a football flying at her face) poor light eventually called time on the play, perfect timing for dinner. Dinner was a good old old English Shepards pie with an African twist, yum…

With dinner demolished and beer in hand, we were treated (that word would seem to be overused, but seriously every turn is a surprise and the next thing is the new best experience of my life) with Swazi dancers, with lots of noise and lots of flare the dancers showed the rest of us how to do it and in return we showed them how not to, and on that bombshell, bedtime listening to the lion calls!

Adam

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Category: Albizia camp, DofE2012, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Environmental Awareness Course, Extreme Nature Tour, Gold 2012 / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Velvet Gecko

Lacey / April 23, 2012 / No comments

At Umkhumbi lodge we are proud to say that each room has a resident Velvet gecko (they stay outside, don’t worry!) The Velvet gecko is on the IUCN list due to it’s rarity. One species of the Velvet gecko is so rare that it was only recently rediscovered!

They are larger than the non-indigenous Tropical house geckos that are so prominent here in South Africa. They have been known to grow up to 120mm in length (and that is just the body, add the tail on as well and you have a fairly substantial portion of gecko!).

 

Why is a velvet gecko called a vevlet gecko?

The scales of the Velvet Gecko overlap slightly giving it an almost velvet-like feel

 

So, I hear you ask, if they are so big; How on Earth do they run up the walls? How do they not fall off the ceiling?

Well, each toe is covered with large, wide pads. These pads are covered with tiny little hairs, shorter than 2 diameters of a human hair(1) and much thinner, it is these hairs that allow geckos to run up even the smoothest surface. Each of these hairs is subject to a weak molecular attraction – Van Der Waals theory – which gives geckos the ability to be able to hang from a wall by just one fingertip. This adhesive effect is very strong and the tiny hairs only become detached by changing their angle (almost like velcro).

 

How do geckos stick to the wall?

The texture of a geckos 'fingerprint' helps them stick to even the smoothest of surfaces.

 

For more information about the discovery, read this and this from the Lewis & Clark College, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and Stanford University.

Category: Activities, Did you know?, Environmental Awareness Course, Our animals / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hlane Royal National Park

Lacey / February 29, 2012 / No comments

Arriving at Hlane Royal National Park, the Waterhole by the restaurant was like a scene out of the Lion King!

Rhino, Hippo, Elephants, Impala, Stork, Ox Peckers and Crocodile, all that was missing was the Giraffe!

white Rhino in the bush - nature tour south africa

The Rhino tries to find his way to the water past the hippos, croc and elephants

bull elephant in swaziland

The elephant looks smug after seeing off that pesky Rhino!

crocodile extreme nature tour

The croc sunbathes on the sand waiting for an easy lunch

elephant family at waterhole

Once the coast was clear the whole elephant family came down to the water hole

hippo pillow extreme nature tour south africa

With one look the hippo tells the Rhino to stay away from their part of the water

Sulking Rhino at Swaziland

The Rhino flops to the ground and sulks while he waits for the Hippos, Croc and Elephants to let him to the water.

Another evening drive for Stephanie and Adrian Tonight followed by an early morning mountain bike ride around the park (to say they are excited would be an understatement!)

Category: Devost2012, Extreme Nature Tour / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Swaziland here we come!

Lacey / February 19, 2012 / No comments

We had a feast last night, everything must go! Due to laws in Swaziland you are not allowed to take any food products into the country so we ate and drank until we were fit to burst!

Armed with coffee fresh from the percolator (Antons travel companion who was greatly admired by Adrian) we woke ourselves from sleep and Stephanie ate Stephanies concuction of Pineapple and fruit Yoghurt :)

We all crossed the border without a hitch and proceeded to our breakfast stop in Swaziland overlooking a small lake. Little crocodile and BIG fish! Not to mention a teeny tiny water monitor who was basking on the frame work below the veranda.

water monitor - extreme nature tour, south africa

It's a hard life for a little monitor

Redbishop extreme nature tour south africa

This redbishop was building a nest nearby to the restaurant.

Category: Devost2012, Extreme Nature Tour / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bella the Impala

Lacey / June 13, 2011 / No comments

Here at Umkhumbi Lodge you are likely to see Bella wandering around the rooms munching away at the grass.

Bella is our hand-reared Impala.

Bella cannot have been more than a couple of weeks old when she was brought to us. Unfortunately Bella’s mother was attacked by a predator and young Bella was found nearby with cold, wet and weak with her head stuck in a fence (even today you can still see a slight scar).

Little bit by little bit we were able to feed Bella from a bottle, and were overjoyed to watch her get stronger. As she got stronger so did her personality, and she was all to eager to come stomping into the house to cry and cry until she got her bottle.

To our delight as Bella got older she began to venture further and further into the bush exploring and looking for food although she did still follow all of the staff and guests when she couldn’t find anything she fancied.

Far from being the tame little impala she was when she wandered freely in and out of the house, Bella no longer seeks out human interaction (it would appear the Nyala are more fun).

She is however perfectly content to block your way on the path, moving only at the last minute. Rest assured you can get some amazing photographs as she wanders freely around the paths instead of hiding in the bush.

 

Category: Our animals / Tags: , , , , ,