2005 : January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November |
2006 : January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
2007 : January | February |

     It is hard to believe that Christmas is behind us already and we are into another New Year. With the total refurbishment of the Lodge and all the building finished, Savanna is entering 2007 on a really positive note. We are very proud of the way that the Lodge has turned out and have had huge compliments from guests, old and new, that have been to visit. We saw the New Year in with some badly needed rain and although we had 100mm in November, we were in great need of a good follow up. It did not dampen the spirits of the guests, however, or the New Year’s Eve party and every one was out on game drive in the morning bright eyed and bushy tailed!

     The bush has now flourished as have the gardens around the Lodge. All the new trees that we planted have now taken off and our wish to create a lush and green Savanna oasis is coming to fruition

     Our lion population continues to be a little disrupted due to the Mpogo (the 6 dominant males) increasing their territorial range. They have started to move southwards, causing havoc with the Ximungwe Pride, the resident pride on Savanna property. It will take a little while to sort itself out but when all is done and dusted, with a coalition of 6 males, this will create a very stable lion population within our area. We had the privilege of seeing 5 of these males come down to a waterhole and all drink at the same time. We have never witnessed so many males all drinking together before. The Sand River females are all pregnant and should be producing very soon now. They are looking in prime condition and we can not wait to have new lion cubs on the property.

     Mambiri unfortunately has lost one of her cubs. We believe it could have been to honey badgers as one was spotted at one of her den sights and after this occurrence, only 1 cub has been visible. Leopard cubs are exceptionally vulnerable when they are small and on one occasion a few years ago, we had a female that lost all her cubs to a group of banded mongoose. Mambiri, is however doing very well in keeping this one cub and the cub has started to settle with the Land Rovers. Mkwela and her cub are still in good condition. The cub is getting quite big now and is spending a lot more time being adventurous. The guests had wonderful viewing of this brazen cub stalking a rhino.

     It has been astounding as to how many elephant we have had on the property of late. Savanna has had large breeding herds and young bulls swimming in George’s dam have been almost a daily occurrence.

     On one early morning drive, we came across a nest of 3 young Spotted Eagle Owls. It is very evident from the photograph that there are long delays between the laying of each egg, as you can see the difference in size of these 3 youngsters in the photo. The nests are generally made in a rocky outcrop or under an overhanging tree on the ground and the clutch size is normally 2 to 3 eggs.

     As mentioned last month, we gave out Christmas presents to approximately 80 children at Mabarula School. These were very well received and we like to feel that we are able to give something small back to the Community. Savanna was also represented when the Mabarula Youth in Action Choir had a function for their parents and village elders. Here it was explained to the visitors the role that Savanna has played in the growth and support of the choir. This was also very successful and made us feel very proud to be part of this Community.

     We hope that 2007 has started well for all of you and that we will see many of you back at Savanna during the year.