Most of the other lodge owners on Balule are always amazed at the excellent sightings of animals at Tremisana. Despite its relatively small size, the area around Tremisana always seems to produce something really good. We have seen all of the Big Five ( Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo and Leopard) on the property as well as cheetah and wild dog.
There have been many a traffic jam on the tar road bordering our property as a result of exceptional sightings including a number of lion kills. We are told that the locals drive slowly as they pass our lodge as they always hope to see something exciting !
There are two reasons for this situation :
1. As one moves westwards towards the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountain Range, the grass becomes sweeter.
2. Tremisana Dam attracts an inordinately large number of animals all year round. We keep the dam filled via our boreholes and, in winter, this water is the only permanent water for a radius of over five km.
Elephant, lion and buffalo are seen regularly. In fact, we have had elephants and lions INSIDE the camp on the odd occasion when our staff have left the back gate open !
Lions use the “wedge” formed by our neighbour’s fence and the main tar road fence to corner and kill their prey. Recent lion kills at Tremisana include impala, giraffe, wildebeest and waterbuck. In 2001 a lioness gave birth to 3 cubs just below the Tremisana Dam wall.
A troop of Vervet Monkeys has made Tremisana their permanent home and their antics amuse and enthrall our guests. We do not feed these monkeys and insist that our guests follow suit.
At night, the roars of lions and the wails of jackals are often heard and serve as a reminder that we are in wild Africa.
GAME DRIVES are conducted on our open vehicles : Landcruiser or Hilux Gameviewer. Viva Safaris is the only tour operator on Balule with access to all the servitude roads. Our Sunset Drive leaves Tremisana at 17h00 and returns around 19h00. In mid-summer, we return a little later so as to facilitate spotlit gameviewing after dark.
Our Sunrise Drive leaves the camp at 05h30 and incorporates a 1 h game walk returning to Tremisana between 07h30 and 08h00.
NEW WILDLIFE GAMEVIEWING VENTURE :
FULL DAY BALULE SAFARI
As of July 2007, Viva Safaris will be conducting Landcruiser game drives on a section of land over 1500 hectares in extent. Our daily program will be as follows :
06h00 : Coffee and Rusks
06h15 : Four hour morning game drive including tea break
11h00 : Brunch
15h30 : High Tea
16h00 : Four hour evening/ night drive including sundowner drink
20h00 : Dinner
We shall be incorporating the full day Balule Safari into our 4 day and 5 day safaris.
Our ranger will be equipped with a two-way radio which will allow communication with other rangers on game drives. In this way, we are assured of seeing all the good game viewing highlights on the property.
NOTES ON THE BALULE NIGHT DRIVE
The name “ BALULE ” is the Tsonga ( language of the Shangaan people ) word for
“ Buffalo ”. There are regular sightings of these bovine beasts on our Sunset Drive.
After dark, the ranger uses powerful spotlights to locate animals. The light from the spotlight is reflected by the tapetum behind the animal’s retina – so what one sees first is the “ eyes” of the animal. The animals usually look towards the vehicle and are thus easily located. However, they may look away and we then rely on the guide to spotlight the animal’s body.
The ranger has been instructed to drive slowly so that, if some animal is spotted, there is no need to reverse a long distance ( by which time the animal may have disappeared).
On any night drive, we are pleased to see any animal, but it is the nocturnal animals that are special. We have regular sightings of Lesser Bushbaby, Scrub Hare, Large-spotted Genet as well as porcupine, wild cat, civet and aardvark.
Nocturnal birds seen include Spotted Thickknee ( formerly called Dikkop ) and the Bronze-winged Courser. Other nocturnal specials that we have seen ( very rarely ) include side-striped jackal, aardwolf and White-tailed Mongoose.
The view of the sky is very special on a cloudless night : the lack of pollution allows for excellent clarity of vision and our guests are always amazed at the view of the Milky Way and the various Southern Hemisphere constellations.
To make the night drive very memorable, the ranger will stop somewhere in an open area and switch off all lights and vehicle engine. Please cooperate by keeping extremely still while you absorb the quiet of the night interspersed only by the various sounds of Nature.
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