September was a busy month at Buffalo Thorn Lodge, with huge amounts of adrenaline and excitement to boot. With the change of season, as well as with the windy weather, all the trees are flowering and pervasive fragrances are abundant. Spontaneous sightings coupled with lingering scents, are reason enough to visit this bush wonderland. Everything pops this time of year! The trees in & around our lodge are spectacular as they squeeze, shove and jostle for life-giving sunlight, while their cambium layers suck up nutrients into celebrating canopies. However, given the dry and windy conditions, veld fires always lurk, sniffing out the smallest reason to ignite and explode. Nature is always a double-sided coin. Gnarled prettiness is one way of describing the African bush.
In the last four weeks there were two wildfires that came into and ravaged the Pilanesberg National Park. The first was in the wilderness area and was furiously snaking its way towards Black Rhino. With unrelenting hard work and with all hands-on-deck, we stifled its progress in the Legkraal Valley. The second fire was started at the Fish Eagle picnic spot and burnt all the way to the Eastern fence. Unfortunately, Manyane resort was heavily affected by this fire and had damage to most of their Chalets. Our saving grace was 15mm of rain two days later that soothed and stimulated new grass growth with the fresh food greatly benefitting our resident herds.
Sightings this month at Buffalo Thorn Lodge have been exciting. Almost every day we have enjoyed multiple visits from elephants at our waterholes. We have even had the rare and elusive Cape buffalo coming to stave off their thirst. We watched them, while they watched us. They always win the stare-down with their facial expressions suggesting that we owe them money. There were two giraffe carcasses on Black Rhino with one being a mere 200m away from the lodge. The excitement and energy around these rare occurrences were palpable. The air was electric (& a little smelly), while all the action and activity attracted the Lengau Dam pride of lions back to Black Rhino. They strolled into town, flexed so as to not make it look intentional, and then staked their claims at the carcasses while begging anyone to differ.
Here are some highlights for the month:
With the whole bush going green and everything in full bloom, feel free to come and experience the wonders of the bush for yourself. Do so as soon as possible as we would love to host you. Visit www.buffalothornlodge.com and book your getaway now.
Kindest bush regards
The BTL Team