Travelling Trio

Wow what a busy and exciting year 2011 has been so far!

February at Monate was romantic due to our Valentine’s month celebration with all our guests. There was even a little romance at Hippo dam – we will be looking out for a new little addition to our Hippo family soon! :) The crocs have also been spotted mating… I hope there is enough water to accommodate these creatures! We have had about 15mm of rain in the past 2 months… not good at all. We are frantically pumping our dams and praying for more rain! It seems to be raining everywhere but here!

My Bushveld Valentine's Day card from Armand :)

On the 16^th Feb I went home for 3 days. It was so nice to see everyone and my doggies! Then Mom and I flew to India to see Dad and travel. Wow… they are not lying when they say incredible India! It was everything from disgusting and dirty to beautiful and tropical!

A very quick summary of our trip:

We started off in Delhi – gross! (People using the streets as toilets/dustbins) Not to mention the traffic – lines on the road mean absolutely nothing to these people! Then off to Bandhavgarh Wildlife sanctuary to see wild tigers – WOW! We were all speechless at times, what incredible beings they are – magnificent in fact! The accommodation was great and food even better (hence me sporting an extra 2 kg’s) :( you always know it was a good holiday if you come back a little heavier! :) The train trip back to Delhi was …. Interesting to say the least. Crammed in like sardines but laughing and loving the experience anyway! After a night in Delhi we were off again to the South of India to Kerela – another WOW! An Indian version of Mozambique! Tropical, humid and hot and so, so pretty! (A hundred times cleaner than Delhi) We went on a house boat ride, flying fox and bird watching, enjoyed some local dancing and music (and food)! Back to Delhi AGAIN for one night and then a road trip to Jaipur and Agra were we did some real touristy sightseeing! The best being the Taj Mahal, Dad was not lying when he said it is the most beautiful building in the world!!!!  You can see why it took 22 years to build! Back to…. You guessed it DELHI…. And then the long trip home. Very sad waving goodbye to dad but he had the SA vs India cricket match to look forward to! (AND WE WON! :))

Team India

Magnificent Tiger

On the train

Kerela

The Taj Mahal

Camel bonding

  

Unfortunately while I was away our two very special cheetah sisters (my babies), Puka and Mavuta left Monate. I cried for about 2 days but of course that changes nothing! :( Luckily Armand was at Monate to oversee the relocation and keep me informed every step of the way! Puka and Mavuta were tracked and darted to be checked before the long drive to their new home in Natal. We are going to miss them very much! :(

Me and Mavuta

Armand and Puka Cat

Puka in her crate

Mavuta still asleep in her crate

Our newer cheetah sisters – Askari, Bukeka and Thulile are still in the cheetah boma but they are doing so well that they will be released onto the reserve within the next month or so. I am soooo excited for this! My first release!! Armand and I have been holding the impala carcass horns when we feed them – tug of war – the cats on one side and us on the other, what an adrenaline rush! They are incredibly strong and its amazing being so close to a wild predator! I LOVE MY JOB !!!

Askari, Bukeka and Thulile - my new babies!

Never a dull moment - We have had a couple of interesting guests at Monate including a huge python that Armand caught, a baby waterbuck, a jackal and many more.

Armand and Roux tackling a python

Armand with baby male waterbuck

Baby Jackal

Small spotted owlet

Rock Monitor

As well as a seriously scary visitor…….. 2,5m black mamba was found at our cave - Roux managed to shoot it. They are extremely venomous and aggressive! They actually attack you so we had to kill it.

Nani playing with the dead Black Mamba

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone for the Birthday wishes! :) 25 now – eeeeek, scary!!!

Armand baked me a Birthday cake! Yummy! :)

And that’s about it from my side for now! I hope you are all well! :) Missing everyone like crazy…. Missing my social life too – a drink and a party every now and then would be nice!

Until next time…