Klaserie Chronicle 04-2006 by Klaserie Private Nature Reserve

Klaserie Chronicle

Klaserie Kroniek

Vaarwel Zani Welcome Leslie Die Kroniek het met spyt kennis geneem van Zani Kunz se vertrek vanaf Hoedspruit na nuwe weivelde in die Waterberg. Zani was by die eko-opleidingsprogram vir kinders vanaf die instelling daarvan September 2004 betrokke.

Sandy Wilkes beskryf Zani as '?ernand wat die gawe besit om die bewaringsboodskap effektief aan ander oor te dra; geliefd en gerespekteer deur beide mede-opvoeders en kinders. Ek en sy het 'n wonderlike werksverhouding gehad en het goeie vriende geword. Haar glimlaggende gesig en borrelende persoonlikheid sal deur ieder en elk van ons gernis word. "Dit is egter belangrik dat hierdie opvoedingstaak voortgesit word. 'n Opvolger vir Zani is dus in die persoon van Leslie Blandy aangestel. Die Klaserie Privaat4 If; \: natuurreservaatheet . .b haar hartlik welkom in f hul midde. Vergun les lie om in haar eie woorde te verduidelik hoe sy haar rol in die Klaserie sien: "To explain how I Zani bids farewell to the Klaserie wear- feel about doing the ing eamngs she received as a gift from

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Klaserie members and teachers.

"Die opvoeders van die Klaserie het 'n ongelooflk intieme kennis van die Afrika-bos. My taak is om hierdie kennis te ontsluit en die opvoeders te begelei om dit, gekoppel aan bewaring, aan die volgende geslag oor te dra," Leslie Blandy. primary and high schools and Southern Cross School. Our ideal is to help these teachers with the skills they may need in order to offer quality education to their chiIctren. Wherever possible Reacha-Cross tries to offer these skills using the natural environment as a teaching resource. "The Eco-training in Klaserie Private Nature Reserve is a natural progression for the Reach-a-Cross community partnership. In this programme selected staff members of Klaserie are taking the role of the teacher and impartingtheir knowledge to the childrcn whose parents work in the Reserve. "My job is to show the staff members how to take their amazing knowledge and to present it to children in a manner that will help the children to develop a love for the African bush and an environmental ethic that will make them want to preserve the natural environment in the future. "The first teacher-training workshop for 2006 took place on 2426 March. The theme for this .workshop was Trees and Grasses. Alan McSmith spent a day sharing his expertise with us and the following days were spent refining the ways in which we would impart this knowledge to the children. "Over a four-day period during the first week of the school holidays more than 200 "Klaserie" children learned about the Trees and Grasses of Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. They learned how each tree is closely linked to the grass that grows under it and how each tree provides specific needs for different animals. Emphasis was also laid on the cultural significance of specific trees to the local communities. "It is essential that the children of Afica learn to appreciate the environment and realize that by just removing one tree the whole ecosystem can be changed."

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vate Nature Reserve I think that I had better explain my reasons for coming to Hoedspruit. "I am passionate about the African bush it all it encompasses and my dream has always been to live in the Bush! Last year the opportunity arose when I was lucky enough to be offered the job at Southern Cross School - so at 51 years of age I gave up my life in Pretoria to move to a town where I did not know a soul just so that I could live in the bush. "My passion has always been teaching peopIe as much as possible about nature and the wondefil environment we have in South Afiica. For the past 15 years I have been braining adult blackwomen in Early Childhood Development skills, always with a strong emphasis on the natural environment as a teaching tool. "This ethos links exactly with the nature-based school system that Southern Cross School follows. "At Southern Cross School I am in charge of the Community Partnership programme called Reach-a-Cross. This partnership programme was developed to create a link between the local black

Klaserie welcomes Leslie Blandy.

"Listen. Or your tongue will make you deaf" Cherokee Indian

Reader,.' 'orum - Briewebus Die redakteur van d i e k (roniek doen 'n beroep o p alle l e s e r s vir paslike items wat op hierdie bladsy g e p b u ~ ~ s e alcan r word. Dankie, Redakteur

Rhino pranks on Engelhard Boulevard Dave Tindall writes: While returning to my camp at midday on 3 March 2006 along what is known as the Engelhard Boulevard I encountered a group of five white rhino behaving in an unusual manner. I thought my experience might be of interest to some of the members.

On coming around a corner I came face to face with a very large rhino bull that appeared to be somewhat agitated and it approached my vehicle with its head held high. Knowing that white rhino are not usually aggressive I immediately switched off the landy and merely sat still. After a short while the rhino backed off and I then noticed an additional four rhino were grouped a little further down the road under some false maroelas. The rhino bull then turned his attention back to the group and with a lot of noise coming from all the rhino he herded the group onto the road in front of the vehicle. I initially assumed that the group of four were cows and that the bull had ulterior The rhinobullthat DaveTindallwrites about in the accompanying letter. The photograph has been "photo-shopped' not to change the size or shape of motives. This interplay continuedfor at least haIf anything but only to clearly show what surprised Dave on a day in March this an hour with the group of four adopting a yearlaager strategy thus preventing the bull pointed out that this extension on the bull was in fact a growth of from approaching them- The noises were astounding to say the some sort. He accordingly suggested that if possible this should be least, ranging from high-pitched squeals to something similar to a looked at by a Vet. lion's roar. I did report the sighting to the warden, but at the time of writing 1 eventually decided it was time for me to press on home and 1 I have had no feedback as to whether the animal has been found. accordingly cautiously approached the group of four assuming May I accordingly suggest that if any member sees this animal that they would move off the road and allow me to pass. HOW- that its whereabouts be reported to the warden. ever, what 1 did not anticipate was the actions of the bull that The interaction continued for more than an hour thereafter when continued to prevent the group from leaving the road. Each time the mature cow appeared to tire withthe attentions bull I approached the group (at times up to a few metres) the four kindly decided that it was now time to allow me to move on. Mainrhino were simply herded back onto the road by the bull. taining their defensive formation the group moved off into the bush. And so we slowly ~ro!Pssed down the road for at least 100 Clearly the intention of the large bull was to separate the two metres or so- Being able to approach so close it was then POsfi- smaller bulls from the cows. It would have been interesting to see ble for me to see that the group of four - obviously a farmly how the encounter ended. group - consisted of two cows (one of which was a mature yourssincereb female and the other a small young female) and the other two D~~~ ~ i n d ~ l l were young bulls, clearly not able to challenge the large bull. Realizing that my attempts to get past the group were futile I again switched off the land' and sat still watching the interaction play out before me. I was now parked about three metres Lede word vriendelik uitgenooi om die eko-oplceidiigskursusse "in te loer" from the group that appeared to have now become accustomed wanneer dit weer plarasvind en hul op daiardie tyd!ptip we1 in die to my vehicle and the large cow simply lay down and dozed off Natuurreservaatis. AUe opleiding wrod in die Itoekoms by die KPNR BKkompleks aan~ebied obviously quite bored with the attentionsof the bull. . 14 Junie; 4,5,6 September; 2021,22 The large bull was a magnificent specimen and appeared to be '*pldding extremely well endowed with its manhood extending down to 29 Junie; 25,26,27,2 8 Septemher; 4, almost its back knees. I hope the published photo reproduces 5, 6, Deseml--well enough for you to see what I am talking about. 'n Nasionale Kmger Wihdtuin ekskmrsie word vir9enlOD plan. 1 later showed this to a Vet with wildlife experience and he Kontak Sandy by 015 7($3 3521 indlien lesers Ineer inli

2006 Kursusdatums (

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"All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth," ... Chief Seattle

or vis#itthe wcebsite rncrosssrchools.~ rsouthe~

"In wilderness lies the preservation of humanity" Henry Thareau

And that was the There was tangible excitement within the group white ticking off lists of birds, animats and trees spotted. There were 'other'ticks too as the group learnt more about a life not yet experienced by many of them. A tick for sheets on beds. A tick for hamburgerseaten with a knife and fork. A tick forthe joys ofa swimming pool on a hotday and hot water r.

asm.

the nortt who was instrumental in finding the group acc:ommod:

to go on a night drive. To Rhoda of the "Takeaways"must go grate!fulthank for lending the group her extra large pots. T o all the staff at Mopani Camp - their friendliness and service were outstanding THANK-YOU. To Kirsty Redman must go deep appreciation for arranging the free entrance to the Park and a tour of theElephant Hall and also to M'r Steyn \i tour of the Hall with such ertthusiasr

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P b b s from b p downand bthe left- 1.. The group picturedunderthe hugeBaobab tree; 2 attheentranceto the Elephant Hall and on the left3, counting elephant's teeth inside the Elephant Hall with Mr Steyn in

ing worn and breaking down towards its forward edge, the mots being absorbed, The next one then moves fonnraFd from the back of thejawtoreplace it- - The Mammals of the SouthernAfrican Subiegi0n."- RH.N.

I ve always b.elieved that the spiritual impact of wilderness i s the spark which motivates the individual to a higher ideal of conservation," Ian Player

ResourceAfrica enthused with training Resource Africa delegates -drawn from the teacher fraternity at schools between Busbuckridge and Acornhoek embraced the teacher-training experience with enthusiasm. These delegates were accommodated by Senelala Lodge. The delegates from Resource Africa could unfortunately not attend the children's training but they will be returning to future teachers' and children's training sessions. The experience gained will be carried into the schools in the region as the programme continues and expands.

December2004 Tsunami- Therewere a m b e r ofbachings ...whales anddolphinsbeached in NorthawlHecould not pinpoint the day. He predicted that within six months there would be a huge earthquake ...I think there are many messages fiom the-animal world that we are not the more the children of the worM are NOT exposed to the wilderness the LESS these signs wilI even be noticed never mind beingrespondedto," is Alan's o w n . w SO,Ala&lthisk where& unpta&of the CMWS training programme comes in? "I honestlv believe so. You know, I remember mv earliest memories &e the smdi ofwood-m'ke. I honestly &eve that With nigh On 20 years of the bush chi]dr~goingthroughtheagen~e,~ 11 or 12,ormqrbeitis and all that takes place therein Alan evenearlierthesedavs.isavervdelicate~eriodina~erson's McSmith of Alan ~ c ~ m i Safaris th is a Dre- life and you canmaki adiÂŁfere~&.Ifyou &exposeihat child ferred source of information on #e ec&sys- t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ g n a ~ a l ~ ~ ~ --. ~ o u ~ ~ "People will always say, well, why don't you go on TV,go and tem, the environment and animal behaviour. ioin Greeooeace or barb down Bu door for fuodw. People area&hg that but in my capacity as a Wilderness w&Alan spenttime in March thisyear training and exchangingin- nor ...there's a war out there and this is my way of participatformation with the CETteachers and ResourceAfi.icadelegates. &!" He stands foursquare behind the importanceof teaching the children of the world about the significanceof the environment. He has some interesting observations, particularIy regardingthe burgeoning elephant population andtheir behaviour given the speculation on global warming. Speakingin his own amiable manner to the Maserie Chronicle Alan had this to say: "I have got a personal theory and maybe it is a good time to bring it up. 1 don't believe in coincidences any more. [Okay,Alan ...] "I believe the elephant population has increased significantlyin

'Wilderness Warrior 1 believes in children's 1 programme

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anticipation of droughtconditions. If you look at elephant and what they do ... they are sort of natural brush packers, when they feed off bushes they strip off growth and drop it. They might even uproot a whole tree and just plonk it down. Could it be they are brush-packing the soil? Not onIy that but consider the carpet of dung they leave behind. Elephant are capable of modifying the environment in ways which we cannot yet fathom '7 believe what they are doing is preparing the vegetation for a

rough spell. Many countries i n f i c a are speakingof growing elephant populations so should there be a major drought within the next decade or so I do not think it will come as any mrise. c< We are so far removed from the spirit of wilderness and the ~1~ MeSmi* and a group of teachers discuss how species we cannot see the forest the trees. overgrazing of the grass cover is so delicately linked to "There was an Indian theologian who actually predicted the thediversity of other plants and trees. #

"True meaning of life is about quality, direction of spirit and a greater awareness of what is around you ..." Alan and Sarah McSmith

1 'Trees and grasses' theme for April 1 children's Eco-Training course d

Welcome to three new teacher assistants drawn from last yeaf s 'eco-training-leavers They are Leeann Khoza, Elias Mnisi and Sinhle Mathebuta. The three turned 17yearsofagein 2005but by virtue of their continued enthusiam in fhe training that is essentially for six- to 16-yeardd learners they were there in Apd to lend a valuable hand to the trainingteachers

6 "Finding out - not knowledge - is the spring that makes life fascinating," E F k n s o n

Meer opvoeders en voertuie, asseblief -

Sandy Wilkes [telefoon 015 793 3521 e.pos: sandy@purnula.co.za] skryf as volg: Geagte lede ... Graag maak ek van hierdie geleentheid gebruik om lede opreg te bedank vir die ondersteuning ontvang met die eko-opleidingsprogram vir kinders. Soos u seker bewus is, is dit 'n opvoedingsprograrn gemik op die kinders in gemeenskappegrensend aan Klaserie. Die program het ten doe1 om 'n begrip en waardering vir en besef van die belangkheid en noodsaak van ongerepte en ongeskonde bewaringsgebiedeen die voortbestaan daarvan in SuidAfiika te kweek en verder uit te bou. Die suksesvolle oordra van hierdie boodskap is van wesentlikebelang vir almal van ons in Klaserie sowel as die groeter SuiderAfiika. Aan almal wat ingestem het dathul personeeldieopleiding

van opvoeders kon deurloop, en die weer die kinders op hul beurt kon leer, nogrnaals BAIE D m . Ons het egter nog nie naastenby genoeg gedoen nie en dus doen ek terselfdertyd ' nemstigeberoepop I& Ons benodig meer opvoeders en voertuie. Die enigstevereistes is dat kandidateEngels magtig is (om dit te lees en skryf sal 'n bonus wees) en dat hul geldige bestuurslisensies besit. Skakel my dus asseblief indien u personeel in diem het wat ons moontlik met die opvoedingsprograrnkan help. Dit spreek vanself dat hul dan enkele dae per jaar aan ons vir diens afgedeel word sodat hul aan die opvoedingsprogram kan deelneem [sien kursusdaturns op Bladsy 2 gewaar By voorbaat dankie ondersteuning. Sandy Wikes

AIDS Day success Images from the January AIDS Day held at the headquartersofthe Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. the Day was well attended and hasbeen hailed as a success in termsof awareness of the disease. -

"Only the day dawns to which we are awake," Henry David Thoreau

Wildlife drama plays out at the front door Anextraordinarything Eallowed but let As each day went by the family went through stageswhen they imagined the beast Mark recount it in his own words. "...At about five o'clock that afternoon recuperating but, no, it was not to be, and finally there was no doubt in their minds that the hippo stood up and walked towards the hippo was increasingly weaker. The days the lions that were lying in a semi-circle a passed into two weeks and then the lions short distanceaway. Thehippo simply lay down amongst them. It was almost as came. Cliff von Bellcum had sighted an injured "One morning at about 02:OO we heard though the hippo had said, 'I have had hippo at the dam on Camp George. The approaching lions roaring, At fnst light we enough ' The lionsthen proceeded to take male hippo, he told Mark, had been in a arose to fmd five male lions lying scattered the hippo apart. "At about 03:W the next morning we mighty battle for supremacy with another around the hippo just watehing it. male and had obviously lost. A few days Then, the hippo stumbked towardsthe wa- heard the lions maring and the rest ofthe later the injured hippo made its paidid way ter p a At stages, one, then Wekms climbed pride moved in. At daylight there were towards a mud bath a short distance 6.om on the hippo's back but he shook them off. 18 Iim intokd, males, females and cubs a small pan of water in front of the home. "The hippo lay down in the pan after he feeding on the carcass and resting around "It just lay down in the mud. Out of com- had kept them at bay and remained there in it. "In correct orderthejackals arrived,then passion we pumped some water into the this little dish. The Iions moved off a dismud bathjust to create more mire to keep tance to lie in the shade all the while keep- the hyenas ... it took about four days ... and then findly the vultures came in and him cool," says Mark recounting the se- ing an eye on the hippo". cleaned up," concluded Mark. ries of events.

The full circle of an incredible wildlife drama played itself out 50 metres from the front door of Mark and Sandy Wilkes' home at Tortilis on Camp George in the latter half of 2005.

Bladsy2: Kursusdatums. Page2: Rhino pranks onEngelhardBoulevard. Page3: Southern CrossSchooldynamics. Bladsy4: Besoekaan KrugerWildtuin. Page 5: Wilderness Warrior on the trail. Page6: "Treesand Grasses". Page7:AIDS Day success. 8

UVaJtodo Stationery C a (Pty.) Ltd - "especiallyto Mr Eugene Kleinharrswho has nwertwrred dowm an appeal from us, thanks too to the their Nefspruit Distribution Centre staff for their efficiency."

P i i 'n Pay, Riverside, Iklspruiâ&#x201A;Ź "Mr Robert Spemnza and his staff for always trying so hard to obtain as many as possible of the producfs we request to be donated."

Spar, Hoedsprutl "Mr Danie Fhra and Jaws Roeis fw your continued support, assistance and efficiency."

Le Barnba, Hoedspruit "To his and Maria, all the Dos Santos family and staff - your 'forever' assistance and friendliness is really valued."

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children" Chief Seattle

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