Lockdown diaries

HESSEQUA NEWS - I spent the first 35 days of lockdown on Garden Route Game Lodge with my wife Natasha and our two teenage children Gemma and Roman. It was just the four of us and a skeleton staff made up of our wildlife and anti-poaching team on the reserve.

As hard has it has been on our business, the lockdown has brought with it some enjoyment and provided us with a chance to reflect and appreciate what we have and remind us what's important after all.

Wildlife
Evening game drives with my family were the highlight and certainly helped me switch off mentally. Each evening we would search for the cheetahs on the reserve. For the moment there are a total of nine, which is a lot for our game reserve. There is the ever-elusive male whom we only spotted once and two females. The older female has five cubs who are now a year old and the younger female has one six- month old cub.

The cats provided us with hours of entertainment. First, there was the joy of finding them after searching - over 35 days we got to know their favourite spots to bask in the setting sun with the best views of their prey. When we did find them there was the enjoyment of watching the cubs interact with their mom and each other, stalking and tackling each other, climbing in and out of trees and just having fun.

Apart from the cheetah, we enjoyed seeing that a new calf had joined our buffalo herd, got to see the lions drinking noisily from the water hole, enjoyed the antics of the baby rhino showing off in front of his mom and dad and ended each drive with a hippo sighting at the waterhole nearest the lodge. Here the hippos would give us, their only audience for 35 days, a wonderful show complete with diving and loud grunting and showing their tusks.

During the lockdown Gemma and Roman learnt to drive the Landcruiser - including at dusk - and how to approach sightings for the best photos. Gemma has become a keen photographer just like her mom. We spent more time with the wildlife team and the anti-poaching unit and became accustomed to seeing them during our drives. I have a new respect for the work they do and how important these custodians of our wildlife are.

Being locked down on the game reserve has made me realise just how much we have to offer our visitors. We look forward to sharing our wonderful nature and wildlife with all of you soon.

Natures playground
With less activity in the game reserve, the wildlife seemed to be a lot more relaxed. We noticed smaller, shyer creatures like grey and yellow mongoose, that are often overlooked on safari in favour of some of the larger more iconic big five species. April is also a lovely time for fynbos blossoms and the wonderful birdlife and butterflies they attract. We especially enjoyed the multitude of hard-working weavers building their nests in the acacias around the pool area.

From left: Anthony, Roman, Natasha and Gemma Doherty.