Gaatjie - Our most frequent elephant guest

This elephant bull can be distinguished from the other elephants buy the small piercing in his right ear. It’s this little hole that has led to his name – Gaatjie or Small Hole in Afrikaans. Another classic trademark is that he often rests his trunk on his left tusk. Gaatjie is a 30 year old elephant bull that was brought to the reserve from the Kruger National Park He weighs approximately 5.5 tons and is only just beginning to reach his full size. He has about 20cm left to until he will be fully grown. With Gaatjie’s recent adventures and those from 2 years ago, we can also confirm that the wooden walkway at Idwala is 5.5 ton proof! 

Elephant trunks are very agile

He has very thick tusks but they grow very slowly and due to the rate that he wears them down they’ll never get very long. Gaatjie’s tusks are used for various purposes, mainly in relation to finding his next meal! He breaks branches with them and will use them in defence.He has a great appetite, needing 300kg of food a day. This will take him far and wide across the reserve. It seems that he enjoys the inner core of aloes so much, that it often leads him to go to the strangest places and this leads to his image of bravery….or foolishness. 

Gaatjie is well known for his close visits to Idwala and many staff have a story of when this gentle giant came too close. Talented, he has learnt how to open the tap that feeds the swimming pool and he often wanders beyond the pool towards the main lodge. Unsuspecting staff has often rounded the corner at the end of the wooden walkway to find Gaatjie standing on walkway. This wooden platform is 7metres above the ground and he weighs over 5 tons. A credit to the strength of this walkway! Staff will back off and leave this elephant to be but some have been brave enough to tell him off and ask him to move. 

Everybody that works on the reserve knows this elephant. He has had more close encounters with humans than any of the other elephants. There is another story of a ranger leaving a lodge on the reserve, late one night. He turned his head as someone called him and did not see who was standing outside the door. The poor ranger ran into the back of Gaatjie! Luckily the elephant got a fright and moved off very quickly!

Happily wandering around

We like to call him the “Traffic Officer” when he comes to visit the valleys around Idwala. He loves to act like a roadblock. And often, it is as if he knows that the team are in a rush to get to the lodge or to their homes. Many a cake has burnt in the oven as the chef was stuck behind Gaatjie. At night, he knows which corners to hide behind, giving the drivers a big fright! Luckily, his bark tends to be bigger than his bite and he makes space once the game is over. 

Gaatjie is a joy to have around. He is quite a remarkable character at Idwala and we wouldn’t trade him for any other!

giving the trunk a rest!

A little bit of face paint to impress the ladies

Getting to know the birds at Idwala - African Hoopoe

 The African Hoopoe (Upupa African) is one of the prettiest birds and are easily recognised around the lodge. The beautiful cinnamon colour of the upper body leads to a distinctive crown of feathers. The black and white barring on the wings and tail are conspicuos in flight. The short grass and bare patch at the bottom of the Idwala valley is ideal terroritory for the Hoopoe where insects and worms can be caught.

The Hoopoe’s long, slight de-curved bill is perfectly suited for this task. The call is a melodic trisyllabic “oop-oop-oop”. They like to nest in a tree or a wall but will not make their own hole. The Hoopoe is related to the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. The Hoopoe is not a social bird and will be found singularly or in pairs. The Hoopoe is a small bird and only measures 25cm.

Keep your eyes out for the African Hoopoe next time you visit!

Photo by Philip

Sarabi – the elusive lioness

Sarabi – the elusive lioness

Sarabi and her intimidating stare

Sarabi was born in the Welgevonden Game Reserve in the Waterberg biosphere. She was introduced to the reserve in November 2005 and was just under 4 years old. At the same time, another male lion was introduced but Sarabi isolated herself from him and the existing pride. It was in the Northern part of the reserve that she chose to to claim as her territory. Due to a lack of food she soon had to find a new area to claim as hers.

Early in 2006 she attempted to settle in in the area close to Idwala’s reception. The other lions ambushed her in one of the corners and launched a severe attack. Claudine and Philip heard the attack late one Sunday night. The next morning she was seen hiding under a tree, lying nearly motionless, in too much pain to move. This is when it was decided to intervene and the reserve vet was called in to assist. Philip assisted with process of sedating her and relocating her to the acclimatization enclosure. She received a treatment of antibiotics and 1 months rest. Sarabi made a full recovery and no such attack has happened since.

Sarabi is strong lioness weighing just over 210kg. Unusual for a solitary lioness she has been known to take out a fully grown eland on her own. Aptly named, Sarabi means “optical illusion” in Swahili. Made famous by the animated feature, the Lion King, Sarabi is Simba’s mother. Yet, despite the time spent on the reserve, Sarabi has not mated successfully. She did form an alliance with the big blonde male lion, but they were unsuccessful as a breeding pair.

Sadly, this beautiful lioness was relocated in June 2010 as part of a program to diversify the lion genes.

You can see quite clearly what a big lioness she was