MATABELELAND SAFARIS

PRIOR TO YOUR ARRIVAL

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The role players of the Gwayi Ngwe Opera are already rehearsing on a nightly basis. By the time you arrive they will surely know the script by heart.

A week ahead of the time, we set the scene to be dined on by the

main role player, Gugwan II, by putting out baits. Once Gugwan II tasted the meal we prepared for him, we put up the blind, to habitualize him to the blind.

 

On the day of your arrival, we do a full briefing on what to expect, blind behaviour and communication. In the evening we use a piece of leopard material to test which colour light works best for you.

 

We use a rheostat which offers us a choice of white-, green- or red light. You look through your telescope and decide which colour works best for you.

 

 

THE OPERA

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En route to the opera house, we be made aware of it is elephant country.

 

The elephants are the main custodians of this area, and in some way they will let us know in some way – be it by sight, hearing or smell. But as it could be very scary to be trapped in a blind with elephants around, are selecting the baiting location and where we put the blind. For this reason, about 2 hours before sunset, we slip into the blind and stay as unnoticeable as possible. We settle in and get ourselves comfortable for the nights opera.

 

Our ears are pitched to hear the late afternoon praise singer, the Red-eyed Bull bull bird, who is flying around, calling for Gugwan II to wake up for a night of excitement.

 

As the sun is busy setting, the baboons have by now reached their sleeping trees, a few hundred tree away.  barking loosely for the last late comers to get into the house. This way know, as it would be a loose bark here and there.

 

LATE AFTERNOON

 

In the late afternoon, as the sun is going down, we often hear the excited chittering of red-eyed bulbuls (birds), as they sing the praise of Gugwan II as it moves around. At night, after dark, the role of the praise singers are taken over by pearl-spotted owls. We regularly follow the leopard’s movements by listening at the sounds of these 2 bird species.

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The baboons know they have to be in their sleeping trees before dark. As the walk to the sleep trees, and also as they are entering the sleep trees, you will hear the single barks of individual baboons.

 

After dark the intensity and of the baboons increase dramatically, when a leopard is spotted. In such an event, all the baboons bark as a collective. When we hear the baboons bark so seriously, we know it is either leopard or lion close to the sleep tree.

 

What makes both these baiting areas so unique, is the fact that we have more than one male leopard in both areas, and even up to 3 tomcats of different ages.

 

The younger leopard males come in towards the bait earlier, whilst Gugwan II will come in later.

 

We can hear when a leopard is coming towards the bait, by listening to the alarm calls of bushbucks, and baboons. Once a bushbuck starts barking alarms, the bluff of the leopard is called, and most often the leopard will move on to the next bushbuck. In this way, we can trace a leopard’s movements, as it comes closer towards the bait.

 

Once the bushbucks close to the bait start to call, then we get ready with the thermal visors. The less dominant the leopard male is, the quicker it comes towards the bait. Almost always, the leopard will bed down close to the bait to sleep for a few minutes.

 

Once the leopard is in the tree, it will try to lift the bait onto the branch. We specifically use a heavy bait, which eliminates all female and younger, less dominant leopard males, as they are not able to lift the heavy bait meat onto the branch.

 

We always laugh softly as the less dominant leopard males, loose their balance as it tries to lift hook the bait onto the tree, and it always fall off the branch. It will often get into the tree, again, to try again. Being unsuccessful a second and third time, it will leave the bait, and continue their hunt, and eventually the distant barking of baboons and bushbuck will tell us the leopard has left the area.

 

We might have a short while of quiet, then we will hear the alarm calls of bushbuck and baboons most often from a distant direction.

 

This is always exciting as the alarm calls will come closer and closer.  

 

When the alarm calls are from the closer bushbucks, we are ready with our thermal visors.

 

When Gugwan II enters the baiting area, you will immediately see the heavier head and body. But what is typical if Gugwan II, is his more relaxed behaviour. He will bed down in a few places around the bait tree, aften sleeping even up to 10 minutes, before getting up, taking a yawn and a stretch.

 

By this time, if you have a thermal telescope on your rifle, you can shoot Gugwan II, without waiting for him to get into the tree.

 

When Gugwan II gets into the tree, you will see it is a more powerful cat as it lifts the heavy bait onto the branch with only one or maximum two tries.

 

By this time you are ready with your rifle, and once we turn up the rheostat, you make your shot.

 

With a shot in the boiler room, it normally drops to the ground like a corn bag, and we pick it up from there. If it runs, it is a wounded leopard.

 

The elephants are around, and during the night, we will hear them pushing over trees, breaking off branches, and the odd trumpeting.

 

Lions sometimes do enter our baiting area. With their heavier bodies, they battle to get to the bait, and once they reach the bait, they pull it onto the branch, and finish the bait. Fortunately, this is not a regular affair.

 

Spotted hyenas do enter the baiting area on a regular basis, but other than circling around the bait tree, and picking up small pieces of meat on the ground, they eventually leave.

 

In both areas we have a lot of bushpig activity, and that is probably the reason for the high leopard activity. Bushpigs are noisy animals, and we often hear them as they move around. When you walk in this area, it looks like a ploughed field in some places.

 

The cleaner of the floor around the bait tree, is beautiful Civets. They do spend a lot of time around bait trees, and will move away when leopards come in, and return to the bait trees afterwards. They feed on pieces of meat, as well as maggots that drop down from the bait.

 

The Opera on the Gwayi, is truly a very special experience.