Spring News
We were fortunate to have the drought broken with over 200mm of rain at the end of July. The river came down in flood, the highest it’s been since the 2009 flood. Fortunately no big trees were washed away this time. As a result of the heavy rains in July and a few subsequent showers the dams have been overflowing as the grassy valley steadily releases its water from its spongy soils.
We managed to do some controlled burning and the grasslands have started to turn a bright green and are awash with spring wildflowers after the burn.
The impala and nyala herds have being enjoying the new grazing and have been hanging around the entrance gate with a pair of Grey Crowned Cranes that have been frequenting the reserve on a daily basis. Another pair of birds that have been literally hanging with the Impala is a pair of Red Billed Oxpeckers. These birds are quite far out of there range and it been really special seeing them grooming the Nyala and Impala.
The clivia’s and the crinum lilies have started flowering in the forest and make for a delightful splash of color on the walk through the forest.
We have managed to do a bit of invasive weed control, and have had a number of gum trees cut down helping restore the grassland to their natural state.
Spring is always a lovely time to visit the reserve hopefully with a few of the migrants returning soon. So why not make the most of our Spring Special and come and pay us a visit.
