woodbury tented camp newsletter - june

7/28/2019 Woodbury Tented Camp Newsletter - June

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AMAKHALA GAME RESERVE

Woodbury Tented Camp : Giles and Jennifer Gush! 1

WoodburyTented Camp

History-Amakhala Game Reserve

Richard Gush arrived in South Africa withthe British Settlers of 1820, having leftLondon to make a new life in a wild andunknown corner of the British Empire -the Eastern Frontier of the Cape Colony.

Today, his descendants, cousins Giles andRichard Gush, are two of the founders ofthe Amakhala Game Reserve (AGR).Amakhala is a private reserve formed in1999 by six 1820 Settler Families whocombined their farmland for the purposeof returning it to its natural, wild state.

The aim of the AGR has been to developan economically viable land-use modelthat is ecologically sustainable. A modelwhich helps bring a halt to the headlongrush of humanity to prove the truth ofAlfred Wallaces prediction.

As a re su lt , a wi de se lect ion of th ewildlife, species that roamed this land

before the Xhosa and Europeans arrivedin the 1700s, has returned. Lodges andcamps have been built and the Reserve is afunctioning, wild ecosystem once more.

Woodbury Tented Camp (WTC)

Woodbury Tented Camp began in 1999 asa small, rather unusual lodge concept,using 19th Century covered wagons asbedrooms. However, the romance of theidea proved greater than the practicalityand it was soon realised why ourpioneering fore-fathers were so anxious tostep out of their wagons and build morecomfortable and permanent abodes!

So in 2000, Woodbury Tented Camp wasborn. Seven en-suite, spacious tents onraised platforms with viewing decks arethe result. Other changes, such as theswimming pool and a new reception, havebeen introduced over the years.

Earlier this year we added improvementsto the Camp facilities and services -features which we are sure that you willfind add to the comfort, pleasure andexcitement of a visit to Woodbury.

Our staff have undergone additionaltraining, and the Chefs are anxious to addanother delicious dimension to yourwildlife safari experience, and an inch ortwo to your waistline!

Despatches From The Bushmans River Frontier

June 2013 Eastern Cape . South Africa Issue 1

Should civilised man ever reach thesedistant lands we may be sure that he wi"so

disturb the nicely balanced relations ofnature as to cause the disappearance andfina"y the extinction of these very beingswhose wonderful structure and beauty he

alone is fitted to appreciate and enjoy

Alfed Walace (The MalayArchipelago, 1869)

Wildlife

Photographs

of the

Month

Teeth

(Koen Vogt (Camp Manager)

Bliss

(Koen Vogt (Camp Manager)


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2 Woodbury Tented Camp : Giles and Jennifer Gush

Giles and Jennifer GushOwners

Giles and Jennifer are the owners of WTC and one of thefounding families of the Amakhala Game Reserve. Married in2002, they have two children, James (10) and Emma (8). Gilesholds a BSc in Agriculture and Jennifer a PhD in Biology.

Jennifer has a passion for teaching, especially young children andunder-graduate students. As the Director of the AmakhalaFoundation and Conservation Centre, she has put her talents togood use in developing a vibrant environmental educationprogramme, and guiding the research and monitoring of theAmakhala ecosystem and wildlife management effort.

Giles has served the Reserve in a number of capacities since itsinception. Recently, however, the Reserve implemented a newmanagement structure. A small Executive Committee and a full-time General Manager (www.amakhala.co.za - Richard Pearse),should see improved operational efficiencies.

Giles has been elected to the Chair of the Executive Committee,

and it falls on the two of them to take the Reserve through thenext phase of its development.

Congratulations and every success.

Koen Vogt and Jessy MolCamp Managers

Koen and Jessy hail from the Netherlands but were bitten by theAfrica bug when they visited South Africa in 2009 on a 7 weekcountry-wide safari country-wide.

As a result, in 2010 they attended the Ulovane Guide TrainingSchool based at Amakhala. After attaining their Level 1 Guidequalifications, they joined the Amakhala Conservation Centre as

volunteers for a year.

Their next African adventure took them north to Tanzania,where they spent a year on Zanzibar Island managing the 52 bedFumba Beach Lodge. More experience followed when they tookon the development and management of Kinyanguru Camp inthe Selous Game Reserve for six months.

Knowing the capabilities of this young couple, Giles, on hearingthat they had completed their stay in the Selous, offered themthe chance to return to Amakhala. With WTC undergoingrenovations and a new level of professionalism entering the

Camp operation, Koen and Jessy could not have joined at a moreopportune time. As volunteer Managers they are passing ontheir skills to the local staffand helping establish a bright futurefor WTC.
http://www.amakhala.co.za/http://www.amakhala.co.za/


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Woodbury Tented Camp : Giles and Jennifer Gush 3

Predators : Big Cats on AGR

A new era in the management of wildlifeon AGR is about to dawn. At a time whenlion, leopard and cheetah are al lconsidered threatened species - lion acrossAfrica are down from about 200000 in1950 to 30000 today - the Reserve has

taken a bold step to make a contribution,albeit it small, to their survival in the wild.

Over the course of the next four months,the male and female lion which have, todate, been contained in an area off themain Reserve will be released to take theirplace in the Amakhala ecosystem.

A young male leopard, captured from thesuccessful Kwandwe Reserve, is to bereleased first into a familiarisation bomaand then onto the Reserve. A youngfemale will follow shortly thereafter.

Cheetah have always been a part of theReserve, and there is currently a coalitionof two brothers stalking the plains. With

the assistance of the Endangered WildlifeTrust (www.ewt.org.za), these two arescheduled to become the first wild-bred,free-roaming cheetah in the Free State. Anew pair of wild, street-wise cheetah areon their way from an area in which otherBig Cats occur.

The objectives of these introductions aretwofold. Firstly, it is an attempt toestablish a more natural, self-sustainingecosystem on Amakhala. Secondly, it isintended that the progeny which mayresult, will be used to re-stock depletedprotected areas with wild-bred and, thus,independent predators.

The programme will be closely monitoredby the Reserve Ecologist, Yvonne Nation,under the guidance of Dr Jennifer Gushand the Conservation Centre._____________________________________

Rhino Protection

Rhino, throughout Africa, are underserious threat and animals are beingpoached at a rate of nearly two per day in

South Africa. AGR has, as a reaction tothis scourge, established a full-time anti-poaching unit, headed by Johan Tropski.

Constant monitoring of all the animals onAmakhala and aggressive patrolling has,since the loss of two white rhino in 2010,managed to avoid further incursions.

However, a week ago, two more rhinowere poached on a Reserve not 20kmsfrom AGR. One cannot be complacentnor drop ones vigilance. The poachershave shown that they will employ violenceagainst law enforcement, so to protected

the Rangers, AGR has trained and armedthem with self-protection weapons.

Seewww.chipembere.org_____________________________________

Canoeing on the Bushmans River

Sitting in a canoe, paddling quietly along aplacid river in a wildlife reserve, withkingfishers hovering and fish eagles callingoverhead; all the while nervous with the

anticipation of something-

kudu,bushbuck - materialising, tantalisinglyclose, out of the riverine trees edging thebanks. An experience that is one of lifesgreat pleasures and privileges.

The Bushmans River, which winds its waythrough the AGR, offers just such anexperience. WTC have recently renovatedtheir four Canadian canoes and now offerthe opportunity to spend a few hourscanoeing and walking- the ideal way to getreally close to nature and enjoy all that itcannot reveal when viewed from a vehicle.

____________________________________

Predator Proof Fence

WTC is located on the edge of a densethicket, on a hill with stunning views overthe Woodbury Plain. While the thicketgives protection from the weather andallows the Camp to blend into the terrain,it does present a possibility that the BigCats could enter undetected. For thatreason the fence around WTC is beingupgraded to predator proof. The fence issimply a precautionary measure, as Guestsafety will always be our primary concern._____________________________________

Shoebill Spotted

Much to the surprise of the ornithologicalworld, a flock of shoebills was spotted onthe plains of Amakhala. Usually restrictedto areas far north of the Eastern Cape,such as the Benguela Wetlands in Zambia,ecologists and ornithologists are strugglingto find an explanation for the normallysolitary birds appearance. It would seem

that a recent tornado in Benguela caughtthe birds unawares, lifted them high intothe atmosphere, deposited them into theSouthern Jetstream and whisked the flocksouth to AGR, before they managed toextricate themselves and glide back toEarth and into the record books.

Quite extraordinary!!
http://www.chipembere.org/http://www.chipembere.org/http://www.chipembere.org/http://www.ewt.org.za/http://www.ewt.org.za/


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4 Woodbury Tented Camp : Giles and Jennifer Gush

Amakhala FoundationEmpowering Communities, Conserving Our Environment

The Amakhala Foundation is a registered South African Non-Profit Trust, managed by an independent Board of Trustees. DrJennifer Gush serves as the Executive Director. The objectives of theFoundation are :

*& to support ecosystem and wildlife conservation;*& to provide vocational training for local communities;*& to facilitate entrepreneurial enterprise;

*& to provide environmental eduction to local schools; and*& to support orphans and the poor in local communities.

The Foundation is supported by donor funding, Guest contributions and, largely, by contributions from the commercial lodges onthe Amakhala Game Reserve. The Amakhala Conservation Centre, located near the Woodbury Tented Camp, serves as theFoundations administrative base and environmental education facility. It also provides facilities for ecological research andmonitoring projects which the Foundation facilitates on behalf of the Reserve.

Contact - Dr Jennifer GushTel& & & :& +27 (0)42 2351256&Email& & & :& [email protected]

Bank DetailsBank& & & :& Absa BankBranch& & & :& GrahamstownSort Code& & :& 632005Account Name& & :& Amakhala FoundationAccount Number& :& 4057793197

For more information, please follow this link : www.amakhala.co.za/foundation/

Reservations

Central Reservations!! ! ! ! ! Woodbury Tented Camp

Name& :& Amber& & & & & & Name& :& JessyEmail& :& [email protected]& & & Email& :& [email protected]& :& +27 (0)46 636 2750& & & & Tel& :& +27 (0)42 235 1109Fax& :& +27 (0)86 767 9251& & & & Fax& :& +27 (0)85 626 8359Mobile & :& +27 (o)86 111 2485 (SA Only)& & & Mobile & :& +27 (o)82 653 3667

Rates

1 May 2013 - 30 September 2013& & & R 1 850.00& per person sharing per bednight1 October 2013 - 30 April 2014& & & R 2 240.00& per person sharing per bednight

1 May 2013 - 30 September 2013& & & SA Residents Winter Special & Contact Reservations1 May 2013 - 30 September 2013& & & Pay- Stay Special & & Pay 2 - Stay 3 nights1 May 2013 - 30 September 2013& & & Honeymoon Special& & Pay 4 - Stay 5 nights

To Unsubscribe please email Jessy [email protected] enter Unsubscribe in the Subject line

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Woodbury Tented Camp : Giles and Jennifer Gush 5

Images of MayA Selection of Images taken by Guests and Guides

Dining / Lounge

Woodbury Tented CampKoen Vogt (Camp Manager)

Viewing Deck


Morning Canoe Trip

Bushmans RiverKoen Vogt (Camp Manager)

Afternoon Game Drive

Big HoekRichard Worrall (Guest)

Red Hartebeest

Amakhala PlainsKoen Vogt (Camp Manager)

Black Harrier Hunting


woodbury tented camp newsletter - june

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