Happy New Year, Ingwelala Members!
We hope your festive season has been filled with happiness and love, and we wish you all the very best for a prosperous 2025.
On the reserve, our December was overflowing with activity as we enjoyed busy days at the swimming pool, educational talks in the Members Area, a Members versus Staff soccer match and had many opportunities to reminisce about a successful 2024 together. Our Flintstones themed New Year’s party was an absolute blast, and we thank everyone who joined us for the busy festive period. Sightings were phenomenal over the month, and some new projects were completed during our busy period.
We experienced severe heat during the month, once again placing strain on the vegetation, with very little rainfall recorded during the month. The maximum temperature recorded in our region was 49.9°C! Our Fire Danger Index has changed multiple times as a result, seeing us on both extremes of the spectrum and presently finding us in the “Very Dangerous” level. As always, please be cautious with fires!
Lowest Temp: 18.1°C (Avg: 23.6°C)
Highest Temp: 45.0°C (Avg: 36.2°C)
Rainfall for the month: 15.4mm
(Avg: 87.4mm)
Looking Back on 2024
As 2024 has drawn to a close and we welcome 2025, we want to thank you for another magnificent year in the bush. There were many entertaining and magical moments shared during the year, and we were blessed with some truly incredible sightings.
We had a hugely successful year on the ground with plenty of projects carried out in the various departments, and we fully believe 2024 has been a year of change in the best way! Highlights from the year included the completion of the new entrance gate, the re-introduction of Bush Walks and extensive veld rehabilitation on the reserve, the addition of two new game viewing vehicles to the Ingwelala fleet, new cairns and signage, the new recycling centre and R.O. Plant, re-builds of Argyle Boma and the braai area of the Platform, and the new shop window decals, amongst many other things.
Thank you to everyone for your involvement in these projects, and a very special thank you to our directors who dedicate their personal time to ensure that we continue to grow from strength to strength. We appreciate every one of you!
Within the team, we welcomed two new staff members during the year - Manfred Mashele (Conservation) and Jane Hlatswayo (Housekeeping). Thank you both for your dedication and effort, and we wish you every success in your careers at Ingwelala.
Environmentally, we experienced a very dry year with very little rainfall towards the end of the year. As a result, the veld was a mix of green leaves and dry grasses slowly continuing to die back, while waterholes remained popular for sightings. With a few particularly windy days as a result of a nearby cyclone, we also experienced infrastructural damage which was seen to swiftly by both the Maintenance and Conservation teams.
There were multiple wildlife interventions during the year, including the treatment of various snared animals, along with the collaring of a male wild dog from the local “Umbabat pack”. Interestingly, several fairly consistent cheetah sightings were recorded within a 4-month period, during which time a collared female was seen on a few occasions, as well as a coalition of two or three male cheetahs moving through more frequently in that period.
A successful Southern Ground Hornbill nest was discovered on Argyle where we managed to observe and ring the chick before it fledged successfully. Towards the end of the year, the nest was once again occupied by the same family of birds, and two eggs have been laid during the current breeding season.
The conservation intern programme saw Nonkululeko Makobong and Lesedi Leope complete their final year of studies towards their diplomas, having had an incredibly busy year in the field with us. We wish them both well on their further journeys within conservation. We will not be taking on new interns in 2025, as we prepare for some necessary alterations and repair-work to staff housing during the year.
The staff take this opportunity to thank the Ingwelala community for everything you do for us. We appreciate your support and encouragement, and we wish everyone a prosperous 2025!
Project Highlights from 2024:
Infrastructure
Early in 2024 we finished the final additions to our new and improved entrance gate. We are very happy with the result. Thank you to Chameleon Builders and Ingwelala Staff for all the work that went into every aspect of the revamp, from the building to the gates and fencing, and everything in between.
Our recycling area was upgraded from the old wooden structure to a formal structure with more space and better protection. Thank you to John Llewellyn, Chameleon Builders and the Conservation Team for making this possible!
We also had the addition of a more permanent structure for the Reverse Osmosis plant following termite damage to the original wooden structure. This new structure also allows for improved ventilation within the structure. This has been a wonderful addition! Thank you to Chameleon Builders, Nico Ras and Ruan du Preez for making this possible.
Out on the reserve, Argyle Boma had a complete structural re-build earlier in the year following elephant damage. This was an extensive task requiring a full break-down of the structures and fence, but we are incredibly happy with the outcome of the completely new structures in place. Other additions included new benches and refurbished counter tops.
Similarly, the Platform’s braai area was severely impacted by heavy winds and rain towards the end of the year, requiring extensive work to repair the braai area’s wall and flooring that had collapsed from a fallen tree. Thank you to the Maintenance and Conservation teams for their hard work on both projects!
Argyle Boma rebuilt
Platform's braai aarea rebuiltThe shop also had some more improvements with the addition of window decals. This has made a huge difference to the aesthetic of the shop, both inside and out, and has really brought the Reception area to life! Thank you to Paul Marsh, Josh Hibbett and Tessa Woollgar for making this possible, and to Chad Cocking for the stunning leopard photograph.
Safety Additions and Improvements
Over the course of the year, we have placed extra emphasis on safety. This has come in many forms, with both new additions and general improvements to existing safety measures and equipment. This has included the addition of new safety showers, a complete re-build of our older firefighting trailer, the building of a new bakkie sakkie trailer, new firefighting equipment and uniforms, and the addition of safety railings, amongst many other things.
The vast majority of this has been at the hands of Ruan du Preez, who we are immensely grateful for. Thank you, Ruan, and thanks as well to the Conservation team for their role in some of these projects.
General Improvements and Additions
During the year we added two game viewers to our Ingwelala fleet, which have proved to be an invaluable addition. One vehicle has replaced an older rental game viewer, while the other has become the new Sibon game viewer. Thank you to Dave Annandale for arranging and organising this!
We have also put extra focus on the refurbishment of the stone cairns around the reserve and the addition or replacement of signage in camp. This has once again been in the hands of Ruan du Preez, and we thank him for his hard work in this regard.
Training and Development
We have had a productive and busy year with training for our staff and celebrated multiple Long Service Achievements during the course of the year. Long Service Awards:
- Debrah Ngwenya - 5 years
- Patrick Sibuyi - 5 years
- Amelia Mahlalele - 5 years
- Convey Mashabane - 10 years
- Doreen Monareng - 20 years
- Raymond Monareng- 25 years
- Surprise Mathabela - 30 years
- Maria Mabunda - 30 years
- Dorries Molobela - 35 years
Congratulations to all Long Service Award recipients! Your contributions, dedication and commitment to Ingwelala are greatly appreciated and valued.
Formal training courses completed successfully included Financial Literacy and Provident Fund training for all staff, a Snake Capture course and First Aid Level 3 training, Soil Erosion and Sustainable Off-road Driving, Stackpile Burning and Firebreak Burning, Basic GIS and Refresher GIS, Wildlife Poisoning Emergency Response and Scorpion Sting First Response training. Outside of this, many informal training sessions and skills were taught and learned as well, such as the harvesting and use of biocontrol agents for invasive plant control.
Thank you to everyone who made this training possible, and congratulations to all staff members on completing every single course successfully.
Conservation and Reserve Activities
This year has been incredibly busy in the field, with projects running that ranged from routine road maintenance and erosion control to extensive veld rehabilitation, bush clearing, wildlife interventions, invasive plant control, tree wrapping, countless snake captures and heavy-duty water conservation. Bush walks were also re-introduced and have been a huge success, and we thank you for your incredible support in this regard.
We also hosted an incredibly successful Conservation Work Party and had volunteers accompany us in the field to assist with ongoing and special projects. Activities included tree wrapping, invasive plant control, camera trapping and endangered species monitoring. On top of this, we have assisted with ongoing research projects in tertiary institutions, such as the liver fluke study in freshwater snail populations.
We would like to thank you for your endless support of our efforts in the field, and to thank the Conservation team for their dedication and hard work through the year.
Member Activities
During our Easter period we hosted a fabulous Easter party. Food was provided by the Yum! Factory, and a wonderful time was had by all. Several educational conservation presentations were also provided for Members during the year, and we thank you for your support in attending these sessions. To celebrate Christmas, we hosted a Members versus Staff soccer match at Vuka Ingwe. This was so well supported, and a fantastic match ended in a 3-3 draw with much fun and festivity! Thank you to everyone who played and supported. We look forward to the next match during the Easter holidays!
To bring in 2025, we had a fun “Flintstones” themed New Year’s Party in the Members Area. The Yum! Factory once again provided food, and we all had a blast bidding farewell to 2024 together. Thank you to each one of you for coming to celebrate with us, for dressing up, and for bringing so much energy to the celebrations!
Notes from the Conservation Team
We’d like to thank everyone for a wonderful 2024. Whether you joined us on a bush walk, recorded sightings in the book at reception, volunteered your time during our Work Party in the field, sent in photographs, contributed to our bird lists, reported injured animals or even reported trees in the road, we truly appreciate your constant involvement and support.
A special thank you to everyone that joined the environmental education sessions in the Members Area during 2024 - the organisations were blown away by the attendance, involvement and support shown for every project. We look forward to the next sessions with you!
Finally, as we bring in 2025, we are excited that there is so much interest in bush walks already. The walks will remain closed until environmental and veld conditions are better suited in terms of safety, but we are excited to re-open them as soon as we possibly can. We will keep you updated, but our goal is to re-open walks in March. We look forward to having you with us!
Thanks again and have a wonderful 2025.
Josh & Tess
Things to look forward to in 2025
We have set a few goals for 2025, and we’d love to have your help and involvement wherever possible! With lots of fun planned, and many projects due to be carried out, we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be at Ingwelala and to have your continuous support.
Some of the projects and events we’re aiming for this year:
- Veld Rehabilitation on Buffelsbed: Grewia thinning
- Conservation Work Parties: to be hosted on various long weekends during the year, where you can join us in the field and assist with projects like tree wrapping, invasive plant control and many others.
- Multiple conservation and environmental educational sessions during Easter and Christmas holidays (including Snakes and Scorpions with live animal demonstrations during Easter!)
- APNR Ground Hornbill Project: funding for an artificial nest site on Ingwelala
- Historical lookbacks and comparisons: sightings and animal data collection
- Ingwelala Members vs Staff soccer matches during Easter and Christmas
If you’d like to get involved in any of these projects or want more information on these or other ongoing/upcoming projects, please reach out to us and we’ll gladly assist.
Finally, we thank you for your continuous support and assistance - we couldn’t do it without you! We look forward to a productive and prosperous 2025 together.
Ingwelala Management
Words by Tess Woollgar. Images courtesy of Tessa Woollgar, Dave & Adél Annandale, Nico Ras, Ruan du Preez, Willichia Venter and Jade Seidel.