LEMALA CAMPS - 5 AUGUST 2011

AWARD:
Grumeti Expeditions Tz which owns Lemala camps was recently voted as the top 100 SME and number one in tourism sector in Tanzania by KPMG based on its financial and operational performance. We started Lemala Camps just over 3 years ago with very little experience but thanks to our dedicated camp and office staff, guides, guests and our customers for trusting Lemala, we have grown into one of the leading mobile operations in Northern Tanzania. Special thanks must go to our all-Tanzanian crew who work in difficult conditions evading lions, leopards and elephants in line of duty; pulling out trucks over days when rains make the roads impassable; working flat out to recover from damaging thunderstorms... They do all this with a smile and when the guest leave there is nothing but praise for them. We are fortunate to have very many special people working for us.

Grumeti Expeditions also have a fantastic ground operation with several brand new vehicles and first-rate guides who continue to receive excellent reviews from guests including none other than Beks Ndlovu of African Bush Camps!

Our GM Tom Yule received the award and had the following to say,
"It was a very proud moment for me to be standing in front of the country's top business representatives as well as the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, receiving the award. To be part of this event, receiving recognition on behalf of the whole team, was a very special moment and a great achievement for us all"..



GAME REPORT
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LEMALA TARANGIRE
Last week Lemala Tarangire experienced amazing amount of wildlife around the camp with buffalo, eles, zebras and wildebeest marching through the camp towards the river a few hundred yards away from the camp. Also near the camp is our resident pride of lions which killed a buffalo by the staff tent 3 weeks ago. Roars and grunts are often heard all night until the following morning. Mating leopards were seen by guests a hundred meters from the camp. On Saturday, we had excellent sighting of a pack of 5 wild dogs about 5kms from Kuro airstrip.

Report by Michael Massonda

LEMALA EWANJAN SERONERA VALLEY
Last week the Seronera Valley has been great as usual for leopard sightings. We saw a leopard with 2 cubs moving through the grass towards their kill on a tree. The following day we saw another leopard on a tree feeding an impala near Mawe Meupe (White Rock). The dead impala almost fell to the ground and we watched the leopard struggle to pull it back onto the branch. There was an amorous lion in camp who pursued a lioness round the Ewanjan tents incessantly and finally succeeded. This was not the major highlight though. We had an incredible sighting of a PANGOLIN only 5 meters from the vehicle! I was so shocked and overwhelmed by my first sighting ever of a Pangolin that I forgot that I had guests behind. They too got excited without realising what a Pangolin sighting meant to me. It took a few minutes to get my breath back and gather my thoughts to explain to them about the extremely rare Pangolin. It became the talk of the day back at camp as my guests boasted about their sighting to all the other guests.

Report by Ishmail Awad



LEMALA MARA
We are surrounded by a sea of wildebeest. We had lots of them round the camp last night accompanied by zebras and hippos. All our recent guests have witnessed crossings at the river a few hundred meters from us. Crocodiles are undoubtedly celebrating their 'Christmas' season.

There is also a constant parade of giraffe, topi, impala, gazelles and hartebeest through the camp daily.

A large pride of lions is being spotted daily around Lamai Wedge. Lions have also been roaring a few meters from the camp on the northeast side towards a stream draining into the Mara River. A male black rhino has been spotted grazing in the Nyamalumbwa area.

Two cheetahs were spotted hunting on the Lamai Wedge. Our guests waited patiently for 3 hours for the action and were well rewarded.

We had a big thunderstorm on Friday evening which should encourage the migration to come ever closer to our area. We are hoping to have them for sometime as the new grass emerges in the areas burnt by the park authorities during a controlled burning exercise. Our area is looking beautiful and we are blessed with such a huge variety of wildlife including some spectacular birds and raptors.

Report by Timo


 

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