BUSH CAMP

DREAMHOTELS AND RESORTSDREAMHOTELS AND RESORTS

NEWSLETTER

www.MY PIECE OF KRUGER.co.za

NEW DEVELOPMENTOur newest River chalet, completed!

LEVIES2015

STAFF NEWSWhat’s new?

SIGHTINGSWhat our animal

residents are up to

EXCLUSIVE!Bridge Access

It has been a busy few months here on Mjejane. Our newest River chalet, T11, was completed at the end of September and work has started with chalet T12, we plan to have this building at roof height by the end of November. The river chalets continue to generate great interest from our owners and rightly so. They continue to improve with every chalet built and one cannot beat the views owners get from any of the chalet decks. Building work on Bush chalets T71 & T72 and T73 continues at a steady rate, with completion on chalets T71 & T72 expected towards the end of the year and on chalet T73 early in 2015. There is a lot of excitement and anticipation around these bush chalets as they have the most stunning views and with the additional features - such as the outside showers and boma areas - they are bound to be great chalets.

We have also completed the upgrades of river chalets T1, T2 and T3 which have now been tiled, whereas before they had screed �oors, and added some extra cupboards into the kitchen area of all three chalets.

NEW DEVELOPMENT

Chalet 2015 Levy 4 Bedroom (10 Sleeper) R4 995 3 Bedroom (8 Sleeper) R4 445 2 Bedroom (6 Sleeper) R4 118 1 Bedroom (4 Sleeper) R3,567

We have set up a training programme here at Mjejane Bush Camp, where trainees are taken from the local Mjejane commu-nity and put through a six month training programme. Initially this has been done with housekeepers and maintenance posi-tions and so far the results have been great. During the six months period, they will experience all aspects of the relevant position and have the opportunity to gain valuable experience and knowledge within the hospitality industry. On completion of the programme, we have the opportunity to employ them at Mjejane Bush Camp. Alternatively, they will come with our recommendation should one of the many private houses/lodges, starting up within Mjejane, be looking for new sta�. This is a great initiative and as said already we have had great results with the current incumbents.

There was a stage where we were struggling to �nd new game rangers for Bush Camp as our rangers had moved on to new challenges. However, recently, we employed Nlamulo Sibuyi and will have another ranger starting with us at the beginning of November. These guys are the privileged few to have the oppor-tunity of conducting game drives everyday on this beautiful reserve (more about that later).We have also secured the services of Ridance Mathipa as our receptionist and he certainly brings a breath of fresh air to our reception, welcoming all the guests with a big warm smile. Last, but by no means least, we also welcomed Nominate Ndlovu into our team/family as Housekeeper Supervisor. As we build new chalets, this department will continue to grow as more hands are needed in the rooms and with stock control. The other area where she can assist is as an additional spa therapist as there is a growing interest amongst our owners wanting to be pampered on the luxury of their own deck.

STAFF NEWS

The proposed levies for 2015 are as follows:

The Directors are comfortable that the costs are well managed and the levies are market related given the nature of Mjejane. Mjejane is a relatively low density resort when compared to other timeshare developments within the greater Kruger area. Furthermore, as Mjejane is a 4000 ha reserve, the running costs of the Reserve, which covers security, the anti-poaching units, the fence & road maintenance make a signi�cant portion of the Share Block’s costs. We have compared Mjejane levies to other resorts within the area for our owners interest.

LEVIES

Sanbonani 3BR(6/8) R5,750

Kruger Park Lodge 3BR(6/8) R6,301

Ngwenya Lodge 3BR(6/8) R4,755

Pine Lake Sun 3BR(6/6) R6,775 (Peak)

Pine Lake Sun 3BR(6/6) R5,645 (Std)

Sabie River Sun 2BR (4/6) R7,430 (Peak)

Sabie River Sun 2BR (4/6) R6,190(Std)

The game sightings on Mjejane game reserve have been absolutely amazing during the last few months, with numerous highlights. When I �rst started at Mjejane, lion sightings were few and far between especially during the period when they lost lions to TB and when new males ventured onto our side of the Crocodile River. Since the 5 males have become “resi-dent” on our side, the sightings involving these lions have been fantastic to say the least. They are seen frequently and, on most occa-sions, in close proximity to the big herd of Bu�alos. They seem to have found their preferred choice in prey as they have focussed almost completely on this herd targeting all the older/injured or even newborns from the herd. It is a relationship which is being well documented. Of course, it has not always been

smooth sailing for them and this has created excellent sight-ings of the Bu�alos chasing o� and �ghting the male lions. We even managed to get a video clip of one of these encounters which was posted on YouTube where it has generated 1,360,795 views since being uploaded!!

Rhino sightings have been incredible during the winter months especially if one takes into consideration what is happening with this beautiful animal in our country and of course within Kruger National Park. We were unfortunate

ourselves to lose a Rhino to poaching during this year (this was however the �rst ever Rhino poached on Mjejane since the fences were dropped all those years ago). Many of our guests have been fortunate to have incredible sightings of the Black Rhinos that are on Mjejane and these are truly special sightings that owners will treasure for years to come.

Cats in general have become more frequent on Mjejane with a male cheetah often being seen towards the Southern boundary and an increasing number of Leopard sightings occurring. We have a female and young cub that seems to have their territory in the river in front of our river chalets being seen on occasion by guests and sta� alike.

Spring came and went, with Summer making an early appearance as we had 3 days in one week during early September where temperatures soared into the 40’s. The bush is starting to look as beautiful as ever during this time of the year with all the Knobthorns sprouting their beautiful light yellow �owers towering over the rest of the trees. We are also starting to plant a large number of trees around the lodge, during the upcom-ing months we hope to plant at least 20 trees every month.

Our �rst rains of the season came on 16th October. We had 32mm which is decent �rst rainfall and interestingly enough we had our �rst rains last year on the 21st October and had 33mm then. The reserve management have recently conducted a few controlled burns in certain areas of the Mjejane game reserve and we can’t wait to see the new green shoots coming through after the burn and with the rain expected to fall soon.

DIRECT ACCESS BRIDGEThe bridge over the Crocodile River is being used on a regular basis but perhaps not as much as we would have expected. Yes, the price is maybe a little bit expensive but if one thinks about the bene�t of having this access it is worth its weight in gold. One needs to consider the time saved, instead of going out and around, and the fact that you leave the surroundings of the bush when going back onto the N4 highway. Another great bene�t is that you have the privacy of the roads to yourself with no oncoming tra�c for the �rst hour at least of the morning.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CONCLUSION

As I mentioned earlier, the YouTube clip of the lions and the bu�alo has been a great success and our Facebook page continues to expand in numbers with friend and likes. We recently started this page and are already at 15000 likes and growing. We have a lot of interaction with owners and guests on the Facebook page. Just a reminder about the road works between Nelspruit and Malelane in the Crocodile gorge. The road works continue as they have all year now but all road works will stop for the Festive Season break between 12 December 2014 and 5 January 2015, with the entire project expect-ed to be concluded by the end of January 2015.

I would like to take this opportunity of wishing all members, and their families, a pleasant end to the year and we look forward to welcoming any members to Mjejane in the coming months.

Warm regards,

Ross ForssmanMjejane Bush Camp General Manager

BUSH CAMP

BUSH CAMP

DREAMHOTELS AND RESORTSDREAMHOTELS AND RESORTS

NEWSLETTER

www.MY PIECE OF KRUGER.co.za