FANJOVE PRIVATE ISLAND

News from a natural wonder.

This month comes with great progresses.
Fanjove has moved steps ahead to cut down on the use of plastic bottles to help save our environment and the oceans, mineral water is now bought in big refillable gallons and flasks and jugs are used on the Island.
The operation is a success thanks to all those involved in the process.

Our conservation project is helping tackling lots of environmental issues.
Early this month, we had 8 new buoys chained and moored to the ocean floor to help secure a non-fishing zone, part of protecting the corals and fishes around the island.

August has been a great month for sighting of dolphins and migrating humpback whales.
On the 13th of August we participated in the SWWD (synchronized whale watching day) with no luck on spotting whales but the previous days we were lucky to see them.
A report came from Tofu in Mozambique where the majority of the whales are still calving so we hope they will keep migrating north for a chance to see more of them.

A beautiful footage of an octopus cleaning its den was collected by placing the GoPro around the perimeter of its new home.
We are still debating whether this is an ambitious octopus doing some cleaning or if it is a defensive behavior. Watch the video

Around sunset time, you can easily spot Jupiter and Venus and this is obviously the best time of the year to watch the milky way and other thousands of stars in the sky.

We look forward to the next month’s surprises.

Keep telling friends and family about Fanjove Private Island and all there is to do here.

Hassan, Hakim and all Fanjove Team.

LAKE MANZE CAMP

News from Selous Game Reserve

Our one tusker family has been a hit this month with nearly daily and nightly visits. The baboons have been their constant supplier of the Doum palm fruits that they drop onto the ground for Elephants to eat. Exiting to see a brand new addition to the family. So young that the little trunk is still a bit stupid. Watch the video

Laygos is still hanging around and entertaining our guests and the staff alike with his antics. His quest to shake the living daylights out the Doum palm trees to get to his favorite delicacies, the Doum palm fruit, has everyone in awe. Watch the video

Lion kill and sightings have been plentiful with many a guest sharing their excitement over the dinner table. Our guide Zacharia was in the fortunate position to provide some footage of the tug of war and showdown between members of the Manze pride and some hungry large crocodiles.
Watch video I – Watch video II

We have been fortunate to have some bird lovers in camp that have managed to break their own records on the amount of different species spotted in their three day stay. All of them in excess of one hundred and a promise to return soon as they would like to get to at least one hundred and fifty different birds.

Thanks to Stef Schliekelmann for having enriched our picture gallery this month!

See you all soon

Safe travels.

By Shaun, Milinda and all Manze Team.

MDONYA OLD RIVER CAMP

News from the wild side

It’s been an enthousiastic month in Ruaha, wildlife in and around camp is rich and very rewarding. Sightings of serval just outside the camp, buffaloes in the Mdonya woodland, leopards in a classic pose on a tree enjoying the shade of very hot afternoons, an exciting scene of a fight between a leopard and baboons chasing the predator in an organized squad attack. The leopard fled away literally jumping from a tree to another. Watch the video of a leopard stalking in the bushes by driver Ayoub Nyanganga.

Sharing stories around the bush fire at night, laughing at the sightings and emotions from the day is one of the unique bush experiences that makes a stay at Mdonya memorable. Frequent sightings of young bull elephants engaging in small firendly fights in front of the fireplace has provided much entertainment as well as watching elephant families with young babies perading past camp with the mothers, sisters and cousins always protecting the herd. It is the beauty of this bush camp, observing the animals slowly becoming more relaxed and confident around us is precious and rewarding. Guests experienced to have the elephants just outside their tents eating the fallen pods at night or enjoying the dwindeling foliage in the late afternoon, so close that you could almost reach out and touch them (please don’t they are wild animals). Immersed in the wilderness, surrounded by animals this is the bush experience that we have.

Our guests ended the month with a sighting that even had our guides on the edge of their seats, watching as unsuspecting herd of zebra walked right in to an ambush by a pride of five big female lions and one young male who with practiced skills easily seperated one zebra from the herd and brought it down.

Thanks to driver Ayoub Nyanganga for sharing with us his leopards, lions and more… pictures of this month!

By Rebecca, Andrea and all Mdonya Team.