We had a lovely month of August...
preparing for and hosting a Board Meeting, making new garden beds at the entrance gate, upgrading the braai grid and fire drum at the Platform and enjoying wonderful sightings throughout the month.
The veld has thinned out substantially, but flowers have started to bloom. Temperatures continued to rise towards the onset of Spring, while wind conditions remained unpredictable. Throughout the month, we experienced gusts of up to 50km/h on some days, with most days averaging wind conditions of up to 30km/h. Our Fire Danger Index fluctuated between Moderate, Dangerous, Very Dangerous and Extremely Dangerous, largely dependent on changing wind conditions, dew points and overcast weather scattered through the month.
Our Fire Danger Index is currently at the “Dangerous” level. As usual, we urge you to be extremely cautious if you are making fires - especially wood fires when it is windy. Please ensure all fires are extinguished adequately and covered with a steel drum before leaving them.
Lowest Temp: 4.2°C (Avg:10.2°C)
Highest Temp: 39.4°C (Avg: 29.2C)
Rainfall for the month: 0mm
(Avg: 3.8mm)
Projects of the month:
August Board Meeting
On Saturday, 23 August, we hosted a Board Meeting on site. All went well, and we would like to thank the Board Members for their continued dedication towards Ingwelala. We truly appreciate the ongoing time, energy and effort being put into our team and the long-term success of Ingwelala. Thank you as well to those involved in the planning and logistics leading up to the meeting.
Our next Board Meeting will be held in October.
Platform Braai Grid and Steel Fire Drum
We are in the process of upgrading facilities at the bomas, hides and viewing sites, including braai accessories and fire safety instruments. The Platform’s braai grid had aged and warped over time and has been replaced with a new braai grid built by Ruan. While this was underway, Ruan also built a new steel fire drum for the Platform. With fire safety being of such high importance, we would like to remind you to please make use of the steel fire safety drum to fully cover extinguished fires before leaving them unattended. If you need a new steel fire drum for your bungalow, please open a Job Card at Reception.
We would like to thank Ruan for his efforts in this regard, and look forward to small, continual upgrades such as these at our sites, bomas and hides.
Emergency Access Road for Official Uset
To aid with emergency response time and easier access, the old emergency use road on the southern boundary of Argyle has been re-opened to the tar road. This road is essential for quick response to medical emergencies, fires or security incidents both on Argyle and within the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve (TPNR).
The emergency access road is only accessible to TPNR and Umbabat PNR (UPNR) officials, as well as Ingwelala management, and is not intended for Member or public use. Clear signage and limiting barriers are in place to avoid use other than Official Use.
We would like to thank TPNR officials and their grader operator for assisting with this project, the UPNR and TPNR officials for providing barriers and signage, and Ruan for assisting with the installation and construction of these barriers and signage.
Blast from the Past: Baboon Spiders and Amphibians
With the increase in recent Baboon Spider sightings this year, we have had many interesting conversations with Members. As you may remember, in 2017 Delwin Eggers wrote a fascinating article for our website about his observations of a mutual relationship between Baboon Spiders and amphibians. His sighting at Ingwelala occurred in camp in 2017, while the other sighting was in Mana Pools, Zimbabwe, in 2014. Click the here to see the original article.
We wanted to expand some more on this topic, as this relationship is still extremely rarely documented in Africa, and other than Delwin’s original article, we could not find any others published pertaining to this relationship being observed in Africa. It is better known to occur with various Tarantula and other large spider species in places like Canada, Peru, Brazil, India and Sri Lanka. The documented cases of these mutualisms around the world are specifically with narrow-mouthed frogs - called microhylids - that are particularly fond of eating ants. Some species are known to be unpalatable due to a toxin excreted from their skin, and these tend to be the species which have the mutualism with spiders, where each species benefits from the presence of the other.
If we apply the existing theory here, the Baboon Spider would benefit from the frog or toad’s presence by having parasites, pests and small predators eaten by the amphibians, or deterred by their toxins. This is particularly important with ants, which feed on the spiders’ eggs and offspring. The amphibians benefit by having a safe burrow to protect themselves in, a food source from the various small invertebrates that would be attracted to the spiders or the remains of their prey, easy access to leftover meals from the spider and the added protection of the aggressive spider deterring larger predators that may have otherwise preyed on them. However, being unstudied in Africa, there may be benefits we are unaware of, or even potential relationships with non-toxic species that we don’t know are there!
Out of interest, the spiders in other countries have been known to determine whether the frog is food or a “friend” by testing the skin for the chemical cues of the toxins. This is done by “tasting” the frog using the external mouthparts. Once determined to be toxic, the frog is released instead of eaten, and they co-inhabit the burrow. If non-toxic, they would be seen as a food source instead. This is the closest working theory we can use to compare to the relationship seen here, but in reality, it does not seem to have been studied in Africa yet, and as such we can only deduce this information from studies done elsewhere in the world.
Thank you to Delwin for reminding us of these interesting observations!
Blooming Brilliance: Flowers leading up to Spring
As temperatures have continued to rise, and a few days of drizzle were experienced, the veld exploded with bursts of colour as trees and flowers began to bloom. Among the first to bloom were Knobthorn and Long-tailed Cassia trees, Mopane Pomegranates, Flame Creepers, Aloes, African Wild Violets, Impala Lilies, Wild Pea species and many others.
Of the many new flowers, the aloes and Flame Creepers are blooming for the second time in the season, having first flowered in early August, followed by another flush towards the end of the month. With these bright bursts of colour, bees have been plentiful - as have Giraffes, Kudus, Nyalas and other animals enjoying the sweet smells and tastes of Spring beginning.
We look forward to the upcoming wet season and the flush of colours that will follow.
Upcoming Events to take note of
With the busy September holidays fast approaching, please be on the lookout for updates regarding potential Conservation talks in the Members’ Area. Provisionally included in this is a presentation on African Wild Dogs by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT).
Further, with the end of the year fast approaching, we’d like to encourage you to vote for a theme for the upcoming New Year’s Party. An email has been sent with theme options, which you can reply to with your vote of choice. Thank you!
We will also be conducting malaria spraying during the first three weeks of September.
Our Staff Member of the Month
This month we celebrate Alicia Steyn as our Staff Member of the Month. Alicia is our dedicated Receptionist who has been here for over 3 years.
As one of the first smiling faces to greet you, Alicia has a particular affinity for getting to know Members and their preferences extremely well and is always willing to assist with anything.
Thank you, Alicia, for your endless dedication and passion for what you do, and your unwavering willingness to assist, no matter what. We appreciate you!
Building Projects
John Llewellyn, represents the Building Committee at reserve level regarding all building related issues to members bungalows. Members are welcome to call Reception ahead of their visits to enquire what building related disturbances may be encountered in the vicinity of their bungalows.
Current (major) building projects are listed below:
- Bungalow # 49: Chameleon Builders; Approved May 2025. Demolish and rebuild.
- Bungalow # 70: Dukes Construction; Approved February 2025. Internal and patio changes.
- Bungalow # 133, Chameleon Builders; Approved July 2025. Internal renovations and re-thatch.
- Bungalow # 134, Own project; Approved July 2025. Internal renovations.
- Bungalow # 158, Dukes Construction, approved Feb 2025, demolish and rebuild.
- Bungalow # 172, Hoffmans Construction. Full re-thatch.
Notes from the Conservation Team
As we move into Spring, we are expecting higher temperatures and continued windy conditions before the onset of the wet season later in the year. We would like to encourage caution if you are making fires at any designated fire-making sites - please be vigilant, especially with wood fires, and ensure that your fire is adequately extinguished and covered with a steel drum before leaving the area unattended.
On the conservation front, we have had recent reports of Common Myna birds (previously known as Indian Mynas) in various locations across the reserve. As we approach breeding season, we anticipate more frequent sightings will occur as the birds begin to nest. If you see any Common Mynas on the reserve or in camp, please let us know on the radio. These birds are an introduced or invasive species in South Africa, and as such we need to keep track of where any sightings are, how many birds there are and what their movements may be. This will be particularly important as they begin to nest, as they will outcompete indigenous species such as Starlings, Buffalo-weavers and Oxpeckers by evicting them from their nests.
We would like to thank our Members for their dedication towards ongoing conservation efforts, including the prompt and accurate reporting of animals that we may be looking for, such as the pack of 6 Wild Dogs during this past month, fallen trees over the roads, invasive plant infestations and everything in-between. Your continued support and input assist us greatly with what we do, and we are grateful to have so many extra eyes and ears out in the field assisting us.
Thank you. We appreciate you!
Josh and Tess
Words by Tess Woollgar, images courtesy of Delwin Eggers, Ruan du Preez, Sam Hayward, Stacey Pretorius, Josh Hibbett and Tess Woollgar.