When it rains, it pours!

It is has been a rather dry winter here at Ubizane, The parched grasslands scattered with dry tufts of grass and the sun baked roads wait in anticipation for the first rains to quench a seasons thirst and settle the  ever accumulating dust; that seems to creep into every possible space.

On a cloudy Wednesday afternoon, the entire Ubizane had mixed emotions towards the arrival of the rain, elated with the thought of no more sporadic veldt fires breaking out and the prospect of the scenery turning green over night but at the same time feeling quite limited, as we had planned a beautiful  boma dinner for our guests that evening. 

Over the last 3 days we fully grasped the meaning of when it rains it pours! The constant rain seemed to have no end (Not that we were terribly upset about it, as the reserve needed it badly) day and night it continued to come down in buckets.

The Ubizane landscape seemed to have reached its capacity, with +/- 150mm of rain fallen in 2 days! The roads around the reserve proved to be every Warthogs dream; with a slippery mud puddle on every bend. The seasonal Mzinene River that snakes through the farm has also begun to flow, for the first time since last rainy season, the small bridge crossing over the river was submerged as the water gushed over it. After a cautious crossing we made our way to the fence where the strength of the flowing water had clearly proved too much for the wire fence; the wire buckling as the water swept past it.  

Partially soaked and with an odd splatter of mud here and there, we made our way back to the Lodge, as we approached the area where we last saw the female ostrich on eggs we found ourselves on the edge of our seat! For according to our calculations, the eager hatchlings should be arriving any day now!

Our excitement soon turned to fret, as we saw the eggs abandoned and partially submerged in a puddle of water, and both mother and father nowhere to be seen! After much consideration and discussion, we decided to remove the eggs and attempt to incubate them ourselves.  So be sure to keep an eye on all our social media pages for details on the 9 Ostrich eggs!