Since our last news letter we have barely had a day that we did not catch good fish, how long it can continue like this, who knows. I have had discussions with scientists who theorize that three years after a good (or bad) flood the numbers and size of fish will increase, but for how long I wonder.
Our summer visitors the Zambezi sharks have arrived in the estuary and with them, shark researchers, film crews and hangers on. At present Animal Planet are busy filming, soon to be followed by National Geographic and others. Marine and Coastal Management have their scientists here to ensure that there is not a bun fight on the river. How well all this action is going down with the locals I don’t know, but there surely will be repercussions one way or another.
At the time of writing there is definitely more than one shark in the river, probably at least five. Sounds frightening, but no one has ever been bitten. The sharks’ behavior is definitely more relaxed and they have not stolen too many fish from our anglers. At the moment the call is live and let live. As I work I am watching one of the MCM guys snorkeling searching for oysters in the river, so if they, who should know everything are not fussed about swimming, should we be?
The Mudlark has laid claim to having one of the fastest tortoises in Africa on our doorstep. At present there are a number of them patrolling our garden, much to the surprise of our guests one of them does not move at the normal sedate pace, he runs around at high speed.
Hilary’s veggie garden has surpassed expectations and produced fresh produce throughout the season. Much to the surprise of our local nature conservator who is a expert gardener himself, Hilary even managed to grow sweet melons in our poor soil. With the sun and summer winds everything is starting to wilt now. Will now have to start planning a winter garden.
For the romantics Valentine’s Day is on the horizon. Fortunately the Mudlark is fully booked, but it seems as if the male side has ulterior motives, more questions about fish than champagne. Could be very interesting. The eland are back again. A herd of about twenty have been grazing behind the Mudlark. Our feathered friends are still performing well even though the fynbos is starting to dry out.
