Bhejane August 2025 Update: Water For Wildlife
The seasons have certainly shifted this month. The cold brisk temperatures of winter, have been replaced by sapping heat. The hot dry season has officially began, and our water for wildlife work is need more than ever!
As shimmering haze has descended upon the landscape as the midday heat beats down on the wilting vegetation. The splashes of green we had seen at the start of the month has all but gone and with the rising temperatures, the bush is drying out fast!
The herds have returned and the game viewing is exceptional at the moment. Travellers through our wild spaces have been blessed with incredible sightings. A hidden blessing synonymous of the dry season months, as animals congregate around the dwindling water sources.
Fortunately, we are ready for it. Aside from the inevitable broken pipes and general maintenance, our water infrastructure is all performing well.
Providing just over 1.5 million liters of water a day ,there is a certain sense of achievement witnessing the life that our work supports!
Kazuma National Park
The burns of last month have produced an irresistible green flush to the depression which is now teeming with animals. Herds of Zebra, Wildebeest and Tsessebe can be seen almost everywhere you look. Even the elusive Oribi are out in force with a recent visit producing 9 in a single drive!
With the influx of prey, predators are almost a permanent feature now, with regular sightings of Cheetah, Lion and Leopard. We host our 5th annual game count on the 6th September and are very excited to see what sort of results come out of this Park. With our working only having started here in 2019, each year brings with it new growth and developments as the ecosystem responds to the improving conditions.
All is well on the water front. We turned up the pumping rate on Insiza again due to the drinking pressure, and installed a new meter at Roan pan to better monitor the flow of water. Probably the biggest win for the month was a complete factory reset of the battery system at Corner Pan.
Whilst it’s been performing well, the pump has been switching off at about midnight, but the batteries fitted should see it go through to almost sunrise.
The factory reset did exactly that, and this pump is now supplying life giving water for almost 24 hours. At 5000ltrs per hour,that’s quite a bit more water in a day!
Zambezi National Park – Chamabonda
With much of the vlei now having been mowed,visibility and access to the succulent new growth is at its best. Herds of buffalo and zebra and a near constant presence along the open grasslands.
The elephants have also returned in number, with all water points boasting herd after herd in the late afternoons and into the evenings.
A pack of wild dog have been seen regularly along the vlei system, and we recently discovered a den site housing a bunch of next generation dogs. Their presence is such a testament to the thriving ecosystem that the vlei has become. We look forward to watching these young animals grow aid in the expansion of these endangered species.
Our annual game count includes the Chamabonda Vlei,and with all water points spoken for this year, it promises to deliver some incredible sightings.
Whilst some work has been done on the roads, September will see an expansion to this. The excellent rains of last season caused havoc in the clay sections, creating deep ruts. Tonnes of gravel will be dropped, and our hope is to restore vast stretches of the road to last countless rainy seasons.
Our Water for Wildlife work is at a care and maintenance stage on the Chamabonda. Weekly checks make up the bulk of our work, cleaning solar panels and attending to any repairs that may be required.Otherwise, all our systems are working well, and there is ample water throughout the vlei.
Hwange National Park – Robins and Sinamatella
After the upgrades reported on last month, much of our efforts have been centered on care and maintenance. With the vast majority of our boreholes across the Hwange landscape, this is no small task. The teams travel literally hundreds of kilometres checking water points and ensuring that our infrastructure is functioning at capacity.
Solar panel cleaning is the order of the day. As the land dries out, the levels of dust greatly increase. Caked panels can lose up to 10% efficiency and so ensuring that they are clean is vitally important to maximize water delivery.
With the increased drinking pressure, and the return of large numbers of elephants, our pipelines have taken a bit of a hammering.No less than 4 emergency repair jobs have been done this month, where elephants have found the buried pipes and pulled them up.
Whilst this does not stop the water from flowing, it does stop it reaching the pan and if left unattended will cause the pans to dry up.
The battery installation at Manzibhovu last month is performing exceptionally well. We are confident that this vital back area pan will hold excellent water throughout the dry season and service thousands of animals.
With the increased pumping time, and additional pressure, we had to completely upgrade the rising main pipe down the borehole.This is a solid 100m length of pipe that lives entirely underground, bring water to the surface. This pipe has been on the cards for an upgrade for awhile now as it has split many times and is full of joins. We took the relatively quiet month to achieve this.
The battery system installed back in June at Mahabotiis also doing incredibly well. Usually by this time of the year that pan has dried up, and the large bull elephants suck the water directly from the outlet pipe. Not allowing a single drop to reach the pan.
Different story this year. The additional pumping hours, and the greatly increased yield surpasses the demand, and the pan is still looking great.
