Its been almost ten years since we first started broadcasting LIVE from Djuma Game Reserve. In all that time there has been a troupe of baboons that have lived on Gowrie around Vuyatela camp. I have always been amazed by the fact that they were so very well behaved. In the Kruger park there are many troupes that specialise in living off humans, either by stealing or begging. The same problems exist in many other parts of Africa. But these Gowrie baboons have been the exception.
WE all know that the younger ones like to play on the equipment down at Gowrie waterhole camera. They like to hang out at sunset, before they roost in the three nearby trees.
But something has changed. They have discovered the big mast at the back of Jurie and Pippa’s home. The mast has been there for years and is now covered in all sorts of bits and pieces of old and new equipment. It has become a veritable museum of the many systems that have been tested and used in the journey of LIVE wildlife broadcasting over the past decade. Now its where the baboons roost.
If they could just sneak up there after dark and quietly sleep all night and then disappear before dawn, everybody would be none the wiser. However, that is not what has been happening for the past few nights. Oh no, the new tenants have a passion for chewing cables in their sleep and like to swing on cables to breaking point while enjoying the magnificent dawn view.
WE have lost our Internet connection twice and seen some degradation in our game drive signal. Our plan is to properly fence off the bottom of the mast so not even a baboon can break in. This might take a few days, so bear with us as WE are outsmarted by our friends … its in their nature.