Hello I hope everyone is well and enjoying a good weekend. Bryan and I are having a lovely, relaxing weekend, which we definitely need after the past few weeks! It has been very busy (just for a change) at Kamberg Valley Hideaway!
During the past few weeks we have been trying to siphon and drain our main dam so that we can removed the bass, in order to stock trout for fly-fishing and also to clean up the dam and carry out some seriously needed maintenance work. We have had a TLB working on clearing the reeds and digging up as much of the sludge as possible.
We had no idea before we started this job how deep parts of the dam are and it has been a great exercise for us to see exactly what the structure of the dam is, so that we can advise future fishermen! Some areas are so deep, it is perfect for trout!
This Friday we finally succeeded in draining the last of the water that we could with the water pumps and we managed to remove some of the bass.
During the past few weeks we have been trying to siphon and drain our main dam so that we can removed the bass, in order to stock trout for fly-fishing and also to clean up the dam and carry out some seriously needed maintenance work. We have had a TLB working on clearing the reeds and digging up as much of the sludge as possible.
We had no idea before we started this job how deep parts of the dam are and it has been a great exercise for us to see exactly what the structure of the dam is, so that we can advise future fishermen! Some areas are so deep, it is perfect for trout!
This Friday we finally succeeded in draining the last of the water that we could with the water pumps and we managed to remove some of the bass.
Once we had finally drained the water as much as we could with the water pumps, Bryan and Henry went into the water to catch and remove as many of the bass as possible!
They caught about 70 in total, about 35 babies and the rest decent size eating fish!
We have no doubt there are a few bass still splashing around, so we will leave the dam for a few days to allow the seepage to come through the ground and sludge and then we will do a final pump of the remaining water and remove the last remaining fish!
After that we will leave the dam alone for a couple of weeks to dry out a bit, then the TLB will come back and finish the remaining cleaning and maintenance work. We are getting there and it will be a fabulous fishing dam once we are finished!
As the water in the dam has gradually reduced, we have seen a significant increase in the number of birds visiting the dam to check out the food available.
We have had HammerKops, Sacred Ibis, Pied Kingfishers, Spoon-bills, Egrets (to name but a few) and of course our resident Egyptian Geese. We thought the Egyptian Geese may have had young ones, but Bryan's Mum (who is amazing with birding) has advised us that the two birds on the sand bar are South African Shelduck. We haven't seen them before, so it's a first for us!
After that we will leave the dam alone for a couple of weeks to dry out a bit, then the TLB will come back and finish the remaining cleaning and maintenance work. We are getting there and it will be a fabulous fishing dam once we are finished!
As the water in the dam has gradually reduced, we have seen a significant increase in the number of birds visiting the dam to check out the food available.
We have had HammerKops, Sacred Ibis, Pied Kingfishers, Spoon-bills, Egrets (to name but a few) and of course our resident Egyptian Geese. We thought the Egyptian Geese may have had young ones, but Bryan's Mum (who is amazing with birding) has advised us that the two birds on the sand bar are South African Shelduck. We haven't seen them before, so it's a first for us!
So, that's the progress on the dam, now to show you how the cottage is looking!
The builders are going great guns and the cottage is looking fabulous! The tiler has started tiling the bathrooms, the insulation is in the roof space and the ceilings are up and the outside has been painted (just one more coat to go!)
We are so pleased with how it is looking and can't wait for the finished product.
The builders are going great guns and the cottage is looking fabulous! The tiler has started tiling the bathrooms, the insulation is in the roof space and the ceilings are up and the outside has been painted (just one more coat to go!)
We are so pleased with how it is looking and can't wait for the finished product.
We decided to put a roof over one part of the veranda where the braai will be, so that even if it is raining, our guests will still be able to enjoy a braai in the summer.
Well, that's all the news for now! We will keep you posted with the continuing progress.
RSS Feed