Nylsvley Game Count 1 of 2010

MISSION  4  OF  2010

Name of Mission: Nylsvley Game Count 1 of 2010 
Date of Mission: 2nd February 2010
Aircraft used: Cessna 182    
Beneficiary: Marion Dunkeld-Mengell
Pilots: Hill van Schalkwyk

Pilot’s story of the mission  :  By  HILL  VAN  SCHALKWYK

This was an easy and short but effective flight.  The participants – Dr W. Tarboton and Mrs Marion Dunkeld Mengell – knew exactly what they needed and also know the area very well.  It was an absolutely beautiful flying day and the photographs captured are all very clear.

The passengers were happy and satisfied with the operation and reported that their objectives had all been met.

Beneficiary’s story  of the mission  :  By  MARION  DUNKELD-MENGELL

Objective of the Flight:
To view the Nylsvely Flood Plain from the air to assess the amount of flooding, the developments at Shumba’s Rest and the extent of sewage spill from the Modimolle sewage works.

Friends of Nylsvley thank the Bateleurs for organising the flyover of the floodplain of the Nyl river.  We are very grateful for the opportunity we had to view the floodplain at its magnificent best, and for the information we were able to gather.

At approximately 07h20 on Monday 1 February Dr Warwick Tarboton, President of Friends of Nylsvley and Mrs Marion Dunkeld-Mengell, Project Co-ordinator of Friends of Nylsvley, with assistance from The Bateleurs, flew from Modimolle landing strip northwards on the western side of the Nyl floodplain and  returned on the eastern side at between 500 and  800 feet above sea level.

Our observations:

The flood had reached to about 10 km short of Moorddrift; i.e.  about 90% of the floodplain was inundated.
The Olifantspruit was still discharging water strongly into the system.
There are two large, active heronries in the reedbeds at Nylsvley (both downstream of the Jacana hide).
A third heronry was discovered in reedbeds about 4km downstream of Modimolle.
Overall, numbers of waterbirds, especially ducks, were disappointingly low – perhaps because of all the water to be found across Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
At Shumba’s Rest, an alleged illegal development on the western boundary of Nylsvley, new buildings are apparently under construction.
On the outskirts of Modimolle we viewed the sewage works which appeared to be not fully functional.
We also observed a severely contaminated dam in a former nature area between the sewage works and the start of the Nyl river floodplain.

We attach pics looking south from the Jacana hide at Nylsvley, and of the Modimolle sewage works and the contaminated dam.

Conclusion:

The objective of the flight was met.  Confirmation of the extent of the 2010 flooding was observed, as were the sites of the 2010 Heronries, the activities at Shumba’s Rest, and the disarray at and near the Modimolle sewage works.

The arrangements for the flight were handled well by Hill van Schalkwyk and we were charmed by the picnic he brought along with him.