WE are scrambling!
On Friday morning just before 01h00 CAT, a rat chewed through the fiber optic cable that connects the Gowrie waterhole to the final control. It took us a little while to figure out what had happened, and by the time WE did, it was too late for a splicing team to leave Johannesburg and still make it through Gowrie gate into the reserve by 23h00 CAT, which is when the gate is closed. So they left this morning at dawn and should be at Djuma now … only I am not sure because I have no comms with the team at Djuma at all!
The reason for this is that the main communications tower at Vuyatela (WE know it as Jurie’s mast) was struck by lightning last night during a massive storm. This bolt of lightning damaged both of our Internet connections, the phone system and the mobile phone system … effectivley cutting Djuma off from the outside world!
All the various suppliers have been informed and they are all at various stages of trying to get their repair teams on site, but right now WE are not sure how long everything is going to be down for.
As WE get information we will keep you informed … it is in our nature!