PostNet Suite 035, Private Bag X7005, Hillcrest, 3650, South Africa
Telephone:
+ 27 31 761 3440
Facsimile: + 27 31 765 2880
Reservations: reservations@mashatu.com
Accounts: accounts@mashatu.com
Marketing: marketing@mashatu.com
PostNet Suite 035, Private Bag X7005, Hillcrest, 3650, South Africa
Telephone:
+ 27 31 761 3440
Facsimile: + 27 31 765 2880
Reservations: reservations@mashatu.com
Accounts: accounts@mashatu.com
Marketing: marketing@mashatu.com
Since Valentine Day falls within the month of February, we have chosen to highlight a lovely Mashatu couple, Judith and Gordon Rothmann. Let’s get to know a bit more about this awesome husband and wife team.
I run with Mashatu Connect, which is the booking department for all road and air transfers in and out of Mashatu. This includes flights and road transfers for guests staying at Mashatu Euphorbia Villas, Mashatu Lodge, Tuli Safari Lodge Mashatu and Mashatu Tent Camp; as well as the range of properties located in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve of Botswana, in which Mashatu Game Reserve is situated.
My name is Judith and I was born in Gobabis, a town in eastern Namibia in the heart of the cattle farming area. I moved back to Botswana with my parents who were originally from Botswana Ghanzi area when I was 16 (many moons ago).
We home-school our kids. So, it is getting up and running through the house making sure kids are out of bed and start with school, then getting ourselves ready for the day at work. We start work at 07:00am. and I start the day off by checking my emails. This way I can reply to clients/agents, and get everything organized at start of the day. I spent most of my day at my desk, assisting clients/agents over email and telephone, as well as updating road transfer and flight schedules.
As a top safari and tourism destination, we can get very busy ensuring no one misses a flight or road transfer, Logistics can get challenging, and I need to be always on top of things. I love that every day presents me with different challenges. This has meant that I’ve had an opportunity to gain an understanding of the industry and develop my problem-solving and organizational skills.
There are just so many things. If I had to choose one thing that is the BEST aspect of living in the bush, it would be getting to live so close to such a range of wild animals who so peacefully accept us into their homes. We are very lucky to be staying on Mashatu!
Elephant: Did you know: Whenever the elephants feel down, they comfort one another with touch. Adult elephants cannot jump. Elephants have a better memory than humans. Elephants are scared of bees. As soon as they hear them, they run as fast as they can 🤣. Don’t try to outsmart an elephant! They understand basic arithmetic and can even keep track of relative quantities. Elephants are the only non-human animals to mourn their dead, performing burial rituals and returning to visit graves.
Woodlands Kingfisher : It is considered a symbol of peace, promising prosperity, and love.
Seafood, braai vleis (meat) and braai broodjies (bread) 😉
I am assigned as the Workshop and Maintenance Manager. I have two brilliant teams of guys who are dedicated to ensuring the fleet of vehicles and camps are kept up to standard. The teams are small so at times it is a very challenging task we have been assigned with, but we are always up for a challenge and therefore we enjoy it.
Well, I was born in Mpumalanga South Africa but immigrated to Botswana at the young age of 8 with my parents, as my father chose to accept a job opportunity at BCL mine in Selebi Phikwe. This is where my journey began and my roots were set. After completing primary school at Kopano (meaning come together in Setswana) Primary School in Selebi Phikwe, I had to finish my schooling career back in South Africa. I had always had a liking towards motor mechanics and at the time, the local schools were not as advanced as schools in SA in that particular field. I returned home in 2009 and ran the workshop in Selebi Phikwe until 2017, when I decided to move to Maun Botswana to see which opportunities would lurk there. Instead of business though, I found love in the form of my wife Judith Rothmann who currently works with me at Mashatu Nature Reserve. We moved in together, me, her and her (now our) 3 kids. It didn’t take very long before we had a child of our own together, such a blessing. Anyway back to the question at hand before I get too far off track. It was in 2020 that I got the position at Mashatu, I haven’t looked back since.
Chaotic, yet exciting! Everyday brings a new challenge, a new solution and a new perspective. We have a very energetic team here at Mashatu, so wherever we are needed we always walk into a friendly and welcoming work environment. At times the days can get long and tiring but we always stand together and pull through.
I would have to say that it is more about my involvement here, than my role as a manager. I enjoy working together with my teams on the ground and problem solving together. Whenever we face a challenge we face it together as a team and we all discuss the situation. I believe in taking input from all members of the team into consideration before we take action. This helps build knowledge and morale, which is why we have such a great, energetic and capable team. So to sum it up, the part I love the most is the fact that teamwork is what makes us who and what we are.
Mashatu has one of the most interesting landscapes I think in all of Botswana. We have diverse changes from flat grasslands to jagged mountain ranges (or koppies). During the rainy season we even have what mimics marshlands in some areas. Believe me it can get sticky out there! I also love the history of this area, there is so much of it.
Weirdly enough the Spotted Hyena. I think it’s their ugliness that makes them attractive. Also enjoy hearing them early in the morning before going to work.
Not much of a birder, but I like the call of the Woodlands Kingfisher.
I have always been a burger guy. A lekker oxtail potjie is also top class graze.
Images by Rebecca Du Toit
