Author: Focus Online Dev

Warmest greeting to you all once again!

Christmas is just around the corner and we can not wait to see all of you guys that are on your way back to Tuningi for yet another return visit. True to our reputation, we are planning to spoil you rotten once again! Our amazing chefs are going to tickle your taste buds no end, the barman will tempt you with the best of our magnificent wines and deliver one cocktail after the next to you, lying, soaking up the South African sun at the pool area. Some of the animals will come to entertain you at the Lodge’s private water hole while the Rangers will show you the rest of Madikwe’s magnificent wild life and teach you every thing there is to know on every adventurous game drive…

But for now, Christo will share NOVEMBER’S exciting news with you!

Yet another one of those amazing months in Madikwe, but to be honest, every month is special out in the African bush. But I think this month was just that little bit more special because in November the Impalas and Wildebeest started giving birth and there are babies around every corner.

As the summer slowly settled in, rumbling thunderstorms were becoming more frequent and I am always awestruck by the power and brilliance of the lightning shows accompanying every worthy thunderstorm, and of course with every thunderstorm comes rain which the thirsty soil laps up and makes the appreciative plants go green.

Then on a sad note…

As you may know South Africa is undergoing a scourge of rhino poaching but that Madikwe has been rather lucky in the past only losing 1 rhino last year November (still one to many). Well shocking news reached us the 1st of November, a big rhino bull was found shot and dehorned on our Northern fence and to ad horror to the sadness, another dead, dehorned rhino was found the 17th of November, also on our Northern fence line. Well that then settled it, Madikwe went on the war path and we are all motivated not to let such a tragedy happen again. With rangers are now helping with patrols and gathering of information. We are set to protect our beloved rhino from these terrorists. The figure of rhino’s poached mid November nationwide, was already a staggering 382, I shiver to think where the number is by the time you read this news letter and that just for a stupid belief that a mass of compacted hair called keratin on top of a rhinos face has medicinal value.

Game viewing was of course top of the order this month, with all the animals in Madikwe playing their part to give our guests the most memorable experiences. Most memorable for me this month was the 2 hours we spent with Madikwe’s favourite leopard, the Moakeng male. Opposed to the usual early morning wake-up call my guests decided they would like to go out a little bit later than usual, seeing that they were lucky enough to have the whole game drive vehicle to themselves. So we left the lodge round about 9h00. I of course had my reservations about what we might see because this time of year it gets hot early and most of the animals resides to the shade or thickets to get out of the scorching sun. But it was a cool overcast morning and Lady Luck and all her high school friends were on our side.

“Tralala… Tralali… on game drive when I suddenly see it, a flash of white tail and spots. Leopard!!! Heart racing, goose-pimply all over and then… gone. Where… How… What the…? There he is, a voice whispers from the back and I have to strain my eyes to see where the leopard had dropped down, relying on his camouflage to hide him away from the unexpected vehicle. We sit a moment and then he relaxes and casually crosses the road behind us not even giving us a second glance. We follow this male leopard through the bush and watch him as he sharpens and cleans his nails on a small tree. We even watch as he starts showing interest in a patch of grass obviously hearing something way beyond human ability, slowly he creeps up and then lunges, and again and again. Probably heard a mouse or rat and wanted to have a quick snack. We are speechless as we follow the leopard around a mere 10 meters from him. He eventually makes his way back to a road and stops for a drink of water in a small puddle next to the road, we follow him for another 100 meters or so and then he plops down like only a cat can, right underneath a nice shady tree. Still in shock and speechless from this amazing sighting we leave to go and stop for a drink and when we return to where we left him, he has disappeared, as if to prove that he is still the king of sneakiness.

Our watering hole is also still buzzing with activity, especially since a big old Black Rhino male called Hansa now made our watering hole his favourite hang out space. If it is a really hot day be sure to be at the watering hole round about 4 o’clock, because that is when Hansa has his afternoon drink, mud wallow and sometimes even a siesta right at the watering hole.

Our big pack of Wild Dogs is also going from strength to strength. All 11 pups born in May are all still alive and well, a pretty good accomplishment. Just a few days back we spent almost the whole morning with them, watching as they fed on a kudu they killed the previous night and laughed at the antics of the pups almost the size of the adults already. Dogs and mud and meat and blood every where! 25 dogs all together and well and healthy! What a sighting!

Then on a whole different note.

The other day I was in the office (yes pretty amazing I know, seeing that it is damn scary in there) frolicking around on the interweb and came upon a website called tripadvisor. O my was I pleasantly surprised, I read one comment and then just could not stop, my pride swelled through the roof as I read comment after comment about the wonderful time guests had with us. It really makes us feel special to know that what we as Tuningi do is so much appreciated. So thank you to all the guests that wrote a comment on trip advisor. We appreciate it immensely and also thank you to all the guests that has put their trust in us for their safari experience, it was a real joy and honour to have shown you our little piece of Africa.

Well that is it from me for November. Make sure to book your trip to Tuningi to see what exactly it is so many people are raving about, I am sure you will not be disappointed.
Until we chat again

Christo

And then lastly from me;
Thank you to Robin Ashfield for the beautiful bird photos you sent us after your visit!
I just had to share them with all of you!

Please do not hesitate to send us some of your photos or post them for all to see on our face book page!

Have a wonderful Chrismas and a Happy New Year!

With warmest regards
Heidi and the rest of the fabulous T-team

P.S. Remember to befriend us on FACEBOOK for daily updates of sightings and special rates!

For enquiries please contact :

Warmest greetings to you all once again!

The BEST news ever! It finally rained two days ago! Okay, we have to admit that it was not buckets full, but boy was it a relief. 23mm is MUCH better than nothing and at least the dust has disappeared for now and green grass is going to start pushing through the dead straw soon. Imagine how happy all the animals must feel with the prospect of fresh new sprigs of grass to eat in a few days time. This also means that the Impalas will be getting ready to drop their babies by the middle of November!

It is not only the bush that is changing color as we speak. Loads of normally grey and rather dull looking birds are all of a sudden strutting their breeding plumage. Especially the masked weavers! Everywhere you look, bright yellow flashes of color catches your eyes as the boys are frantically starting to weave their intricate nests for the females to come and inspect and hopefully approve.

Well, there we go again. So much to chat about, so little time.

This month, we actually only wanted to say that we are sure that you all are getting a bit suspicious when it is only ever the Tuningi Team going on and on about the ‘greatness’ of our Lodge!

This is why we asked a guest if we could publish an article she wrote after her stay at Tuningi earlier in the month, for you to hear about our Lodge from an outsider’s point of view. Thank you so much Gillian!!

Quiet times at Tuningi
Article By: Gillian McLaren

As we get back to the lodge, after an exhilarating game drive in the western side of Madikwe, I see a flash of movement – a tawny blur – and hear a scuffle.

“It’s a lioness”, declares Gavin, our ranger. “She has attempted a kill, but has failed”.
I am somewhat shocked, as this is less than twenty meters from the deck of Tuningi Safari Lodge, where we are about to dine.

A giant fig tree – Ficus Thonningii – reputed to be over five hundred years old, presides over the wooden deck, which looks magical tonight. There is a welcoming fire in the cement circle, and tables are set with white cloths and elegant wine glasses. Besides the stars and full moon, lanterns placed in the tree and on the tables illuminate the scene.

With her customary warmth and patience, Heidi, the lodge manager, greets us as we pour out stories from our game drive: “We saw a dozen lions, sitting on a termite mound, with a magnificent sunset behind them,” I declare.

Kind and attentive staff serve our meal, which is delicious South African fare, including game meat, and ending with a sticky malva pudding. The staff double as cabaret, and we are entertained with harmony and African dancing.

I am so entranced with the deck and its proximity to the waterhole, I stay at Tuningi instead of going out on the morning drive. With my bird book, pen and excellent old Leitz binoculars I sit on a chair, waiting to see the passing parade. A feeding party of tiny birds flits in. There are twenty or more blue waxbills with their powder-blue faces and breasts; a few violet-eared waxbills; a green–winged pytilia (arguably the prettiest bird in Madikwe) and sparrows. I am in bird heaven as a horde of green wood-hoopoes arrives and they begin to groom one another. They are chattering and cackling in harsh tones, a contrast to the liquid notes of a black-headed oriole above me in the fig tree.

A proactive waiter brings me what he knows I like: a pot of strong rooibos tea. As I look up I see a massive bull elephant trundle towards the water hole. He is in musth and his temporal glands are secreting copious quantities of viscous fluid. I am fascinated by this close up spectacle, but harbor residual fear as the deck is a mere meter above the ground. I wonder if the lioness is still lingering in the bushes. The bull begins to give himself a mud bath and throws mud systematically all over his vast hide, till he is a red-brown colour and seems less irascible. With clever foreknowledge he moves to the pipe outlet where the water is fresh and he takes long slurps into his trunk, then squirts it into his upturned mouth, so close that I get a glimpse of his pink tongue.

As I walk to my suite, I see a cluster of female kudus with a majestic male. They are browsing next to the alfresco shower, where I bask in the sunshine and try out all the lotions and potions. There is also an inside-outside bath that could easily fit two people, and I muse on the fact that Tuningi is an ideal spot for honeymooners. The king-sized bed has a mosquito net romantically draped over the canopy. There are goodies that Heidi puts in the room, but I shall not spoil the surprises.

Heidi is passionate about having children as lodge guests. She has set up a creative and educational program to entertain them. They get to make animal print T-shirts, to identify tracks and spoor and make plaster casts of them.

A fun-filled book has just been developed which has fascinating facts about each animal, and questions to keep energetic minds busy. Heidi could charm a pickled soul, so even the shyest of children would take to her. Wisely, she keeps families and couples apart in the game vehicles, and also in the suites.

When Heidi joins us on a game drive, we spot something unusual: hundreds of large feathers spread over a wide area. She leaps off the vehicle and begins to gather up a few of the feathers, “for the kids to see”, she says, “I will hide them in my treasure hunt”. Gavin explains that it looks like a leopard has killed a Kori Bustard. He finds tracks to confirm his theory.

On the drive back, a fragment of poetry creeps into my mind:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;

Wordsworth’s daffodils are a far cry from the dry savannah, but I echo his sentiments, and will treasure the time spent in Tuningi Safari Lodge, especially on the deck beneath the ancient fig tree. “

Well, what more can we say?????

Although we are pretty much booked up for the Christmas holidays, we think you should get hold of next year’s calendar and start planning you trip to Tuningi.

We promise that our incredible attention to detail will change your ordinary holiday plans into an extraordinary life experience! Don’t just dream it. Come and be enchanted…..

Until next month!
Kind regards
The Fabulous T-TEAM

P.S. Remember to befriend us on FACEBOOK for daily updates of sightings and special rates!

For enquiries please contact :

Hello Everyone!

We hope you are all doing well!

At Tuningi we cannot believe how quickly September has passed.
We had the most amazing month and were spoilt by lots of new and return visitors. Although it was another dry month, with lots of dust in the air, our guests experienced the best sunsets and sightings.

We were however surprised by a huge thunderstorm and rain on the last day of the month, and the whole game reserve is now turning vividly green! Summer is here!!!

We asked Cornelius to tell you about his remarkable game drive sightings this month and then Christo will enlighten you about the surprising visitors socializing at our waterhole….

Well where do I start? I just got settled in here at Tuningi and felt at home from day one and had the most incredible sightings. Here is just a few of them.

We had great weather as summer came quickly and with that, new life. A quick thunderstorm over the weekend helped everything on and settled the dust for a while.

As you know the Big Pack of Wild Dogs had 11 puppies and I am happy to inform you that we saw them at Tshukudu dam in the east 2 weeks ago. All the youngsters were still there and very healthy, since they ate a kudu that morning.

When we arrived all the dogs were still sleeping and we struggled to view them properly in the long grass. We decided to go for drinks and waited for the temperature to drop a bit.

As we returned to the dam after sundowners, they were more awake and the youngsters were very playful. Perfect photo opportunities followed as they went up the dam wall with the sun setting behind them. The far drive to the east turned out to be worth it as we had an awesome sighting of the Madikwe Painted Wolfs.

Leopards are a rare sighting in Madikwe but this guy, the Maokeng Male as he is known, shows himself more than other leopards. He was found high up in this Weeping Wattle with a Warthog that he killed.

You could see him from far away as it was the biggest tree in the area. He was lying on his kill for 3 days, proudly looking around as possibly every guide and guest in Madikwe watched in awe.

Tlou Dam also delivered a bunch of fun and weird sightings.
Elephants turn into kids as they get close to the water on a hot summer day. Some will dive into the water completely submerged and others will kick mud around and spray water everywhere.

The 3 female lionesses that had the 8 cubs are well and all still healthy. The youngsters are always fed and growing by the day.

 

 

It doesn`t matter how or where you spend your day in Madikwe, there will always be a sunset that ends the day perfectly.

Not only were game drives exceptional and exiting this month. Even staying at the lodge and spending some time at the watering hole would have provided you with some great game viewing. Everything from the normal game like impala, zebra and kudu to the big 5 have been visiting our watering hole this month.

The most mentionable was when we had a boma dinner close to the watering hole. Just as the guests sat down to start their delicious 3 course meal the show started. A whole group of Ellies showed up and had a great time playing and bathing in the watering hole.

Then as the last people were making their way to bed the grand finale appeared, a leopard slowly made her way to the watering hole and spent 5 minutes quenching her thirst. But that was not the end, not long after her a big male leopard made his appearance and also enjoyed a sip at the watering hole. Yip that night was pretty amazing.

Then just 4 days back I brought people in from the airstrip, they were tired from a long journey and it was already too late for a game drive, but mother nature still gave them her best, because just as we set foot into the lodge Wilma told us that our favorite black rhino (Hansa) was at the watering hole. What a welcome to Tuningi. Then just as Hansa moved off into the bush a Daggaboy (old buffalo bull) made his way to the watering hole. Wow what a start to a wonderful safari, two of the big five in the first 20 minutes right at our watering hole, now that is true Tuningi magic for you!!

Well, what more can we say??

Pick up that phone and come visit us soon!
We cannot wait to spoil you with an unforgettable experience.
Have a great month until we chat again and please remember to keep in touch with us through Face Book.

Kind regards!
Cornelius, Christo & The Fabulous Tuningi Team

For enquiries please contact :

Hallo all!
I can’t believe it is already time to chat again. Although it is still very cold at night we are not stressing about it as we know that it is now only one month away from Spring when the dust will be blown away and little fresh green buds will be pushing through the dead foliage everywhere. Can’t wait!

Good news is that we are now connected to the world via WiFi in the main lodge area. We have done this especially for those of you who have always wanted to stay longer, but could not leave your business behind. Now there are no more excuses. Just pack your laptop and family and get here soonest!

Although Madikwe has not been hit yet, this last month was dominated by all kinds of new statistics about the terrible topic of rhino poaching. Despite the awareness caused when it was announced that 333 rhinos were killed illegally last year in SA alone, the slaughter rate remains around one animal every 20 hours! As Peter Borchert put it, “ Those of us who bang on about such things, citing our moral responsibility to nature and our duty to future generations, must continue to do so and we must never give up. But, conservation based on charity and the conscience-tweaking rantings of a few is not sustainable. If even remnants of Africa’s natural landscapes are to survive, we need to embrace their economic value not as trophies and dead things ground into powders and pastes of spurious medicinal value, but as living icons of African prosperity. The crude maxim promoting the economic value of wild animals in their natural habitat has been ‘if it pays it stays’, but what if you and I can help to turn this around and instead argue ‘if it stays, it will pay FOREVER!’”

Well, while we are all trying to conserve and protect Africa’s natural assets with all our might, we are also trying to look after the people that live around it. This month on 18 July, the T-team celebrated Madiba (Nelson Mandela)’s birthday and also did our 67 minutes of GOOD! We love to spoil the little kids in our local village just outside the Game Reserve, so we went on a little round trip, first playing a game of football with the grade R’s at the primary school, and of course supplying the refreshments. After this we popped in at the local clinic, donating a beautiful bath and changing cabinet for the new born babies and some pretty baby clothes – thanks to Peter Channing from Head office. Lastly, we dropped a new ball and basket game at the pre-school to help the little ones tweak their co-ordination skills. What a beautiful day we all had!

I know that you are sitting on the edge of you chair by now, wanting to know what we saw out in the bush again this month! I asked Christo to tell you all about it. Birders and Twitchers, best you read on!

Greetings from a chilly Madikwe.
But never will cold weather keep us from some great sightings, with blankets and warm water bottles at hand, we set out to go and find the best Madikwe has to offer and this past month… yip Madikwe delivered!

The colder weather also meant that we were able to go and do day drives and go and explore areas of the park we do not often get to visit. Like the Groot Marico River in the East where we normally set off to if we want to see hippo and that was exactly what we did. We would have been content with some hippo in the water, where they usually spend their time during the day to avoid sunburn, but we were extremely lucky to find a mother and her calf outside the water basking in the midday sun. Seeing them out of the water is really special as you can then get a real idea of this colossal animal’s size.

As it is getting drier and drier the animals are forced to the bigger watering holes and dams and that means great sightings for us. As usual in the winter Tlou dam is responsible for a world of entertainment, with huge elephant herds coming to drink from the dam on a daily bases. Big news at Tlou dam is that there is also a very relaxed female leopard with a cub hanging around the area and we get to see her every now and again.

It is always sad to find an elephant carcass in the bush. With them being so enormous and seeming to be indestructible, it just feels wrong when you see them dead! Well as things are in nature nothing goes to waste, and even though predators would never think of trying to kill a full grown elephant they would certainly feed on it if it is available. In a little open clearing we found the three lion mothers with their eight young cubs not giving up an opportunity to tuck in to some free food. This provided us with some amazing sightings, and when they had their fill it was time for the Spotted and very shy Brown hyenas to join the party.

Then for the big news this month, news that will give our birding friends heart palpitations. We have discovered a…. (Drum roll)….. A Yellow Morph, Crimson Breasted Shrike close to Tholo dam way in the North of the park. Color morphs are a type of plumage abnormality in that the bird is born with a certain different feather color to the norm for that species. A more technical term for this is Xanthochroism or Flavism. In xanthochroistic birds, either there is excessive yellow pigment in the feathers or yellow replaces another color, typically red. This resulted in the yellow throat, chest and belly with the normal red pigment failing to develop. In other words, a very rare and special sighting indeed.

Well that is it from me for this month, hope to see you here very soon. Keep it on the wild side!!
Christo

And that is all from me too!
Please always try to spread the word of the importance of conservation! If we as the human race stop caring, not only will the rhino’s disappear, but so would the elephants, lions, wild dogs and hyenas. And I am only talking about Africa here…..

Come back and visit us soon and experience the true wonder of all things wild, while you still can…….Guaranteed, our visit will urge you to make a difference every day of you life.

Until next month when Spring has sprung!
Kindest regards
Heidi and the fabulous T-team

For enquiries please contact :

Warmest greetings again from Tuningi Safari Lodge.
Another chilly month has come and gone….. This month I have thought it a good idea to let someone else do the talking. I want you all to read about our fabulous lodge from a guest’s perspective. I would really like to thank Peter Davis for the fabulous review on his visit to Tuningi that he posted on the Travelgurus website.
I am sure that you are going to start planning your next holiday the minute you have finished reading it:

Posted under: Bush, Destinations, South Africa 

Peter Davies

We recently lived in a charming town called Simsbury in Connecticut. Our yard (as the Yanks like to call their gardens) was visited by squirrel, deer, chipmunk, fox and once, as we were about to stroll to a school bus stop, a large black bear. We drove to the bus stop that day.

Our neighbour in this rural idyll was the guy who voiced Pumbaa in the Lion King movie. Ernie Sabella is his name, and he would put on the bumbling warthog’s voice and quote his well-loved lines to entertain our girls. Understandably, we cannot encounter warthogs without being reminded of our kindly ex-neighbour.

On a recent trip to Tuningi Safari Lodge, the first sightings of the creatures sparked delighted cries of “Ernie” from the girls. Then we saw a warthog impaled high in the forked branches of a marula tree …

Our guide Gavin cut the engine and we settled back in that perfect post-dawn bush silence. A wheeling pair of raucous crows buzzed the marula tree, closing in on the carcass. Suddenly, a glint of gold and coal flashed through the high grass and a muscular leopard scaled the lower reaches of the tree in an easy bound. She was halfway up the trunk before the crows fled, and the big cat dropped effortlessly back to the veld.

Thankfully, this glimpse of leopard enthralled the girls, banishing any panicky thoughts pertaining to Pumbaa’s fate. It also enabled us to tick off the Big Five. Not bad for a three-day stay. We also saw shy gemsbok, black rhino, brown hyena and aardvark – everything really, apart from the elusive wild dogs, one of Madikwe’s success stories.

Madikwe is a group of up market lodges studded throughout 750 malaria-free hectares of bush hugging the Botswana border. Tuningi is the most child friendly of the lodges – an easy four-hour drive from Gauteng or one hour in a small plane. Managerial duo Heidi and Gavin ensure that even though the food and lodging is of an immaculate five-star standard, there is a homeliness you don’t always find at the top end of the game lodge business. This is important to us.

There’s nothing worse than treading on eggshells at some Ferrari-safari type lodge where you are just another invoice and children are to be neither seen nor heard. During our three nights at Tuningi, we met people from England, Spain, Gauteng and Italy. The Italian mum wept gently like George Harrison’s guitar when we came within prodding distance of a pride of lions that languidly surrounded the vehicle. I empathized to a degree with the mama’s muffled sobs. Despite the primal thrill of being in the hub of the lion laager, and no matter what the rangers say to the contrary, I’m uncomfortably aware of how simple it would be for one of those beasts to leap into the vehicle and devour its occupants.

So often the entire bush experience depends on the guile and skill – or lack thereof – of the ranger. Some are glorified taxi drivers, who do little more than wait for sharper guides to locate game and then crash the party.

Gavin is no taxi driver. His self-published books of photographs in the lodge speak of a deep love of African wildlife. His game drives are meticulously constructed – painstakingly following tracks, testing the wind, drawing on his knowledge of every inch of the reserve. Gavin was generous with this knowledge too, which fascinated the younger bushwhackers. Did you know that the black rhino’s teeth snip branches at an exact 45° angle? Or the giraffe sleeps for just 20 minutes a day? Neither did I.

On our extensive travels in America, we often encountering a rack ’em, pack ’em and stack ’em attitude. There is something refreshingly genuine about the warmth and hospitality you get in South Africa. Usually, though, the standard of the up market bush experience is so high it can be difficult to tell lodges apart, to detect a unique selling point.

Let’s consider Tuningi: Five-star cuisine? Check. After the post-game drive breakfast, a waitress appears with the lunch menu. As lunch debris is swept from the table, pencils are tapped against notepads for dinner orders.

Luxurious chalets? Check. Just 16 guests are accommodated in double-volume thatched rooms with fireplace, outside shower, outsize oval bath, bed wide enough to set sail and classy, understated Afro-chic decor. Two log fires in the main lodge. Enticing bar and rim-flow with views through to private water hole.

Boma dinner? Check. A jewel of the game lodge experience, at Tuningi these dinners are held under the vast canopy of an ancient fig tree.

Private water hole? Check. Obliging game congregate at dawn and dusk to offer gawking guests the wildlife equivalent of a pole dance. It’s accessed down a winding, wooden walkway. On check-in, we were treated to a herd of 20 or so elephants cooling themselves.

Yes, Tuningi ticks all the boxes, but its overt family friendliness is what sets it apart. Children are nurtured as the next generation of bush lovers. The girls spent their final morning hand painting Tuningi T-shirts. They adorned the back with intact warthogs – a family of four trotting snout-to-tail on terra firma – not half-eaten ones in marula trees.

The human Pumbaa should check this place out. Ernie Sabella has never been to Africa to savour the savannah-soaked adventures of his animated alter ego. He is one of the many millions of foreigners oblivious to the singular delights this nation has to offer. We South Africans should never become blasé about the utterly unique experience that places like Tuningi offer.

We’ll be drawing Ernie’s attention to Tuningi shortly. – Peter Davies

Well, what more can we say????
Have a great month until we chat again and please remember to keep in touch with us through Face Book.
Kind regards!
Heidi and the incredible T-team

For enquiries please contact: reservations@madikwecollection.com

Hallo everyone!

Greetings once again from the beautiful Tuningi Lodge and all of us lucky people who live here.

Although Winter finally arrived with force two days ago, the month of May is arguably the most beautiful time of the year in the South African bushveld. The climate is hard to beat anywhere else in the world. The days are clear and sunny and are pleasantly warm instead of hot. Only at sundowner time do you need to slip into something warm to keep you comfortable.

Insect numbers start to dwindle and there is no more moth with your mouthful of merlot or other flying surprises in your starters. Most of the snakes have gone off to find a spot to curl up for the colder Winter months and all the animals are in top condition with full bellies and shining coats. In most of our opinions, May is definitely the best month to come for a visit!

It has been a month filled with special occasions like the Easter weekend, a romantic engagement and the return of lots of our favourite guests (especially Jim and Isobel from Scottish Life), hosting a fantastic bush braai with the local marimba band providing the back ground music, handing over loads of presents and sports gear to the grade R class of our local school, and lots more!

The Game drives have been as amazing as ever! I asked Christo to tell you about his most amazing day.

Greetings, from a cold and windy Madikwe. It is now official Winter has finely laid its icy claws on us but don’t for one moment think a little bit of cold weather is going to stop us from finding the most amazing sightings in Madikwe.

This month turned out to be one of my luckiest so far, it finally happened and after almost a year in the field I finally achieved the Grand slam, to see the big 5 (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo) in one drive! It all started with a trip up North towards Tlou dam. First we found a big herd of buffalo just leisurely grassing and got to spend some time with them before the whole herd of ± 200 got swallowed up by the thick sickle bush on their way towards Tlou dam.

We made our way to the dam and as we drove on to the dam wall the first Elephants started to make their way towards the water and they just kept on coming. We were in luck as there were two family groups that came to the water at the same time. Few things are more amazing than to sit and watch and of course listen to about 50 elephants quenching their thirst, like one of my guests said “this makes the 17 hour flight so worth while, this is exactly how I pictured Africa”.

Well what she didn’t now was that it was far from over, because two White Rhino’s also joined in on the fun at the dam.

As the Elephants moved off back in to the bush we went for sundowners at Nick’s View South at the foot of Tshwene Tshwene Mountain which gives one a breathtaking view of the sun setting over the Enselbergs (islands of rock) and the waste plains surrounding them. We packed up our sundowners and were just heading off when the call on the radio came in “INKWE”.

Now if you are a ranger in Madikwe that one word will send your heart racing! Inkwe means Leopard and when ever you hear that on the radio everything stops and all become deadly quite. No matter what you are busy with, there can be an Elephant bull with a torn off ear (that will usually upset them even more) trying to disassemble your land cruisers’ engine, it doesn’t matter; all you are waiting for is the update on the location of this particular Inkwe.

So off we went hoping with all hopes that, that leopard would have some how got stuck or glued to the spot where it was seen at first, because so often you get there and the other rangers will show you exactly where the leopard was lying just a minute before you got there. Argh, GONE! But not this time. We got there and she was still lying on the rocks, we had to use our binoculars but we got a pretty good view of her. Some guests even saw glimpses of her two small cubs. A huge added bonus! We will definitely keep a look out for them in the future.

With the weight of the world off my shoulders, we took the road home and then it happened again. Lions were called in over the radio and it dawned on me, could this be my lucky day? Would the lions still be there by the time I got to them? How big will my disappointment be if I got there and someone told me exactly where they were lying just a minute before I got there? I tried to promise myself that this time I will not shoot the poor unlucky ranger with the bad news in the kneecap with a very powerful high calibre rifle… again.

But as we came around the bend in the road there they were, a sub adult male and female lying just off the road with the rest of the pride a bit back and obscured by bushes. But that is all I needed, my first Grand slam the big 5 in one drive!!

But of course besides all my ramblings about the big 5 we also had our fare share of the other game species and they can provide you with just as much entertainment as any of the big 5.

Big news in the park is that the alpha female in the bigger one of our Wild dog packs is now heavily pregnant and it looks like they want to start denning on one of the Enselbergs in the west of the park. That would of course be great news for us as we can then keep a close eye on them and hopefully the puppies as well.

Well that is a little look into the excitement we as rangers had this month. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our passion for the bush with you.

Till next time, keep it on the wild side.
Christo

Well, that is all from me as well!
If you are so lucky to come and visit us in the next three months, do not forget to pack your beanie, gloves, woollen socks and a nice big warm jacket. From our side, we will keep the fires going, cook some hearty stews, fill up the hot water bottles and pour as much red wine as you may need to warm you up from the inside.

Also look out for our amazing specials on the website- (Stay three nights and fly from Jhb to Madikwe for FREE) and follow us on Face Book and Twitter for daily updates on our Game viewing!

Warmest regards
Heidi and the fabulous T-team.

For enquiries please contact :

Hallo everyone!

We hope you are all doing well!
Although it is supposed to be Autumn at the moment, the leaves are actually still not turning into the usual bright reds, yellows and oranges that is normal for April. The reason for this being that it just has not stopped raining for a moment! The entire reserve is still bright green, extremely dense and wet, as if in the middle of the Summer months. The dams are even fuller than they were in the middle of the normal rainy season! The upside of this, of course, is that the animals are going to have a fantastic winter with no food or thirst problems what so ever. The only thing they will have to do is keep warm!

I asked Grant to tell you about the game drive sightings in April and our wonderful new toy- the camera at the water hole…

“Well what can I say besides wet, wet, wet. Three weeks ago we had a 150mm in a few hours during the night. Good for the dams but not so good for the game drives. We were limited to only a few roads that are drivable in the rainy season. Everything is still so green and the spotting of animals is still very difficult. At least we know our sightings around the big dams will be good during the winter. The landscapes around the big dams are something out of this world with all the water in and around the dams. The elephants enjoy it as well with their swimming sessions. The picture below is of Thlou Dam, this is one of the dams in the north.

The last three weeks we had amazing lion sightings from lions hunting to lions mating. The wild dogs also made sure we saw them in their full glory as we followed them one morning and witnessed a kill from the start to the finish.

I have to tell you guys that we had the most amazing sunsets ever over the last few weeks. So here are a few sunset shots to make you long for Tuningi and Madikwe again.

The cubs that you guys met in the previous newsletter are still alive and doing very well! The three moms joined forces so they consist out of three females with eight youngsters. Will keep you posted on what the little rascals get up to. We had a few very misty mornings as well and we can feel winter is really creeping up on us. Even the animals were moving slower than normal.

You guys must go onto our facebook page and have a look at our album called Tuningi cam. We have a Bushnell camera trap at the waterhole to capture those elusive animals at night, or during the day. We have seen some interesting animals at the waterhole like black rhino and hyena.

 

We will update the album every three to four days. So keep checking back. The lioness with her small cubs also made her appearance again at the waterhole and we witnessed her hunting hereon numerous occasions. Well that is what happened on our side the last few weeks. Remember always expect the unexpected. That is why we love it here. You never know what you will encounter.

 

 

Hope to see you guys back at Tuningi soon.
Cheers
Grant”

Well, as you can see, our newest Tuningi song goes something like this: “Never mind the weather, as long as we’re together”…..
Remember to follow us on Face Book for updates, interesting happenings, special rates and fabulous photos captured by our new video cam!
Keep well until we chat again
Kindest regards
Heidi and the fabulous T-team

For enquiries please contact :

As always, friendly Bush Greetings to all of you!

What an amazing time we once again had at Tuningi this past month, with more return guests than ever, out of the ordinary rain storms, even more out of the ordinary visitors and fantastic game viewing all on the cards.

Last night, 135 mm of rain came gushing down, turning every thinkable road in the Park into a flowing river and filling every single dam in the Reserve completely to its capacity. Needless to say, this is a fantastic bonus at this time of the year as we can now be certain that there will be more than enough water around in the upcoming dry months as well as beautiful green grass for all to eat, even in Winter!

 

On the topic of strange guests checking in…. We welcomed the Agrizzi family back to Tuningi for the fifth time this month, only this time they had a brand new edition to the family! Although it is completely against the rules to bring pets into the Game Reserve, they had special permission to bring their baby monkey with them, seeing that he is in training to help disabled people who can’t help themselves.( almost like a guide dog for the Blind).

Although we are all completely against taming wild animals, we could not help falling for the little oak’s charms and noticing how helpful he was with passing on stuff to Granny and realizing that he could really mean a lot to a helpless old pensioner.

We also had great fun with all the kids coming back to visit, and tried to teach them as much as we could about Mother Nature again. We spent time with loads of elephants at the Little Tuningi swimming pool and went on fabulous kiddies drives, not only looking for the big animals, but also stopping to get out and study the little things like the interesting dung beetle behavior.

And over to Gavin to give you his report on the famously fabulous game viewing in Madikwe:

Rangers Report

Hello once again everybody from a season changing Madikwe Game Reserve.
Yip, winter is on the way, as you go out on the morning Safari the morning freshness is addictive as the earthy smells and bird song greets you as the sun slowly rises over the Dwarsberg mountains.

So this month has got to be the month of the lion cubs, and the leopards of Madikwe…..
There are currently 4 different lionesses with 9 cubs in total running around the lodge, with one of the lionesses frequenting the lodge at the waterhole on a regular basis. All the cubs are almost all of the same age (+/- 8 weeks), so they are soooo cute !!

The other females are regularly found on the safaris, and the Kgala males are extremely proud of their progeny as they are spending more and more time on the ridge making sure that no other males enter the territory and commit infanticide.

As far as the southern prides are doing, they are going from strength to strength with the young Marupengs now reaching sub-adult status, and seem to have an uncanny knack of climbing trees, which makes for some awesome photography opportunities. The Mica Pride are also doing exceptionally well, but are being forced further west into the Tshabalala and Marupeng Territory due to the 2 Naledi males moving in from the east, which has been causing some friction between the two prides.

The wild dogs have been doing exactly what they are supposed to do, and that is to give us rangers a huge challenge to locate them. If you have ever been on a safari looking for the wild dogs, you will understand how difficult it can be to find them, BUT if you do…… The sightings of the 2nd most endangered carnivore in Africa is something that us rangers get very excited for, as you are almost guaranteed to see them hunting at extreme speed as they chase down the impalas of the MadikweBushveld, culminating in the most efficient team work you have ever witnessed in the natural world.

Ok…finally the stars of the show are about to impress you all, as the elusive spotted cat which is the PINNACLE of every safari has been making regular appearances this month.
Every guest that comes to Tuningi asks this question… “Are there leopard sightings in this park ?”, and our response is yes, yes, yes and getting better !!!
We have been working on the young male from the north west of the park for almost two years now, and I think we have finally cracked him (habituated him to the vehicles).
So……eat your heart out Sabi Sands!!!!

 

There is another leopard from the southeast of the park which is also providing us with some awesome sightings, as she loves to climb trees, and is becoming a real star in the Madikwe Game reserve, as all the rangers from all over the park are on a constant mission to track her down to find their guests the “ultimate animal” in the savannas of Africa!!

So that is another successful month at Tuningi Safari Lodge as far as the game report goes…..
DON’T HESITATE TO BOOK NOW!!!!
See you all soon on our SAFARI WAGONS where Myself, Grant and Christo would love to show you around this magical place we call home !!

Lots of warm bush regards,
Gavin

And that is it from me too!
Come knowing what you want to see.
And see what you do not know.
Lose track of days.
Discover endless tranquility.
Take it all in.
Through your eyes, your ears, your hands, your soul.
And leave with a new found sense of discovery.
A nagging urge to return.
Tuningi Safari Lodge.

Hope to see you soon!
Kindest regards
Heidi and the Fabulous T-team

P.S. If you want to read more: Go to www.mysafari.com to read a beautiful publishing about Madikwe Game Reserve and our Lodges.
Also remember to book your photographic Safari at Tuningi with Gerry vd Walt in May! There are still a few places left.
And lastly; follow us on Face Book and Twitter for daily updates on all the excitement that is TUNINGI!

For enquiries please contact :

 

 

Greetings from the lovely Bushveld in Africa once again!

With February being famous for being the month of love, we have once again been astounded by the way our lovely continent can effortlessly touch people’s hearts! Almost every single guest who visits our Lodge leaves with a promise to return as soon as they possibly can! This is because they all realize that they have fallen unashamedly in love with Africa during their brief visit. How privileged we are to be able to play a part in this kind of love affair time and time again.

As always, we got to meet and spoil so many people. The grown-ups enjoyed the game drives, fabulous food and wine, a massage or two and of course the peace and quiet while we were entertaining their kids, painting t-shirts, creating all kinds of arty animals out of clay and going on treasure hunts! We have to admit though that this month the Mundi family took working with play dough to a whole new level, by using natural sticks, leaves and stones to support their brilliant creations. We will most definitely try and keep up the good work!

I asked Grant to tell you more about the game drives:
This was another good month at Tuningi. The sightings were out of this world once again, especially the big cats. We had lions playing in water, climbing trees and a leopard stalking and catching a water terrapin one night.

I must say that the spotting of the game is quite difficult with all the tall grass and thick bush. Despite this we had exiting times on safari. One morning after a hefty thunderstorm we decided to go south in search of the South Western lion pride. We found them on the main road playing in a huge puddle of water. It was like we were watching the swamp lions of the Delta

 

A few days after this eventful morning one of the Lionesses in the north decided to show her brand new cubs. We think that they are not even 2 months old yet. We felt so honored that she had the confidence to bring out her cubs and share this special moment with us. She has been hanging around lately so we get to see her quite often.

Not long after our great afternoon with the cubs we spent about 2 hours all on our own with the South Western pride again. They had just finished a zebra kill and decided to cool off again. Even mom joined in on the fun.

On a more serious note ……we witnessed the two Naledi brothers tugged into one another on a cloudy afternoon. They are with two females in the east at the moment and there was no love lost between the brothers. When it comes to the females, male lions want them all for themselves, sometimes to extreme results of injury. Luckily they normally recover sooner than seems possible. Till next time!

Cheers, Grant

Join Photo-Africa as we set out to photograph one of the most endangered animals in Africa. The Madikwe Game Reserve is, apart from being one of the premiere Big 5 reserves in South Africa, one of the best places to see and photograph the charismatic African Wild Dog in the wild.

From 5 to 9 May 2011, Tuningi Safari Lodge will play host to our photographic safari with the main goal of photographing Madikwe’s Wild Dogs.

And on that note, we say goodbye till next month! We hope that you will also get a chance to come and visit soon. Just consider yourself warned… you will be hooked in no time at all!

Warmest regards,
Heidi and the fabulous T-team

P.S If you can’t wait a whole month to hear from us again, please add us on Face Book as your friend and follow our daily updates! You will be amazed….

For enquiries please contact :

Greetings to all of you once again from Tuningi Safari Lodge.

It is difficult to find the correct words to describe the awesome beauty of the bush in the Madikwe Game Reserve in its present state.

Even for us, who have been living here for a couple of years, and who’s wealth is already measured in gorgeous sunsets, the dense green shrubs, the colourful flowers waving at us around each corner, the brilliance and abundance of hundreds of buzzing insects and the unusual sight of overflowing water holes, renders us absolutely speechless! And to think, that we were desperately begging for rain not even three months ago. As the saying goes: ‘Be careful what you wish for!’ Just in the past two months we have measured much more than 200ml of hard rain bucketing down.

The most wonderful thing though is that we never had to cancel a single game drive because of bad weather and that the sightings were still out of this world, despite the denseness of the bush. The muddy roads created lots of fun for rangers and guests alike as most people love to test their 4×4 skills every time they get a chance!

We saw more cats than ever before- especially the elusive leopard…

 

Lions were also easier to spot than normal as they were trying to avoid the long wet grass and rather chose to walk around on the dryer open roads. Our favourite lions at the moment are the Tshabalala females with their handsome, playful cubs. They are just the cutest, loving family around!

 

 

One would imagine that the rhino’s would be hiding, with all the talk of rhino poaching going on, but they seem to pop out all over the place, enjoying the lovely green grass and abundance of miniature yellow flowers as a special little treat!

We were even lucky enough to be entertained by the hugely endangered black rhino one day! He was standing out in an open clearing sniffing the air as if it was the most normal thing to do! With them being browsers and not grazers like the white rhino, you only ever get to spot them in the densest parts of the park. What a treat to be able to really get a good look at the curled lip which differentiates it from its white counterpart. He actually came casually walking right up to the vehicle for an in depth investigation and then ran off with a last disgusted snort in the air, leaving all of us speechless for minutes!

Tlou dam as well as Vlei pan, which two months ago offered little more than a mud bath to the animals, are absolute hives of activity at the moment. You can find big herds of everything moving around the dams at almost any given moment, just enjoying the nice fresh water of taking a cooling bath in the terrible heat. The baby elephants, especially, cannot get enough of swimming and playing in the beautiful deep clean water at Tlou dam.

And last but not the least-
Our chefs were also having a great time experimenting with the giant edible mushrooms growing on the termite mounds after a big rain storm. These giant mushrooms are the epitome of every vegetarian meal! You can cut big fat steaks out of them and fry them in butter, garlic and cream and it will top any juicy rump steak grilled to perfection in a Michelin star restaurant!!

On that note, I wish you a wonderful month of February with lots of lovely, romantic moments around Valentine’s Day! In fact, why don’t you pick up the phone, make that booking and bring your partner over to Tuningi for an exciting, romantic weekend she will remember for the rest of her life???

 

Hope to see you all soon!
Kindest regards
Heidi and the fabulous T-team.

P.S If you can’t wait a whole month to hear from us again, please add us on Face Book as your friend and follow our daily updates! You will be amazed….

For enquiries please contact :

 

Warmest greetings to you all once again!

We hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas, a fabulous holiday, and that a brilliant new year full of love and prosperity is lying ahead of you.

We, here at Tuningi had a very busy, happy festive season with lots of return guests yet again, coming to spend their second or third visit with us. No words can describe our delight when a familiar face appears around the corner for ‘check-in’! It constantly feels like old friends and family coming to see us. In our opinion, this is a sure message that we are doing something right…..

This is why we will let you, our treasured guests, do the talking this month. Here with, the last two pages of Tuningi’s visitor’s book for your perusal:

“Amazing, wonderful and special place. Thank you so very much for such a warm welcome!” – Regards, Liz Camisa ( Travel)

“This is such an amazing place. It reinforces that I am African and belong in Africa. Thank you to all the amazing staff. The elephant experience we had was incredible. Thank you for an amazing weekend.” – Kugan Govender

 

 

“ Dear Heidi, Gavin and all the Tuningi Staff; Thank you for 3 spectacular days here. Your gracious hosting, knowledge of all around us, coupled with the beauty and wonder of Africa have given us an experience we will surely love to repeat ( and spread word of to our friends in the US). Thank you for opening our eyes to this part of Africa” – Susan, Tim, Racheal and Leah Yashar-Brown

 

“When it is snowing in Sweden, we enjoy all the animals and the wonderful atmosphere here at Tuningi! Thanks!” – Katikka Stahl

“Today was the best day in my life! I saw one of the wild dog’s pack. There was 8 wild dogs. My dad is going to be very jealous!” – Nanna Stahl 10 years

“On Wednesday I went to a Lodge and it was so nice there. Me and my family saw giraffes, lions, hyena, elephant, zebras, Kudo and a rhino but we did not see a leopard and a buffalo. The best of all was the pool because it was our own pool!” – Ebba Stahl 7 years

“Fourteen lions in one day. Amazing! Thank you so much for an unforgettable experience. We WILL be back!” – The Lewittes Family, New York

 

 

“Once again we had such a wonderful time. Staff from A –Z couldn’t be better, so friendly, made us feel so at home. Food excellent and beautiful presentations. Well done! I’m always so proud to bring family and friends from overseas to Tuningi. You make such a good impression of South-Africa every time. May you all be blessed!” – Lilian and Frank Bertchy

“Words can never describe the joy you gave each and every one of us during our Christmas vacation to South Africa. Tuningi Lodge is as close to heaven as it gets. Way exceeding our expectations. The generosity and warmth of Management and ALL staff was truly what made our family fill our memory bank with times and experiences we shall always cherish. Thank you for sharing your home and your hospitality. You all are the best. We hope that one day you will come to the States so we can return your generosity. Happy New Year – It has been a New Years Eve we will never ever forget!!” – Lots of love, Teresa and Gus Smith

 

“Once again we had such a wonderful time. Staff from A –Z couldn’t be better, so friendly, made us feel so at home. Food excellent and beautiful presentations. Well done! I’m always so proud to bring family and friends from overseas to Tuningi. You make such a good impression of South-Africa every time. May you all be blessed!” – Lilian and Frank Bertchy

“Words can never describe the joy you gave each and every one of us during our Christmas vacation to South Africa. Tuningi Lodge is as close to heaven as it gets. Way exceeding our expectations. The generosity and warmth of Management and ALL staff was truly what made our family fill our memory bank with times and experiences we shall always cherish. Thank you for sharing your home and your hospitality. You all are the best. We hope that one day you will come to the States so we can return your generosity. Happy New Year – It has been a New Years Eve we will never ever forget!!” – Lots of love, Teresa and Gus Smith

 

Well, there you have had your say. What more can WE say???

Keep well, and pick up the phone as soon as you have secured the dates of your next holiday. We are all waiting to see you again!

Kind regards
The Fabulous, Friendly T-team

For enquiries please contact :