Author: Focus Online Dev

 

Greetings to you from all of us at Tuningi!

We are happy to announce that the worst of the cold has disappeared and that most of August as been warm and sunny. Although a bit windy and very dusty out in the bush, the game sightings have been phenomenal this month. The new shoots are just starting to show on most of the thorn trees and green grass is pushing through in the areas where we had to do some fire breaks to prevent run away fires this dry season. We are already dreaming about the first thunderstorm that should take place in September when spring will officially be here. The animals are still coming to the lodge water hole every day for a drink and the odd rub, as there is not much water to be found out in the bush. The elephants have taken it upon themselves to expand our water hole by playing and rolling about in it for hours each day. They have also found that our boma railings are the perfect scratching post to every ones great surprise!

We have fantastic news for you this month!!!

After two years of dreadful, endless paper work, we have finally received gun licenses for the Lodge. This means that we can now take you on adrenalin rushed, highly informative WALKS in the bush. The walks are not necessarily aimed at walking into, or finding the big, dangerous animals out there, but are really geared to give the rangers a chance to show you the smaller, very interesting things around that you can not spot on a drive. They will teach you how to track an animal and how to identify a poisonous plant and how to make a tooth brush in the veld. They will find bird’s nests and eggs, rhino scrubbing posts and teach you about the termite mounds. You will identify pooh and clutches of hair left on a thorny bush. The knowledge they have to share with you is endless! Just be aware that by law children are not allowed to go on the walks in such a dangerous big five area. This is just for the adults. While the grown-ups are on the walk, we will gladly entertain the kids back at the lodge with t-shirt painting, treasure hunts, clay molding and lots more. You will just have to come back now to experience Tuningi from this new, different angle!

More good news is that we have just received the Diners Club PLATINUM award for the Wine list of the Year competition. Last year we won Gold.

What this means is that we have added even more amazing wines to our existing wine list. We now have added more auction wines, some imported wines and even an organic wine. The judging criterion includes content, in the number of wines, original and innovative choices and cultivars sourced from appropriate regions. Balance between modestly and expensively priced wines and between local and imported wines. Suitability, in the matching of the wine with the cuisine. Presentation of the wine list in showing the vintages and regions correctly is also judged and we had to send menus and samples of the type of glasses we use in the dining room.

We are very proud of this achievement and are inviting you to come and join us here at Tuningi for a glass of the best!

Hi!

The last few weeks have again been unbelievable as Madikwe continues to entertain and educate all of us on Africa’s beautiful natural heritage. I could write about the Batia Brothers, the oldest lions in Madikwe, who have been spending an unusual amount of time around Tuningi’s waterhole or the way the environment is starting to raise from the ashes after all the controlled fire breaks we had to do this year but I am going to focus on one specific day. A Big day. A Big 5 day!

7 August 2008 – Five out of Five!!
Just when you think it could not get any better you get an evening like this. Going to try and give you the shortened version…
After having found almost all of the Big Five, Wild Dog and Black Rhino my very lucky guests and I headed out to find the one animal that still eluded us – the spotted cat, Panthera pardus; the leopard! Grant was still taking a few days off and decided to come along to take a few pictures. Looking back now… a very good decision!

The drive started off with us driving into breeding herd of more than thirty elephants. Great sighting as the grey ghosts of the bush walked towards us with the sun playing on their large grey canvases. The majority of them passed behind us as they disappeared quietly into the thick tree line but a few of the young males decided to come and eat right in front of and to the side of our vehicle. Awesome sighting (Probably going to say that quite a few times in this post). Grant got a few images of the young guys dusting themselves. The guests, whom by now had seen a lot of ellies, enjoyed being with the youngsters and watching them up close. This mom gave us a clear warning not too come too close but we were very happy to watch the large animals as they disappeared into thicker bushes. A beautiful scene.

As we moved on we were quite happy to just bumble our way along to the dam where we were hoping to find a large herd of buffalo. We then bumped into the three Sereti brothers. These male lions are around 4 years old and absolutely beautiful. The sun was still a little awkward and sharp but this did not stop us from making the most of the chance to photograph these beautiful animals.

Even happier to slowly make our way to the dam we bumbled along and stopped to watch the millions of Red-Billed Queleas as they continued with their late afternoon ballet in the sky. It is amazing how these little birds don’t bump into each other as they mimic a great cloud of smoke.

We sat for quite a while watching, not knowing what would happen next. As we approached Tlou dam we heard that the Buffalo were leaving the water so we took a little link road that we hoped would take us right to where they were heading. Perfect timing as about 2 minutes later we found ourselves in the middle of a herd of buffalo about 100 strong. Photography was a little bit difficult as by now it was already pitch dark and we were using the spotlight to view the animals all around us. Being part of nature and getting so close is what it is all about. Having the animals look at you, accept you and carry on with their normal activities. Awesome!

So we decided to move towards the water where we bumped into 5 White Rhino as they all milled around the water. They were just as relaxed and again it felt like we were part of their world rather than being observers. Surely this was enough and it was now time to move on. What are the chances of finding the ever elusive leopard and getting a glimpse of this beautiful cat. Apparently our chances were quite good!

A few days ago a rather large male leopard killed a zebra right next to one of the roads. Since then people have been popping into the area every now and then with only the occasional sighting. What we found however blew our minds! We edged towards the kill and there was one of the largest males I have ever seen feeding on his kill.

This was no ordinary leopard sighting as he was extremely relaxed and seemed also to accept us as a part of his world. We all sat in complete awe of the beautiful spectacle that was unfolding right in front of us. Now photography was also quite tricky as we had to contend with the spotlight but we all made the most of it and both Grant and I will hopefully be uploading quite a few more of the images to the Photo-Africa Stock Library soon.

A Big Five Drive. Brilliant! Just when you thought it could not get any better; the fact that all the animals made us feel a part of the African story is what made it really special. I could have turned this into a marathon post, and will remember this day for quite some time to come but for now will leave you with a great quote from Sir Ian Maccallum which is exactly what you feel like after a day like today!

“Welcome home to your wild origins. Learn whatever you can from our animals, our wild coastlines and landscapes and from those who have identified themselves with this continent. Africa can teach you a lot about who you are and your place in the world. But you must come soon, before it’s too late.”

As always I look forward to hearing from you!
Gerry
* * *

Well, is time to say goodbye again. Do not forget to book our special birding week ends coming up in November. We guarantee lots of fun as well as serious ticking in your bird books! Just phone our bookings office to find out more about it.

Until we chat again, keep well and start planning your return trip to Tuningi.

With kindest regards,

The T-team

PS: Please remember to have a look at our fabulous kids art gallery!.

For enquiries please contact :

 

 

A warm hallo to you all once again!

We have had a fantastic month out here in the wonderful Madikwe Game Reserve.

We all love the bright, warm, sunny Winter days in the middle of the year. The evenings are still extremely chilly but create a great opportunity for our guests to sit in front of the cozy fires in the lodge after game drive and sip on a glass of luxurious South African red wine before going through to dinner and feasting on our chef’s fantastic creations.

Game viewing is at its best this time of the year as the bush is dry and has thinned out and all the animals have to visit the water holes on a daily basis to quench their thirst. The dry and dusty conditions in July also create amazing photographic scenes, especially the dramatic sunsets!

As a new feature in our newsletter, we are introducing some extracts from our ranger’s diaries for you. This month we took a page from Gavin’s diary as was written on the 10th of July. We hope you enjoy it as in this way, you will be able to get a better insight into the thrilling experiences of the rangers out there in the field on a daily basis.

 

10 July 2008
Last week we experienced one of those unforgettable days in the bush when out on the afternoon safari everything just fell into place….

Firstly, the Diperoro leopardess that has been making her presence known more and more regularly, popped out into the road in front of us, to be greeted by my guests with massive excitement and awe as this majestic cat strutted her stuff in true cat fashion before disappearing into the thick undergrowth.

After the euphoria of sighting one of the most elusive creatures in the Madikwe Reserve, we continued the safari with countless sightings of general game, and a plethora of bird species entertaining us with a splash of color every now and then.

 

Not long after the leopard sighting, we bumped into the Tshaba Lioness on her own looking intent on finding something to hunt, with a serious glint in her eye which had that “I mean business” look. There were some wildebeest in the area which she pursued and then also vanished into the thickets, only to return a half hour later with all her youngsters greeting her with hopes that she had caught something, but alas, it was not to be…..

Then elephants at Tlou dam, quenching the days thirst with white rhino as the backdrop.

Then a quick visit to one of the Tsholo-Mateya lion. This guy seemed to be badly beaten up in a fight with, we presume, the Batia males, who by now you know are now getting very old, and are feeling the pressure from these younger boys from the south.

This was all happening as the sun was setting, but wait that wasn’t all….. As we were about halfway through our drinks break, Ryno (one of the other Guides) was approaching us when he suddenly shouted from about 80 meters away “PANGOLIN!!”, and I said, “WHAT !?”….”PANGOLIN!!”. Needless to say I shouted to the guests to get in the vehicle, and the cooler box with snacks and all was in the vehicle in about 3 and ½ seconds flat. The following images, are, unfortunately not the best quality, but this is only the third time in 9 years of my guiding career that I have seen a pangolin. Here is some info on these secretive creatures….. Near Threatened (IUCN 2.3)[2] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Pholidota Family: Manidae Genus: Manis Species: M. temminckii The Ground Pangolin (Manis temminckii), also known as Temminck’s Pangolin or the Cape Pangolin, is one of four species of pangolin which can be found in Africa and the only one in southern and eastern Africa. Although it is present over quite a large area, it is rare throughout it and notoriously difficult to spot. Its scarcity is partly because it is hunted by humans for its scales, which are used in love charms, and partly because it is often burnt in bush fires. The IUCN only lists it as “near threatened” on its Red list. With the exception of the underside, it is covered in extremely hard scales. When threatened, it will usually roll up into a ball to protect the vulnerable belly. The scales on the tail can also be used as blades to slash at attackers. The Ground Pangolin can grow to a length of about 1 meter, with the tail typically between 30 and 50 cm. It has a disproportionately small head, powerful hind legs, and small forelegs. Like other pangolin species, it is largely nocturnal, although it is also entirely terrestrial and usually found in savanna or open woodland, generally feeding on termites or ants. It is well adapted to this, with a very long (up to 50 cm) sticky tongue which is stored inside a pocket in the mouth until needed. Although it is capable of digging its own burrow, it prefers to occupy disused holes dug by Warthog or Aardvark or to lie in dense vegetation, making it even more difficult to observe. This animal was named by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. Pangolins lack teeth and the ability to chew. Instead, they tear open anthills or termite mounds with their powerful front claws and probe deep into them with their very long tongues. Pangolins have an enormous salivary gland in their chests to lubricate the tongue with sticky, ant-catching saliva. Cheers for now, Gavin Well, it is time to say goodbye again. We are ready for our last month of Winter and expecting Spring in September. Please do not hesitate to make that phone call and book your life changing holiday at Tuningi. We can’t wait to meet you! Kindest regards The T- Team P.S. Do not forget to check out the kids gallery that has been updated again! We love sharing these works of art with you!!!. For enquiries please contact : reservations@madikwecollection.com

 

 

A very warm hallo to all of you once again.

We are now in the middle of our Winter season with freezing cold temperatures in the night. The days , however, are still clear and warm and very comfortable. Although it takes a lot of guts to get up at five thirty in the morning to go out on game drive, it is always worth your while as game viewing is at its best this time of the year. The grass has thinned out a bit and makes it much easier to spot the animals. The bush has now turned from green to gold. Most of the intimidating insects and scary reptiles of summer have disappeared. No flies and moths are bugging us at the lunch and dinner table any more. No ants are patrolling the kitchen door and most snakes and spiders have also gone to bed for the rest of the cold season.

Some of the smaller water holes have dried out by now, which forces the animals to frequent the bigger dams and come to fresh bore hole water at the lodge. We love to drive out to Tlau dam in the afternoons and just sit there and wait for someone to come and drink. Just yesterday we were spoilt by spotting elephants, rhino and buffalo at the dam in quick succession and then, as we were about to leave, to our great excitement, a leopard carefully made his way to the water, right in front of the vehicle!

Seeing a leopard in the wild is always a breathtaking sight. It is just the most beautiful animal on earth and one does not often get the chance to watch them for a long time as they are very aware of the vehicle and usually move away as quickly as possible. When you are sitting dead quietly in a parked vehicle and they approach you, it is awesome and you can consider it one of your lucky days!

We are of course not only interested in the big five and their friends and are always on the lookout for the smaller, interesting creatures as well. The rangers are extremely good at spotting things like little bush babies and even chameleons with their spotlights at night on their way back from the game drive. Sometimes they will bring the chameleon back to the lodge to give the kids a chance to study them better in the day time after which they set them free again.

The flap neck chameleon, as seen in this picture, while awake, resting and unstressed, is usually an emerald green colour. However, this species is renowned for its ability to change colour, varying from almost black when stressed, through to all shades of green, yellow and brown. The body becomes a washed out whitish green or yellow while the animal is asleep, making them easy to find with a spotlight. Most lizards are capable of focusing each of their eyes on a different object simultaneously, but chameleons have mastered this. Each eye can scan almost 180 degrees. They have much more acute vision than humans. They feed on grasshoppers, beetles, flies and butterflies, snaring them with their long, sticky tongue which equals their body in length when fully extended.

 

Back to the bigger species. We are very sad to announce that we have lost a lot of the highly endangered wild dogs that have been doing so well in our Game Reserve. The lions have killed three of the Collection Pack, which previously consisted of seven dogs, in a huge fight. They also injured the female, who just had her cubs, in such a bad way that all her milk dried up resulting in all of the cubs dying. It is such a huge pity as we were hoping that the pack of seven would now be the pack of seventeen! Unfortunately, the pack now only consists of two healthy dogs and one fighting for her life.

At least the two dogs, luckily one male and one female, are still coping well and catching enough food for themselves without any problems. We will certainly have to intervene once again and try to get some new blood into the reserve soon in order for them to form a full pack again. The good news, on the other hand, is that two groups of lions have added some cubs to their families. The Dipelo female had three babies who are now ten weeks old. They are just too cute and a high priority for our tick list on game drives at the moment.

We have also heard that the Mica pride was spotted with three new born cubs. Unfortunately we do not have pictures of them yet, but will certainly show them to you as soon as we can!.

Just a quick reminder!

November 29 is Birding Day. This is a VERY exciting day for all professional and non professional birders all over the world. Birding day lasts 24 hours and the objective is to see how many species a team of three or four people can positively identify within a 50-kilometre radius. A birder may also tick a bird if he only heard it and could identify it by sound. As you all know by now, we have very highly qualified guides at Tuningi who even know their LBJ’s (little brown jobs) by name. We would really like to put two teams out into Madikwe from Tuningi on Big Birding Day. If you would like to come and join in the fun, phone SA 011 805 9995 and book your place on the team. Make a weekend of it and bring the family along. We would love to meet you all and need your expertise!

We are seeing a lot of the crimson breasted shrikes at the moment., they are any bird lovers dream! The lilac breasted roller may be a common sighting, but still remains one of the most beautiful birds out there.

Remember to pack your Winter gear if you are on your way to us this month! We will warm you up with the wood burning fires at the lodge and a sneaky hot water bottle here and there, but be warned, it is really cold out on game drive! At least there is always hot chocolate available and a port or sherry or two!

Well, we have to say goodbye once again. We hope you have a lovely month of July until we chat again

Kindest regards
The T-team

 

P.S. We are having trouble with scanning the kids art this month . Instead we are showing you some of our favorite ‘Kids on safari at Tuningi’ photos of the past year.

For enquiries please contact :

A warm hello to all of you again!

Although the change of season is not evident in the lushness of the vegetation yet, the crispness in the air in the early morning is a sure sign that winter is upon us. We actually love the winter months, as it means day after day of clear blue skies. The days are always sunny and warm while the temperature drops to almost freezing cold after sun set. This calls for blazing fires awaiting our guests on return from game drive in the evening and lots of hot chocolate for the kids on morning coffee stops. The bush will slowly start thinning out making game viewing easier than usual. The small water holes will also start drying up, forcing the animals to come and drink at the lodge’s water hole more frequently. All in all a wonderful season to visit Tuningi!

To all of us in the tourism industry, the month of May, means ‘Travel Indaba’. Every year during May, South Africa hosts thousands of overseas delegates in Durban and gives all of us a chance to showcase our products and meet tour operators from all over the world. This year, once again, it was confirmed that more and more people than ever are visiting Africa to witness first hand its great bounty. Many, if not most, leave vowing to return again and again, so moved are they by what they see and feel.

Another topic discussed throughout Indaba was conservation. Everyone agreed that there is much to celebrate. Conservation has triumphed on a grand scale in so many places in Africa over the past few years. The greater Table Mountain range, for instance, fringed by the sea and Cape Town’s sprawl, has been incorporated into a national park, supported by a multimillion dollar fund. The Kruger National Park, one of the most famous and most visited national parks in the world, has formed a cross-border partnership with conservation areas in Mozambique. Where else in the modern world can conservation lay claim to a million hectares being added to its assets? Madikwe Game Reserve, one of the newest Reserves in the country, has now established itself so well as a successful conservation area, that we are actually able to supply other reserves with animals. At the moment for instance, we are capturing hyena to trans locate to the new said Kruger- Mozambique Transfrontier park.

 

One of the first predators to be introduced into Madikwe fourteen years ago, were 8 spotted hyena. These intriguing creatures were captured in Namibia and flown to the reserve in 1994 – possibly the first operation of its kind.

A second clan of 7 adults and 4 cubs from Skukuza in the Kruger National Park; was introduced in 1997. This was done to improve genetic diversity and also to establish rival clans to reconstruct a healthy hyena population. Well, is it not just amazing that we can now return the favor and send some new genes back to Kruger?

As a matter of interest:
Despite their appearance and popular opinion, hyenas are not dogs. They are in fact closer related to cats! As carnivores, the Hyaenidae Family is relatively young – their direct ancestors are civets, a group they diverged from a few million years ago. They obviously evolved to occupy an unfilled niche – that of scavenging remains from kills, and their anatomy was, therefore, moulded for the job. They have powerful jaws and modified teeth for crushing bones to get to the marrow and make pieces swallowable. Their powerful necks and sloping backs are the basis of their powerful leverage system. They can pull chunks and limbs from carcasses and carry heavy pieces for long distances. Although many people think that they are just ugly beasts, they are actually amazing creatures and incredibly interesting to watch.

Talking about sightings during May:
The wild dogs were at it again and caught a huge water buck one early morning. It was once again gruesome to watch them tearing the animal apart, but in the morning cold, the steam was rising from the dead antelope’s belly and created the most awesome photo opportunities. Once again, we were amazed at the speed in which they could rip open and devour such an enormous piece of meat!

We also had lots of wonderful elephant sightings. The one that stands out though, is that of a six month old youngster trying to take a sip of water from the embankment at the water hole. His trunk was just not long enough and the onlookers obviously found this most amusing…

As usual, we were privileged to meet and host many wonderful people at Tuningi during May. Two of our guests have to be mentioned in particular. The Queen of England’s grandson, Peter Phillips got married to Autumn Kelly this month and they chose Tuningi as their honeymoon destination. Needless to say, they were spoilt rotten in true Tuningi fashion, and we wish them a wonderful life together, forever.

Well, time to say good bye again.
We hope that you will have a great month of June and that we will see you all again soon!
Kindest regards
The T-team

P.S. Do not forget to have a look at our beautiful kids art gallery!!

For enquiries please contact :

 

A warm hello to you all once again from all of us here at Tuningi!
We hope that every one has returned safely to their homes after the lovely April holidays.

The reserve is now more gorgeous than we have ever seen. With all the continuous rain we are experiencing, the bush is overwhelmingly green and lush and every possible kind of little wild flower in every possible colour is pushing its way through the dense vegetation. It is as if these flowers have been lying dormant for years, but just have to show themselves to us in these incredible conditions! Looking at this beauty around you, it literally seems as if the earth is laughing with joy!

The flowers are bringing so much joy to all of our visitors and guests , but especially to the little children on their kiddies bumbles. We have to stop every three minutes to pick some new flowers to take back to mommy at the lodge!

 

The other great advantage of this abundance in flowers is that whilst looking at the little budding wonders, it also draws the attention to the other ‘little’ interesting creatures in the bush. It actually shifts the attention from the big animals to little creatures you can easily oversee or just ignore in your search of the big five and their friends!

In the past couple of months there have been sightings of the most amazing of animals; animals that one would normally only read about or maybe see on a wild life documentary on television. Even though pangolin, aardvark, aardwolf, otters, yellow squirrels and bat eared foxes were declared extinct in Madikwe a few years ago, they seem to just have been hiding very well and have now grown in numbers in such a way that they all have been spotted recently in the Wonderboom node, where we are situated. How privileged we are to play a part in the conservation of such amazing creatures!

Talking about amazing creatures….. April can officially be named ‘the month of the wild dog’. The Dwarsberg pack were spotted almost daily at Tuningi; running up and down the valley, drinking at the water hole, chasing hares and francolins on the ridge or just catching a good old snooze behind the staff village. One evening they even went as far as to chase a kudu right through our camp, snapping the electric fence. As we all know, they are gifted with enormous staying power and once on the track of an animal its living hours are few…. No matter the obstacles! They eventually killed and feasted on the enormous kudu right under the deck next to the swimming pool at the main lodge.

Their method is cruel to the extreme; they feast on the animal while it is still alive, and although it is not always nice to watch, the adrenaline a human feels while watching such frenzy in nature, leaves one speechless.

We often discuss these experiences with our guests once all has calmed down and every one had some time to think about what they have seen. Some people say that they would rather have missed out on the experience while others say that a person comes to the bush to learn about nature in all its beauty and cruelty.

This reminds me of a poem a friend once showed me:
“Tonight
I want to feel the blurred edge
Between good and bad,
To say no to the urge to look away
Or to take sides….
But to give with both eyes.”

 

On a lighter note.
As usual we found it quite easy to show our guests an abundance of animals during their stay. It is, however still only by pure luck or incredible tracking skills that we occasionally find the beautiful, elusive leopard. We are thus truly happy to announce that we had some guests who saw three different leopards on three different game drives last month. How wonderful! The more we can find these leopards, the more accustomed to will become to the vehicles and the easier it will become to show them to you!

Thanks to our rangers’ almost obsessive passion for the bush which evolved into their passion for photography, we are able to show you all these amazing pictures every month. If you would like to see more amazing photographs which they capture on a daily basis in the bush
Visit their website: www.photo-africa.com

Well, it is time to say goodbye again. Remember, the best time to plan a holiday is as soon as you have returned from one!!! Have a wonderful month of May until we chat again!

Hope to see you soon
Kindest regards
The T-Team.

 

 

P.S. Do not forget to have a look at our beautiful kids art gallery!!

For enquiries please contact :

 

Hallo again.
Most of you must still be on holiday, as Easter came early this year.
We love Easter here at Tuningi, because it means that we usually have lots of children around over the long weekend.

This year was no different. Great friendships were formed between children from all over the world. Vast quantities of Easter eggs were hunted down and consumed. The game drives were full of adventure as usual, and the kids were taught things that no school will ever be able to teach them. Between game drives the pools were being used to their full capacity and in between all the swimming, fabulous works of art were being produced. The big five were molded in clay, hundreds of pictures were drawn and coloured-in and everyone had a chance to paint their own T- shirts to take home as a reminder of the wonderful time they had with the T-team.

 

Easter brought some sunshine, after we had an incredibly wet start to the month! The rain came pouring down in such vast quantities that the roads had to be closed in the Reserve and some game drives had to be cancelled to the huge disappointment of our guests. Between the 11th and 19th of March, we had 255ml of rain. That is 50ml more rain in seven days, than what we have had in the entire last rainfall period, last year. We would obviously only cancel a drive under extreme circumstances and most days we just waited for the downpour to ease up a bit and then still went out on some rather slippery adventures. The most we could do on these days, was to stay on the main road and hope for a lucky sighting.

It is usually when you least expect it, that you come across something amazing. One afternoon, we had to wait for an hour or so after usual game drive time as it would be impossible for the ranger to see where he was going in such a storm. When we went out eventually, we happened upon the wild dogs and watched them play around for a while. Luckily, it stopped raining completely for a few minutes, and we decided to use the opportunity to stop somewhere for some sundowners.( Not that we could actually see the sun going down!) While we were all standing around, having a drink, the wild dogs, whom we had left earlier, suddenly appeared from nowhere and caught an impala right in front of our eyes! We threw all the picnic gear into the car, jumped in, drove over the cool box in all the excitement to get even closer, and watched how they devoured the whole impala in less than seven minutes. While driving around and following the dogs, usually almost impossible to see a kill, because of the tremendous pace they reach in pursuit of their kill. We were merely at the right place at the right time.

The very next afternoon, after even more rain, we made our way to the airstrip where we knew the famous Batia brothers (the two oldest male lions in the park) and the Dipello female with her cubs had eaten a Wildebeest in the morning. When we arrived on the scene, they were all just lazing about and with lack of roads to travel on, we switched off the car and just sat and watched them for a while. We suddenly realized that the lion’s were slowly starting to spread out and as we looked behind us, we saw a whole bunch of wildebeest moving towards us and the lions. We saw the whole pride circling around the wildebeest and going down in stalking mode, the young ones, too…. In a few seconds, one of the wildebeest was dead in the claws of the old lion! Wow, Two kills in two afternoons!

With the lion pride being still well fed since the morning, they used this kill as the perfect opportunity to teach the young ones how to grab with the paws, get stuck on the muzzle, suffocate the prey and then hold on until it is dead. In front of our very eyes we saw each cub taking a turn to perfect the procedure.

These are just two of the awesome sightings we experience in the bush every day. It is impossible to truly describe any of these in words. You have to experience these things with all of your senses. The smells, the sounds, the sights and the emotions felt in these moments, has resulted in many a person falling totally and unashamedly in love with Africa!

 

On a completely different note…
Madikwe is fast becoming famous as one of the New South Africa’s success stories in the area of upliftment and poverty eradication. The Madikwe model instructs that people must be placed at the centre of any conservation initiative, in order for conservation to really work.

We already have two lodges in our Collection belonging to their own communities, while most of the other lodges (Including Tuningi) are employing more than 80 percent of their staff from communities just outside the park.

We as a Lodge, have decided that employment is not enough, and have decided, with the help of our friend, Hilary Wylie, to adopt the pre-primary school in Supingstad and its upliftment, as our personal project. This is the village where most of our staff live. We are in the process of starting a fund for them and for the time being are visiting them once a month, delivering educational toys, books, balloons, crayons, t-shirts and anything that has been donated to them by our generous guests. It is the most heart warming experience to see the joy on these little kids faces when we visit them!!

Next time you come and visit us, please remember these kids and pack a couple of coloring books or soccer balls or anything small enough to fit into your suitcase to add to these donations! It is amazing how good it will make you feel!

As usual, we can go on and on, but we will rather keep some stories for the next time!
We hope you enjoy the rest of your holidays and that we meet again soon!

Kindest regards and all the best to you until we chat again.
The T-team.

P.S. Do not forget to have a look at our beautiful kids art gallery!!

For enquiries please contact :