Waterhole Scene
Shot this while working on the deck yesterday afternoon. Liked it. Posted it.
Waterhole still getting some great action!
More soon.
Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team
Reed Bed Update
A quick update on the ‘beautification’ of the reed bed. If you have been to the lodge during the last few weeks you would have seen the completed reed bed. The bird life is already moving in and we have had Grey Herons, Hamerkop and Comb Ducks paying us a visit during the last few days. The one small concern was the cement walls of the reed bed that was still showing. Well, we finally got the time to do a bit of work around the reed bad and it looks great!
The Reed Bed as seen from the Boma
We used a combination of rocks, shrubs and old leadwood stumps to hide away the cement walls and the difference is phenomenal. In a few weeks when the grasses and shrubs start to shoot up from the rain, which we are still waiting for, the reed bed will melt into the environment completely. Fantastic addition.
More soon.
Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team
Two Days. Two Mambas.
Black Mamba close to Inkwe Pan
Have been seeing a lot of these guys around lately. Saw this one close to Inkwe Pan thiss morning. After rearing up slightly and giving us a good look he even sat very still for a few moments to allow us to get a few shots of him before he took his 1,5 meter body and slithered away. This is the second Mamba we have seen on drive in just two days. Always amzing the reaction from people on the vehicle when you bump into one of these. 
More soon.
Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team
Update
Hi,
Quick update on updates. On the left of the screen you will see a section called ‘Nkurru News’. This is our new Twitter feed. If you have no idea as to what Twitter is no, it’s nothing to do with birding.
All you need to know is that is just another way in which we will be updating you with info and images form the lodge. It’s short updates that can be done via phone or on the web which meanse somethine we can do a lot more often. Short and to the point. And the best part is that you can access everything from this one site!
Game viewing has been amazing and as soon as there is a moment we will be posting more images. Have also taken some staff images which will be added to the various pages soon.
More soon.
Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team
Cuckoos, Grass and Brakes
The cuckoos have arrived.
Yesterday morning a Jacobin Cuckoo stopped in for a drink at the reed bed and during the last few days we could hear the repetitive ‘huee-jee’ or ‘mei-tjie’ of the Klass’s Cuckoo. Even the Red Chested Cuckoo with it’s famous ‘piet-my-vrou’ call is being heard all over the place. Yeah, summer is now officially here!
Hard at work...
Been quite a long week with a quick trip to Johannesburg in the mix. Had to get to JHB to get urgent maintenance parts for the vehicle. The brakes failed last weekend. Yes, no brakes. More on this later but short version is that we were able to get the necassary parts and everything seems to be working fine again. For now…
This week also saw quite a bit of maintenance being done around the lodge and in between this Adele and I took a day to focus on our garden. We planted grass, redid the garden (which needed some serious attention) so now we wait for some rain to have everything settle in. With the help of Godfrey, Nik and a few casuals we got everything done in a day.
The biggest problem we have now is that Rocky and Ziggy are so excited about their new lawn that, after throughly inspecting it, are ripping it all up as the run around in circles again and again and again…
Inspecting the grass...
We will be going on leave next week but the monthly newsletter will still be posted towards the end of the month. Make sure to check back often for updates from the lodge. One more quick pic. I am still hoping to find time to do a full shoot around the lodge which will include rooms, exteriors and the main lodge but for now just the occasional grab shot.
Sunset from Boma
More soon.
Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team
Did You Know?
If a 50cm human baby should copy the Nile Crocodile’s growth pattern, it would eventually shoot up to become a 9,5 meter adult.
More soon.
Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team
Buttons
We named him 'Buttons'
With mom relaxing a little way off, this little guy, along with three more like him, have been giving us some great sightings. Even though it has been overcast every time we sat watching the jackal den we were able to get a few decent images. After sitting with them for quite some time it was decided to name them. The one above is now called ‘Buttons’.
Will be posting some more images and updates on Photo-Africa.
Going to be interesting to see how these little guys do during the next few weeks.
More soon.
Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team
Rain!
It seems that the rainy season is pretty much here.
Here is what we have had thus far:
- September 25 – 1.5mm
- September 29 – 9.5mm
- October 4 – 24mm
- October 5 – 7mm
- October 11 – 10mm
Already over 50mm and the bush is loving it! Everything is turning green and with the dust being cleaned out of the sky Madikwe is looking great. It is still quite overcast this morning so hopefuly some more rain later today!
More wildlife updates soon.
Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team
Slow Down and Enjoy
Sometimes it’s better to just sit and wait.
A few days ago we drove around in the South. Great scenery but pretty quiet from a game point of view. Stopped in at Tau Dam and yeah… pretty quiet. We sat and watched as the sun set over the dam and suddenly there they were.
Spotted Hyena and Elephant at Tau Dam
A Spotted Hyena and Elephant bull arrived pretty much at the same time. They slowly circled the water, had their respective drinks and moved on. Great sighting and just goes to show that sometimes you just have to slow down, sit and wait. The whole ‘stop-look-at-the-animal-take-a-picture-right-let’s-move-on’ approach only makes for a rushed game viewing experience. Slow down. Enjoy the experience. You never know what could happen.
Incidentally, the above image was shot with a 50mm f/1.8 lens. It was already pretty dark when I shot the above image but this lens just ‘eats’ light. The f/1.8 lens has added a whole new low light shooting ability to my camera bag and gives me the opportunity to shoot just that little later into the evenings.
More soon…
Gerry, Adele and the Nkurru Team
Tshola Mateya Update
Hi,
Shot this image this morning.
Mateya doing well up North.
Oct 6 2009 @ 08:30
Since the Tshola Mateya coalition started featuring in the lodge newsletters many people have asked about them and they seem to have developed quite a following. Here is the latest update.
They went off the grid for a few days but this morning they popped up way North in the park – almost at Maokeng Pan.
Since being kicked out of the South by the Kgala males the two big guys spent a bit of time on the ridge close to the lodge but now a whole new development is taking place.
Where are the Sereti males who used to hang around in the North? Will they stand up to the Tshola Mateya coalition? Will the Tshola Mateya coalition be setting up territory in the North?
Will keep you updated as things develop but at least it is good to see that Mateya is still going (relatively) strong even with his wonky back leg!
Oh, also posted a new Photo of the Day on Photo-Africa.
More soon.
Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team
Nkurru Newsletter – September 2009
Hi!
So here it is, the first monthly Nkurru Newsletter to be posted on the Blog.
Sunrise as seen from the Nkurru deck.
As mentioned in the email we sent out there is still a lot of changes and updates that I want to make to the site. Some of these include a page for each staff member, photo gallery of the lodge (when I get a chance to shoot it) and of course regular updates and images from Nkurru and Madikwe. Make sure to check back often as these and other additions go live on the site.
Sundowners at the amphitheatre
Things at the lodge have been going well and, as mentioned by all guests, it remains a truly special holiday destination. Apart from the spectacular game viewing that has become synonymous with Madikwe, it is the time spent at the lodge that makes it unique and memorable.
Is it not the small things that makes the time spent at the lodge stand out?
The sunrises from the deck. The comfortable and understated elegance of the main lodge. Even though everybody ‘complains’ about it, eating too much thanks to Gabrielle and Adele (everything in excess right?). The Nkurru waterhole that has become a veritable theatre of wildlife. Sundowners as watch the sun set over the Ineslbergs. The call of hyenas while sitting around the camp fire. Having to not feel that you have to go on every single drive and just enjoy the lodge. All of these things, and the fact that you always have the lodge to yourself, sets Nkurru apart and makes for a truly personal African experience.
A great deal of last month’s newsletter focused on maintenance related projects at the lodge so for this edition lets look at some other happenings at the lodge. Will picjk up on all the maintenances update during the month and in next months newsletter.
One of the most discussed topics while at the lodge, apart from the animals and what’s for dinner, is photography. Combined with wildlife it makes for a very addictive and time consuming hobby. I reckon that on every vehicle driving around a game reserve there must be at least three digital cameras. I have said this before but if I had one Rand for every image that gets taken in Madikwe each day I would be a very happy person. Now one of the benefits of having the lodge to yourself is the freedom to work any given sighting to find the best position to shoot from and the complete luxury of having the vehicle to yourself.
Photographing lions.
Getting to know your camera and taking time to look for the best shots will not only leave you with better reminders and images of your trip but will also add a whole new dimension to each drive. Ultimately you will start seeing even the most boring animal as a potential photographic subject which means that you will never have a quiet drive. There is always something to photograph.
One of new pages I will be adding to this site is a gallery where you will be able to upload the images from your visit to Nkurru. More on this soon but if at this stage you have any images you would to add email them to me at the lodge. We are also now able to embed video on this site so if you have any interesting videos shot during your visits to Nkurru let me know. Another great way of sharing sightings!
Along with the above galleries, and in conjunction with Photo-Africa, I have been working on a number of photographic short courses specifically aimed at wildlife photography. During the next few months I might be using some of the drives at Nkurru to test drive the notes and various exercises from these workshop type courses but more on this a little later in the year. Let me know if you are keen to give something like this a bash next time you visit Nkurru.
Also along the photography line of things, we are in the process of doing a Nkurru cookbook. This exciting little project is still in the planning phase but we have already started looking at certain recipes that we want to include. Adele will be working with Gabrielle in putting the recipes together and as time goes we will be photographing all the dishes and compiling book from there. If there are any specific dishes you have enjoyed at Nkurru which you would like to see in the book let us know. The more input we have the better. Will keep you posted as things develop on this one.
Now as we will be able to do a lot more updates on wildlife and interesting sightings through this site we are going to end off this newsletter with a number of slightly different sightings and images from the last few weeks.
Jackal sleeping.
On a windy morning drive a few days ago we found this jackal sleeping right out in the open. Unusual yes but not completely out of the ordinary. Sat watching her for a while when suddenly magic happened. From a hole not more than 10 meters from us we saw four little heads pop up.
Young jackal pups.
Even though we bumped into Wild Dog as we drove out the lodge, on this particular morning these four little guys were the highlight of the day! They had cute written all over them and apart from the occasional heads popping up, they were quite skittish. I’m sure the strong gusts of wind did not help but now that we know where they are we will most definitely be going back to sit and watch these little youngsters. If you are heading out to Nkurru during the next few weeks you might get a chance to see these youngsters. Great sighting!!
The Nkurru Barbet.
We are going to have to name this little guy. Before every morning drive, while we are having coffee, this Crested Barbet and his mate takes over the deck. After chasing all the starling and other birds away they come and keep us company. They have become so comfortable with the people around the deck that on some mornings they will literally eat out of your hand. The bird life is becoming very ‘alive’ around the deck but at this stage these to barbets are still taking centre stage.
Sable photographed with iPhone.
The sable that roams the ridges around the lodge is still around. During the last week I have seen him on three different occasions. On this particular occasion I was even able to get a shot of him on my iPhone. Reckon it must be some kind of first but still great to see this beautiful guy around Madikwe.
Adele and chameleon.
I shot the above image as we were driving from the Wonderboom Gate back to the lodge. The chameleon was very slowly crossing the road in their forward-back-swaying motion. They are always great to see but it is very sad to see the number of chameleons that get hit by cars. When next you drive to the lodge please make sure to take it easy and keep your eyes open for these little guys.
iPhone Application - Sasol e.Birds
During the last few months I have noticed that there have been quite a few shareholders and guests who are using an iPhone. If you have an iPhone you have to check out the new Sasol e-Birds of Southern Africa application. It has all the information you would find in the Sasol field guide but you can also listen to the various calls, compare birds and work through a series of questions to try and identify difficult species. I just downloaded this app and am loving it! Nice one to have on your iPhone when you visit Madikwe again. To purchase and download the application visit the iTunes store and search for Sasol birds. Easy as that!
First rains in Madikwe.
This is the view from the deck at 06h00 this morning. Yes, the first decent rains of the season has arrived. As I am writing this we are sitting on about 30mm for the last 24 hours and the skies are still pretty dark around Madikwe so hopefully some more rain coming. The rains are very welcome but, as you know, can cause havoc with game drives. If you are going to be visiting Madikwe during the rainy season remember… bring something to read or do for those rainy African days.
Now we could not end the newsletter on such a wet and somber note so one more image to finish up with.
Rain clouds over the Inselbergs.
The above image was taken at Nik’s View on the saddle a few days ago as the rain clouds started moving in. Fantastic spot and with clouds and sunsets… never the same.
The ‘Did you Know’ feature from the previous newsletters will be posted during each month as a stand alone post on the site. Also remember that, apart from the images and videos you can send us, you can comment on the newsletters and other updates we will be posting as each month goes by. Simply scroll to the bottom of each post and use the link to add your comments and suggestions!
So until next time, we look forward to hearing from you!
Sunrise from the Nkurru deck.
Until next time.
Gerry, Adele and the Nkurru Team