Yeah, this edition of the Nkurru newsletter should have been online in August but, as mentioned in one of my email, the last 7 weeks have been somewhat of a challenging time at the lodge.  In between insurance claims, breaking vehicles and [...]]]> Hi, Welcome to September and a slightly delayed newsletter.

Yeah, this edition of the Nkurru newsletter should have been online in August but, as mentioned in one of my email, the last 7 weeks have been somewhat of a challenging time at the lodge.  In between insurance claims, breaking vehicles and still going on drive it is quite amazing that there is still a general sense of humor and good vibe around the lodge.  Throughout this tough time the staff has been amazing which helped a lot!  Thanks guys!

Fires Update

A quick update on the fires that raged in the reserve a month or so ago.  Nature is amazing in it’s ability to recover and almost all the areas where the fires went through is showing amazing growth.  The green grass is growing all over the place and as soon as the rains come life is going to explode back into Madikwe.  The general game on these green areas is spectacular and the only thing that really impacts our game drives is the fact that we cannot off-road on areas where the new grass is less than 10cm long.  Almost there!

Electrical Cable Claim

This has been a nightmare.  As you know, our electrical cable got burnt in the fires and we have been working on the insurance claim.  This sounds much easier than it really is and the process is still ongoing.  We have incurred a huge amount of costs trying to fix the lodge and various pieces of equipment that got damaged, which also includes lots of generator costs.  We will keep you posted as things develop.

Game Drive Vehicle

I took the above image of the Nkurru vehicle a few weeks ago and since then it has been giving a huge amount of trouble.  Again.  The vehicle is currently at the mechanic to be fixed which means we are renting a vehicle and costing us more money.  After trying to get the necessary info from all the shareholders, which is apparently an impossible task, one of the shareholders have been able to arrange for a great deal on a new Cruiser.  He will be buying it on his name and then sell it to the lodge so that we can get the process rolling.  Soon.  Hopefully very soon.

Wildlife

Sightings the last few weeks have been pretty quiet.  Some nice one in between but by Madikwe standards pretty quiet.  Here are a selection of images form the last few weeks.

Our resident Klipspringer is still around the lodge.  At last count there were three of the cute little guys living inside the Nkurru fence.  Keep an eye out for them!

This is the Mateya male leaving our waterhole a few morning ago.  With water being very scarce in the park, our waterhole has been very busy!

Our rhino sightings are always great but unfortunately their numbers continue to decline due to poaching.  2010 has seen 192 rhinos being killed by poachers in South Africa.  Very sad.

We found the Madikwe cheetah again a few days ago.  We bumped into him close to the airstrip and spent quite a bit of time following him through the bush.  An amazingly beautiful animal.

Shot this earlier this morning from the lodge deck.  Yeah, from the lodge deck!  Ask me about it when you are next at the lodge!

That is about that for Madikwe wildlife for now.

Now as you might know Photo-Africa, my photography company, runs workshops and photographic safaris.  The workshops are run either from Johannesburg or Pretoria so please drop me an email if you would like more info.  I am also very excited about a number of photographic safaris I will be leading next year so if you are keen to explore more of Africa with me let me know!

Here are a couple of photographic safaris I will be hosting in 2011.

I have been able to schedule all of the above trips in our leave cycles but there will be a number of other trips as well which will be led by some of my other photographers.  These trips are all aimed at getting you in the right place at the right time to create compelling wildlife images so you can assured of amazing sightings and visual scenery.  If you would like any further information please email me at info@photo-africa.com so that I can send you the info sheet and prices for the various trips.   A special Nkurru shareholder discount will apply!

I have not loaded all of the above trips to Photo-Africa yet but will be doing so in the next week or so.  Make sure to check it out!

Anyway, time to get going.  Adele and I will be on leave from 9 to 24 September so if you need to get hold of us please use my private email or cell number.

We look forward to welcoming you to the lodge.

Warmest regards,

Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team

Time flies!

Not only is half of this year gone, but it is already one and a half years since Adele and I started at Nkurru.  Yeah, one and a half years.   It doesn’t really feel that long but if I think back on everything that has happened during the last 18… perhaps it does! [...]]]> Hi,

Time flies!

Not only is half of this year gone, but it is already one and a half years since Adele and I started at Nkurru.  Yeah, one and a half years.   It doesn’t really feel that long but if I think back on everything that has happened during the last 18… perhaps it does!

As you know we have just completed a maintenance week which, apart from being a huge amount of work, makes us reassess where things have come from and where they are going.  The last 18 months have not been all moonshine and roses even though many people still think that living in ‘the bush’ means that you are on a full time holiday.  Sure, there are days when things are a little mroe realxed but up until now those days have been few and far between.  Just too much to do and in between I keep on thinking that there is book waiting to be written about life at a lodge.  Oh, the stories we could tell!

Last year was, as you will agree, quite hectic both from a workload and financial point of view.  There was a LOT of projects that needed attention and at one stage it felt like it would never stop.  Sense of humor was under serious threat at times but at this stage all is still in tact!

This year started off like that but, and this is due to hard work from all the staff it seems that we are (hopefully) finally on top of things.   It has been a pretty good 18 months so let’s see how things go from here!  :)

Maintenance and Operations

I was going to do a big update on this but decided against it.

We have just completed a successful maintenance week and, after a shopping trip to Johannesburg, we are in the process of fixing / upgrading / paying attention to a lot of smaller projects around the lodge.  These range from new door handles and new garden light fittings to rearranging the maintenance store room and pebbling the pathways.

The short version is that everything is going pretty well so for the purposes of this particular newsletter let’s leave it at that!

Game Viewer

The response to the email we sent with regards to the new game viewer was overwhelming.  Thanks a lot!

I have almost everything in place so the moment Sara gives me the go ahead, and funds have been paid and are available, I will order our new Land Cruiser.  Getting the vehicle is not a problem but the conversion is going to take us about 4 weeks.  I have already got all the conversion details ready and will, based on input from various shareholders,  finalize them during this week.

Will keep you posted as things develop but I am glad to say that we are now in the final stages of the vehicle saga!

Thanks!

Before we get to some wildlife updates I would like to send a very big thanks to the three shareholders who sponsored heaters for the staff village.  This is truly an amazing gesture and the staff appreciates it more than I can say.  Cannot wait to have you guys back at the lodge so the staff can say thank you to you personally.  Thanks!

Wildlife Updates

We’ll get to some of the game drive updates in a while but just had to do this first.

With winter in full swing, the sighting we had at the waterhole yesterday afternoon is the best argument for taking time off from drives to enjoy the Nkurru waterhole.  It is absolutely ROCKING!!   The short version from yesterday goes like this…

• Lots of ellies at the waterhole
• Large herd of buffalo arrive at the water
• Ellies take exception to buffalo and proceed to chase them all over the place
• For the next two hours it is a cacophony of sights and sounds as the bug guys fight for drinking space
• After dropping the water levels the buffalo move off
• Two hours later the ellies are still hanging around

Could go on trying to explain the amazing sighting but let;s rather do it this way…

Buff arriving at the waterhole while the ellies are just to the left.

Buff having a drink.

Adele watching the ellies and buff just before all hell broke loose.

Calm before the storm.

The ellies start chasing the buff out of the water.

The young ellie was on top form.

Buffalo and ellies all over the place.

The young guy still going for it.

Buff running for cover.

With buffalo, elephant and rhino being (almost) daily visitors the Nkurru waterhole is definitely the place to be this winter.

Out in the bush most of the waterholes has dried up with only the large dams still attracting animals.  Tau Dam still has a bit of water while Tlou Dam is still looking quite good for this time of year.  Parks Board is not currently pumping Tlou Dam as they are waiting for some new pipes so let’s hope this happens sooner rather than later.  If they can start pumping before it dries up completely Tlou Dam should make it through winter easily enough.  Above is a young ellie enjoying the last bit of sunshine at Tlou Dam.

The rhino poaching situation is still out of control and it does not seem that there is an end in sight.  Apart from the Chinese and Vietnamese demand there is also people like Elle Macpherson who recently admitted to using powdered rhino horn.  How sad / stupid / ignorant / clueless can she be?  You can read the full article by clicking here.

It has been VERY cold and birding in Madikwe has been pretty quiet.  All the regulars are still around and the hordes of ‘little guys’ are nesting in the reed bed but other than that not too much to report on that side.

The Kgala males, one seen above, continue to dominate the South of Madikwe.  These two brutes have started pushing their territory up towards the lodge and it is a matter of time until they bump into either the Tshola-Mateya coalition or the three young Linyalo males who have been hanging around the Wonderboom area.

The two boys have also been quite busy and have, in the last year, fathered 8 new cubs.

The five 6 month Maropeng youngsters are going strong.  Along with the Tshabalalas and the two big boys they have been hanging around between Tau Dam and the Western airstrip.

This is one of the 4 week old Jabulani youngsters.  Yeah, named after the soccer ball!  They have only been seen a few times but it is most definitely worth going to look for these little fur balls.  They are the newset additions to the Mika pride, now 12 strong, and mom has been keeping the little guys around the Abajaterskop / Elephant Boma area.  Absolutely gorgeous!

Mom has not let the three youngsters out in the open too much yet and this is one of the best photographs I have been able to get of all three together.  Cute little things and a possible highlight of your next trip to Madikwe.

Right, time to get going but before you log off, why not check out the free Photo-Africa wallpaper downloads for July?  You can download any of the 4 images for free to use a desktop image on your PC.  Click here to choose your favorite and save a bit of Africa in your computer!

If you have any thoughts or comments we look forward to hearing from you.

We look forward to seeing you at the lodge and sharing more memories from Africa!

Warmest regards,

Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team

It is amazing how much can change in a week.

In a week a lodge can be transformed to a maintenance war zone and back to being better than before.  In a week the waterhole has gone from an empty space void of all living things to the animal fest we have gotten used to.   [...]]]> Hi,

It is amazing how much can change in a week.

In a week a lodge can be transformed to a maintenance war zone and back to being better than before.  In a week the waterhole has gone from an empty space void of all living things to the animal fest we have gotten used to.    It is amazing how much can change in a week.

Let’s start with an update on the Nkurru maintenance week that was completed a week ago.

One of the new, but very subtle, additions is the lead wood railing that has been constructed around the outside lounge area.

This new railing was originally planned from a safety point of view and subsequently our insurance company has also stipulated that we need to erect this railing. Initially were were quite concerned about how this will affect the look of the front deck but it has worked out beautifully.  Apart from the deck planks that are slightly discolored from being removed, the railing looks like it has always been there.  Worked out very well and toom only about three days to complete.

One of the largest projects for the 2010 maintenance week was the combing and patching of the roof.  We were originally hoping to complete all the roofs in the week but rain, in the middle of winter, delayed everything for a few days.  We pushed on and in the end we completed all the roofs except for the double unit which will be done as soon as we have 4 days open at the lodge.  Apart from the weather, the state of some of the roofs caused the whole process to take longer than anticipated.

This is the valley just above the front door to the main lodge.  The thatch in this area was so rotten that we had to replace pretty much the entire valley.  There were a few areas like this and this caused obvious delays as the guys had to replace huge amounts of grass.  The double unit, room 4 & 5, is also in a serious state and is the only roof we still need to complete.  Due to the bad state of this roof we are going to need at least 4 days to comb, patch and repair all the valleys.  As soon as we have a few days open at the lodge we will complete the last roof.  Mental note for future… don’t wait for three years before doing maintenance on roofs!

The other major maintenance week project was the sanding and treating of the decks.  Last year, due to time constraints, we only did the main lodge deck.  This year we started with the rooms and, apart from two rainy days, things went pretty well.  The only deck that we did not complete is the main lodge deck but this is not too much of a worry as we can do this the moment we have two days open.

The image above shows the difference between the newly treated deck and one that is a year old.   Nice improvement.  The room decks in particular looks great and is probably the most noticable improvement from a deck point of view.

Apart from those main projects there were also a lot of cleaning, fixing and organizing going on.  We worked on the fence, store rooms, laundry, pathways, rooms and main lodge.  Lots of little things.  Lots and lots of little things.  Calibrating pumps, cutting open the electric fence and servicing all the fire equipment are just a few of the smaller projects that kept us busy.

The one project that we were planning to complete was the maintenance of the reed bed.  Each year we will be cutting the reeds and halving the amount of lilies to ensure new growth and the cleaning of the water that ends up int he waterhole.

After seeing the amount of birds that are currently still nesting in the reeds we decided to leave it as is and give it a few months before we chop the reeds but from a safety point of view we did do a lot of clearing around the reed bed.

The last major project we completed was the installation of the descaling system.  Yeah, finally!  The system is now operational and, even though you can taste the difference, it will take about 2 months for all the pipes, geysers and other equipment to be cleaned up and working like it should!  The end is (hopefully) in sight!

Now with the change of season and water getting quite scarce out in the bush the waterhole is starting to move into winter mode and in the last few days we have had lions, leopard, elephant, buffalo and a host of other species popping in for a drink.  We have also started putting out some salt which, combined with the waterhole, promises to make for some fantastic game viewing from the deck.

Mateya Male

The Mateya male is still going.  Not necessarily strong, but going.

This shows the Mateya male just around the corner from the lodge with his brother, the Tshola male, in the distance.  More than a year has passed since the Mateya male was injured in a territorial fight with the Kgala males.

The leg is not going to get better and many feel that it is just a matter of time.

The amazing thing is how this formerly majestic lion just keeps going.  He does not stop and feel sorry for himself.  He does not hassle anybody for favors.  He just keeps going.

Kgala Males

The two Kgala males are still dominating the south of Madikwe and have been very busy.

A few days ago they made a trip all the way up to the Impodimo where they found the two Matusis on a kill, chased them away and took over the kill.  We found the Matusi female in a very nervous state a day later but up until now no one has found the Matusi male.  Will keep you posted.

The two Kgalas, mean as they are, are apparently lovers and fighters!  Last week Gavin, from Tuningi, found the Mika female close to the Western Airstrip with four brand new cubs.

These four new feline additions mean that there are now 9 young cubs, under 8 months old, in the South.  Fantastic to see, great to watch and always a highlight to any drive!

Other than the lions, sightings have been pretty slow but now with water drying up things should be changing.

If you would like to see more wildlife images make sure to pop in to Photo-Africa.  Here are some of the highlights from the last few weeks.  Click on any of the links to view the blog post.

• Keep It In Mind
• Playing With Lions
• One Image, Three Lessons
• What Are We (Not) Doing
• Just  a Moment

Also, if you missed it you can get your free desktop wallpaper for June 2010 by clicking here.  There are five different images that you can use as a desktop on your PC or Mac which also includes a handy calendar.  Let me know what you think!

To end off with a bit of shameless self advertising.

If you have been following Photo-Africa you will know that we are now presenting a number of workshops and photographic safaris.  These include:

• 10 July 2010 – Digital Photography:  What? How? Why? (Inanda, Johanensburg)
• 11 July 2010 – Free photo walk (Northern Farm, Gauteng)
• 17 July 2010 – Digital Photography:  What? How? Why? (Centurion, Pretoria)
• 24 July 2010 – Worldwide Photo Walk (Melville, Johannesburg)
• 4 & 11 September 2010 – Wildlife Photography 101 (Johannesburg & Pilansberg Game Reserve)
• 5 to 7 November 2010 - Route 62 Photography Workshop
• 28 February to 7 March 2011 – Photographic Safari to Kenya (Masai Mara & Lake Nakuru)
• 29 August to 7 September 2011 – Photographic Safari to Kenya (Masai Mara for big migration)

There are a lot more events and dates that will be confirmed soon so make sure to check the website for details.  If you would like any further please contact me!

As we say goodbye until next month we would like to say – Viva Bafana Bafana!

Even though we will not be able to get to the matches or soak up the atmosphere we will be wearing our Bafana jerseys and supporting the World Cup as much as we can!  For a few ‘wildlife meets soccer’ pics click here.

Until we next see you at the lodge – enjoy the World Cup, and stay safe!

Warmest regards,

Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team

We have just gotten back from a two week break and now it’s that time of the year again – maintenance week!

The May newsletter got lost somewhere in between finalizing the lodge rifle documents, trying to sell our game viewer and going on leave but don’t worry, the next edition will be up during the [...]]]> Hi!

We have just gotten back from a two week break and now it’s that time of the year again – maintenance week!

The May newsletter got lost somewhere in between finalizing the lodge rifle documents, trying to sell our game viewer and going on leave but don’t worry, the next edition will be up during the next week.  In the newsletter we will have some wildlife updates, staff updates and other interesting stories but for now, here is a quick update of a few maintenance related matters and a list of some of the projects we are currently busy with.

If you are desperate for some wildlife news and updates you can check out a recent blog post I did on the Nkurru Conservation Week that took place at the beginning of May.  Along with Jono and his mates, we had a great time catching lions, notching rhino and chasing Wild Dogs.  You can check out the post on Photo-Africa by clicking here.

For now, back to lodge maintenance matters.

World Cup

By now you will probably know that Nkurru will not be operating as a commercial lodge during the World Cup.  As per the email we circulated we did not have any bookings so we decided to, rather than have to deal with last minute bookings, run things as per normal and let shareholders use their allocated weeks.  Even now, many of the commercial lodges are not even close to full for the World Cup so we are quite happy with our decision.  More updates on this, and the CapEx projects that will be affected at a later stage.

Nkurru Rifle

We finally received the last documents from the Firearms department and three weeks ago we handed in our rifle license application in to the police so now we just wait.  Everything from our side has now been done so next step, all going well, would be to collect our license and then our rifle that has been waiting for us in JHB for almost a year now.  Almost there…

New Game Viewer

Some things in life are difficult others are impossible.  Apparently selling a Land over game viewer falls in the second category.  We are having some serious issues with finding a decent trade in price for our game viewer which is imperative for us to  meet our budget.  We have already arranged for the conversion on the new Land Cruiser, which is bloody amazing, but… yeah.  But….If any of you have ANY contacts who might be able to help us in selling our current vehicle please let us know!

Maintenance Week

We planned this maintenance week a few months ago and guess what… it’s raining!  Yeah, it’s winter, cold and it’s raining!  The two big projects that are being affected by the weather is the combing / patching of the roofs and the sanding of the decks.  We have been pushing through and hopefully the weather will clear from later today so that we can complete all the roofs and decks.  Projects for maintenance week include:

- Patching and combing of all thatch roofs
- Sanding and treating of all wooden decks
- Clearing of sickle bush out of lodge grounds
- Build a leadwood railing around the outside lounge area
- Cleaning up and thinning of reed bed
- Full clean and repack of laundry
- Full clean and repack of kitchen

Weather depending there are a number of other projects we are also hoping to finish but we will give updates next week.

Right, time to get going.  It’s Monday morning, it’s cold and wet and we have a lot of maintenance to do.

Check back next week for the monthly newsletter!

Warmest regards,

Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team

Yeah, that’s a lioness trying to take a bite of our hot box during coffee stop this morning!

For a few more of these images from this morning visit Photo-Africa by clicking here or on the above image!

Warmest regards,

Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team

If you have been to Madikwe during the last few weeks you will know that there has been a [...]]]> April is a fantastic time of year in the bush.  Every morning brings a chilly reminder that winter is on it’s way but the days are still warm enough for the pool to be enjoyed.

If you have been to Madikwe during the last few weeks you will know that there has been a lot of rain.  Even though it is quite unexpected, the late rains is very welcome and many of the watering holes have been filling up very nicely.  Tlou Dam is lookig fantastic for this time of year and even Inkwe Pan is  completely full again.  Great to see.

The only negative, but this is being completely selfish, is that the waterhole at the lodge has not been as busy as normally but we have still had a nice procession of game including elephant, lions and pretty much any plains game you could think of.

CapEx 2010

Since wrapping up all the discussions around CapEx we have been completing and ticking off many of the items on the list.  These include:

• Annual Service of Fire Fighting Equipment
• Service of both Generators
• New duvets and towels
• New Hot Box and Flasks
• New tires for Fire Cart
• New pots and pans for the kitchen
• New torches for rooms
• New set of slip covers for dining room chairs
• New set of covers for outside furniture pillows
• New coffee table for the outside lounge area
• Upgrade of some of the wooden screens around the lodge
• New chest freezer for lodge
• New stretcher

At this stage we have a Maintenance Week planned for the week starting 28 May 2010 during which time we will be taking care of a lot of the larger items on our CapEx list such as the combing of the roofs, swimming pool, decks and some of the smaller building projects.  Up until then we will be fitting in smaller projects wherever we can.

Game Viewer

Since the shareholder’s meeting we have been liaising with various Toyota dealerships with regards to trading in our Land Rover on a new Land Cruiser.  The reality… not too much demand for second hand Land Rover Defender gem viewing vehicles.  Even as a trade in many of the dealers are not willing to accept our current vehicle.  Persistence, however, pays off and we are not getting a bit more interest.  Really pushing hard on this one as we want to try and get this sorted as soon as possible.  The conversion of the vehicle is not the problem and we can have that done in less than two weeks.  The big problem is just actually getting the vehicle.  If you have any contacts or know of anybody that is looking for a second hand game viewer please let us know at the lodge.  Soon…

Nkurru Rilfe License

As you by now know, we have received a faxed copy of our lodge accreditation to use a weapon for business purposes.  Still waiting for the hard copy but we can go ahead with the final step in the whole rifle saga.  The last hurdle is now to apply for a rifle license, something I am truly hoping to get sorted out as soon as possible because I am not sure there is too much sense of humor left for this whole debacle.  We have all our license application documents ready to go and as soon as Inspector Havenga, who is in charge of all firearms related issues, is back from leave on 3 May.  So, a few weeks of calm before the (hopefully last) storm!  Close… so close!

Wildlife & Nature

The image above shows one of the Kgala males walking past the Nkurru waterhole a few morning ago.  Yeah, the Kgala males.  These two big boys from the South have been doing a bit of a walkabout in what we can only think is a bit of a ‘property shopping’.

The two Kgala walked all the way past the waterhole, continued on to Wonderboom and then headed west towards Bush House.  The next morning we found their tracks all the was at the junction of Tswene West & Tswene South form where they headed back south towards Vleischfontein.   This is about as far north as these two beautiful lions have gone and it was great to see them around the lodge.  Waking up to the roars of a serious male coalition is one of the moats fantastic safari experiences anybody could wish for.

As of this morning the two Kgala males are back in the south where we saw them with the Tshabalala females and the five Maropeng youngsters.  With Parks Board having called a halt to all lion removals, not sure why yet, the lion sightings have been phenomenal!  Yes, yes, there is the whole ecological impact and all that but damn it’s nice seeing these guys so often!

The Tshola Mateya coalition is still operating in the north of the park but due to all the rain we have not been able to get up there to view them.  Hopefully more info on these guys next month.

The two Matusi youngsters popped up at Vlesichfontein waterhole a few days ago where they were found on two wildebeest kills.  With the fences and old ruins around the watering hole their is not much escape for any general game that gets cornered in there.  We sat watching the two youngters as the sun went down and ended up with some amazing night shots.

Madikwe’s icons, the wild dogs, have been in and around the Wonderboom Node for almost two months now.  This has afforded us the oportunity to get some amazing sightings both at the lodge and on drive.

I shot the above image about two weeks ago as we were on our way back to the lodge.  We spent the whole morning looming for the dogs which was last seen on the Southern Inselberg.  As we were heading back to the lodge, having decided to try again in the afternoon, we bumped into the dogs next to our borehole on Diperoro as they were finishing up an impala they killed no more than 5 minutes earlier.   We are still not sure whether it was the large male impala that has been hanging around the lodge since January but judging on the size it looks like it might just have been him.  However, his spot at the waterhole was very quickly filled by a slightly younger male.

With temperatures changing quite a bit now there has be a huge amount of snake activity at and around the lodge as all the reptiles are starting to look for a place to estivate during winter.  In our first week back from leave we have removed 6 puff adders and 2 spitting combras from the lodge grounds.  Most of the snakes are quite docile but please make sure to keep your eyes open when you are next at the lodge.  I shot the following image of one of the puffies we removed earlier today.

Yes, I was flat on my stomach.

That’s about that for this month.  Next month we will have a full update on the World Cup and all the what’s, how’s and why’s but please shout if you have any questions at this stage.

If you have a few moments and would like to see more wildlife and nature photography make sure to pop in at Photo-Africawhich I update every weekday with new images, stories and photography tips and tricks.  It might be a week or so late, but if you are looking for a free desktop wallpaper for your Mac or PC, click here to select one of three of my more recent image.

You will see that I have changed the Twitter feed on the left of the screen to run my own feed rather than one from the lodge.  It was becoming too much to run two accounts so decided to rather include my own Twitter feed which will give you a lot more info, links and images.  If you are on Twitter you can follow me by clicking here.  If you have no idea what that all means – don’t worry about it!  :)

One more images as we say goodbye until next month.

Finally, congratulations to Godfrey who has become a father!  His new boy, Kagiso, was born last week and the proud dad has not stopped smiling all week.  Hopefully we will be able to post some pics when Godfrey comes back from leave.

As always we look forward to hearing from you!

Warmest regards,

Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team

It was great seeing everybody at the AGM.  Nice to catch up and discuss the coming year at the lodge.

We have already sent out a short summary of everything that was discussed at the meeting but if you still have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us at the lodge.

We have had a few [...]]]> Hi,

It was great seeing everybody at the AGM.  Nice to catch up and discuss the coming year at the lodge.

We have already sent out a short summary of everything that was discussed at the meeting but if you still have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us at the lodge.

We have had a few days open at the lodge during which time we have taken care of quite a few maintenance issues.  None of these were included on the CapEx list as we still need to collect all the monies and also arrange for a maintenance week during which to tackle all the larger projects.  Some of the projects we completed the last week includes:

• Wooden Screens –We broke down and rebuilt many of the wooden screens around the lodge, the main one being the one around the generator which was half falling into the driveway.
• DSTV – In stead of calling in a contractor we decided to first chop off the tops of the trees which were blocking the satellite dish’s view of the sky.  Saved a lot of money and the TV is back to perfect working order – just in time for the Super 14!
• Staff Village – As discussed at the shareholders meeting, the staff village needs attention.  During this week the staff not only cut all the trees at least ½ meter away from the building and roof but also started a garden and boma.  Looking good so now the challenge is to keep it up.
• Showerheads – We have replaced the showerheads in 4 of the 5 rooms – again.  Until we install the water descaling system we are going to have to keep on doing this so the sooner the better.
• Lodge Floors – Once every few months we strip the built up polish off the lodge floors so during this last week we carried all the furniture out of the lodge, cleaned the floors and put everything back.
• General – With a few days open we also did a lot of general maintenance around the lodge and rooms.

We have started arranging a few of the CapEx projects already and will keep you posted as things develop.  One of the main items discussed at the shareholder’s meeting was the purchase of a new game viewer.  We have gotten all our ducks in a row and have quote for new Toyota Land Cruisers as well as the conversions but the first step is to find a buyer for our current vehicle.  If you know of anybody who might be looking for a second hand game viewer please let us know!  Trying to get this one sorted out as soon as possible.

From a staff point of view we are slowly implementing all the new staff scheduling as discussed at the meeting.  We are taking things step by step so that the staff know exactly what is expected of them.  Should you need more clarity on this when you get to the lodge please don’t hesitate to ask.  As soon as we have finalized the ‘What to Expect From Nkurru Staff’ document we will send it out to all shareholders.

On the wildlife & nature side of things it has been lions everywhere!  The lion reductions has begun and to date three lions have been removed from the park with another 30 or so to go.

The highlight of the last few weeks is the fact that the Tshabalala females have been bringing the 4 month old Maropeng youngsters out into the open more regularly.  These five little guys make for absolutely fantastic sightings and if you are lucky the two Kgala-Etali males also join in on the fun.

For the last 3 weeks the pride has been hanging around the Western airstrip which means we get fantastic sightings of the youngsters out in the open and because it is so far South the sightings are never really busy.  On numerous occasions we have sat watching and photographing the youngsters as they play around in the early morning sun.  Gonna be great to watch these little guys grow up.

Further North, the Tshola Mateya coalition have pretty much settled into the Tau concession with an occasional trip down to the ridge.  Mateya is still in bad shape and it seems that during the last few weeks his condition has gone a little backwards.  Still a beautiful animal, we can just hope that his brother can take care of him for a little while longer.

The two Sereti males have been chased all over the place and seem to be settling in around the Wonderboom area.  Pretty big for their age, it’s great to have to males around our lodge and in time these boys should turn into a force to be reckoned with.

The Etali female and her two youngsters have been seen around Tlou Dam for a few weeks now and it still seems that she is keeping them away from all the males in the West.  Not sure wehre she is going to end up but will keep you posted.

Leopard sightings have been rather quiet but we still get the occasional spotted cat.

With summer drawing to a close, we can see an increase of animals to the waterhole.  Rain has been quite spread out which means there is virtually no surface water or seasonal puddles around.  Even Tlou Dam is rather empty for this time of year so let’s hope it gets pumped this year.

The bird life is still not bad but during the next few weeks the migrants will signal the beginning of winter when they start their journey up north.

In general we have had fanatstic sightings, both on drive and at the lodge, and if you would like to see more wildlife images you can head over to Photo-Arica.  Some of the posts from the last few weeks include:

• African Moments
• DOF in Wildlife Photography
• March 2010 – Free Desktop Wallpapers
• Shooting Africa in Black & White
• Bad Boys

If you are keen on improving your wildlife, or any other type of,  photography let me know as later this year I will be running various workshops and photographic safaris.  These workshops will take place in Johannesburg, Pretoria and later this year in the Cape Winelands as well.  Keep an eye onPhoto-Africa for more details as it becomes available.  Also, between 18 and 31 March Adele and I will be in Johannesburg and during this time I will be doing various hospitality and lifestyle shoots.  If you would like to have a lifestyle portrait shoot done during this time please let me know so that we can book a date!

One last thing before we end it off.  Could we ask that all shareholders please take a few minutes to send us your updated contact details.  In between a PC crash in January and very old mailing lists it is time that we update our contacts list.  Thanks!!

If you have questions, comments or suggestions please don’t hesitate to contact us as the lodge.  Alternatively we look forward to seeing you ant Nkurru!

Warmest regards,

Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team

Adele and I had the most fantastic holiday in Bangkok (of which you can see a few images here and here) followed by some time in Johannesburg and a photo shoot in the Drakensberg.  It was a great break away from the lodge and the first proper break in quite some time.

Since returning from our [...]]]> Hi!

Adele and I had the most fantastic holiday in Bangkok (of which you can see a few images here and here) followed by some time in Johannesburg and a photo shoot in the Drakensberg.  It was a great break away from the lodge and the first proper break in quite some time.

Since returning from our holiday we have been busy with CapEx, budgets and maintenance and, on a personal note, we were very impressed by the way the staff took care of the lodge.  As with any lodge there is always a few maintenance related matters that need ongoing supervision and work but all in all things went pretty well during our absence.

With the AGM coming up on 23 February we are busy with all the numbers and proposed projects so will be looking at all of these in a lot more details in the next Newsletter.  For now, here are some images from the last two weeks at Nkurru.  The sightings have been amazing and the photographic opportunities even better!

This must be one of the highlights since getting back from holiday.  We were sitting watching the Kgala males and Mika pride close to Vleisfontein on a giraffe kill when suddenly the one male took issue with his brother.  Over in a few seconds the intensity was awesome.  For more images of this sighting click here.

We have had loads and loads of lions and wild dogs while the scavengers around the many kills have been making for great sighting!  Here are a few more images taken on drive during the last two weeks.

With the annual shareholders meeting coming up we will see you all in 23 February 2010 where we will discuss various lodge related matters including CapEx and details on the 2010 World Cup.

Oh, almost forgot.  Even though their system is down and they could not yet fax or email our certificate to us yet, but Nkurru’s accreditation to use a firearm for business purposes has been awarded.  We got the phone call on Friday!  Yes, after almost 8 months of phone calls, trips to Pretoria and sense of humor failure our accreditation has at last been finalized.  As soon as the Firearm department’s system is back up and running and we receive our accreditaiton certificate we can now complete the final step of licensing the rifle.  Will keep you posted but FINALLY things have started falling into place!

Look forward to seeing you at the meeting on 23 February, alternatively when you next visit Nkurru.

Warmest regards,

Gerry, Adele & the Nkurru Team

We have just arrived back at the lodge after a fantastic three week break. 

We will be posting the February Newsletter later this week.  As soon as we have dealt with a broken office PC, few issues with the game viewer and a bucket load of admin!

Sightings have been out of this world so [...]]]> Hi,

We have just arrived back at the lodge after a fantastic three week break. 

We will be posting the February Newsletter later this week.  As soon as we have dealt with a broken office PC, few issues with the game viewer and a bucket load of admin!

Sightings have been out of this world so will add some pics as well!

Check back soon!

Gerry, Adele and the Nkurru Team

Before we get going with the first Nkurru Newsletter of the New Year we would like to wish you all the very best for 2010.  We trust that you have all had a relaxing festive season and that the holidays have left you recharged and ready for the coming year!

During the last few months it [...]]]> Hi,

Before we get going with the first Nkurru Newsletter of the New Year we would like to wish you all the very best for 2010.  We trust that you have all had a relaxing festive season and that the holidays have left you recharged and ready for the coming year!

During the last few months it feels like the world has been spinning around more than once a day.  A lot has happened and even though the road has been long it seems that the end is almost in sight.  It seems that every newspaper and television program is doing a ‘year in review’ type of thing and that was originally the idea with this newsletter.  Now even though this seemed like a good idea at the time, I felt that instead of doing a huge write up on all the things that has happened at Nkurru during the last year I would rather just do a general kind of look at 2009 and then start focusing on 2010.

‘Damage control’ might sound harsh, but this is what it many of the days at Nkurru felt like during the last 11 months.  The Nkurru makeover started with large projects like the new Lilliput system, waterhole, painting the entire lodge, sealing the ant-hills and ultimately the reed bed.  These were mixed in with ‘we-have-no-choice-but-to do-this’ projects such as replacing all the septic tanks at the lodge and sending the game viewer to the doctor on more than one occasion.  Stressful, yes.  Necessary, absolutely but now that the dust is settling the lodge is better for it.

The one project that has spilled over from last year, and that is getting seriously annoying, is the lodge rifle.  To say that the lodge accreditation process and dealing with firearms control has been a sad comedy of inadequacies is being kind.  I have, up until now, had to email the same documents to four different people and I had to drive to Pretoria to drop off the same documents on three different occasions.  Today marks my return of phoning on a full time basis to try and get our lodge accreditation finalized.  In the interim we have purchased a new lodge rifle, after selling the previous one to Ivan, and it is waiting for us at a gunsmith in Johannesburg.  Hopefully soon.  Hopefully very soon!

Recently we completed another relatively large project which, I am personally very very happy about.  Adele and I will not benefit from this project directly but if one more person had to tell us that the taps in the rooms are leaking I think I would have run away!!   Yes, we have finally gotten around budget and time and the new taps have been fitted in the rooms!  The look great and work even better.  In a way this project, the last big one of 2009, brings an end to the having to fix everything approach and we can now finally start looking at improving the lodge rather than just fixing things.  Exciting stuff!

Overall the lodge is looking fantastic and this gives us a great foundation from which to start working in 2010.  We have already started looking at various projects and other CapEx items for the year and we will be liaising with Andrew Frodsham during the next month or so leading up to the shareholders meeting in March.  As soon as we have a workable document it will be circulated to everybody but in the meantime here are a few of the larger projects and items we have on the list:

• Thatch – All the thatch roofs need to be combed and patched.
• Vehicle – We need to look at the vehicle situation at the lodge which includes both the game viewer and a second vehicle.
• Swimming Pool – The pools surface is quite rough so we need to address this.
• Staff Village – We are planning to extend the staff village which will not only give each staff member their own rooms but also give us.

There are of course quite a few smaller items that we already have on the list but if you have any further ideas or input please email us at the lodge.

Game viewing has, as always, been amazing even though the last few months have been more about quality than quantity.  With a lot of surface water and very thick bush, spotting the more secretive species has proven to be quite challenging but Madikwe never fails to deliver.   Now that the operational things are falling into place we will have a little more time to do wildlife updates on the blog.  If you need more wildlife images and some photographic tips and techniques you can also visit Photo-Africa which I update every weekday.  On that, you can now download free African wildlife wallpapers for your desktop and iPhone fro Photo-Africa.  Click here to check it out and get yours today!

The new edition of my book, ‘Wildlife. Photography. And everything in between.’, is also now available.  The 198 page book contains more than 200 images and is available in soft cover, hard cover with dust jacket and a hard cover with the image printed on the cover and prices vary from R425 to R525.  For more information or to order a copy please email me.  If you have not seen the book yet there is a copy in the lodge which you can browse through when next you visit Nkurru.

On a personal note Adele and I would like to thank you all for your support during the last year.  At times it might have been challenging but to finally start seeing things fall into place is great reward for all the work that has been done at the lodge.

On that note we are also very excited about our upcoming holiday.  Now most of the times when we are on leave we are still running around to pick up supplies and in are in constant contact with the lodge.  From 12 January we will be taking three weeks of annual leave and this time we are really going on leave.  As a belated honeymoon and for my birthday we will be going to Bangkok for a week or so after which we are heading to the Drakensberg to do a few photo shoots at hotels and lodges.  We have not travelled much since starting in the bush and we are really looking forward to our Thai adventure.  We have been working hard at getting everything arranged at the lodge to make sure that things keep on ticking over while we are away.  No doubt we will worry about the lodge a bit, but I reckon it is going to be great to get away, clear out heads and ultimately come back refreshed and ready for the year.

As of next month the newsletter will again contain wildlife updates, images and updates from the lodge.  For now back to work as the rain continues to fall in Madikwe.

As always we look forward to hearing from you and seeing you at Nkurru in 2010!

Warmest regards,

Gerry, Adele and the Nkurru Team