It’s been a pretty good week at the Nkurru waterhole with lots of ellies, buffalo and cats.

Let’s kick it off with a small collection of video clips which includes Impala, Brown Hyena, Ellies and a Civet!  Yeah, it seems we have a resident African Civet living around the waterhole as he has put in a number of appearances on our Bushnell Camera Traps.

We have been playing with video on at least one of the cameras but still always keep one of the cameras on normal image mode.  Here are a few of the images from the last week.

This guy is becoming a regular at the waterhole.  So much so that we could almost give him a name!

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Standing at full attention for his picture to be taken.

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Nice looking boy.

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With the puddles starting to dry up the ellies are using the waterhole more and more.

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You might recognize these guys.  No?  Last time we saw them one of them had our camera in his mouth! 

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We are going to be trying something new this week and if it comes off we gonna have some absolute  killer shots coming up!!  Make sure to check back for next week’s update.

Until next time.

Gerry van der Walt

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Welcome to the second week of Nkurru Cam 2.0.

During the last week we have been playing with the video function on our Bushnell Camera Traps with some great results.

We are still waiting for a confirmed leopard image or video but it’s just a matter of time!  The compilation of clips below starts off with a Banded Mongoose manhandling the camera and also includes buffalo, giraffe and hyena!

Here are a few of the stills we got this week.

We are getting literally thousands of buffalo images as these old boys visit every day.

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Running from who know what.

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Even with all the water around the ellies have been arriving in huge numbers.

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Any guesses as to what this is?

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Check back next week for more!

Until next time.

Gerry van der Walt

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So here we go.

It’s been just over a month since the lion chewed on the first Nkurru Cam.  What?  A lion ate you camera?  Yeah, and you can check it out here.

Since then we have been lucky enough to acquire not one, not two but three new Bushnell Nkurru Cams!  Yip, three times the fun so let’s hope the lion’s keep their filthy paws of our cameras!   The previous Nkurru Cam lasted just over a month so let’s hope these ones last a bit longer!

There has been a lot of rain in Madikwe so the last week has been pretty quiet but last night things picked up again.

With that, here goes with the latest from Nkurru Cam 2.0!

We have had a lot of Impala hanging around.  During one afternoon we ended up with about 950 images like this!

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Youngster coming to have a drink close to the camera.

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This Spotted Eagle Owl is a regular at the lodge but this is his first appearance on Nkurru Cam.

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The low angle of the camera makes for some amazing images of the animals drinking.

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Another first timer no Nkurru Cam.

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These guys must have a den somewhere close as there were a lot of images of them when we collected the memory cards this morning.

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Not that’s a big buff!  This is the first time in more than a week that we have had the dagga boys at the water so good to know they are back.

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Awesome images all round and with winter approaching we are going to have some absolutely amazing images to share.

Now, since the first day we put Nkurru Cam out at the water one of the goals was always to get images of a leopard.  We have above average leopard activity around the waterhole so it’s bound to happen soon.

Or has it already?

This is an image we got last night.  Whatever it was, it was close to the camera.  Very close.

Check out the shape of the head, the hair above the eyes and the markings around the neck area.

Is this our first leopard image??

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Will be trying again this week so make sure to stay tuned for more from Nkurru Cam 2.0.

Until next time.

Gerry van der Walt

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Our Bushnell camera trap, or Nkurru Cam, has been working over time and we keep on getting some amazing images from the lodge waterhole!

It is amazing what happens out there when no one is looking.  In a 24 hour period we counted more than 15 bird species around the water’s edge.

But wait there’s more…

Thieving monkeys, a buffalo close up and the first cats on Nkurru Cam!

I could post hundreds of images but had to narrow it down a bit so with that, here goes with the images from the last few days.

This Natal Spurfowl’s nest was right next to the deck.

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Our idea was to photograph the chicks as the hatched but nature can be cruel at times and things did not work out that way.  When we checked the next day it was empty.

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The cuprit!  A young Vervet Monkey discovers the nest.

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He wasted no time and started feeding on the eight eggs.

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One of the older monkeys also stopping in for his part of spoils.  After they finished all the eggs they promptly got up and left the scene of the crime.

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The Spurfowl came back three times during the day, walked around the area and left.  Very sad to see but nature can be cruel sometimes.

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Yes please!  The first cat on Nkurru Cam! But it gets better…

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One and a half lions!

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And then there were two.  Great to see mom and her twho youngsters at the waterhole.  Hope they don’t go too far!

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Old Buffalo coming in for an early evening drink.

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Jackal making a cautions approach to the waterhole.

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Time for your close up?

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It’s been a good week and even after two weeks we have a few hot spots where the camera seems to be picking up most of the activity.

Make sure to check back every week for the latest image from the Nkurru waterhole!

Until next time.

Gerry van der Walt

What a few months it has been.  Fires, insurance claims, more fires, new vehicles and even more fires!

Let’s start with this.

I shot this scene from Nik’s View North the day after the most recent fires in Madikwe.  The regular inselberg landscape scene that we all know and love was still covered with smoke from the previous days raging fires.  It was just not as vibrant and magical as it always is but the sky over Tswene Tswene was absolutely spectacular.

On this particular day there was also a strange hangover-type feeling in the west of the reserve.  Many people spent the previous day fighting massive fires that ran wild on the ridge between our lodge and the Wonderboom Gate and the evening was spent checking, double checking and triple checking that the winds did not start another fire.  It was tiring.  Very tiring.

I am not going to go into too much details on the fires but will say this.  It is an absolute miracle that no buildings or infrastructure was lost on Sunday.  I have never seen such a devastating fire run wild without causing massive damage.  Through the perseverance of many people, lots of running around and a serious amount of luck we were able to stop the fire from taking a lodge.  Nkurru never really came into play, even though we were seriously worried late in the afternoon, but our fire breaks are still some of the best in the reserve.  I am also proud to say that our staff knows what they are doing.  My hat goes off to Godfrey for the way he helped to fight the fires and save the various lodges.  I will fight fires with him anytime, anywhere!

The little truck that can.  Our fire cart, as it is in the driveway right now.  We will be leaving the cart like this, ready to go, until the first proper rains arrive.  Our fire cart is probably one of the most important pieces of equipment we have at the lodge and it most definitely brought it’s A-game to the fires of 24 October.  we had to fill up three times during the day and it never missed a beat!

Nkurru – Insurance Claim

Back at the lodge, things are going well even though the last two cycles have been somewhat (read very) challenging.  During out last cycle we had to deal with the damage from the fires and fight with insurance with regards to payouts to try and get our cable fixed.

Insurance has finally paid out for the damage to our cable and we will start installing the new cable on Monday 1 November.  Instead of doing this in exactly the same way as it was done initially, we will be securing the cable by encasing it and cementing it in the places where we cannot dig it into the ground.  Two or three manhole covers will allow us to check the cable and, should the need even arise in future, pull the old cable out and install a new one.

Now apart from the above cable installation the lodge still had to cough up a lot of money for other damage caused, and costs incurred, due to the fire.  This is an ongoing ‘discussion’ with our insurers so we will keep you posted.

Nkurru – Maintenance

As you might know, we had a maintenance week during October.  This was not planned but it was very welcome as we had a lot of smaller, and some not so small, projects to get done.  Here are a few images of projects completed during maintenance week and the week after.

In an attempt to neaten up the front of the lodge we have fitted ‘latte’ around the bottom of the deck.  This is similar ot the deck on the waterhole side of the lodge and makes a huge difference to the look of the front area.

While working with the latte we had ‘latte’ cages built and installed around all the outside aircon units and geysers.  The above image shows the aircon unit outside the wine cellar.

This image shows the new cover on the aircon unit outside room 4.  All aircon units and geysers have been fitted with a cover.  Looks great and, even though it is quite a small thing, makes a huge difference in our attempt to make the lodge ‘neater’.

During maintenance week we fitted a new pool filter.  The old filter cracked and was spurting heaps of filter sand into the pool leaving a sandy mess.  While we were installing the filter we also drained the pool and properly cleaned the surface.  Looks great!  In this image, even though you probably won’t see it, we scrubbed off all the stone tiles and treated then with stone sealer.  Small things, but they all count.

Yeah, this is our spotlight tree at the waterhole.  With the numbers of elephants we get at the waterhole it is an absolute miracle that this tree is still standing.  After a few close calls we decided to pack a bunch o logs around the bottom of the tree.  Looks pretty natural, will keep the ellies away and, when we throw a handful of bird seed into the logs, attracts a huge amounts of birds!

This is an interesting one.  We cut the reeds, seen above, 5 weeks ago.  It is truly growing like reeds.  Earlier this morning we started to thin the reeds out a bit by removing them from the root.  The reason?  They are growing so well and using so much water that the waterhole was not getting enough water!  We removed a lot of the reeds, and added a leadwood stump, in order to streamline the water flow and attract more birds to the open areas in the reedbed.  Strange problem to have at the lodge… something workgin too well?!?

The sliding doors at the lodge are working again!  It was a huge project as all the doors and the entire fitting had to be removed, redone and replaced but at least now both sets of sliding doors are working like they should.  In the bottom corner of the image you can also see a bit of the deck.  During maintenance week the decks at the main lodge and all the rooms were cleaned and oiled.  we oil the decks every three months.

The area outside the kitchen is in the middle of a ‘beautification’ process.  What you see here is the result of filling the area, where there used to be slate stone, with soil and flatten it.  The next step, and this will happen as soon as I find the correct color, is to cover the are with pebbles.  This is all part of CapEx and I reckon it’s gonna make the area look great.  Just out of view to the right is a new retaining wall that we have built to help channel rain water away from this area and the kitchen door.  With the rainy season approaching this was a must!

This might not look very impressive from the image but this was one of the largest projects we tackled during maintenance week.  The image shows the view from the Room 5 shower.  The problem here was that it always felt a little dark and dingy due to all the plant growth but a new chainsaw and a lot of hands allowed us to smash through about 40 meters of sickle bush to open up a view from the deck of Room 4 & 5 all the way onto the fire break.  Looks great!  We also opened up the view from Room 1 and 2 so everything is ready for summer!

Apart form the above there are a lot of smaller projects which we have been ticking off the list.  A lot of these things you probably won’t notice during your stay but they still need to happen!

Nkurru – Rifle Application

There is no new news on this.  You will recall that we have finally been issued with our business certificate (to use and own a firearm).  Our final license application documents were handed in at the beginning of May this year.  Firearm control was, as luck would have it, closed during the World Cup so as things stand now we are still waiting.  We spoke to the local police station, who is our contact in this matter, and they said there is no news yet so all we can do at this stage is wait.

Will let you know as soon as we receive the call to tell us we can go and collect our license and rifle.

Nkurru – New Game Viewer

I have just, literally 5 minutes ago, received an email form the company who is doing our conversion saying that the vehicles roof has just been cut off and that it will be going to the paint shop on Wednesday.  The bullbar, side bars and fold out table has also all been completed and is ready to be fitted ot the vehicle as soon as it returns from the paint shop.

I spent a lot of time on the conversion and when we get our vehicle it will be one of the very few ‘legal’ vehicles in Madikwe.  In order to be registered as an 11 seater vehicle there are certain criteria that have to be met.  Our vehicle will meet all of these criteria and will therefore be a legal vehicle in Madikwe and on national roads.

I will be going on leave next week and during my time in Johannesburg I will go and pop in at the converters to check on progress.  All going well I am hoping to bring the vehicle back to the reserve on 22 November when we return from leave.

Can’t wait for this one!  We’re talking kid in a candy store type of excited!

Wildlife and Sightings

During the last few weeks the sightings have been pretty erratic.  I suppose the numerous burnt areas and us not being able to off road has made things a little difficult but, Madikwe being the park that it is, you can always be assured of some amazing sights.

The Sable’s Final Moments

I am sure you all know about this one by now.  The above image, by Grant Marcus from Tuningi, shows the last moments of Madikwe’s last Sable.  You will see in the image that the sable broke his front right leg and this must be what made the dogs pull him down.  It is very sad that the last Sable had to go this way but nature is cruel and, you never know what is going to happen.

On a side note, the sable’s skull was taken to a lodge, with the intention of it going to Parks Board offices but a brown hyena had other ideas.  The hyena came into the lodge, found the skull and carried it off somewhere.  Let’s hope someone can actually find it.

‘Bulls’ – Image by Gerry van der Walt

He’s back at Nkurru.  Yeah, everybody’s favorite elephant, Tsokwane, is hagning out at Nkurr again.  A lot!

The whole in his ear is unmistakable and he is just as chill as ever.  I photographed him a few days ago while sitting in the floor with my back against the deck.   Gotta love the old guy!

‘Uncertain’ – Image by Gerry van der Walt

Not going down the whole poaching road now, as I might get completely carried away.  Madikwe still offers some amazing rhino sightings and it is great to know that there are people out there who are fighting for these amazing animals.

‘Focus’ – Image by Gerry van der Walt

This is one of the Naledi males photographed at Phuti open clearing.  The two Naledi brothers are the first grandsons of the Batia brothers and if they keep on moving into the areas where we have been seeing them the last while they might have to call on those genes in a big way.

These to males, currently about 6 years old, have been wandering into Kgala territory.

Bad plan…

The Kgala brothers are brutes and do not take to kindly to other males in their territory, as Mateya and his brother knows very well.  Mateya, who is still going strong even though he got lost a while ago and is still limping quite badly, was injured by the Kgala males in a territorial fight more than year ago.

With the number of lions in Madikwe these kind of soap opera plots keep on evolving and things are currently changing so often so make sure to ask about what the latest lion news is when next you get to the lodge.

‘Bull’ – Image by Gerry van der Walt

There is currently very few waterholes in Madikwe.  Tlou Dam is still, well, a puddle but other than that the most active watering holes are down in the south.  The above image is from the waterhole at the old hunting camp down in the south.  Park Board has been pumping it a bit lately and I have had some of my best ever elephant sightings here during the last few weeks.

We have also made a new wtarehole on Tau Link. Makwepa Pan was an immediate hit and is now regularly visited by elephant, the Kgala males and a range of other species.  Awesome spot!

‘La Luna’ – Image by Gerry van der Walt

Winter always means amazing evening skies.  The last few weeks we have been desperate for rain but the evening skies have been spectacular.  Shot this one night from the lodge driveway.

Right, that’s about that for this month.

Next week Adele and I will be going on leave next week.  We still have one annual week left for 2010 so in order to get a decent rest after a hectic two cycles we will be taking three weeks off.  During the first week we will be going to Bangkok (long story and more on this later).  For the rest of the two weeks, apart from a few days in KZN, we will be in and around Durban.  If you are keen to meet up for a coffee or lunch give us a shout on my email address or cellphone.  Always great to meet up!

We will be back at the lodge on Wednesday 24 November so please keep this in mind when you contact the lodge during this time.

Before we say goodbye one more image taken at Tlou Dam earlier this month.

It’s moments like this that make Africa unique and us all coming back to Madikwe again and again.

‘Sunset Queen’ – Image by Gerry van der Walt

Until we meet at the lodge again – take care and stay safe!

Warmest regards,

Gerry, Adele and 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!

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

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

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 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