Hello Everybody Hope you guys are all doing very well. It has been a while since my last post on our blog in 2019.  So I thought it would be nice to share some of the Nkurru magic again. 

Hello Everybody, This update is long overdue…..so here we go. It is going very well in Madikwe with a lot of positive changes in the park. One of the higlights that are busy happening is the active sickle bush clearing that started on Thlou plains. It is done with a big bush clearing machine. It […]

      Hi Everyone, Hope all is well. In Madikwe and at Nkurru it is going very well. Madikwe looks great with lots and lots of grass after all the rain we had. It makes game viewing a bit more difficult with hours of driving and not seeing much sometimes. But hey we rather […]

Hi Everybody, Hope you are all well ? Firstly I want to say welcome to the new website !!! I know it has been a bit quite on the update side from Nkurru , but I hope you will enjoy the new updates and news from Madikwe. I am sure you are all aware of […]

Hi Everybody, Hope you are all well. Its been a while since I gave you an update on what is happening at Nkurru. Well we have been very busy as usual and we had a maintenance week in between as well. So we have done quite a few projects that I am sure makes the […]

    Hi Everybody, I Am kicking of with the bad….. As you can see Madikwe is extremely dry and we are all very concerned about water , underground and rain water. Molatedi Dam is currently at 14% full and water restrictions are on its way very soon. Luckily we are not dependent on water […]

    Hi Everybody, I am sure most of you are at your holiday destinations by now and we really hope you travelled all safely.  We just want to wish you all a merry xmas and happy new year in 2015. All is well in Madikwe and at the lodge. I have some very surprising news […]

  Hi Everyone, This is a different update then normal. This year was quite a special year regarding leopard sightings. We still don’t see them everyday but we had some spectacular sightings since Jan 2014. There are quite a few individuals who is getting more habituated with the vehicles everyday. With certain leopards there will […]

Hi Everybody Hope you guys are doing well as we are 🙂 We had our first bit of rain this morning , not much but it is a start. It is extremely dry in Madikwe at the moment so we are awaiting hopefully lots of rain.     Everybody is doing well at Nkurru especially […]

Hi Everybody, Its been a while I know ! Well I hope you are all doing well. We have been very busy at the lodge with very little time to do maintenance and odd end and bits around the lodge. But luckily we had a maintenance week on the 6th Of June 2014.  We got […]

Hi Everybody, Hope you are all well. First of all I want to wish you all a very happy new year and may the year that lies ahead be prosperous in every way possible for each and everybody. We had a great year at Nkurru everything went well without any major breakages and expenses. All […]

Hi Everybody, We finally had some lovely rain the last few days so it will start to green up very soon. I am sure some of you will recall the lone young elephant that use to hang around the lodge the last few weeks. Well there was a good reason for him being on his […]

        Hi Everybody I trust you are all well! At Nkurru it is going very well, all we need now is good rains, Madikwe is extremely hot and dry at the moment. This is just a quick update on a few changes and new things at the lodge, the lodge looks and […]

  Hi Everybody, Its been a very busy busy 2-3 months here at Nkurru with a maintenance week thrown in as well. Everything is going well at the lodge and with all the staff. For you who have been here the last two months have seen the few minor changes to the lodge like: Serviced […]

  Hi Everyone, I think I can now say for certain that our winter is here. The last few mornings have been extremely cold. The bush is looking yellow and very dry with the water hole pumping with game moving in and out the whole day.  Water is becoming an issue in the whole Wonder […]

      Hi Everybody, Hope you are are all well. I apologize for not sending out updates the last two months. But everything is going very well with all of us here at Nkurru.  Winter is right on our doorstep now so the mornings and evenings are  getting really chilli. It is time for […]

        Hi Everyone, We hope you had a fantastic festive season and that new year will be prosperous and full of positive things for you. I am beginning with very bad news and that is that Madikwe was the first reserve to lose 2 rhino to poaching for the year on the […]

  Merry xmas everybody enjoy the holidays and we will see you in the new year again !!     Warm season Greetings Grant & Monique  and the Nkurru team

  Hi Everybody, Hope you are well. I can not believe the year is almost at its end. It was most definitely a very good year with great memories here at Nkurru, I hope you guys also made some new and unforgettable memories at Nkurru.  We won’t be at the lodge over Xmas and new […]

Hi Everybody Hope you are all doing very well.  As most of you know who have been to the lodge in the last 2 months , it was extremely dry and you could se the condition of the kudus and impala. We did have some rain in the last two weeks and you can already […]

  Hi Everybody, You are all aware of the Madikwe leopards being scittish and scared of vehicles.  Part of  Parksboard policy is to habituate leopards for tourism. We can help with that………we had on numerous occasions great success on baiting leopard here at Nkurru. If we can do it on a regular basis we will […]

  Well a few days ago Madikwe  OUR home got invaded again by spineless human beings, I don’t even wanna call them human. They took our 11th rhino a big bull that lived around Tholo Dam. After Declan and his team finished the investigation we went there and what a sad sight, the huge animal’s […]

  Hi Everybody, Hope you are all doing very well. All is going well at the lodge with no complaints. We are entering the windy month of August and it is already showing. It looks like we will have a very windy few weeks ahead. Temperature wise it is not too bad at all.  I […]

  Hi Everybody, Well we had a very busy month at Nkurru ! Done quite a bit on the maintenance side of things and completed a few of the CapEx projects. Projects that are completed : Washbay Borehole Thatch roofs Kitchen counter Refurbish of electrical supply to kitchen Staff village upgrade in progress News from […]

Hi Everyone, The month of May went by just to quickly. We have quite a few projects lined up for the maintenance week early in June but more on that later. Everything is going well at the lodge and all the staff. Winter is creeping closer but not here yet and we had wonderful mild […]

Etali male : Born April 2002 Died : May 2012 Mother: Dipelo 2 Father : Batia Grand father : Leeuwenhoek male   It is sad to say that the Etali male got killed yesterday by a buffalo close to thlou dam. His whole rib cage got torn apart. For a lion that is probably the […]

  Hi Everybody, Hope you also had a great month of April ? We certainly did from the lodge point of view and from the bush side of things. Well lets start from the lodge side, We haven’t started on big projects yet but have done a few smaller things around camp regarding cleaning and […]

Hi Everyone, I know the newsletter is a bit late , sorry about that that. We had another great month here at Nkurru from maintenance to sightings. It was also our financial year end and we had the AGM on the 15th of March at Le-sel. We just want to thank Andrew for making boardroom […]

Hi Everyone, Yes the Nkurru Cam is  still going , touch wood. The amount of wattled starlings we had around the waterhole was impressive. I have never seen them in the numbers they are now in Madikwe ever, it is great. This is what was happening at the waterhole over the last few days. Even […]

Wow what a month we had here at Nkurru ! Great sightings and got a lot of maintenance issues sorted out.  Everything is going very well at the lodge and no major Hick ups. Currently we are getting ready for the AGM on the 15th of March 2012. We are getting quotes ready and planning […]

Hi Everybody, Time really does fly we got back from leave a few days ago and we are all ready almost halfway through February. Sorry the newsletter is late but we are having a lot of problems with our internet, hopefully that will be sorted very soon. Everything is going well at the lodge and […]

Its been a while since the Nkurru cam been updated. We had quite a bit of rain over Christmas so the waterhole was not extensively busy. We had the odd visitor here and there. During the day there are quite an influx of general game or GG’s as we call them. Hopefully the the camera […]

Well that was our first Christmas and new year at Nkurru and what a ride it was. We had great fun with everybody. Having the fireplaces blazing in the lodge just before Christmas with cold and rainy days. But even with that we had a great time. We also got our rifle at last after […]

It’s been a very wet evening and morning here at Nkurru. It started raining last night just before 0:00 and it is now 10:30 and still raining. This rain is so welcome and everything will change rapidly in the next few days. Monique and myself finally got the opportunity to add this little gem to […]

Well lets try again, the last update you guys got was on the technical issues due to lions and ellies not thinking much of the Cam. Lets hope this time it will last a bit longer 🙂 The following images were taken on the first night and morning at our waterhole. We will try different […]

Hi Everybody, Hope you are all well ? I can not believe it is almost Christmas, I only realised it when I made  a point to look at the date yesterday. When you live out here in the bush everyday is a Wednesday and everyday is the 3rd :)………. No it is not always like […]

  Hi everybody, I trust you are all well ? We had once again a very interesting month here at Nkurru regarding sightings and just in general. As you all know the building was a bit of a disaster but it was rectified and the old building is broken down and the new building is […]

The Lodge Monique and myself are on leave after quite a long cycle and a change in the seasons where our days have become really warm and pleasant. Sean Van der merwe will be freelancing for us, we will start work again on the 6th of October.We had quite an interesting month at Nkurru with […]

We were with the North Western pride this morning where Rob put out some camera traps for his Jackal research. The youngsters of the pride had a different plan for his research. Here he/she is planning on taking it down. HMMMMM………HOW WILL I GET IT DOWN ???? GOT IT ! I AM NOT SHARING STAY […]

Lodge news Well its been 4 busy weeks at Nkurru, but all great and exciting. We have settled in getting around lots of things. The two klipspringer in camp had a baby so they are three now. Their names are Klippies -Dad, Coke-Mom Ys-baby. As soon as I get a photo of them I will […]

  Just a quick pic to show that Nkurru’s waterhole keeps on delivering.  These elephants pitched up after our morning drive, and not seeing a single elephant out there. They were all gathered around our waterhole 🙂  Since the Nkurru cam is out of order  I will put a few images up during the month […]

Hi everyone, As you are all aware there have been quite a few changes at Nkurru lately. Myself and Monique just finished our first week, and everything went great. The staff are so helpful in all ways and we are settling in smoothly.  The hand over we got from Gerry and Adele was so thorough […]

Hi everybody! Due to some, umm…, technical delays the Nkurru Cam post was slightly delayed but finally got things sorted out… sort of! Before we get there a few interesting images form the lodge.  The first three pics were taken in Room 5.  The guest went outside to look at and photograph the stars, which […]

Hi everybody! Winter has arrived in full force and it is cold in Madikwe.  Really cold!! That also means that the Nkurru waterhole is getting busier and busier and we are getting a lot of action at the lodge!  The female lioness with her two youngsters are still hanging around. the two Kgala males pop […]

Hi, After a few weeks off Nkurru Cam is back online! 🙂 Adele and I have been away on leave but now that we are back Nkurru Cam is working as hard as ever.  The waterhole has been pretty busy but the animals, the one we want to see on the camera, seem to be […]

Hi everybody, Since last week’s update the weather has not changed much and we have had a lot of cold, rain, miserable weather. That being said, the clouds did disappear every now and then leaving us with beautiful blue skies and some amazing game viewing.  The waterhole has also had it’s fair share of activity […]

Hi, The weather in Madikwe has been, well, miserable! We have rainy, overcast days for the last week so the sightings at the waterhole has been very quiet.  That being said, our standards might be a bit high as we still got buffalo, ellies and general game on a regular basis but just not as […]

Hi, 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 […]

Hi, 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 […]

Hi, Thought you might enjoy the first test drive of video shot by Nkurru Cam.  Yeah, the following clips were shot by our handy little Bushnell Camera Traps! Had to drop the quality slightly due to slow internet connection, something I hope to have sorted out in the next month or so, but you’ll get […]

Hi, 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 […]

Hi, On Sunday morning we registered 156mm of rain at Nkurru.  Yeah, that’s a LOT of water. As you can imagine this has had quite a dramatic effect on the waterholes and pans in Madikwe and Tlou Dam is no exception.  Here are a few pics of Tlou Dam I took yesterday afternoon. The scenes […]

Hi all, We are almost through the first quarter of the year and things are going very well at Nkurru. With the AGM coming up in a few weeks time I thought I’d focus this newsletter more on the ‘nature’ side of things as we will be discussing the operational side of things when we […]

Hi, Welcome to the third weekly Nkurru Cam update! Last week Nkurru Cam caught a bunch of  Vervet Monkeys raiding a Spurfowl nest and photographed a lioness with cubs at the lodge waterhole. Yeah, pretty cool stuff but this last few days have made all of that look pretty tame.  Boring actually. So, what could […]

Hi, 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 […]

Hi! This is now officially the first of our weekly Nkurru Cam posts. The idea is simple.  We place our portable camera trap around the waterhole to photograph whatever comes along, choose a few of the highlights and every Thursday post them on the Nkurru site.  Easy as that! 🙂 All the images are completely […]

Hi, Let me start by wishing you the very best for 2011!  After a long December holiday I am sure you must all be well rested and ready for another year.  Working in the hospitality industry means that you seldomly get to spend Xmas and New Years with friends and family.  Yeah, that’s the nature […]

Hi, 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Just had to share this one from earlier today. 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

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

After almost 100mm of rain this week, Tlou dam is looking a LOT better! Shot the image above this morning and as you can see the clouds are still hanging around but it has started clearing.  Just… Game viewing has been quiet due to the surface water everywhere and a huge amount of the roads […]

It has now been raining for almost 3 days straight and it does not seem like things will be easing up. Here is a quick rundown of rainfall this month. 5 November – 7mm 10 November – 5mm 12 November – 23mm 18 November – 32mm 19 November – 20mm And this morning it is […]

Hi, Since the last newsletter there has been some interesting wildlife news. Probably one of the most exciting is this… The above image, taken by Grant Marcus from Tuningi, shows the Tshabalala females with brand new youngsters.  The above images were taken just east of the Western Airstrip a week ago.  The five new youngsters […]

Hi, A few days late but here goes with this month’s newsletter! Adele and I have just returned to the lodge after a two week break.  Apart from a few days in the Magalies we spent most of the time in and around Johannesburg.  Even though there is no doubt that living and working in […]

We are currently on leave but will be back at the lodge and in the office from Friday 6 November. Once we are settled in we will post the monthly newsletter on the site.  In the meantime you can check out Photo-Africa by clicking here  for some wildlife photography updates and to download free wildlife wallpapers […]

A quick update on the ‘beautification’ of the reed bed. If you have been to the lodge during the last few weeks you would have seen the completed reed bed.  The bird life is already moving in and we have had Grey Herons, Hamerkop and Comb Ducks paying us a visit during the last few […]

Have been seeing a lot of these guys around lately.  Saw this one close to Inkwe Pan thiss morning.  After rearing up slightly and giving us a good look he even sat very still for a few moments to allow us to get a few shots of him before he took his 1,5 meter body […]

Hi, Quick update on updates.  On the left of the screen you will see a section called ‘Nkurru News’.  This is our new Twitter feed.  If you have no idea as to what Twitter is no, it’s nothing to do with birding.  All you need to know is that is just another way in which […]

The cuckoos have arrived. Yesterday morning a Jacobin Cuckoo stopped in for a drink at the reed bed and during the last few days we could hear the repetitive ‘huee-jee’ or ‘mei-tjie’ of the Klass’s Cuckoo.  Even the Red Chested Cuckoo with it’s famous ‘piet-my-vrou’ call is being heard all over the place.  Yeah, summer […]

With mom relaxing a little way off, this little guy, along with three more like him, have been giving us some great sightings.  Even though it has been overcast every time we sat watching the jackal den we were able to get a few decent images.  After sitting with them for quite some time it […]

It seems that the rainy season is pretty much here.  Here is what we have had thus far: September 25 – 1.5mm September 29 – 9.5mm October 4 – 24mm October 5 – 7mm October 11 – 10mm Already over 50mm and the bush is loving it!  Everything is turning green and with the dust […]

Sometimes it’s better to just sit and wait. A few days ago we drove around in the South.  Great scenery but pretty quiet from a game point of view.  Stopped in at Tau Dam and yeah… pretty quiet.   We sat and watched as the sun set over the dam and suddenly there they were. A […]

Hi, Shot this image this morning. Since the Tshola Mateya coalition started featuring in the lodge newsletters many people have asked about them and they seem to have developed quite a following.  Here is the latest update. They went off the grid for a few days but this morning they popped up way North in […]

Hi! So here it is, the first monthly Nkurru Newsletter to be posted on the Blog. As mentioned in the email we sent out there is still a lot of changes and updates that I want to make to the site.  Some of these include a page for each staff member, photo gallery of the lodge […]

We have finally managed to get the site sorted out and will be doing a bit of maintenance during the next couple of days! All going well I will be posting the September Newsletter by the end fot eh weekend. Check back soon! Gerry