Category: Tuningi Safari Lodge

P.S. Remember to befriend us on FACEBOOK for daily updates of sightings and special rates!

For enquiries please contact :

reservations@tuningi.co.za

Warmest greeting to you all again.
We hope that you have had a lovely February and that you were all spoilt with lots of love on Valentines day!

We have been extremely busy, with lots of lovely return guests all round! We hosted lots of families with kids of all ages, a huge family reunion with two birthdays to celebrate at the same time, a mini teambuilding conference in the bush as well as a few romantic getaways. We also had our annual five star grading in the Superior category of the AA Quality Assured

Accommodation Programme, which we passed with flying colours.

Our waterhole has been a hype of activity with 11 lions chasing a wildebeest around the boma deck one afternoon, 20 wild dogs spending a couple of afternoons in the shade to rest before the evening hunting excursions, 50 elephant joining us for boma dinner, to name but a few.

The Ficus Thoningii – our famous boma tree, is full in fruit and hundreds of birds, monkeys and baboons are in there every day, busy eating as many tiny sweet figs as they can stuff into their beaks and mouths. Not a safe place to be these days before dark as anything can hit you on the head at any given moment…..

The real excitement, however, always happens on the two daily game drives out there in the reserve with our highly passionate game rangers.

Gavin will tell you all about it!
February has come and gone, and has been one of the best months for game viewing at Tuningi. We have been blessed with a plethora of great leopard sightings, and this continues to get better and better in Madikwe.

The younger leopards are building their faith in us rangers, and we are able to get closer and closer to them, and enjoy their majestic presence. The Phodile female and her youngster around the big dam in the north are making up the bulk of our sightings , and the cub gave us some great opportunities to capture her in the early morning light in a dead leadwood tree.

We have not had too much rain in the last month, and it looks as if the dry cycle is upon us, and the bush is slowly but surely losing its vibrance and making way for what seems to be a long winter period. This however will make for some great game viewing at the larger waterholes, and you can expect to see at least 4 of the big 5 all coming in to quench their thirsts. Buffalo sightings are of impressive proportions at the moment, as the stampeding herds all rush to the waters edge to get to the clean water first.

We also had manic lion sightings this month with the Tchaba pride making several kills, and one in particular comes to mind one evening on the way back to the lodge, when we heard a huge commotion in the bushes to our left. As we turned off the vehicle to hear where the sounds were emanating from, the spotlight caught the all too familiar glint of the super predator’s eyes in the long grass, and their they were just taking the last breath out of a young male kudu !

The sight and sounds of 11 hungry lions all fighting for best position on the carcass was impressive at close range, something that you want to experience when you come and visit us here at Tuningi. The territorial males Kgala and Etali have also been busy keeping both their prides away from danger of other males who are constantly trying to enter their territory, and therefore have not been seen too often with the prides. However they have stunned us with their awesome power by bringing down a buffalo, and providing awesome photo opportunities.

The wild dogs are also doing extremely well, and were seen at our waterhole on various occasions, sometimes spending the whole day at our waterhole, and at times, their rest being disturbed by the odd elephant coming in for a drink.

The bigger of the 2 packs (20 dogs) are creating havoc in the park. They have to kill at least once every day, as their need for fresh meat is growing daily with the pups steadily moving in to adulthood. The alpha females in both packs will be coming in to oestrus soon, and the alpha male is showing some interest in this annual event. Hopefully there will be new pups to view in June or July!

Some very good news, is that it is getting closer to the date of the arrival of 8 new cheetahs, which will be introduced to the park hopefully by the end of april, and then the already amazing wildlife sightings in Madikwe will be pushed to an even higher level !!

So to end off this month’s wildlife report, imagine this………

Special sunrise to the front……and lions roaring to the left !! IS ALL THIS MAKING YOUR MOUTH WATER FOR A SAFARI AT TUNINGI LODGE…..thought so.

BOOK NOW !
Bush Regards,
Gavin

P.S – My new book is available online on my website.
www.gavintonkinson.com.
Don’t miss it !!

P.S. Remember to befriend us on FACEBOOK for daily updates of sightings and special rates!

For enquiries please contact :

reservations@tuningi.co.za

We hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and that you are all well rested and ready for 2012!

As always, our December newsletter is just a quick reminder of who the T-team really is.

I would like to share a few recent inscriptions from our Lodge’s visitor book and show you some pictures of our friendly team members!

1) ‘Wow! ‘Perfect’ just about sums up Tuningi! The people, the location and the animals- oh and not forgetting the food! We have had the most amazing experience and we’re so,so sad to leave. Thanks for being so kind to our boys and providing such great entertainment. Thanks to Gavin for being so determined to find as many animals as possible! It has been GREAT! We will be back!!!!
The Doleman Family,Derby, England

2) ‘A truly awesome experience. Words are totally

inadequate to really describe it though. It felt like home but without me doing all the work! The staff made you feel as though you had been friends for years. The place was so relaxing and peaceful, the food TOO good!! As far as the game drives – the sunsets, the sunrises, the animals in all their glory + the majesty + silence, the knowledge that Christo so enthusiastically shared, the photography tips +so,so much more. We cannot begin to thank you all enough – can’t wait to come back again. The range of emotions I have experienced made me feel glad to be alive!’
Robin and Lesina Ashfield, England

3) 5th time back here, how can it keep just getting better? The staff are like family, so helpful and warm. The food sensational. The ambience is exceptional, and Cornelius the Ranger miraculous! He is the ‘uber-ranger’!
Thanks so much to all.
Will be back in 2012!;
Chris Megan, SA

4) ‘As ever Heidi and Gavin and all your staff- you have been wonderful. We have been before- and we are

absolutely certain we are coming back! Thank you for everything!”
Deborah Eaton, London

As you can see, wether they’ve been here for the first, second or even 5th time! –they are all coming back!

Do not forget to keep Tuningi in your plans for the year ahead!
We can’t wait to spoil you!
Until we chat again

Kindest regards
Heidi and the wonderful T-team

P.S. Remember to befriend us on FACEBOOK for daily updates of sightings and special rates!

For enquiries please contact :

Warmest greeting to you all once again!

Christmas is just around the corner and we can not wait to see all of you guys that are on your way back to Tuningi for yet another return visit. True to our reputation, we are planning to spoil you rotten once again! Our amazing chefs are going to tickle your taste buds no end, the barman will tempt you with the best of our magnificent wines and deliver one cocktail after the next to you, lying, soaking up the South African sun at the pool area. Some of the animals will come to entertain you at the Lodge’s private water hole while the Rangers will show you the rest of Madikwe’s magnificent wild life and teach you every thing there is to know on every adventurous game drive…

But for now, Christo will share NOVEMBER’S exciting news with you!

Yet another one of those amazing months in Madikwe, but to be honest, every month is special out in the African bush. But I think this month was just that little bit more special because in November the Impalas and Wildebeest started giving birth and there are babies around every corner.

As the summer slowly settled in, rumbling thunderstorms were becoming more frequent and I am always awestruck by the power and brilliance of the lightning shows accompanying every worthy thunderstorm, and of course with every thunderstorm comes rain which the thirsty soil laps up and makes the appreciative plants go green.

Then on a sad note…

As you may know South Africa is undergoing a scourge of rhino poaching but that Madikwe has been rather lucky in the past only losing 1 rhino last year November (still one to many). Well shocking news reached us the 1st of November, a big rhino bull was found shot and dehorned on our Northern fence and to ad horror to the sadness, another dead, dehorned rhino was found the 17th of November, also on our Northern fence line. Well that then settled it, Madikwe went on the war path and we are all motivated not to let such a tragedy happen again. With rangers are now helping with patrols and gathering of information. We are set to protect our beloved rhino from these terrorists. The figure of rhino’s poached mid November nationwide, was already a staggering 382, I shiver to think where the number is by the time you read this news letter and that just for a stupid belief that a mass of compacted hair called keratin on top of a rhinos face has medicinal value.

Game viewing was of course top of the order this month, with all the animals in Madikwe playing their part to give our guests the most memorable experiences. Most memorable for me this month was the 2 hours we spent with Madikwe’s favourite leopard, the Moakeng male. Opposed to the usual early morning wake-up call my guests decided they would like to go out a little bit later than usual, seeing that they were lucky enough to have the whole game drive vehicle to themselves. So we left the lodge round about 9h00. I of course had my reservations about what we might see because this time of year it gets hot early and most of the animals resides to the shade or thickets to get out of the scorching sun. But it was a cool overcast morning and Lady Luck and all her high school friends were on our side.

“Tralala… Tralali… on game drive when I suddenly see it, a flash of white tail and spots. Leopard!!! Heart racing, goose-pimply all over and then… gone. Where… How… What the…? There he is, a voice whispers from the back and I have to strain my eyes to see where the leopard had dropped down, relying on his camouflage to hide him away from the unexpected vehicle. We sit a moment and then he relaxes and casually crosses the road behind us not even giving us a second glance. We follow this male leopard through the bush and watch him as he sharpens and cleans his nails on a small tree. We even watch as he starts showing interest in a patch of grass obviously hearing something way beyond human ability, slowly he creeps up and then lunges, and again and again. Probably heard a mouse or rat and wanted to have a quick snack. We are speechless as we follow the leopard around a mere 10 meters from him. He eventually makes his way back to a road and stops for a drink of water in a small puddle next to the road, we follow him for another 100 meters or so and then he plops down like only a cat can, right underneath a nice shady tree. Still in shock and speechless from this amazing sighting we leave to go and stop for a drink and when we return to where we left him, he has disappeared, as if to prove that he is still the king of sneakiness.

Our watering hole is also still buzzing with activity, especially since a big old Black Rhino male called Hansa now made our watering hole his favourite hang out space. If it is a really hot day be sure to be at the watering hole round about 4 o’clock, because that is when Hansa has his afternoon drink, mud wallow and sometimes even a siesta right at the watering hole.

Our big pack of Wild Dogs is also going from strength to strength. All 11 pups born in May are all still alive and well, a pretty good accomplishment. Just a few days back we spent almost the whole morning with them, watching as they fed on a kudu they killed the previous night and laughed at the antics of the pups almost the size of the adults already. Dogs and mud and meat and blood every where! 25 dogs all together and well and healthy! What a sighting!

Then on a whole different note.

The other day I was in the office (yes pretty amazing I know, seeing that it is damn scary in there) frolicking around on the interweb and came upon a website called tripadvisor. O my was I pleasantly surprised, I read one comment and then just could not stop, my pride swelled through the roof as I read comment after comment about the wonderful time guests had with us. It really makes us feel special to know that what we as Tuningi do is so much appreciated. So thank you to all the guests that wrote a comment on trip advisor. We appreciate it immensely and also thank you to all the guests that has put their trust in us for their safari experience, it was a real joy and honour to have shown you our little piece of Africa.

Well that is it from me for November. Make sure to book your trip to Tuningi to see what exactly it is so many people are raving about, I am sure you will not be disappointed.
Until we chat again

Christo

And then lastly from me;
Thank you to Robin Ashfield for the beautiful bird photos you sent us after your visit!
I just had to share them with all of you!

Please do not hesitate to send us some of your photos or post them for all to see on our face book page!

Have a wonderful Chrismas and a Happy New Year!

With warmest regards
Heidi and the rest of the fabulous T-team

P.S. Remember to befriend us on FACEBOOK for daily updates of sightings and special rates!

For enquiries please contact :

Warmest greetings to you all once again!

The BEST news ever! It finally rained two days ago! Okay, we have to admit that it was not buckets full, but boy was it a relief. 23mm is MUCH better than nothing and at least the dust has disappeared for now and green grass is going to start pushing through the dead straw soon. Imagine how happy all the animals must feel with the prospect of fresh new sprigs of grass to eat in a few days time. This also means that the Impalas will be getting ready to drop their babies by the middle of November!

It is not only the bush that is changing color as we speak. Loads of normally grey and rather dull looking birds are all of a sudden strutting their breeding plumage. Especially the masked weavers! Everywhere you look, bright yellow flashes of color catches your eyes as the boys are frantically starting to weave their intricate nests for the females to come and inspect and hopefully approve.

Well, there we go again. So much to chat about, so little time.

This month, we actually only wanted to say that we are sure that you all are getting a bit suspicious when it is only ever the Tuningi Team going on and on about the ‘greatness’ of our Lodge!

This is why we asked a guest if we could publish an article she wrote after her stay at Tuningi earlier in the month, for you to hear about our Lodge from an outsider’s point of view. Thank you so much Gillian!!

Quiet times at Tuningi
Article By: Gillian McLaren

As we get back to the lodge, after an exhilarating game drive in the western side of Madikwe, I see a flash of movement – a tawny blur – and hear a scuffle.

“It’s a lioness”, declares Gavin, our ranger. “She has attempted a kill, but has failed”.
I am somewhat shocked, as this is less than twenty meters from the deck of Tuningi Safari Lodge, where we are about to dine.

A giant fig tree – Ficus Thonningii – reputed to be over five hundred years old, presides over the wooden deck, which looks magical tonight. There is a welcoming fire in the cement circle, and tables are set with white cloths and elegant wine glasses. Besides the stars and full moon, lanterns placed in the tree and on the tables illuminate the scene.

With her customary warmth and patience, Heidi, the lodge manager, greets us as we pour out stories from our game drive: “We saw a dozen lions, sitting on a termite mound, with a magnificent sunset behind them,” I declare.

Kind and attentive staff serve our meal, which is delicious South African fare, including game meat, and ending with a sticky malva pudding. The staff double as cabaret, and we are entertained with harmony and African dancing.

I am so entranced with the deck and its proximity to the waterhole, I stay at Tuningi instead of going out on the morning drive. With my bird book, pen and excellent old Leitz binoculars I sit on a chair, waiting to see the passing parade. A feeding party of tiny birds flits in. There are twenty or more blue waxbills with their powder-blue faces and breasts; a few violet-eared waxbills; a green–winged pytilia (arguably the prettiest bird in Madikwe) and sparrows. I am in bird heaven as a horde of green wood-hoopoes arrives and they begin to groom one another. They are chattering and cackling in harsh tones, a contrast to the liquid notes of a black-headed oriole above me in the fig tree.

A proactive waiter brings me what he knows I like: a pot of strong rooibos tea. As I look up I see a massive bull elephant trundle towards the water hole. He is in musth and his temporal glands are secreting copious quantities of viscous fluid. I am fascinated by this close up spectacle, but harbor residual fear as the deck is a mere meter above the ground. I wonder if the lioness is still lingering in the bushes. The bull begins to give himself a mud bath and throws mud systematically all over his vast hide, till he is a red-brown colour and seems less irascible. With clever foreknowledge he moves to the pipe outlet where the water is fresh and he takes long slurps into his trunk, then squirts it into his upturned mouth, so close that I get a glimpse of his pink tongue.

As I walk to my suite, I see a cluster of female kudus with a majestic male. They are browsing next to the alfresco shower, where I bask in the sunshine and try out all the lotions and potions. There is also an inside-outside bath that could easily fit two people, and I muse on the fact that Tuningi is an ideal spot for honeymooners. The king-sized bed has a mosquito net romantically draped over the canopy. There are goodies that Heidi puts in the room, but I shall not spoil the surprises.

Heidi is passionate about having children as lodge guests. She has set up a creative and educational program to entertain them. They get to make animal print T-shirts, to identify tracks and spoor and make plaster casts of them.

A fun-filled book has just been developed which has fascinating facts about each animal, and questions to keep energetic minds busy. Heidi could charm a pickled soul, so even the shyest of children would take to her. Wisely, she keeps families and couples apart in the game vehicles, and also in the suites.

When Heidi joins us on a game drive, we spot something unusual: hundreds of large feathers spread over a wide area. She leaps off the vehicle and begins to gather up a few of the feathers, “for the kids to see”, she says, “I will hide them in my treasure hunt”. Gavin explains that it looks like a leopard has killed a Kori Bustard. He finds tracks to confirm his theory.

On the drive back, a fragment of poetry creeps into my mind:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;

Wordsworth’s daffodils are a far cry from the dry savannah, but I echo his sentiments, and will treasure the time spent in Tuningi Safari Lodge, especially on the deck beneath the ancient fig tree. “

Well, what more can we say?????

Although we are pretty much booked up for the Christmas holidays, we think you should get hold of next year’s calendar and start planning you trip to Tuningi.

We promise that our incredible attention to detail will change your ordinary holiday plans into an extraordinary life experience! Don’t just dream it. Come and be enchanted…..

Until next month!
Kind regards
The Fabulous T-TEAM

P.S. Remember to befriend us on FACEBOOK for daily updates of sightings and special rates!

For enquiries please contact :

Hello Everyone!

We hope you are all doing well!

At Tuningi we cannot believe how quickly September has passed.
We had the most amazing month and were spoilt by lots of new and return visitors. Although it was another dry month, with lots of dust in the air, our guests experienced the best sunsets and sightings.

We were however surprised by a huge thunderstorm and rain on the last day of the month, and the whole game reserve is now turning vividly green! Summer is here!!!

We asked Cornelius to tell you about his remarkable game drive sightings this month and then Christo will enlighten you about the surprising visitors socializing at our waterhole….

Well where do I start? I just got settled in here at Tuningi and felt at home from day one and had the most incredible sightings. Here is just a few of them.

We had great weather as summer came quickly and with that, new life. A quick thunderstorm over the weekend helped everything on and settled the dust for a while.

As you know the Big Pack of Wild Dogs had 11 puppies and I am happy to inform you that we saw them at Tshukudu dam in the east 2 weeks ago. All the youngsters were still there and very healthy, since they ate a kudu that morning.

When we arrived all the dogs were still sleeping and we struggled to view them properly in the long grass. We decided to go for drinks and waited for the temperature to drop a bit.

As we returned to the dam after sundowners, they were more awake and the youngsters were very playful. Perfect photo opportunities followed as they went up the dam wall with the sun setting behind them. The far drive to the east turned out to be worth it as we had an awesome sighting of the Madikwe Painted Wolfs.

Leopards are a rare sighting in Madikwe but this guy, the Maokeng Male as he is known, shows himself more than other leopards. He was found high up in this Weeping Wattle with a Warthog that he killed.

You could see him from far away as it was the biggest tree in the area. He was lying on his kill for 3 days, proudly looking around as possibly every guide and guest in Madikwe watched in awe.

Tlou Dam also delivered a bunch of fun and weird sightings.
Elephants turn into kids as they get close to the water on a hot summer day. Some will dive into the water completely submerged and others will kick mud around and spray water everywhere.

The 3 female lionesses that had the 8 cubs are well and all still healthy. The youngsters are always fed and growing by the day.

 

 

It doesn`t matter how or where you spend your day in Madikwe, there will always be a sunset that ends the day perfectly.

Not only were game drives exceptional and exiting this month. Even staying at the lodge and spending some time at the watering hole would have provided you with some great game viewing. Everything from the normal game like impala, zebra and kudu to the big 5 have been visiting our watering hole this month.

The most mentionable was when we had a boma dinner close to the watering hole. Just as the guests sat down to start their delicious 3 course meal the show started. A whole group of Ellies showed up and had a great time playing and bathing in the watering hole.

Then as the last people were making their way to bed the grand finale appeared, a leopard slowly made her way to the watering hole and spent 5 minutes quenching her thirst. But that was not the end, not long after her a big male leopard made his appearance and also enjoyed a sip at the watering hole. Yip that night was pretty amazing.

Then just 4 days back I brought people in from the airstrip, they were tired from a long journey and it was already too late for a game drive, but mother nature still gave them her best, because just as we set foot into the lodge Wilma told us that our favorite black rhino (Hansa) was at the watering hole. What a welcome to Tuningi. Then just as Hansa moved off into the bush a Daggaboy (old buffalo bull) made his way to the watering hole. Wow what a start to a wonderful safari, two of the big five in the first 20 minutes right at our watering hole, now that is true Tuningi magic for you!!

Well, what more can we say??

Pick up that phone and come visit us soon!
We cannot wait to spoil you with an unforgettable experience.
Have a great month until we chat again and please remember to keep in touch with us through Face Book.

Kind regards!
Cornelius, Christo & The Fabulous Tuningi Team

For enquiries please contact :

Hallo all!
I can’t believe it is already time to chat again. Although it is still very cold at night we are not stressing about it as we know that it is now only one month away from Spring when the dust will be blown away and little fresh green buds will be pushing through the dead foliage everywhere. Can’t wait!

Good news is that we are now connected to the world via WiFi in the main lodge area. We have done this especially for those of you who have always wanted to stay longer, but could not leave your business behind. Now there are no more excuses. Just pack your laptop and family and get here soonest!

Although Madikwe has not been hit yet, this last month was dominated by all kinds of new statistics about the terrible topic of rhino poaching. Despite the awareness caused when it was announced that 333 rhinos were killed illegally last year in SA alone, the slaughter rate remains around one animal every 20 hours! As Peter Borchert put it, “ Those of us who bang on about such things, citing our moral responsibility to nature and our duty to future generations, must continue to do so and we must never give up. But, conservation based on charity and the conscience-tweaking rantings of a few is not sustainable. If even remnants of Africa’s natural landscapes are to survive, we need to embrace their economic value not as trophies and dead things ground into powders and pastes of spurious medicinal value, but as living icons of African prosperity. The crude maxim promoting the economic value of wild animals in their natural habitat has been ‘if it pays it stays’, but what if you and I can help to turn this around and instead argue ‘if it stays, it will pay FOREVER!’”

Well, while we are all trying to conserve and protect Africa’s natural assets with all our might, we are also trying to look after the people that live around it. This month on 18 July, the T-team celebrated Madiba (Nelson Mandela)’s birthday and also did our 67 minutes of GOOD! We love to spoil the little kids in our local village just outside the Game Reserve, so we went on a little round trip, first playing a game of football with the grade R’s at the primary school, and of course supplying the refreshments. After this we popped in at the local clinic, donating a beautiful bath and changing cabinet for the new born babies and some pretty baby clothes – thanks to Peter Channing from Head office. Lastly, we dropped a new ball and basket game at the pre-school to help the little ones tweak their co-ordination skills. What a beautiful day we all had!

I know that you are sitting on the edge of you chair by now, wanting to know what we saw out in the bush again this month! I asked Christo to tell you all about it. Birders and Twitchers, best you read on!

Greetings from a chilly Madikwe.
But never will cold weather keep us from some great sightings, with blankets and warm water bottles at hand, we set out to go and find the best Madikwe has to offer and this past month… yip Madikwe delivered!

The colder weather also meant that we were able to go and do day drives and go and explore areas of the park we do not often get to visit. Like the Groot Marico River in the East where we normally set off to if we want to see hippo and that was exactly what we did. We would have been content with some hippo in the water, where they usually spend their time during the day to avoid sunburn, but we were extremely lucky to find a mother and her calf outside the water basking in the midday sun. Seeing them out of the water is really special as you can then get a real idea of this colossal animal’s size.

As it is getting drier and drier the animals are forced to the bigger watering holes and dams and that means great sightings for us. As usual in the winter Tlou dam is responsible for a world of entertainment, with huge elephant herds coming to drink from the dam on a daily bases. Big news at Tlou dam is that there is also a very relaxed female leopard with a cub hanging around the area and we get to see her every now and again.

It is always sad to find an elephant carcass in the bush. With them being so enormous and seeming to be indestructible, it just feels wrong when you see them dead! Well as things are in nature nothing goes to waste, and even though predators would never think of trying to kill a full grown elephant they would certainly feed on it if it is available. In a little open clearing we found the three lion mothers with their eight young cubs not giving up an opportunity to tuck in to some free food. This provided us with some amazing sightings, and when they had their fill it was time for the Spotted and very shy Brown hyenas to join the party.

Then for the big news this month, news that will give our birding friends heart palpitations. We have discovered a…. (Drum roll)….. A Yellow Morph, Crimson Breasted Shrike close to Tholo dam way in the North of the park. Color morphs are a type of plumage abnormality in that the bird is born with a certain different feather color to the norm for that species. A more technical term for this is Xanthochroism or Flavism. In xanthochroistic birds, either there is excessive yellow pigment in the feathers or yellow replaces another color, typically red. This resulted in the yellow throat, chest and belly with the normal red pigment failing to develop. In other words, a very rare and special sighting indeed.

Well that is it from me for this month, hope to see you here very soon. Keep it on the wild side!!
Christo

And that is all from me too!
Please always try to spread the word of the importance of conservation! If we as the human race stop caring, not only will the rhino’s disappear, but so would the elephants, lions, wild dogs and hyenas. And I am only talking about Africa here…..

Come back and visit us soon and experience the true wonder of all things wild, while you still can…….Guaranteed, our visit will urge you to make a difference every day of you life.

Until next month when Spring has sprung!
Kindest regards
Heidi and the fabulous T-team

For enquiries please contact :

Warmest greetings again from Tuningi Safari Lodge.
Another chilly month has come and gone….. This month I have thought it a good idea to let someone else do the talking. I want you all to read about our fabulous lodge from a guest’s perspective. I would really like to thank Peter Davis for the fabulous review on his visit to Tuningi that he posted on the Travelgurus website.
I am sure that you are going to start planning your next holiday the minute you have finished reading it:

Posted under: Bush, Destinations, South Africa 

Peter Davies

We recently lived in a charming town called Simsbury in Connecticut. Our yard (as the Yanks like to call their gardens) was visited by squirrel, deer, chipmunk, fox and once, as we were about to stroll to a school bus stop, a large black bear. We drove to the bus stop that day.

Our neighbour in this rural idyll was the guy who voiced Pumbaa in the Lion King movie. Ernie Sabella is his name, and he would put on the bumbling warthog’s voice and quote his well-loved lines to entertain our girls. Understandably, we cannot encounter warthogs without being reminded of our kindly ex-neighbour.

On a recent trip to Tuningi Safari Lodge, the first sightings of the creatures sparked delighted cries of “Ernie” from the girls. Then we saw a warthog impaled high in the forked branches of a marula tree …

Our guide Gavin cut the engine and we settled back in that perfect post-dawn bush silence. A wheeling pair of raucous crows buzzed the marula tree, closing in on the carcass. Suddenly, a glint of gold and coal flashed through the high grass and a muscular leopard scaled the lower reaches of the tree in an easy bound. She was halfway up the trunk before the crows fled, and the big cat dropped effortlessly back to the veld.

Thankfully, this glimpse of leopard enthralled the girls, banishing any panicky thoughts pertaining to Pumbaa’s fate. It also enabled us to tick off the Big Five. Not bad for a three-day stay. We also saw shy gemsbok, black rhino, brown hyena and aardvark – everything really, apart from the elusive wild dogs, one of Madikwe’s success stories.

Madikwe is a group of up market lodges studded throughout 750 malaria-free hectares of bush hugging the Botswana border. Tuningi is the most child friendly of the lodges – an easy four-hour drive from Gauteng or one hour in a small plane. Managerial duo Heidi and Gavin ensure that even though the food and lodging is of an immaculate five-star standard, there is a homeliness you don’t always find at the top end of the game lodge business. This is important to us.

There’s nothing worse than treading on eggshells at some Ferrari-safari type lodge where you are just another invoice and children are to be neither seen nor heard. During our three nights at Tuningi, we met people from England, Spain, Gauteng and Italy. The Italian mum wept gently like George Harrison’s guitar when we came within prodding distance of a pride of lions that languidly surrounded the vehicle. I empathized to a degree with the mama’s muffled sobs. Despite the primal thrill of being in the hub of the lion laager, and no matter what the rangers say to the contrary, I’m uncomfortably aware of how simple it would be for one of those beasts to leap into the vehicle and devour its occupants.

So often the entire bush experience depends on the guile and skill – or lack thereof – of the ranger. Some are glorified taxi drivers, who do little more than wait for sharper guides to locate game and then crash the party.

Gavin is no taxi driver. His self-published books of photographs in the lodge speak of a deep love of African wildlife. His game drives are meticulously constructed – painstakingly following tracks, testing the wind, drawing on his knowledge of every inch of the reserve. Gavin was generous with this knowledge too, which fascinated the younger bushwhackers. Did you know that the black rhino’s teeth snip branches at an exact 45° angle? Or the giraffe sleeps for just 20 minutes a day? Neither did I.

On our extensive travels in America, we often encountering a rack ’em, pack ’em and stack ’em attitude. There is something refreshingly genuine about the warmth and hospitality you get in South Africa. Usually, though, the standard of the up market bush experience is so high it can be difficult to tell lodges apart, to detect a unique selling point.

Let’s consider Tuningi: Five-star cuisine? Check. After the post-game drive breakfast, a waitress appears with the lunch menu. As lunch debris is swept from the table, pencils are tapped against notepads for dinner orders.

Luxurious chalets? Check. Just 16 guests are accommodated in double-volume thatched rooms with fireplace, outside shower, outsize oval bath, bed wide enough to set sail and classy, understated Afro-chic decor. Two log fires in the main lodge. Enticing bar and rim-flow with views through to private water hole.

Boma dinner? Check. A jewel of the game lodge experience, at Tuningi these dinners are held under the vast canopy of an ancient fig tree.

Private water hole? Check. Obliging game congregate at dawn and dusk to offer gawking guests the wildlife equivalent of a pole dance. It’s accessed down a winding, wooden walkway. On check-in, we were treated to a herd of 20 or so elephants cooling themselves.

Yes, Tuningi ticks all the boxes, but its overt family friendliness is what sets it apart. Children are nurtured as the next generation of bush lovers. The girls spent their final morning hand painting Tuningi T-shirts. They adorned the back with intact warthogs – a family of four trotting snout-to-tail on terra firma – not half-eaten ones in marula trees.

The human Pumbaa should check this place out. Ernie Sabella has never been to Africa to savour the savannah-soaked adventures of his animated alter ego. He is one of the many millions of foreigners oblivious to the singular delights this nation has to offer. We South Africans should never become blasé about the utterly unique experience that places like Tuningi offer.

We’ll be drawing Ernie’s attention to Tuningi shortly. – Peter Davies

Well, what more can we say????
Have a great month until we chat again and please remember to keep in touch with us through Face Book.
Kind regards!
Heidi and the incredible T-team

For enquiries please contact: reservations@madikwecollection.com

Hallo everyone!

Greetings once again from the beautiful Tuningi Lodge and all of us lucky people who live here.

Although Winter finally arrived with force two days ago, the month of May is arguably the most beautiful time of the year in the South African bushveld. The climate is hard to beat anywhere else in the world. The days are clear and sunny and are pleasantly warm instead of hot. Only at sundowner time do you need to slip into something warm to keep you comfortable.

Insect numbers start to dwindle and there is no more moth with your mouthful of merlot or other flying surprises in your starters. Most of the snakes have gone off to find a spot to curl up for the colder Winter months and all the animals are in top condition with full bellies and shining coats. In most of our opinions, May is definitely the best month to come for a visit!

It has been a month filled with special occasions like the Easter weekend, a romantic engagement and the return of lots of our favourite guests (especially Jim and Isobel from Scottish Life), hosting a fantastic bush braai with the local marimba band providing the back ground music, handing over loads of presents and sports gear to the grade R class of our local school, and lots more!

The Game drives have been as amazing as ever! I asked Christo to tell you about his most amazing day.

Greetings, from a cold and windy Madikwe. It is now official Winter has finely laid its icy claws on us but don’t for one moment think a little bit of cold weather is going to stop us from finding the most amazing sightings in Madikwe.

This month turned out to be one of my luckiest so far, it finally happened and after almost a year in the field I finally achieved the Grand slam, to see the big 5 (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo) in one drive! It all started with a trip up North towards Tlou dam. First we found a big herd of buffalo just leisurely grassing and got to spend some time with them before the whole herd of ± 200 got swallowed up by the thick sickle bush on their way towards Tlou dam.

We made our way to the dam and as we drove on to the dam wall the first Elephants started to make their way towards the water and they just kept on coming. We were in luck as there were two family groups that came to the water at the same time. Few things are more amazing than to sit and watch and of course listen to about 50 elephants quenching their thirst, like one of my guests said “this makes the 17 hour flight so worth while, this is exactly how I pictured Africa”.

Well what she didn’t now was that it was far from over, because two White Rhino’s also joined in on the fun at the dam.

As the Elephants moved off back in to the bush we went for sundowners at Nick’s View South at the foot of Tshwene Tshwene Mountain which gives one a breathtaking view of the sun setting over the Enselbergs (islands of rock) and the waste plains surrounding them. We packed up our sundowners and were just heading off when the call on the radio came in “INKWE”.

Now if you are a ranger in Madikwe that one word will send your heart racing! Inkwe means Leopard and when ever you hear that on the radio everything stops and all become deadly quite. No matter what you are busy with, there can be an Elephant bull with a torn off ear (that will usually upset them even more) trying to disassemble your land cruisers’ engine, it doesn’t matter; all you are waiting for is the update on the location of this particular Inkwe.

So off we went hoping with all hopes that, that leopard would have some how got stuck or glued to the spot where it was seen at first, because so often you get there and the other rangers will show you exactly where the leopard was lying just a minute before you got there. Argh, GONE! But not this time. We got there and she was still lying on the rocks, we had to use our binoculars but we got a pretty good view of her. Some guests even saw glimpses of her two small cubs. A huge added bonus! We will definitely keep a look out for them in the future.

With the weight of the world off my shoulders, we took the road home and then it happened again. Lions were called in over the radio and it dawned on me, could this be my lucky day? Would the lions still be there by the time I got to them? How big will my disappointment be if I got there and someone told me exactly where they were lying just a minute before I got there? I tried to promise myself that this time I will not shoot the poor unlucky ranger with the bad news in the kneecap with a very powerful high calibre rifle… again.

But as we came around the bend in the road there they were, a sub adult male and female lying just off the road with the rest of the pride a bit back and obscured by bushes. But that is all I needed, my first Grand slam the big 5 in one drive!!

But of course besides all my ramblings about the big 5 we also had our fare share of the other game species and they can provide you with just as much entertainment as any of the big 5.

Big news in the park is that the alpha female in the bigger one of our Wild dog packs is now heavily pregnant and it looks like they want to start denning on one of the Enselbergs in the west of the park. That would of course be great news for us as we can then keep a close eye on them and hopefully the puppies as well.

Well that is a little look into the excitement we as rangers had this month. We look forward to seeing you and sharing our passion for the bush with you.

Till next time, keep it on the wild side.
Christo

Well, that is all from me as well!
If you are so lucky to come and visit us in the next three months, do not forget to pack your beanie, gloves, woollen socks and a nice big warm jacket. From our side, we will keep the fires going, cook some hearty stews, fill up the hot water bottles and pour as much red wine as you may need to warm you up from the inside.

Also look out for our amazing specials on the website- (Stay three nights and fly from Jhb to Madikwe for FREE) and follow us on Face Book and Twitter for daily updates on our Game viewing!

Warmest regards
Heidi and the fabulous T-team.

For enquiries please contact :

Hallo everyone!

We hope you are all doing well!
Although it is supposed to be Autumn at the moment, the leaves are actually still not turning into the usual bright reds, yellows and oranges that is normal for April. The reason for this being that it just has not stopped raining for a moment! The entire reserve is still bright green, extremely dense and wet, as if in the middle of the Summer months. The dams are even fuller than they were in the middle of the normal rainy season! The upside of this, of course, is that the animals are going to have a fantastic winter with no food or thirst problems what so ever. The only thing they will have to do is keep warm!

I asked Grant to tell you about the game drive sightings in April and our wonderful new toy- the camera at the water hole…

“Well what can I say besides wet, wet, wet. Three weeks ago we had a 150mm in a few hours during the night. Good for the dams but not so good for the game drives. We were limited to only a few roads that are drivable in the rainy season. Everything is still so green and the spotting of animals is still very difficult. At least we know our sightings around the big dams will be good during the winter. The landscapes around the big dams are something out of this world with all the water in and around the dams. The elephants enjoy it as well with their swimming sessions. The picture below is of Thlou Dam, this is one of the dams in the north.

The last three weeks we had amazing lion sightings from lions hunting to lions mating. The wild dogs also made sure we saw them in their full glory as we followed them one morning and witnessed a kill from the start to the finish.

I have to tell you guys that we had the most amazing sunsets ever over the last few weeks. So here are a few sunset shots to make you long for Tuningi and Madikwe again.

The cubs that you guys met in the previous newsletter are still alive and doing very well! The three moms joined forces so they consist out of three females with eight youngsters. Will keep you posted on what the little rascals get up to. We had a few very misty mornings as well and we can feel winter is really creeping up on us. Even the animals were moving slower than normal.

You guys must go onto our facebook page and have a look at our album called Tuningi cam. We have a Bushnell camera trap at the waterhole to capture those elusive animals at night, or during the day. We have seen some interesting animals at the waterhole like black rhino and hyena.

 

We will update the album every three to four days. So keep checking back. The lioness with her small cubs also made her appearance again at the waterhole and we witnessed her hunting hereon numerous occasions. Well that is what happened on our side the last few weeks. Remember always expect the unexpected. That is why we love it here. You never know what you will encounter.

 

 

Hope to see you guys back at Tuningi soon.
Cheers
Grant”

Well, as you can see, our newest Tuningi song goes something like this: “Never mind the weather, as long as we’re together”…..
Remember to follow us on Face Book for updates, interesting happenings, special rates and fabulous photos captured by our new video cam!
Keep well until we chat again
Kindest regards
Heidi and the fabulous T-team

For enquiries please contact :