Cerutti & Venin – 08 – 12 April
2012

There’s nothing like experiencing a South African sunset,
paired with the beautiful voices of Tswana traditional songs.  The Cerutti & Venin Family were in uproar
of joy when they arrived to this beautiful sight.

This family was an absolute treat every minute of their
stay.  They enjoyed good wines, cigars
and shared a wonderful bottle of French Champagne  (A Vintage Veuve Cliquot Rose) with Drienie,
Andrew & Godfrey on the sun deck, sharing their impression of the lodge and
its staff, coming noting short of excellent, perfect, magnificent……  The adults enjoyed two hours away from the
children and we went setting off on more African art at other lodges and a
local vendor at the Wonderboom gate.

The children enjoyed t-shirt painting, made necklaces and
bracelets, stick bread, marshmallow braaing, made the most delicious doughnuts
in Africa and drew some beautiful pictures for Andrew and Drienie.

Every drive was “the best” with “the best” ranger in the
World, Andrew, as described by the guests.
They were in awe with Andrew’s knowledge and professionalism.  Every night was shared around a big fire,
sharing a glass of wine, a story and lots of laughter.   Olivier insisted that his English was not
very good, but Andrew made him chuckle, letting him know that his French is
worse J

On their drives out in the beautiful Madikwe,
they were enchanted by Lions, Elephants, herds of Buffalo, Spotted Hyena, Brown
Hyena, a two week old Giraffe, numerous sightings of Elephants at the Waterhole
and crashes of White Rhino, and a real treat, A LIVE WILD DOG HUNT AND KILL!

After the chill of the morning or evening drive and rattling with excitement, the guests
were treated to the most delicious hot drinks, from Red Tea-Cinnamon &
Cream delights, Peppermint Crisp-Chocolate-Delights  to Marshmallow-Ice Cream mixes…….all of them
a winner with both the parents and the children alike.

What a time we had!

Yours in Hospitality

The Royal Team

As we slowly approach the end of the rainy season, one can feel the winter chill creeping into the morning air. It is on these cold mornings that one can hear the mighty roar of the dominant male lions in the distance. The cool air allowing their voices to be heard much further as the air is more dense. As the water holes slowly start to dry up, you will find that the lions start to spend more and more time around the permanent water points awaiting unsuspecting prey on their way to quench their thirst. This is Africa and one always needs to have an eye on their back!

We have been graced with many great sightings of lions over the last week, from the big dominant males to the new cubs that were found this morning, only a few days old. It seems that the cooler mornings have allowed them to be active for a lot longer than they would in the summer therefore allowing us more time to be able to find them. It seems that the Kagala-Etali brothers have acquired a taste for buffalo now and have killed a few in the last few weeks, mainly targeting the females and calves. This has previously been an untapped food source for them as they preferred to take down wildebeest, zebra and kudu instead which provide a far smaller risk of injury when trying to capture. Although the females are still rather wary of this quarry, the brute force and attitude of the males has seen them through.

The Mieke female was found this morning with what looked like 2 cubs of only a few days old. this was a great find and I am sure will spark many oooohs and aaaahhs over the next few months. There aren’t too many things cuter than young lion cubs!

And thats that for the week, we will catch you same time next week with another post.

Yours in guiding

Andrew and Adam

The bush has gone through another magical change!  Autumn is noticeably on our door step with
evident changes in the colours of the various grasses in the area as well as
the beginning stages of the trees shedding their leaves.  It’s been a rather dry few months as we all
expected a lot more rain to come down.  Some
of the larger dams have dried up making it a little difficult for the animals
to converse at their normal places.

However, the game viewing has still been great with new
lions slowly making their way to the Western side of the park.  We have also been lucky enough to see the local
dominant male Kgala-Etali’s increase their home rage in search of females and
water and while they have been out and about, the younger males and some smaller
prides of females have been roaming about their area.

The small pack of wildogs still frequently visits us at
Royal Madikwe, while the resident male leopard ‘BIG TOM’ has been seen almost 3
nights in a row around Royal Madikwe.
The Elephant herds and Rogue Bulls have started coming in
from the Eastern side of the park and are around the ridge area on a daily
basis, making for some fantastic viewing for our guests!

The summer migrant birds have mostly left, with the exception
of a few that we expect to be departing in the next few weeks.  The mornings and evenings are starting to get
a chill to them as we approach the cooler winter months, so it’s almost time
for snug jackets and scarves again!

All the best from your Ranger Team

Adam & Andrew

ROYAL NEWS  

February 2012

Enjoying the ripened
Marula Fruit on our Breakfast Deck!

Royal Experiences

Williamson
– 02 – 04 February 2012

A
more wonderful, Magical and beautiful place one could not imagine.  Words cannot describe how relaxing and
tranquil Royal Madikwe is.  The service
and comfort is unparalleled in my experience and while I am sad to leave I know
that one day I will return.

I
leave a very happy and relaxed guest.

Sam
Williamson – New Zealand

Andrew
& Drienie and the Royal Team

Thanks
for an awesome stay, I cannot speak highly enough of the fantastic hospitality
you have shown us.  Our stay here will
forever live in my memory.  You are both
very special people who run an awesome lodge.
Game drives were the best, food was simply stunning, your staff are all
amazing (They obviously follow your example)
We hope to be back soon.

Andrew
Williamson – New Zealand

Agrizzi
– 01 – 05 February 2012

Andrew & Drienie

Well done on an
excellently run Lodge, your hospitality & commitment to “Service Excellence”
is unparalleled.

All our Best –

Angelo & Debbie
Agrizzi

Johannesburg,
Gauteng

Stege
– 03-05 February 2012

Dear
All,

What
a wonderful place full of warmth and creativity.  Our energy is back on 100%. Thanks

Terese
& Henny Stege

Dearest
Royal Family,

What
a nice place here, the first time I visit Africa and then to be here!!!  You are all kind and friendly and you make us
feel ‘at home” here.  Thank you very much
and I hope I’ll see you again.

Anneloes
(and also) Wim

Andrew
& Debbie 04-06 Feb 2012

To
all the management & staff of Royal Madikwe.

We
had a great experience & you truly have a gem of a place.  Will definatly come back & will recommend
it to all who wish to experience a great safari.

Regards

Andrew

PS –
thanks for the special birthday experience, it was a great surprise!

Witvoet
10 – 12 February 2012

Thank
you so much for such a wonderful stay at Madikwe.  The management and the whole staff of the
lodge are first class.

Best
Regards,

Danielle
& Laurent

Drienie
& Andrew!

Thank
you for the wonderful experience.  We
loved our stay

Your
service is impeccable

Cyrianne
& Hugues

Van
Rensburg 6- 9 February 2012

Dearest
Royal Family,

Our
stay was the best Safari we experienced in Africa.  We felt like Royalty.  All our moments here were wonderful &
special.

All
the best,

Gert
& Gabriel

Gronhagen     16 – 18 February 2012

Thank
you so much for your kind hospitality and for spending time here at the
beautiful Royal Madikwe.

Kind
Regards,

Annica
& Lennart Bertland

Anna,
Daniel & Filip Bertland

Gustaf,
Carina, Beatrice & Gabriel Gronhagen

Gibbs   18 – 20 February 2012

Six
Stars!  First class staff, food,
accommodation!

Art
& Sara Gibbs

Ohio,
USA

Moura  22 – 24 February 2012

To
all at Royal Madikwe,

We
had an amazing experience, best & lovely people taking care of us and
incredible, adventurous game drives with Adam.
Thanks for your hospitality and we hope to be back or have all of you in
South America.

Daniel
& Daniela,

Brazil
& Chile

Sacks  24 – 27 February 2012

This vibrant family
arrived to the warm Tswana welcome songs of the Royal team on a wonderfully
warm Summers day.They cheered and smiled with excitement as they stepped out of
the game vehicle and into an incredible adventure at Royal Madikwe.  Entering a magnificent lodge and immediately
seeing a pack of 18 Wild Dogs just lazing around the water hole is not a sight
many get to see in an entire life-time.

Having these ‘painted
wolves’ around the lodge all day made for some pretty exciting viewing as each
time any creature tried to stop in for a drink they were deterred by snarls and
chased off!

The family enjoyed
incredible sightings of Wild dogs; many many herds of Elephant passing by our
water hole for either a drink of water or to cool their sun-kissed bodies;
Pride of lions as well as the Kagala Etali brothers entertaining their taste
buds with a Buffalo carcass;   Rhino’s; Giraffe, dazzles of Zebra and
various other antelope. Andrew kept the family constantly entertained by the
bustling array of animals out and about and they enjoyed many amazing sightings
just around the water hole during meal times.

Having the privilege
of enjoying meals outdoors with a view of all kinds of wonderful African
animals is an experience the family truly cherished, especially the fact that
they could all share this together.

While their days were
spent with Massage treatments which left them all very relaxed and ready to
take on another exciting game drive, we enjoyed an afternoon of T-shirt
painting with Harper, Oliver and Jessica under the shade of a Marula
tree.  Some took refuge in the coolness of the swimming pool and others
enjoyed an icy cold drink in the main lounge area – ensuring that they always
had an eye on the famously busy water hole!

After two wonderful
days with the Sacks-Killback family, the final evening was upon us and what
better way to spend it than to celebrate the African bush in true Royal style
with a blazing wood fire, Tswana melodies and delicious traditional South
African cuisine?  Everyone loved the whole experience and Catherine
exclaimed that this was definitely her favourite meal of their whole stay in
South Africa!

We had to bid
farewell to this wonderful family this morning, but we are certain that we will
welcome them back to their African home again soon.

We
had an outstanding visit with our every wish filled with grace.  We wish all the staff good luck in the
future.

Pat
& Peter Sacks (Canada)

Thanks
so much to all of you for taking such amazing care of us and our babies!

Sam
& Paul

While
the lodge is gorgeous, it’s the team that really breathes life into the place
and we can’t thank you all enough for making our stay so memorable.  I will definitely be sending my clients your
way, and have every confidence they will be as impressed as my family has
been.  Thanks to you all & keep well.

Greg
& Catherine Sacks

Trufflepig
Travel

Thanks
you guys so much for having us here and the singing was great!

Harper
Sacks-Killback

We look forward to welcoming you all to our Royal African
Home in March!

Warmest Regards,

The Royal Madikwe Team

So as the rains seem to have eluded us for the last few weeks, water on the reserve has started to dry up at a rapid rate, thus meaning that Royals permanent waterhole has been a buzz of activity. Through the course of last night to this morning we have had: lots and lots of elephants, a few herds of zebras and wildebeest, a large herd of buffalo, a pride of 11 lions and then to top it all off, the wild dogs showed up and killed an impala! Pretty impressive last 18 hours

ROYAL NEWS  

SEPTEMBER 2011

The Howest group arrived back to their African home on a very warm spring afternoon to the heart-warming Tswana melodies of the Royal team. Oteng greeted them with decadent welcome drinks and refreshing hand towels at the main lodge where everyone was afforded the opportunity to catch up and settle into their peaceful surroundings. They were so excited to be back and especially happy that there were no fires to interrupt their wonderful visit to Royal Madikwe. On their very first day back at their African home and on settling down to a decadent lunch, a Black Rhino came for a drink at the water hole! As they were enjoying lunch on the lower deck, they had a magnificent view and a close encounter with one of Africa’s most notorious creatures! What a great start to their visit! Their Safaris with Andrew were magical! They experienced amazing sightings of Buffalo bulls and herds, a Pride of Lions as well as a Lioness, a Male Leopard on two occasions, Caracal, Elephant bulls and herds, white Rhino and on their last morning, they were greeted by a herd of Elephants who very playfully rolled and splashed around in the water hole while they had breakfast. Jordan and Sarah were invited to spend an afternoon of doughnut making with Patience. She explained everything to him, as Sarah was taking some time out for a nap, and he took it from there – cutting out all the shapes. Jordan exclaimed that everyone was having an afternoon nap so he would make doughnuts for everyone! A very sweet thought and of course he had lots of fun doing it. Chocolate and sprinkles covered both the doughnuts and Jordan by the time he was done decorating them! This became fun for the whole family as everyone enjoyed the doughnuts  

with their snacks at Hi-Tea. Jordan and Sarah were very excited to receive the Special Royal Madikwe Kids Backpacks again as they had left theirs behind and needed a new animal checklist, etc.. so that they could keep track of all the amazing African creatures they encountered during their stay. Beautiful sunny days sought to meals being enjoyed outdoors under umbrellas during the daytime and under the starlit night sky in the evenings. The fresh air and tranquil environment ensured that everyone was very relaxed and always ready for the next adventure with Andrew. On their last evening, everyone arrived back to a lantern lit pathway extending to a very inviting fire in the boma! After settling by the fire’s side with something to wet their lips, the Royal team emerged from the lodge with powerful Tswana

melodies in which they conveyed their farewells to their extended family. The Howest party cherished their time back at their home and it won’t be long until we welcome them home again! Their words: “As always our stay was an exceptional experience! Thank you Drienie, Andrew and the Royal team – you always make us feel so at home and go out of your way to make us feel special! See you again soon! P.S. Andrew… Awesome viewing, thank you for making the effort and always going out of your way! All our love, Sven, Nats, Jordan, Linda, Bokkie, Anna, Matthias and Sarah” We are all looking forward to welcoming this wonderful group back to their African home!

It was great weekend with all the @RoyalMadikwe staff lending a valuable hand by re-painting and fixing up the school.

 The ladies were in charge of the painting and the guys were fixing roofs,swings,toilets and just about anything that was broken or not working well. The entire team felt very rewarded, as a few of our staff are also residents at Supingstad.

There is still some more work to be done but the @Royalmadikwe team did a fantastic combined effort and enjoyed lending a helping  hand to the community.

We look forward to getting some more work done at Puisano, as it was a enjoyable experience for all.

As the setting sun left the Afican sky with an orange glow, the water hole at Royal Madikwe came to life!

In the distance we noticed a strange uprising of dust and as it began to settle, mighty emboses began to emerge – glistening in the dissipating sunlight.  A herd of buffalo were slowly approaching our water hole, strengthening in numbers as they arrived at the waters edge.  The splashes grew louder as the herd entered the water with the echoes of emboses crashing together as each one nudged and struggled for a turn to quench their thirst.  Eventually the sheer numbers rendered our waterhole invisible with trails of dust still hanging low as the last few stragglers made their way to the chaos surrounding the water hole. We estimated the herd to be about 200 strong – what a sight!

As the cloak of darkness stretched over the insolbergs, the herd began to disperse just enough for our guests to make their way back to our lower deck at the lodge after an incredible safari.  Having encountered a pack of wild dogs that afternoon, our guests (first-time-safari-goers) were truely in awe of the African bush; exclaiming that they had been converted from the city slickers they thought themselves to be!

**Cherie

The elusiveness of the leopard has made it one the most sought after animals to find while out on safari and is usually the last member of the Big 5 that makes the list, or sometimes doesn’t appear at all. We have been extremely privelaged in the last month to have had numerous sightings of these secretive cats with all of our guests getting at least one sighting and others up to three sightings during their stay. From females with cubs to males on Impala kills, these animals have provided excitment for all.

With surface water in the park starting to dry up it has also provided amazing sightings at all of the remaining waterholes in the park and very often hundreds of animals can be seen there especially on the warmer days when thirsts really need to be quenched. The elephant’s have obviously dominted these areas due to their sheer size and therefore massive thirst!

A dead elephant in the north west of the reserve has offered some amazing sightings of predators and especially of lions. Something quite primeval whatching 8 lion cubs clambering around between the rib cage and intestines of this once magestic animal.

 It is always great to combine Luxury Safari living with out of this world game viewing and Royal Madikwe is just the place for this.