Etali News

Etali Women's Day
September 2009

Come and join us for an unforgettable day at Etali Safari Lodge designed especially for the modern woman. The day will start off with a warm welcome and champagne cocktail on arrival and a walk about our beautiful lodge. The founder of Africology, Renchia Droganis, will give a talk on this new product which we introduced in our wellness centre recently.

Africology skin care products have been developed to revitalize the skin, to prevent damage done to the skin by free-radicals, stress and a harsh climate. Africology makes use of the healing essences of some of South Africa’s indigenous plants, Rooibos, Aloe Ferox, Marula and African Potato. The active ingredients in our skin care products are valuable in the repair process and assist with the restoration of damaged skin tissue. Renchia will share some of her tips on skin care for the coming summer months. Renchia will share some of her tips on skin care for the coming summer months.
Our award winning kitchen brigade will serve a plated three course meal to tantalize your taste buds with pared wines from Glenwood wine estate.
Entertainment will be provided by Olufemi Ogunkoya - one of the finest solo saxophonists currently gracing the music scene.
Our guest speaker Gretha Wiid will follow after lunch. She is a renowned motivational speaker on married life, parenting and sexuality. Her tongue-in-the-cheek approach, practical examples and her testimony about the struggles in her marriage makes her a woman you identify with, learn from and be inspired by.

The day will end off with lucky draws including a pamper breakaway for two at Etali Safari Lodge.

Booking is essential should you think of spending the weekend with us please enquire when making your reservation.

Itinerary

Friday 18 September 2009 (R550.00)

11:00am arrival with registration table and welcome drinks. Show people around lodge and seat guests.
11:30-12:30pm guest speaker on Africology products
12:30-14:00pm three course lunch to be served
14:00-15:00 guest speaker Greta Wiid
15:00 16:00 lucky draw and high tea
Guests depart

Saturday 19 September 2009 (R850.00 per person)

8:00pm guests arrive with registration table and coffee tea and breakfast snacks to be served in the bar area, guests to be seated
9:00-10:00am Rentia to give a talk on africology products
10:00-10:30 champagne and strawberries to be served in at main pool
10:30-11:15 food demonstration
11:30 -13:00 three course brunch to be served
13:00-14:00 Greta Viid to give talk on "all about eve"
14:00-15:00 surprise guest speaker or demonstration
15:00 high tea and lucky draw
Guests depart
Please RSVP no later than 14 September 2009.

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Romantic Gastronomic Bush Getaway
January 2009

Two night break away R6000 per person for 2 nights Etali Safari Lodge is an ultra luxurious lodge in the heart of Madikwe Game Reserve just 4 hours away from Johannesburg. With only 8 luxury suites decorated in earthy colours with all the modern trimmings, fittings and finishes. We pride ourselves in personal attention to every detail to make your stay at Etali Safari Lodge the most memorable experience.

This special weekend will be exclusive for couples that enjoy good food, wine and the great outdoors. Our chef Jaycee Ferreira will be creating spectacular dishes with exclusive wines to tantalize your taste buds. Our therapists will also share the secrets of massage techniques with you and your partner.

Itinerary for a 2 night stay

Day 1:

• Guests arrive at their own time and will be welcomed with a love potion and wellness treatment to ease into the weekend mode
• High tea with bundles of love to be served in the main dining room
• Guests depart on a game drive
• Boma dinner to be served in our kraal lit up with lanterns, a bonfire and Starlight with
• A hot bath treatment awaiting you before you crawl into bed for a good nights rest

Day 2:

• Early morning game drive with a stop in the bush for coffee and freshly baked croissants
• Breakfast is served back at the lodge
• Relaxation and wellness time
• Light lunch is served with selected wines to compliment
• Sneak into the kitchen to learn a few things from our chefs at work and get a crash course in massaging techniques from our experienced therapists
• Game drive departs
• Champagne and gourmet snacks to be served at the water tower overlooking the reserve with a spectacular sun set
• Guest return to the lodge for freshening up
• Exquisite 6 course fine dining meal with selected wines for each course to be served on the deck

Morning of departure:

• Early morning game drive
• Brunch

Inclusive:

• Accommodation, three meals, tea and coffee, soft drinks and mineral water
• House wines (Glen Wood Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc) and local beers
• Two game drives per day

OR

• One game drive and one walk per day
• Bath therapy prepared by our therapist
• 60 minutes in the wellness centre for treatments of your choice
• Stargazing
• Use of the gym and steam room

Exclude:

• Game reserve entrance fees (R50 per person)
• Landing fees (R50 per person) when flying in
• Bar and beverage other than the inclusive
• Treatments in our wellness centre other than the inclusive
• Cigars
• Curio
• Gratuities

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A Mushroom Tarte Tartin takes top honours at the 2007 Mushroom Chefs de Cuisine competition
November 2007

This year's competition theme gave rise to a brand new challenge for the participating chefs. With only 10 ingredients allowed, they were asked to produce "Honest uncomplicated yet downright yummy food that celebrated the versatility and infinite taste profile of the wondrous mushroom". This meant that they were expected to create a dish that was simple enough for any creative and inspired cook to prepare at home yet still sensational and cutting edge enough to impress a judging panel led by Bill Gallagher. Needless to say, the panel was not disappointed and chefs from the Western Cape to the North West Province produced fantastic fungi cuisine!

We are delighted to announce the 2007 Chefs de Cuisine Mushroom Competition winners:

1st Gary Opperman
Etali Safari Lodge, Madikwe Game Reserve
Mushroom Tarte Tartin

2nd Lizelle Stolze
Serendipity, Wilderness
Mushroom, Springbok & Pap Mille Feuille

3rd Nicky Gibbs
March, Melrose Arch Hotel
Funky Mushroom Tofu Pockets

Our guests were treated to delicious mushroom dishes at the prize giving, where Gary received R10 000.00 cash

for his winning recipe. Our winning chef's mushroom recipes will be featured in the November edition of Food & Home Entertaining.

2nd: Lizelle Stolze. 1st: Gary Opperman. 3rd: Nicky Gibbs

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Etali Renovations
January 2007

On the 13th of January, when our guests left the lodge, renovations started in full force.  We turned the lodge inside out, and then Gavin and his team started grinding and sanding the floors.  Each and every floor was renewed and whilst all our furniture was on the decks, we decided to fly in painters to repaint the lodge and a team of carpenters to maintain the doors.  For the full story, click here.

Comet McNaught
January - February 2007

The brightest comet visible from Earth for some 40 years is currently putting on a grand show for observers in Southern Africa. Comet McNaught has brightened way beyond initial expectations and will be prominent in the west after sunset.

On January 15th the comet will be very close to the sun, but easily visible in the twilight if you have a clear western horizon. For the rest of the month the comet will move to the south and set later, making it easier to spot. On the 20th it will be setting after 8pm. As it moves away from the sun it will also fade slightly but it should be a lovely sight even as we go into February. On February 1st it will be 52 degrees south of the celestial equator.

The best geometry occurs on Jan 15, with the comet starting to move away from the sun (now 7 degrees) and almost directly above the position of the sun at sunset. The head will set about 39 minutes after the sun, although the azimuth at which it sets will be 5.0 degrees to the left of the sunset point. It is quite reasonable to expect the tail to remain visible up to an hour after sunset, so it may be seen in a dark sky.

On Jan 15 the comet is already 3 degrees from Mercury, up to the left. Venus will be visible, big and bright, to the right and further up from the sun.

At sunset on the 16th, the comet will be about 10 degrees from the sun and just left of directly above the Sun at sunset. It will set 54 minutes after the sun, 9 degrees to the left of the sunset point.

From Jan 17 onwards, the comet, although fainter, should be well visible in the darker skies. It then moves into the SW sky at roughly a 45 deg angle up to the left of the sunset point.

Comet C/2006 P1 was a routine discovery on 2006 Aug 7, with the Uppsala Schmidt telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, near Coonabarabran, N.S.W., Australia. It is one of 29 comets discovered by this telescope since early 2004 in a project to systematically search the southern skies for asteroids, or comets, that can pass close to the Earth.

The comet may be brighter than nearby Mercury which will be at magnitude -1, and some 14 deg from Venus which at mag. -4 lies up to the right of the comet. [The magnitude scale is used by astronomers to measure brightness. The Sun is mag. -26, the full moon mag. -12 and the faintest stars you see on a dark night are about mag. +6.]  

 

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Lion darting
18 September

In Madikwe we've got a very healthy lion population, consisting of more or less 60 lions. With so many lions in the area, a certain degree of management is necessary. Because of habitat destruction by man these lions had to be put in game reserves with fences. In an effort to make this environment as natural as possible human interference is necessary. In the Madikwe game reserve most of the male lion coalitions consist of 2 males. Every now and then 3 males are born and they form a coalition. Unfortunately a 3 male coalition is not ideal for the park. As these lions get older they'll want to proclaim more territory and take on other males to win prides and land. Now 3 against 2.... the odds aren't very good.

On the other hand, single male lions are also born. Life is tough for a single male lion. You can imagine trying to win fights for females and territory on your own.

This is where the human intervention takes place....

In the park we have or shall I say had a coalition of 3 male lions- about 5 years of age, and a single male lion of about 3.5 years.

We set out on the freezing evening of 1 Aug to one of the boma's in the park, where the single younger male has been kept for the last 2 months. He was initially put into the boma because of an injury caused by another lion. He had bad scratches and infection in his back left leg. Luckily he has fully recovered. On the other side of the park, the park ecologist managed to dart one of the coalition of 3. After they were charged a couple of times by the brothers trying to defend their brother, they managed to load the lion on the back of the cruiser. He called us and told us that he was on the way. It was about a 45 minute drive to where we were. On his arrival we off loaded the still sleeping lion of the back and left a few watchful eyes with him, just in case he woke up. The rest of us went to the boma about 50m away and proceeded to dart the younger male. While we were in the boma the other's informed us that the other male was waking up. The ecologist advised them to give him

another dose. In the background we could here the breaking of branches as elephants were walking through the bush. We did not need them to approach us. Luckily they moved off. Eventually the younger male passed out, after alot of wobbling and stumbling around. As soon as we were sure that the male was out cold, we went out of the boma to the other lion and loaded him on the vehicle. We took him into the boma and left him next to his new brother. The two of them would wake up the next morning (with what we would describe as a bad hangover) and hopefully find comfort in each other.

A couple of days later, it looks like the two have settled in. They will be left there for a month or two and then be moved to another park where more lions are needed. Moving lions in between parks are important for gene diversity within the species.

 

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Etali Teambuilding
07 August 2006