NEWS FROM THE KITCHEN AT RIVER BEND LODGE

I have spent time during the winter months developing menus that will enhance your culinary experience.

I would like to share just a few of the dishes that feature on our Lunch and Dinner Menus.

In addition to creating these new dishes we are introducing something a little bit ‘special’ to take your culinary experience to a new level……a selection of Salt and Peppers from around the world.

I have paired these with various dishes and I am pleasantly surprised at the various flavours they impart.

Dinner Starter - Game meat terrine with sauce Gribiche and pickled vegetables

 Seaweed Salt

This is a coarse unrefined dry salt which is unbleached and pure. It is hand harvested using traditional methods. The brand name is Le Paludier and the company is based in Batz sur Mer in Brittany, France. A pinch of seaweed salt will enrich all your dishes with the added benefit trace elements.

 Lunch Main - Salt and Pepper Calamari

White Pepper

This pepper which comes from Cameroon, is a perfect match for sea-food and fish dishes as well as white meat, vegetables or mushrooms.

Crepe Suzette

Lunch Starter - Caramelised Onion and Chevin Tart

Assorted Salts

Me and my team in the kitchen at River Bend Lodge look forward to welcoming you this spring and summer

Kelly Liggett - Head Chef

World Elephant Day 12th August 2014

Being, as we are, situated in one of the world's most successful Conservation initiatives, the world renowned Addo National Elephant Park, we thought it appropriate to share some images of these magnificent beasts.

All of the photographs that follow were taken in the Nyathi Concession of the Park, which is where River Bend Lodge is situated.

Game viewing in this area is limited to guests of River Bend Lodge and you have an opportunity of experiencing some of the closest encounters possible with Elephants in the wild and in their natural habitat that you can have anywhere on earth!

We have developed a Photographic package which you can experience during your stay at River Bend Lodge and which can be tailored to your level of proficiency.

In addition to this package we are running a Photography Workshop with renowned Photographer Mark Drysdale in September of 2014....for which we still have a few places available.

See a Blog on this Link for some of Mark's images.
http://riverbendaddo.blogspot.com/2014/05/photographic-course-at-river-bend-lodge.html

Here are some more images, all converted into Black and White,  taken by our in house Photographer
Michael Price with whom you can discuss your requirements during your stay.

Today is World Elephant Day....and we would do well to remember that as many as 96 of these wonderful creatures are being killed everyday in Africa because of man's greed!!

Please click on an image to view large screen. All images the property of River Bend Lodge and may not be used without permission.

More on the Photography Workshop.....

More on the Photography Workshop....we are adding techniques with illustrations as we go along.

Perspective

Elephants are ideal subjects for this technique.

Motion Blur and Panning

Motion Blur can lead to some wonderfully creative photography...even some very appealing abstract type of image. Panning and Motion Blur are not strictly the same technique...but the appeal and effect are similar in many ways.

Use of available Light

First of the FAQ'S......."What species populate the Reserve around River Bend Lodge?"

How many species are present River Bend Lodge….the Nyathi Concession? What can we expect to photograph?

Whilst we will be targeting mainly Elephants, any other sightings will be ‘worked’ during our Photography Workshop. In other words, should we have a sighting that will be beneficial to the improvement of your Photography, or which can be used to demonstrate the use of a particular technique we will utilize the opportunity to it’s fullest.

Some of these aforementioned techniques will be demonstrated by way of illustration with a photograph in the coming weeks.

The Nyathi Concession on which River Bend Lodge is located is a 14 000 hectare expanse of land with 5 biomes – Subtropical Thicket (Valley Bushveld), Fynbos, Grassland, Forest, and Nama-Karoo.

Included in the list of Mammals are an extensive array of species; Elephants, Buffalo, Lions, Rhino, Kudu, Eland, Zebra, Red Hartebeest, Duiker, Aardvark, Warthog,  Bat Eared Fox, Bushpig, Caracal, Black Backed Jackal, Chacma Baboon’s, Genet (Large and Small Spotted) amongst others.

The Bird List exceeds 250 species (if one includes the migratory species), and includes Jackal Buzzard, Martial Eagle, Fish Eagle (there were a family raising young at a great location in 2013), Sunbirds (Malachite, Greater Double Collared, Amethyst are plentiful), Barbet’s, Honeyguide’s, Owl’s, Cuckoo’s, Kingfisher’s, Woodpecker’s, Roller’s Hoopoe’s, Bulbul’s, Robin’s, Warbler’s and others too numerous to have an exhaustive list here.

These images are for illustrative purposes only ...we hope those attending our Photography Workshop will go home with better images than these! All of these photographs were taken on the reserve on which River Bend Lodge is located.

(Images the property of River Bend Lodge and may only be used with permission)