Who’s who in the wild: Meet the Morukuru Family Madikwe magic-makers

If you thought the Big Five were the stars of Madikwe Game Reserve, you haven’t yet met the Management Team of Morukuru Family Madikwe. They’re wholly devoted to the idea that your safari should feel like home – only better. Get to know them – including their favourite spots, memories, and moments…

Anne-Marie & Armand Steyn: Special Projects & Managing Director

What happens when a couple swap conventional living for the untamed edges of Madikwe Game Reserve? Two words: bush devotion. Anne-Marie and Armand, our dedicated Managing Director, will tell you they came for the biodiversity but stayed because Morukuru Family really is one magnificent, extended family – a family that includes every guest who ever marvels at an elephant crossing the Marico River.

“Madikwe Game Reserve had always been on our list of reserves to work in. Morukuru Family Madikwe is such an amazing property and product to be part of; we cannot see ourselves going anywhere else. The name says it all: we are one big family.” ~ Armand

Their favourite Madikwe moments? The best ones happen during the ordinary day-to-day, like the “school run” for their son, which occasionally turns into a lion-spotting, giraffe-dodging, spontaneous adventure. For your first safari, their advice is simple: Pause. Let Africa weave its magic into your bones – and chances are, you’ll never get rid of it. Luxury? It’s the kind you can’t calculate in carats. It’s freedom, family, and writing your own story, dusk to dawn. And if you hope to keep children on a timetable, well, prepare to be gloriously outwitted by the Morukuru Freedom Concept.

“Not having a strict schedule to follow makes all the difference in being able to take the little ones on game drives with you. These are moments to be shared as a family, and to be able to see your little ones get excited over every animal they see is priceless. Being parents ourselves, we know how special these moments are.” ~ Anne-Marie

Esmaralda & Shane Kloeck: General Manager, Culinary Visionary & Green Guardian

Our General Manager, Esmaralda, who is also the Executive Chef, crafts menus, mentors chefs, wields her “fine eye for detail,” and may or may not have a cape labelled “Crisis Ninja.” Her dish that bottles the Morukuru spirit? “Walk in the Bush”: multi-layered, familiar, and full of surprises. Think dark chocolate mousse laced with wild berries and the earthiness of coffee. It’s comfort food with the soul of the savannah.

“I thrive on guest feedback; their delight in the views and the wildlife at the waterhole is what makes me love what I do.” ~ Esmaralda

Shane is not only the General Manager of Morukuru Goodwill Foundation, but also our Group Sustainability Director. He quietly ensures the bush’s invisible gears keep turning. He’ll tell you that the wild doesn’t run by schedule. There’s always a leopard to protect, a waterhole to monitor, and an anti-poaching patrol to launch. Shane and the Morukuru Goodwill Foundation are the stewards of all the wild places, the quiet guardians who don’t just keep the reserves green but make it greener.

“What inspires my work most is knowing we as Morukuru Family are making a lasting difference through the lodge and through our Morukuru Goodwill Foundation.” ~ Shane

Dean & Paige Pieters: Morukuru Farm House Managers

Dean’s favourite place? Butcher’s Viewpoint, a spot for sunsets and soul-searching. He’s a guide at heart, delighting in “reading the morning bush newspaper” in a swirl of tracks and trails. For guests, it’s becoming part of the daily drama, sometimes with a hint of rockstar karaoke or Dean hiding in the bushes to make the kids shriek with (delighted) terror.

“I love watching guests truly relax – making themselves at home, enjoying the bar, splashing in the pool. It’s in those carefree moments that real connections are made: long conversations, laughter until your cheeks ache.” ~ Dean

Paige? She’s the calm at Ed’s View when the world feels too fast, and the secret hand behind those magical sunset-deck dinners: candles flickering and laughter echoing as strangers become friends and friends become an honorary branch of the Morukuru Family tree.

“There’s such a sense of family here that goodbyes are never easy. But with Morukuru Family, it’s never really goodbye, just a “see you soon.”” ~ Paige

Emile Nieman & Rochane van Aswegen: Morukuru River House Managers

Emile and Rochane aren’t bound to one favourite nook. It’s the whole bush, every birdsong and leaf-rustle, that restores them. Their secret sauce is turning a luxury house into a home, where each guest becomes family, and every return visit deepens the roots.

“There’s just something about surrounding yourself with the sound and smells of the bush, while spending time with your partner, that makes everything else fall away.” ~ Rochane

But their true tradition is the soulful song at checkout – the staff singing guests on their way, and sometimes, the guests singing (or reading poetry!) right back. Expect many special moments. You’ll bake stokbrood over the coals. Part tradition, part theatre, pure joy.

“Sharing the tradition of making stokbrood with guests – telling the story behind it and seeing their faces light up with that first bite – is truly special.” ~ Emile

Dewald Heenop & Jedine Deysel: Morukuru Owner’s House Managers

Dewald is someone who knows exactly where to be when the afternoon light softens and the bush holds its breath. His favourite spot is close to the river, in that unhurried hour when the birds take over and everything else falls quiet. It's the place that reminds him, every single time, why the bush feels like home – and why he never wants to leave.

“One thing that never gets old for me is seeing a guest experience their first close wildlife sighting. Every guest reacts differently.” ~ Dewald

As both manager and guide, Dewald carries a rare dual fluency: he can track a leopard at dawn and make sure your evening dinner at Ed's View is set simply perfect. He knows that a stay at Morukuru Owner’s House has truly taken hold when guests stop checking the time, settle quietly around the fire, and start noticing the smaller things. That, for Dewald, is when a guest stops visiting and starts belonging. Jedine’s welcome is one that makes you exhale. From the moment guests arrive at Morukuru Owner's House, she wants them to know one thing above all else: this is your home now. Her favourite corner of the property is the sala, where meals are served with the river drifting past and the sounds of the bush folding in around the table.

"The thing I love most about welcoming guests to Morukuru Owner's House is telling them that this is their home away from home and we as a team are here to take good care of them." ~ Jedine

When families arrive with children who soon abandon any trace of shyness and simply run – that, for Jedine, is the clearest sign that something is working. It means the parents have exhaled too, trusting the team to be present and genuinely invested in every small adventure. And when it's time to say goodbye? The team gathers to sing, and more often than not, guests leave with tears in their eyes. Jedine takes pride in that. It means the stay mattered.

Shimmy & Rosemary Mlambo: Relief Managers

Shimmy and Rosemary move between the houses of Morukuru Family Madikwe as relief managers, and in doing so, they've developed something of a superpower: the ability to walk into any space, read the room, and make guests feel immediately, completely at ease. Shimmy will tell you that every house has its own personality. Some feel calm and contemplative; others carry a more energetic, adventurous charge. Stepping between them keeps things interesting and keeps guests at the centre of the story, wherever they happen to be staying.

"Every guest's experience is different, and it's always nice knowing you helped make their stay special." ~ Shimmy

For Rosemary, it's the connections that matter most. Moving across different houses means meeting an endlessly varied cast of guests – and finding, every time, that the fundamentals remain the same: kindness, attentiveness, and the small gestures that make someone feel genuinely seen.

"I think it's the small, thoughtful things that guests remember most – when we remember their preferences or simply make them feel cared for." ~ Rosemary

If you asked either of them to describe Morukuru Family Madikwe in just a few words, they wouldn't hesitate: warm, peaceful, welcoming, and unforgettable. Which, when you think about it, is exactly what they bring to every house they walk into.

We are a team. We are the Morukuru Family

There are luxury lodges, and then there is Morukuru Family Madikwe, where the people behind the magic refuse to sit still behind a desk or hide behind a clipboard. They are guides, hosts, surprise-makers, and culinary alchemists. For every leopard sighting, there’s a hidden birthday cake; for every starlit game drive, a memory stitched into forever. To stay with them is to know why the heart of Africa beats so strongly in this corner of the bush. And if you ask for their “management secrets,” they’ll probably tell you it’s the same trick the elephants use: We never forget… to treat you like family. Ready to meet them in person? Come as guests, leave as kin. That’s the Morukuru Family way. To book your stay at Morukuru Owner’s House, Morukuru River House and Morukuru Farm House, contact your preferred travel specialist or our reservations team.