UGANDA: Uganda Wildlife Safaris

[JES Adventures]

Uganda has been on my list for quite a while. I had been in communication with Christian Weth of Uganda Wildlife Safaris for some years and 2018 was finally my time to visit this exotic location.

I booked the hunt more than a year in advance and my friend Gustavo from San Antonio joined me for the 2x2 safari. We booked the 15 day safari that would enable us to hunt East African Sitatunga, Nile Buffalo, Uganda Kob and a variety of plainsgame unique to East Africa.

We departed Houston headed for Entebbe via Amsterdam on KLM. We tried to purchase business class upgrades but the flight was full so we were resigned to our comfort plus seating. It turned out well, with ample legroom and a vacant seat between us. Between business, family commitments and the Easter Holiday I was exhausted so was able to sleep most of the flight.

We arrived Schipol Airport about 7AM and found our way to some coffee to clear the cobwebs. The layover is less than 4 hours so we walked around the airport, hit duty free and got a bit of exercise.

Since both of us have hunted Africa extensively, but never Uganda we conversed about the upcoming safari with much anticipation. Going to a new country a new area and hunting species you have never laid eyes on is like being a little boy at Christmas again!

Once again we struck out on upgrades so back to our regular seats.

 

[JES Adventures]

We arrived Entebbe about 20 minutes early and after the customary hour to get the guns cleared we were headed to Kampala for overnight. Interesting that one of the four government officials that were involved with clearing the firearms chided me for coming to Uganda to "kill their animals". I simply responded with the statement that hunters spend a lot of money to conserve wildlife. Without our dollars, many national parks and programs would never be funded. He said he has never heard such a thing so I suggested he do an internet search on sport hunting and conservation to learn how closely the two are tied together.

Once we cleared customs, I met up with my videographer Melcom Van Staden who had arrived from South Africa about an hour earlier. We chatted a bit during the 45 minute drive to the Speke Hotel on Lake Victoria and settled in for a short overnight stay.

 

[JES Adventures]

Day 1


The alarm was set for 7:30 as we were going to meet at eight for breakfast. The driver was scheduled to pick us up at 9 AM and we would head for camp.

We arrived to camp about 1:40 with half of the trip being consumed just getting out of Kampala. It’s a very large city, a population of about 8 million and no real freeway system.

The camp is very nicely done with tents under thatch with en suite bathroom and a bar/large dining area separate from the kitchen. All of this nestled on the banks of the Kafu river which is basically a massive papyrus forest. It reminded me a bit of the Kavango in Caprivi Strip at first sight.

After a nice lunch of roasted Bushbuck and potatoes we checked the rifles and then headed out to sit in a machan for the evening. The machans are built to overlook sections of slashed papayus. This provides new growth for the Sitatunga to browse on as well as an open area for shooting.

Around 6 we saw a nice East African bushbuck of about 13” at 42 yds. It was cool, he had no idea we were there!

At 6:30 Paul spotted a Serval walking through the slashed papayrus. Then a second Serval walked up and they frolicked about. Then, much to our surprise a third Serval joined the pair! It looks to be a mother and nearly grown cubs. They hunted a bit and Melcom was able to get some footage of one coming up with a small lizard. It was really nice to watch these usually nocturnal cats in their natural environment - it made the day.

Shortly thereafter we heard a distant shot, I could tell from the thud it connected. Paul texted Christian and a few minutes later he replied with. We have a sitatunga! Amazing, less than 5 hours from arriving camp and Gustavo had his priority animal in the salt.

We got back in the camp about dark. I cleaned up, mixed a cocktail and then heard two nearby shots, which signaled the start of the "kabubi". The camp started singing as the vehicle approached and we all went outside to congratulate Gustavo on his Sitatunga.

A beautiful old mature Sitatunga bull, the tape stretch to 26 inches and Gustavo was elated to say the least.

After the impromptu celebration, we headed back to the dining room and sat down for dinner. Another great meal of reedbuck milanese and vegetables. A few bottles of red wine and several whiskeys later the celebration continued. I had to call it a night about 11 as I had an early morning ahead.

 

[JES Adventures]

Day 2


No sign of Gustavo or Christian at the 6 AM breakfast, so we knew they were sleeping in.

Just as it was breaking light we got to the edge of the river and loaded into a small boat. We were headed into the papyrus to sit in a new machan. A Beautiful sunrise followed by a very comfortable morning however no Sitatunga were sighted.

 

[JES Adventures]

Day 2 (Continued)

At 10 we departed the machan and stopped by camp for a cup of coffee and a snack. We then went out in search of Bushbuck and eastern Bohor Reedbuck for a few hours before lunch.

Not 15 minutes from camp and the first bushbuck ewe was spotted. Carried on, spotting several more females and some with young by their side. We spotted three different males, with the largest being around 11 inches. I am looking for something larger as this is one of the best areas to hug Nile Bushbuck and they take several truly exceptional trophies each year.

As we progress, Paul mentioned that the area we were about to enter is one of the best locations for Reedbuck. About 15 minutes later, we spotted a good male in the distance and step down off the Land Cruiser get a better look. After 15 minute start we were able to confirm that it was a post with your mail, will browned and with hard basis.

Paul set up the sticks and I studied the 338 and put the crosshairs on his shoulder. As I squeeze the trigger I must have why would a bit and hit him a little far back. I was able to get a follow up shot in him to put them down. A very nice mature eastern bohor reedbuck I was very pleased do you have taken.

As we pulled in camp, we could see the skinners were working on something and it was a Bushbuck. Gustavo went out about the same time I did , he passed on nearly a dozen males before taking a beautiful Nile Bushbuck almost 15 inches. An amazing trophy in it’s own right however he’s taken two fantastic Spiral horned antelope in less than 24 hours!

No doubt, Uganda Wildlife Safaris is the premier destination for East African Sitatunga and Nile Bushbuck.

After a nice lunch of Sitatunga with Rice and vegetables, short she has to follow. We will be headed out about 3:30 to go sit in a machan.

 

[LivingTheDream]

I am really enjoying this report! Please keep it up! Fantastic animals so far. I am debating about hunting Uganda.

 

[cpr0312]

Enjoying the read! Heck of a bushbuck!

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Looks like you had a great hunt and we're only on day 2! Looking forward to the rest of the report.

 

[Pheroze]

Great report, thanks for posting about this unusual destination!

 

[CAustin]

Very nice trophies!

 

[Travis2282]

Very nice animals!

 

[johnnyblues]

Love to hunt there. Congratulations.

 

[khharris]

Interested to hear about the rest of your trip. From what I’ve read Christian’s outfit is one of the best.

 

[rinehart0050]

Great report so far. Looking forward to more!

 

[JES Adventures]

The staff Christian Weth has put together are very efficient and everything is well attended to. The camp if very comfortable with electricty by generator and WIFI in the main building.

Now on to a bit of housekeeping;

My apologies for the strange, random words in a couple of the posts. I was using the voice control on my iPhone to dictate and obviously the device has some issues with my Texas accent! I am typing here forward.

My PH is Paul Wellock from Zimbabwe, a pleasant man with a calm demeanor. It turns out he worked the PH of my first safari - Chris Van Wyk in Zim when he first started out. Having hunted Zim many times over the years we had a lot of common friends and acquaintances.

 

[JES Adventures]

Day 3

The wake up call was for 5, I woke at 4:40 very well rested. The night temperatures are very comfortable in the 60's so perfect sleeping weather. Fortunately my prayers were answered and it stopped raining during the night.

We were off for a new machan that Augustine (another PH) had scouted earlier in the week and saw a nice bull. It was a beautiful sunrise, birds singing and a long, whispy white cloud hovered above the river channel in the papyrus.

The clouds finally broke about 8:30 and the air started to warm up. Paul was optimistic this would start some movement since it had rained heavily yesterday.

By 9:30, no sign of a Sitatunga so we were off in search of Bushbuck. About halfway back to camp we spotted a nice ram and took off after him. About 300 yards into the stalk we lost sight of him behind a large ant mound. We moved out to the side to gain a better view but got busted and the ram was off. We stayed with him for another half hour but finally lost him in some heavy bush. Oh well, thats hunting!

We continued our search for Bushbuck and spotted over a dozen rams but none I wanted to take. There is plenty of time left in the safari and lots of Bushbuck so I will hold off for the right ram.

Back in camp by 1 PM for lunch and Gustavo had taken a 16" East African Bushbuck and a very nice Bush Duiker, he's had an amazing 2 1/2 days!

The rain clouds started to build and it looked as if the afternoon hunt would be wet again. It seems this weather pattern has set in and it has not been good for Sitatunga movement the last couple of days. It seems they don't like the rain nor heavy wind and tend to lay low.

By 4 it looked as if the bulk of the storm was off to the West so we headed out to a new machan. In addition, there were 5 trackers scouting other machans who had instructions to call us if a bull appears and we would try to get there before he leaves. The evening progressed and fortunately not much rain but a fair amount of wind. It finally calmed down just after 6 and our hopes were high as we were in the "magic hour". With nightfall fast approaching we called it a day and left the machan at about 7:15.

This night we fed on the grilled back strap of my reedbuck and vegetables. Over a cigar and after dinner drink we discussed the coming days. Not that Gustavo has collected all the species he was after in this area he will move to the North tomorrow for Uganda Kob, Nile Buffalo and Kirk Dik Dik.


For me, it will be up at 5 as normal to depart for the island in search of the elusive Sitatunga!

 

[npm352]

Wow! Nice animals!

 

[Wheels]

Really enjoying your report and photos. It is great to be able to experience areas we don't hear much about.

 

[JES Adventures]

Day 4


We got out at 6 sharp this morning to be on the island at first light. Fortunately the hippos were no where near the crossing so we were off! It was a beautiful morning, optimism was high and everything felt right. We had trackers and scouts in the other three machans so the entire area was covered.


The morning progressed and no Sitatunga, it seemed strange as conditions were ideal. For some unknown reason they just weren't moving when we were there. We got down at 10 and went to the slashed area and checked for tracks. We found several sets of tracks after the rain yesterday so we know they moved either late evening or during the night.

We hunted Bushbuck on the way back and spotted several but still in search of an old ram. We ate lunch early so we could get back out an hour earlier today.

There is a lady name Camille from Canada doing a study on the Sitatunga here and she was going to catch a ride with us and sit in a machan near us on the mainland. She said that if a good bull comes out she would text.


We got to the island by 3:45 and it seemed like the perfect day. We were in hopes that the Sitatunga would move in the afternoon since we were not seeing them in the morning. Once again, trackers and scouts were in the other machans and the evening hunt was underway.

At about 4:30 Camille texted Paul that a mature bull was in the slash at her machan so we were off. It took us about 15 minutes to get across to the mainland and a 5 minute walk to the machan. As we approached she indicated the direction where the bull was feeding. Paul went up first and motioned for me to follow and Melcom was in tow. As he pointed and described the direction where the bull was I put up my binoculars and scanned the edge of the papyrus but could spot nothing. They both said he had gone back in the papyrus so we waited. After 15 minutes of hard glassing Paul picked up something down low in the cover and it was not a bird. I picked it up and studied the area and finally made out a flicking ear, it was the bull!

I turned the scope up to 15X on my Dakota 338 Lapua and focused on the ear, he was at 148 yards. It seemed like an eternity but it was probably only 10 minutes. I could see movement, then the horns came up and he stood. I said "he's up, he's up" dropped the crosshairs and shot. The bull was off and Paul yelled "shoot again, shoot him again" but on a full run at nearly 180 yards it was a futile attempt. Melcom said to me "there was no reaction, it was a clean miss". I was sick to say the least, cross examining what I had just done I was speechless. The only Sitatunga I have seen in three days of hunting and I blew it.

The scout, tracker and Paul went to the shot location to verify the miss. Nearly 20 hours of sitting and waiting have gone to waste. Back at the landcruiser, I was apologetic to the whole team and we set off to camp. Melcom and I rode in the back while Paul drove. The sun was setting and it was another beautiful evening despite my failure.

As we rounded a corner, the scout (Franko) tapped on the car and said "Bushbuck". I motioned for Paul to stop. I got a look at the ram as he stood atop a termite mound staring at us. A nice old male, heavy and broomed. Paul said "take him" and I carefully put the crosshairs just behind the shoulder and squeezed off. The ram jumped and kicked as the leapt off the mound and we followed up. Upon inspection, the shot was precisely where I aimed so now there is no question that it was operator error on the Sitatunga.

I was elated to have taken a Nile Bushbuck, my sixth sub specie of Bushbuck. He is the perfect example of a Nile Bushbuck, sporting the characteristic cape of spots and the vertical stripe measuring 13" on the long horn.

Another great meal of Sitatunga and we toasted to the bull I missed. Paul said "a clean miss is better than a poor hit. The bull lives another day and we continue with our hunt." That my friends is hunting.

 

[Jfet]

Thanks for the story.