SOUTH AFRICA: 2021 South Africa (Northern & Eastern Cape) Hunt Report

[BRICKBURN]

Happy belated Bday.
Very nice adventure to celebrate with.

 

[Tra3]

Of the items you brought with you, what were most crucial and what would you leave at home next trip? Any extra tips that come to mind?
I’ve enjoyed this hunt report. I’m wheels up in 19 days... starting to focus on the packing items.

 

[Hank2211]

Of the items you brought with you, what were most crucial and what would you leave at home next trip? Any extra tips that come to mind?
I’ve enjoyed this hunt report. I’m wheels up in 19 days... starting to focus on the packing items.

There was nothing which I brought with me which turned out to be "crucial" in the usual sense (other than some prescription drugs). In South Africa, unlike, say, Benin or Ethiopia, if you forget something, you can usually find something like it somewhere nearby. So I don't worry too much about leaving something behind (again, other than prescriptions, which may not be easy to replace or fill anywhere other than at home) when I'm going to South Africa.

I didn't bring enough warm clothes for the hunt - I had looked at the temperature for the Northern Cape, and I should have looked at the Eastern Cape, where I would actually be spending most of my time. Had Niel not been able to lend me a jacket which fitted me almost perfectly, I'd have probably had to make a stop in a local town to find something to buy.

Other than that, it was pretty much the usual stuff that I have on my checklist. I did bring only one pair of hunting boots - New Balance trail boots. I might have brought a second, but these were gore-tex lined so when it did rain, they didn't get wet inside. I've used Courtney's, Russells, and others, and I've returned to New Balance. They fit me well, they're light, and they're reasonably cheap.

Good luck with your trip - I wish I was still there!

 

[LivingTheDream]

There was nothing which I brought with me which turned out to be "crucial" in the usual sense (other than some prescription drugs). In South Africa, unlike, say, Benin or Ethiopia, if you forget something, you can usually find something like it somewhere nearby. So I don't worry too much about leaving something behind (again, other than prescriptions, which may not be easy to replace or fill anywhere other than at home) when I'm going to South Africa.

I didn't bring enough warm clothes for the hunt - I had looked at the temperature for the Northern Cape, and I should have looked at the Eastern Cape, where I would actually be spending most of my time. Had Niel not been able to lend me a jacket which fitted me almost perfectly, I'd have probably had to make a stop in a local town to find something to buy.

Other than that, it was pretty much the usual stuff that I have on my checklist. I did bring only one pair of hunting boots - New Balance trail boots. I might have brought a second, but these were gore-tex lined so when it did rain, they didn't get wet inside. I've used Courtney's, Russells, and others, and I've returned to New Balance. They fit me well, they're light, and they're reasonably cheap.

Good luck with your trip - I wish I was still there!

I thought based on your Cameroon report, you were endorsed, sponsored and part of the pro staff for Crocs.

 

[AB2506]

I thought based on your Cameroon report, you were endorsed, sponsored and part of the pro staff for Crocs.

Buzz Charlton almost exclusively hunts in Crocs.

The last trip I made to the Eastern Cape, I wore my hunting boots on the plane. That freed up weight and space in my luggage. I also didn't want to be hunting out of Crocs like Hank had!

My first trip I wore Meindl Ultralight uninsulated boots. They are Goretex lined. They worked fine, but after the trip, it seemed like they no longer fit well. For the second trip, I bought a pair of Lowa Z8S GTX. They are extremely comfortable and worked well. https://www.911supply.ca/products/lowa-z-8s-gtx-c-coyote-op?variant=32089614614586

Regardless of boot or shoe, a pair of gaiters to go over top of the boot top is necessary to keep weed and grass seeds, thorns and creepy crawlies like ticks, from getting into your boots. Trust me, you need them.

 

[Hank2211]

I thought based on your Cameroon report, you were endorsed, sponsored and part of the pro staff for Crocs.

A very astute observation. I can see why you are LivingTheDream.

In fact, and I probably should have said this at the very beginning, I did wear crocs on the airplane and in camp. I didn't hunt in them as I did in Cameroon, but I have no doubt I could have. Truly, Crocs are the footwear of the pros, if not the Gods.

Herewith a pic of the crocs I wore (they've been put away for the next trip, to ensure availability no matter what may happen to the company!):

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Day 14

We spent most of the morning looking for waterbuck and eland, but had no luck even seeing them. We began to head back for lunch and saw a springbok which looked like it might rescue our morning. I set up and took a shot from about 150 yards. The shot was a bit lower and farther back than I wanted, but it had the effect of unzipping his belly, so his stomach and intestines were hanging out. He didn’t go far and dropped near an anthill. Not a great shot, I thought, but it got the job done.

At that point a couple of his friends came by and must have kicked sand in his face or something, because he got up and began to trot after them, dragging his guts. Not a pleasant sight, but instead of slowing down, he actually sped up! We raced back to the truck and went after the three, which one of the trackers said went over a hill. We got off at one point and continued the chase on foot, but eventually lost the ones we were looking for. We had last seen blood by an open gate we had driven through chasing them, so John said “back to the last blood”, and we began walking back to the gate. It was Dean who announced, as we got nearer to the gate, that the springbok was lying dead beside the road. If we’d focused on the blood rather than where we thought he’d gone, we’d have seen him as we drove past him. A relief.

I felt good about that, so shot another one, as well as a fallow deer. Now we could return for lunch without being embarrassed.

A sable roaming the farm. Unfortunately (for me), it wasn't limping!

That afternoon we were hoping to find the eland again, but got sidetracked stalking a fallow deer. At one point Mendile said he’d just seen the eland on a mountainside some 800 yards or so away. Sure enough, there they were, so plans changed, and we began to stalk the eland. Now, when I say “there they were” I don’t mean I’d seen them. In fact, I couldn’t see them at all, but since I’d seen nothing, how could I argue that there was nothing there? As the lawyer in me would say, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”

I finally managed to see one or two of the eland when we were a couple of hundred yards away. I could see John was trying to make a plan to get us closer, which was a good idea, since I really didn’t want to take a shot at eland in heavy brush from 200 yards with a .275.

Slowly – and I mean slowly – we closed the distance to about 100 yards, moving from cover to cover, when we thought their heads were down, feeding. At one point a springbok came walking by not 30 yards from us – “unbelievable” I was thinking to myself – our stalk gets busted by a springbok! But we froze, the wind was in our favour, and while he looked at us from time to time, he didn’t seem disturbed and just kept going. That was the really unbelievable part!

At another point a cow saw us, but we froze and while she stared at us for what seemed like forever, she eventually lowered her head and we slowly moved behind a bush.

By this time, daylight was running out. We’d only seen a few of the eland and the one John wanted, the male with the one horn, he’d spotted initially but hadn’t seen for some time. All we knew was that there was a group ahead of us, higher than us on the side of the mountain, but they were moving in and out of heavy cover. It was possible that some had used the cover to move away around the base of the mountain. So I kept the rifle on the sticks, and John kept telling me not to move, and we kept discussing if I should wait to find the bull or shoot one of the cows. One cow in particular (the one which had seen us) had longish horns but they were oddly shaped, so likely a good one to take. Eventually, the decision was more or less made for us. We were starting to lose the light and we hadn’t seen the male in some time. So John said “if you’re comfortable on the cow to the left, take her.”

Dean, who was doing the video, had no idea that I was going to shoot the cow. From his position, he had seen the bull and focused on him, but we didn’t know that – from where we were standing we couldn’t see the bull. So he missed the shot on the cow.

View attachment 403138
The cow.

When I pulled the trigger on the cow, she stood for a moment and I wasn’t sure what had happened. But then she fell and did a summersault down the hill, so I figured the shot was good. John had been watching through his binos and as the shoot rang out, the rest of the herd suddenly showed themselves, including a group which were no farther than about 50 yards from us, in a bit of a sloot, which we had no idea about (lucky we hadn't gone any further - they'd have busted us for sure). But John also saw the one-horned bull and said “there he is . . . shoot him!”

I saw the bull standing, looking towards us, but surrounded by others. I got him in my sights and waited until I thought he was clear, and took the shot. He ran forward a few yards, stopped and looked back. I think the shot would have done it, but given that he wasn’t down, that it was getting dark, and that I’d had too many bad experiences on this trip with dead ones getting away, I gave him another, which dropped him on the spot. I should point out that when I took my first shot, the bull had a young eland behind him. Had I seen it, I might not have taken the shot (Dean did say that it was there, but I couldn't see it so thought it must have moved). Having said that, not one bullet passed though either of the eland, which is not a surprise.

Two eland down, in less than 40 seconds, with three total shots from a .275, using about as traditional (non-premium) a bullet as you can get these days. I impressed myself!

Given the weight of one eland, let alone two, we called for help from camp and within 20 minutes Niel showed up with his Land Cruiser and a half dozen workers. They made short work of getting the eland loaded up and back to camp.

A great way to celebrate my 63rd birthday! Of course, the very tasty chocolate cake with cream cheese icing which they made for me was pretty nice as well!

Great report! Just so I am understanding correctly, when you shot the two eland with the 275, were you shooting the 139 gr SST bullets? Thanks!

 

[Hank2211]

Great report! Just so I am understanding correctly, when you shot the two eland with the 275, were you shooting the 139 SST bullets? Thanks!

No. I'd stopped shooting those because the point of aim seemed unreliable in my rifle. I was shooting 140 grain Remington Cor-Lokt's.

 

[Hank2211]

COVID and Return to Canada

My return home was pretty uneventful, but some aspects of it may be of interest to Canadians returning from abroad.

First, I had to get a COVID test prior to leaving South Africa. That may sound simple, but it appears that the Government of Canada changed the rules a few days before my scheduled departure from JNB. Originally the test had to be no older than 72 hours before the “first scheduled departure” for the trip home. Given that I was leaving on my first leg of the trip home at 1.30 pm on April 29, that meant that the test had to be done no earlier than 1.30 pm on April 26. But the new rules said that the test must be no earlier than 72 hours before the flight which actually departs for Canada. Given that the flight from Doha to Montreal left at 8.25 am on April 30, that meant that the test had to be after 8.25 am on April 27.

So far, so good (if a little annoying), but April 27 was Freedom Day in South Africa and couriers which were necessary to take the test sample from Somerset East to Port Elizabeth for testing weren’t available that day. So I could go to Port Elizabeth on April 27, take the test, and spend a couple of days in the hotel prior to leaving, or I could trust that the test would take less than 36 hours and spend another day shooting. If I did that, I would arrive in PE the morning of April 28, take the test, and hope that the results came before my departure from PE to JNB at 1.30 on April 29. I actually had a bit more time than that, because my flight from JNB to Doha didn’t leave until 8.25 pm on April 29, but I knew that Qatar wouldn’t let me check in until I could show the test. So a bit of uncertainty.

I decided to take the risk and spend the extra day hunting. Two days in a hotel in PE wasn’t necessarily awful, but since I had to stay in a hotel once I returned to Canada (Government rules!), it seemed like just a bit too much. This decision – which I wasn’t happy to have been forced into – did add a bit of stress to the end of the trip. As things turned out, I got the test results back about 8 am the morning of April 29, so I had no issues checking in for the flight from South Africa to Qatar.

The international departures area at JNB, middle of the day, not a person in sight. Unbelievable.

But that was only step one. Step two was the COVID test on arrival in Canada. I would have to have that done at the airport in Montreal, and then go into a hotel where I would have to quarantine until I had the test results. The lab guaranteed a result within 72 hours and the Government mandated that I had to have a reservation at an approved hotel for three days, paid for in advance, before I left Doha for Canada. All of the necessary information had to be entered into a government app called ArriveCAN before departure for Canada.

That part actually worked pretty smoothly. I arrived in Montreal, cleared customs (the officer was completely unfamiliar with the process for firearms, so that took a while) and was directed to the test location. The test was much less painful than the one I had in South Africa (the nasal swab rather than the nasopharyngeal test I had there). I went to my hotel, and went to bed early. I woke up at 4 am Montreal time (jet lag) and found an email on my phone telling me my test result was negative. Quick turnaround.

That now presented another challenge though. I could stay in the hotel, which I’d paid for, for another two nights, or I could change my flight, at a cost of $400 and return to Calgary early. I spoke to the hotel and they told me they’d refund the last night if I left that afternoon. So I chose to leave, and flew home that evening.

 

[Hank2211]

Some final reflections:

1. I know that many, if not most, people won’t want to shoot as many animals as I did, or do it for the 12 days I did. Having said that, you could easily hunt trophy plains game and buffalo at Niel’s place or in the immediate area, and hunt cull animals between the trophies. Or you could just shoot cull animals before a trophy hunt as a “tune up” or after a trophy hunt elsewhere as a very relaxing and interesting way to spend a few days before leaving the country.

I really saw no significant difference between the way we hunted cull animals and the way I’ve hunted trophy animals in South Africa. In either case, you need to make sure the animal you choose to shoot is the right one. It’s just that the definition of ‘right’ changes.

2. When you’re hunting or shooting at Niel’s, you’re staying with the owner of the place in his home, and he’s your host at most meals (Niel was taken away a few times on farm business). Some may like that, while others may not. For me, it depends on the host. Niel is a wonderful host and a fount of information on the area, its history, the geography, the animals, etc. The conversation never flagged or became dull, whether it was at meals or in his bar watching him braai dinner. I felt much more at home at Niel’s than I have in most other purpose built lodges.

3. The rhino hunt turned out, for a bunch of reasons, to be a highlight of the trip. The fact that it helped rhino conservation is an added benefit, but one well worth talking about. When I’ve explained to people how most rhinos are actually cared for, and how little NGOs which raise money for rhino conservation actually spend on rhino conservation, eyes have been opened. I’ve even had some tell me what a good thing I did!

4. High volume culling – as Europeans practice it and as I did it three or four years ago here – can get you the same or a greater number of animals in a much shorter period of time (I once shot about 25 blesbok in an afternoon of driven shooting and 50 springbok in one day), but I much prefer the approach we took this time. We took our time, we chose our animals, and other than the volume taken, it was really no different than a true hunt. I would do this again, without question.

5. My PH (on every one of my South African adventures), John Tinley, as well as my booking agent and video guy – Dean Stobbs, conspire to make every hunt I’ve been on both challenging and a sh*tload of fun. This was no exception. It really adds another dimension to a hunting trip when you enjoy the people you’re with. I thank both of them for their professionalism, for just being great guys and for putting up with me.

6. A word on Qatar, since there’ve been threads on both the airline and flying through Arab countries. First, if anyone is worried about alcohol (or more likely, its absence), you have no need to worry on Qatar. At least in business class, the airline has the best (and longest) wine, spirits and cocktails list I have seen on any airline anywhere. The lounges in Doha provide alcohol. All of the duty free shops in Doha sell alcohol. Given that I was going through during Ramadan, a curtain had been put up in front of the alcohol section, but you were more than welcome to go ‘behind the curtain’ as it were. Just out of respect, if for no other reason, I wouldn’t walk around drunk, nor would I openly consume alcohol, but I have the same rules in any airport anywhere!

I have no doubt whatsoever that any traveller used to North American airlines would find the Qatar planes newer and cleaner than what they're used to flying and, more importantly, the staff to be unfailingly helpful, cheerful and willing to please. Really, it was a treat.

A word on the airport in Doha. The airport itself is clean and modern. There are people in “uniform” (usually a suit) standing around ready to offer help or assistance to anyone who looks in need or has questions. The security people were polite and helpful. I saw no soldiers in uniform, nor did I see anyone openly carrying weapons, as is common in most airports. Believe me, Doha is not LGA - or YYC for that matter)!

The only issue for the future is that the flights tend to be longer. Unlike those who can fly directly from the US to JNB, those of us in Western Canada don’t have that option, especially if we’re travelling with firearms. The total “in the air” time from YYC to JNB was about 26 hours, while going my normal way through Europe it’s about 22.5 hours. Flying via Qatar does add one extra flight however, so when you factor in the one extra layover, it can be longer (or in some cases, though, shorter) than flying via Europe.

7. Lastly, thanks to everyone on AH who’s taken the time to read these adventures and those who’ve taken the time to comment. I really enjoy re-living my trips in this way, and this forum provides all the encouragement I need to do that!

 

[Trogon]

I really enjoyed your hunting report. Longer the better! Sounded as though you had a great time, I'm envious. Thank you for taking the time to write with all of the details!

 

[cls]

Enjoyed following along with your report. Sounds like you had a great time. The quarantine crap on returning back to Canada had me delay my safari until next year. I thought you might skip the quarintine and just go for the fine. I might have missed it but did you quarantine at home for the 2 weeks as well? Thanks again for a great report.

 

[cpr0312]

Thanks for sharing your hunt with us!

 

[Riksa]

Thank you for the great story. It was very nice to read it.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Like always well written and interesting. Looking forward to the rest of the story.

Bruce

+1. I’m waiting with baited (bad?) breath for the rest of the story!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Thank you for the energy and effort in sharing your hunt. As always, a pleasure to read and spend some time in Africa through someone else’s eyes.

 

[Hank2211]

Enjoyed following along with your report. Sounds like you had a great time. The quarantine crap on returning back to Canada had me delay my safari until next year. I thought you might skip the quarintine and just go for the fine. I might have missed it but did you quarantine at home for the 2 weeks as well? Thanks again for a great report.

The fine is something like $3000, and staying in the hotel was a small fraction of that. Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, it was nice to get back (even if not all the way) and not have to deal with all the home things right away. So no complaints about the hotel.

I did finish the balance of the quarantine at home. The longest I've stayed at home without going out by a wide margin. But my wife took good care of me!

So overall, it wasn't much hassle at the end, and I didn't for a moment regret going.

 

[jpomazi]

Thanks for the write up. A great read that I really enjoyed. 93 days and I'm off to RSA.

 

[Milan]

Great report, pictures and videos. And sounds like a lovely trip. Thank you for taking us with you at least virtually.

Day 10


I don’t know what the problem was, so I’m not attributing fault – I’m just relaying the facts as we found them. It doesn’t make sense to me that the SST ammo would shoot all over the place, while the Remington ammo would group correctly. But that’s what happened.

I shoot the 139gr SSTs on whitetail here and they shoot better groups than Rem 140gr Core-Lokts, At least in my guns. But not just the 7x57, same goes for 150gr 30-06. I'd blame the scope.

 

[MAdcox]

Great report sir. Thanks for sharing.
My wife and I spent a wonderful week at Kareekloof in May of 2019. Hunting among all those rhinos was a real treat.