SOUTH AFRICA: First Trip: South Africa - Somerby Safaris

[Trout Tracker]

I am having a hard time believing that this is really happening. It seems like only last week, that my best friend and hunting buddy, Tom, who lives in Maine, floated the idea of us going to Africa for a Safari. What was he thinking! We are both foresters working for a private company, we’re not doctors, lawyers or bankers! At that time when Tom suggested the idea, I (who live in Oklahoma), didn’t give it the thought it deserved as I never thought I could afford a trip like this. That is what you get for assuming – I didn’t have any idea what a trip like this would cost, so I automatically thought it was well beyond my budget of “fun money”. Both of us had planned and talked about a guided Elk hunt out west, or a guided Caribou hunt in Quebec for our next trip. My brain could process that, and believed that those hunts were in our “wheelhouse”. Ten months and one Dallas Safari Club Convention (DSC) later, both Tom and I are on a plane headed to the Dark Continent for our first safari for a price tag cheaper than either of those hunts for Elk or Caribou! But I digress…

I started to give the concept of going to Africa more thought when Tom began sharing prices he had seen. In January of 2014, Nynke (my wife) and I went to a DSC event in Dallas to see for myself what options were out there. Yikes…having never been to a DSC event before, I was blown away, and it was certainly sensory overload. Arriving at the event on Sunday, we raced through the aisles and grabbed every brochure we could find and visited with a few outfitters that caught our attention. Leaving the event, we had 4 bags of brochures and a lot of homework ahead. The next 3 weeks, I sorted through the piles of information into a short list of those outfitters that I wanted to learn more from. My sort was rudimentary, but it helped me get to a manageable amount of people to follow up with later. Here were our criteria:

• We were not interested in “inches”, but old representative animals. We knew we couldn’t afford a property that catered in animals to make “the book”.
• We wanted to have the entire property to ourselves. Neither of us had any interest in “sharing” a property with another group of hunters but would welcome spending time around a campfire with other like-minded hunters.
• We wanted to hunt self-sustaining animals, not animals supplemented frequently.
• We, being both foresters, have a much better grasp on acreage and property size than some, and we’ve both worked our careers on large acreage tracts, so we set up an arbitrary minimum individual acreage of 20,000 acres, as it was a size we figured we couldn’t be bouncing off fences regularly.
• We didn’t require “fancy lodging”. Growing up in blue collar America, we are more than used to tents and making do. I had no interest in a lodge that has a spa!
• Our last requirement was that we wanted...and expect to hunt. Neither of us wanted to be on a clock…breakfast at 7. Lunch at noon. Dinner at 6. If we are doing this once in a lifetime trip, then we are hoping to hunt from early morning to dark. A simple field lunch is fine, and welcomed, as it allows us more time to be in the field. Oh yeah, we also wanted to hunt 2:1. This would give us the opportunity to hunt with each other and participate in each other’s adventure!

There were several very fine operators that I would have enjoyed hunting with, but I simply had to place them in my “Dr’s, Lawyers and Banker” pile. So, after our sort, we made a short list of a few outfitters, and contacted dozens of references and made out decision over the course of about 6 weeks, selecting Somerby Safaris as our outfitter. Time will tell if we made the right choice for our ten-day adventure!

From our selection process to our flight time, we both visited with clients, friends and associated who have made the trip before. We spent a significant amount of time preparing and planning for this trip. Our outfitter suggested that we use Barnes TSX ammunition, as we were going to each hunt: Warthog, Blue Wildebeest, Impala, Kudu, Gemsbok and I also was instructed by my wife to not return without a Zebra! The months leading up to our hunt, found me in local gravel pits, shooting off of sticks out to 200 yards in preparation for our “Once in a lifetime-Mancation!”

I’m not going to tell Tom’s story, as that should be up to him.

My rifle of choice for this trip was easy for me to choose, as it was the largest caliber bolt action rifle I owned. A Remington Model 700 Classic in .280 Rem, shooting 140 gr. TSX. Topped with a Burris 3x9 scope. From the above picture, you can see that it likes and shot the ammo well. The rest will be up to me. Not that Tom and I needed additional excuses to talk often, but planning for this trip gave us something else to fill our conversations and bounce ideas and questions off of each other. Looking back, the planning process was busy, stressful, exciting and wonderful all at the same time. In the process of contacting one of the references for one of the outfitters was that I keep a journal. I have never done that and didn’t give it much thought until we began packing for our trip. It’s a decision I’m grateful I chose to do.

Tom and I met in Atlanta on the appointed date, with luggage checked, dozens of emails answered by Somerby Safaris staff (certainly they must be exhausted at all our questions by now!) and an unknown adventure ahead. We had no idea what to expect, but we each knew something extraordinary was in our reach. Sitting on the plane, I have a moment to reflect on the past few months. I’m grateful for my wife, who is allowing me to take this trip with my best friend, without her along to join us. I know how lucky I am, and I appreciate that she has been so supportive. I’m also grateful for my job and that having worked for 20 years for the same employer is what is allowing me this opportunity. Last, but most importantly, I’m grateful to God and for the opportunities, freedom and blessings that He’s bestowed upon the both of us.

Fifteen hours later we arrive at JNB, not knowing where to go, or what to do! Follow the crowd! Emerging from baggage claim, I see a tall man with a slightly familiar face (Andre) with a sign that has our names printed on it-guess that’s our guy! Next to him I see a woman with bloodshot eyes and tears running down her cheeks…and I learn that this is Ansa, the lady we’ve been emailing the past few months. She just put on the plane their last client and is clearly emotional about their departing. Andre introduces everyone and escorts us to SAPS to claim our rifles. Ansa apologizes about the tears, but confesses that she gets so attached to many of their clients and hates to see them go.

All our baggage and rifles are in good shape and tonight we head to Ndlovo Lodge about an hour away for tonight’s stay. I can’t believe it…we are finally in Africa, and what was once a fleeting dream is about to come true. My camera is ready and so am I. Arriving at Ndlovo, we are greeted by the concierge, and he takes us and our luggage to our room. What a beautiful lodge! We are both overwhelmed and have dozens of questions for our PH this evening. Andre is patient with us and we stay up late talking about our plans for tomorrow when we will head to a private ranch in the Limpopo Province. Off to bed we go, and I’m too excited to sleep much this evening. Christmas arrives tomorrow!

 

[Mekaniks]

Excellent! Looking forward to following along on your adventure

 

[ILDRHNTR]

Best of luck!! Enjoy every minute!! Can’t wait for the report and pics. Your enthusiasm is very evident in your writing. That will make the report all the better.

 

[Trout Tracker]

Day 1.

Not wanting to miss my first sunrise in Africa, I awake early to peacocks and other birds beginning their morning din. How exciting… my first sunrise and a cup of coffee in my hands. I’m more relaxed this morning than I have been in months. Last evening prior to retiring for the evening, I learned my first mistake of the trip: my Universal Travel Converter, isn’t so universal. Maybe in Europe, but not here! Oh well, I’ll have to grab one on our way through town.

Andre meets us for breakfast and prepares us for the day ahead. The plan is to drive to our hunting location, empty the truck, get ready to hunt, check our rifles to see if Delta made any modifications to our equipment and head out hunting. Arriving at our destination, I’m shocked to see the quality of the accommodations, and wonder if this can really be real or if I’m dreaming. I think to myself that this is a long way from a canvas tent and a Coleman stove! I believe I can adjust “up”.

Andre, who had been very patient with our questions, must be wondering what he’s got himself into. Both Tom and I have been quizzing and questioning him since we left Ndlovo, and I can imagine that he’s anxious to go hunting to shut us up! Tom and I grab our rifles, backpacks and the gear we believe we’ll need on our first evening out. We have our tracker Benji and our Game Scout (our rep from the property we will be hunting) with us as we depart for the afternoon hunt. Entering the property, Andre finds an open area where he sets up a rudimentary target and we each take a few shots. All is well, and we are now officially hunting! Minutes after entering the gate, both Tom and I are in awe at the amount of wildlife we are seeing on this working cattle ranch. Somerby had arranged to have exclusive rights to hunt here, and we learn that the property is over 35,000 acres, and has not had any animals introduced. We are told that we should expect to see Impala, Kudu, Warthog, Baboon, Duiker and Mountain Reedbuck. Our cameras were busy as we were snapping pictures everywhere.

Let’s get on to the hunt…Driving through multiple cattle lots and corrals, we are working our way into the ranch and get to see many Warthogs, Baboon and Impala. Andre shares with us that his concern is Kudu, and wants to tackle that animal first, but if he saw a mature animal on our list, he’d let us know. I was amazed to see so many Impala hanging out with the cattle, and they didn’t seem too spooky, and would hang out in the brush as we drove past. It was 2:15 PM, and we made our way through a 5 wire cattle fence when Andre spotted a group of Impala that interested him. I won the earlier “Rock, Paper, Scissors” game, so I was to shoot first. Andre drove the vehicle to some cover and left the Hilux running as we clamored out of the truck. I must admit I wasn’t as organized as I had hoped to be, but grabbed my rifle, ammo and followed Andre. The stalk didn’t last very long, as we wound our way through the thorn scrub, using it as cover. Emerging from the opposite side, I could see several Impala, but they all looked the same to me. I knew there must be a good one there, as Andre set up the Trigger Sticks for me to use as a rest. Settling in the sticks, he patiently coached me to the correct animal, walking me through the animals until he and I were both confident that I was aiming at the correct animal. The ram was broadside at 150 yards when I settled the crosshairs on the animal between exploding heartbeats. At the shot, Andre slapped my back and congratulated me on a good shot. I must say I was relieved, as I haven’t felt this much adrenaline since my first deer, and I didn’t want to let Tom or Andre down with an errant shot. The Impala ran a short 30-40 yards before piling up. Wow. I want to do that again!

I was very happy to have shot well, and examining the teeth of the animal, confirmed that he was quite old. Next up was Tom!

Keeping with the timeline of our trip, an hour or so later, we spotted a large bachelor group of Kudu that headed for thick cover. Tom and Andre took off after them, and within an hour I heard him shoot. Could this day get any better?

After we loaded the Kudu, it was dark, and we were tired, thirsty and hungry. Time to head to the lodge for a meal, a drink and get ready for tomorrow.

Day 2.

Animals again everywhere we looked. This was going to take some getting used to. People back home won’t believe me, which is why I’m taking pictures of all the game, and the multitude of the tracks that Andre says he can follow…who’s he kidding? I bet he brags like that to all first time Americans!!! Within an hour of entering the property, Andre sees an old sow Warthog that he asks if Tom would like to shoot, which of course he decides to. Another victim of his T/C Encore and 165 gr. TSX.

Tom and I are both thrilled to be together hunting and making memories, but we can’t deny that the jet lag is wearing on us, so we head to the lodge to drop off the pig and have some lunch and take a nap. I can’t believe it...napping during a hunt. What would my dad and grandfather say!!!

After lunch, we head back out and Andre spots an Impala, and again it’s Tom’s turn, as I already have my Impala.

Loading him up we continue on our quest to see if we can locate a Kudu for me. Of course, now, Impala are like rabbits back home along the roadside…just everywhere, but it doesn’t matter, as we both are enjoying seeing them. Coursing through the ranch roads, I can’t help but compare this property to some of the ranches I work on in Southeast Oklahoma or some of the terrain and properties I’ve seen in west Texas.

Rounding a gentle curve in the road, but unable to see around it due to the vegetation, we spot a small group of Blue Wildebeest cross the road heading into some sparce cover to our left. Andre comments that there is a good bull in the group and tells me to grab my rifle. Again we leave the vehicle behind and begin our pursuit. I stayed as close to Andre as I dared and kept my head up looking for the animals and hoped that I may spot them before our guide. Fat chance…I’m humbled and amazed at how Andre and Benji can spot the game in this cover. As the day continues, I feel humbled and so much like a rookie. You’d have never guessed at how many hours I’ve spend in the field, both for work and play, and it’s apparent that I don’t have the skills that I thought I had. On the bright side, what a place to learn! Continuing on our stalk, we loose sight of the Wildebeest, and they begin to track them in the sand. What? Whatever…there are tracks everywhere. I wish they’d quit putting on this show and not pretend that they can do this. And yet again, I’m humbled. After a short walk, there they are! Andre sets up the sticks, only he’s set them up for a Dutchman not a Frenchman! I’m too short and also too excited to think clearly to simply lower a leg! I, in my adrenaline rush, try to grow taller…☹. Yes, I’m a slow learner. Just as I had got situated, the animal had enough and departed. Damn. Rookie mistake, and it just cost me the animal. I was upset at myself for taking too long and not doing what I had come here to do. Quicker Lewia!

Andre didn’t complain or act upset, he just continued on and believed we still had a chance before darkness overtook us. 15 minutes of tracking and we again caught up to them walking through the scrub. Again, Andre set up the sticks, and this time, I was more composed, prepared and didn’t hesitate. I couldn’t see all of his vitals, but enough to know that I could make the shot. I settled in, found the animal and took the shot. As I was coming back into my rifle, I watched as the bull fell to the ground! Working the bolt just in case I needed to make him stay put, we cautiously approached the animal as we watched him take his final breath. All was still and Benji made sure the Wildebeest was dead before he allowed me to approach the animal. Elation and redemption for my earlier hesitation. Tom and I were still getting to know Andre, but I can tell that we three are very similar and I’m confident we’ll enjoy our 10 days together.

What a day. We used every bit of it this afternoon, as again we watch the African Sun set on our dream trip. Could this get any better? Getting back to the skinning shed, we unload our animals and head back to the lodge for dinner. A brandy and coke wash away much of the dust-but to be sure, I better have another just to be sure.