BryceM
AH veteran
So, I've been tremendously blessed along this path of life and this was my 7th trip to Africa. It usually works out to one trip every other year. This time I was able to go with my son, who by some miracle, got time away from the military. We did the ATL-JNB-WDB route on Delta & SAA outbound, and a very messed up WDH-JNB (cancelled flight to ATL)-Sao Paulo Brazil, Chicago, home, a day late and a bag short. It did show up eventually, 4 days later.
I've done most of my hunting with Uitspan safaris, located in the Kalahari region, adjacent to the Botswana border. Michael and Tienie Duvenhage run the outfit, now with their son Jan-Hendrik and his wife Jeanette. We usually hunt one or two other regions on each trip for variety of terrain and trophies. This time we hunted about an hour east of the airport for a few days, a few days at their main ranch in the Kalahari, one day on a neighboring ranch, and a final day and a half in the Khomas Hochland mountains south and west of Windhoek.
I've been on many great trips, with many great people, but this one was especially enjoyable. Jan-Hendrik and my son really hit it off and the two of them, in their early 20s, had a great time hunting together. It's a bit of a generational thing, me and Michael (the same age) slowly realizing that we're becoming the old bulls that will one day be pushed out of the herd. That far-off day is not yet, by the way. The Duvenhage family are 100% top-notch, and I'd recommend them to anyone looking to have a great time and have opportunities at outstanding trophies.
I won't go in to all of the details, but I'll share a couple of highlights......
At the first property, we were hunting kudu but bumped in to a very nice impala ram on the way back to the lodge one afternoon. We saw him another couple of times in our comings and goings, seemingly a satellite ram to a large herd that was staying in the area. One day we decided to make a move on him. We spotted him from the vehicle relatively quickly. I could have almost certainly have shot him then and there, but where's the fun in that? We set off on foot, and this old cagey ram took us on a merry adventure for the next couple of hours. Every time we got close we would see or hear him sneaking away over the next ridge. After a few hikes, and a couple of almost-there shot opportunities, it became pretty obvious that he understood the game and was headed into nasty thick stuff. We finally broke it off. Now, I've killed plenty of impala, and I didn't really need to kill this ram, but I thoroughly enjoyed that experience. He's still out there, and one day I'm quite sure he'll make it with the ladies.
Fast forward to a few days later in the Kalahari. Michael had a general idea of where a large springbok was hanging out. I've killed some decent springbok over the years, but I've always been looking for "the one." Michael told me about this critter before we departed, and I was really looking forward to the opportunity. One morning we set off to give chase. We found the herd after 1 or 2 km of walking/stalking and tried to move in. The situation never really worked out, and the ram never clearly showed himself. The herd was feeding away not-so-slowly and unfortunately we had to break it off to deal with problems with another vehicle. Once that was sorted we skipped a kilometer or two back up the dunes to resume the chase. We found the herd again, but after a while we see the ram running alone like crazy in a random direction. After a bit, it was obvious that he was chasing away another interloper. We were at the top of a dune and could see the two of them 600-700 yards away.
By this point we were already 6 or 7 km in, the impala situation still on our minds, and approaching the usual lunch and siesta time. Well, we thought about it, and these two old bulls decided to keep pursuing. After another 3 or 4 km of cat and mouse we finally had our opportunity. He gave us a broadside at about 180 or 200 yards and I did not miss. The walkup did NOT disappoint. I'm sure there are bigger springbok in the universe, but I'll be quite surprised to ever have another chance at an animal like this. I love the entirety of how this hunt worked out. It is so fun to walk well, hunt well, be determined, and finally shoot well.
The last day in the Kalahari we moved to a neighboring property in pursuit of sable. The decision to hunt this animal was something of a last-minute addition, which necessitated some paperwork to get it added to my license. The good PH's wife (who is a master hunting guide herself) took care of all of that, so we were good to go. We hunted this animal on the property of Johan and Elfie Moolman from GoedeHoop safaris who were gracious hosts. He knew roughly where they were staying, and this bull wasn't terribly difficult to locate. One short stalk and a 200 yard shot later, this magnificent animal was in the bag. Sure, I generally prefer hunting animals in their native range in low-fence areas, but in this sable-crazy world, this hunt was perfectly fine, meeting 100% of my requirement for fair-chase on a big 56,000+ acre property. A sable bull is regal in the same way as a big kudu or old bull elk.
The final stop was at the place of Johnny and Marianne Schickerling, owners of Agarob hunting. I've hunted mountain zebra on their property previously many years earlier. I really looked forward to returning. Again, they're tremendously great hosts, and the stay there exceeded expectations. This trip was for a chance at a klipspringer. I've grown up in the middle of the Rocky Mountains out west, but these Khomas Hochland mountains are as big, rocky, and nasty as about anywhere. The boulder-strewn, nearly vertical so-called roads are a testament to the ruggedness of Toyota cruisers. The first evening we made a loop without seeing a single klippie. The next morning was to be the last opportunity, with an evening flight back to Joberg on the schedule.
Early the next morning we made another loop, and this time the ever-impressive trackers spotted a small group 250 yards above us on the rocks. We looked them over and after a while determined that there was a suitable ram. The uphill shot from that distance was a bit challenging, especially when using a 6-power scope on a Sako .375 H&H with solids. Well, I was quite satisfied to find the shot was perfect, cleanly passing through the animal squarely in the vitals. He went about 5 yards. This bull struggled to keep up with everyone else on the hike up the mountain, but the result was well worth it. There are probably bigger klippies out there, but this one shows outstanding secondary growth, and is an old ram, perfect for taking.
My son became deeply infected with the Africa hunting bug, taking a nice Hartman zebra, hartebeest, kudu, impala, steenbok, and blesbok, and making outstanding shots on them all. He's already scheming and dreaming about the next trip. We hunted many other animals, had the pleasure of seeing a truly wild black-maned lion at close range, helped with some culling for meat, and just generally enjoyed being away, under a million stars in clear skies, eating wonderful food, and being with great folks.
I've done most of my hunting with Uitspan safaris, located in the Kalahari region, adjacent to the Botswana border. Michael and Tienie Duvenhage run the outfit, now with their son Jan-Hendrik and his wife Jeanette. We usually hunt one or two other regions on each trip for variety of terrain and trophies. This time we hunted about an hour east of the airport for a few days, a few days at their main ranch in the Kalahari, one day on a neighboring ranch, and a final day and a half in the Khomas Hochland mountains south and west of Windhoek.
I've been on many great trips, with many great people, but this one was especially enjoyable. Jan-Hendrik and my son really hit it off and the two of them, in their early 20s, had a great time hunting together. It's a bit of a generational thing, me and Michael (the same age) slowly realizing that we're becoming the old bulls that will one day be pushed out of the herd. That far-off day is not yet, by the way. The Duvenhage family are 100% top-notch, and I'd recommend them to anyone looking to have a great time and have opportunities at outstanding trophies.
I won't go in to all of the details, but I'll share a couple of highlights......
At the first property, we were hunting kudu but bumped in to a very nice impala ram on the way back to the lodge one afternoon. We saw him another couple of times in our comings and goings, seemingly a satellite ram to a large herd that was staying in the area. One day we decided to make a move on him. We spotted him from the vehicle relatively quickly. I could have almost certainly have shot him then and there, but where's the fun in that? We set off on foot, and this old cagey ram took us on a merry adventure for the next couple of hours. Every time we got close we would see or hear him sneaking away over the next ridge. After a few hikes, and a couple of almost-there shot opportunities, it became pretty obvious that he understood the game and was headed into nasty thick stuff. We finally broke it off. Now, I've killed plenty of impala, and I didn't really need to kill this ram, but I thoroughly enjoyed that experience. He's still out there, and one day I'm quite sure he'll make it with the ladies.
Fast forward to a few days later in the Kalahari. Michael had a general idea of where a large springbok was hanging out. I've killed some decent springbok over the years, but I've always been looking for "the one." Michael told me about this critter before we departed, and I was really looking forward to the opportunity. One morning we set off to give chase. We found the herd after 1 or 2 km of walking/stalking and tried to move in. The situation never really worked out, and the ram never clearly showed himself. The herd was feeding away not-so-slowly and unfortunately we had to break it off to deal with problems with another vehicle. Once that was sorted we skipped a kilometer or two back up the dunes to resume the chase. We found the herd again, but after a while we see the ram running alone like crazy in a random direction. After a bit, it was obvious that he was chasing away another interloper. We were at the top of a dune and could see the two of them 600-700 yards away.
By this point we were already 6 or 7 km in, the impala situation still on our minds, and approaching the usual lunch and siesta time. Well, we thought about it, and these two old bulls decided to keep pursuing. After another 3 or 4 km of cat and mouse we finally had our opportunity. He gave us a broadside at about 180 or 200 yards and I did not miss. The walkup did NOT disappoint. I'm sure there are bigger springbok in the universe, but I'll be quite surprised to ever have another chance at an animal like this. I love the entirety of how this hunt worked out. It is so fun to walk well, hunt well, be determined, and finally shoot well.
The last day in the Kalahari we moved to a neighboring property in pursuit of sable. The decision to hunt this animal was something of a last-minute addition, which necessitated some paperwork to get it added to my license. The good PH's wife (who is a master hunting guide herself) took care of all of that, so we were good to go. We hunted this animal on the property of Johan and Elfie Moolman from GoedeHoop safaris who were gracious hosts. He knew roughly where they were staying, and this bull wasn't terribly difficult to locate. One short stalk and a 200 yard shot later, this magnificent animal was in the bag. Sure, I generally prefer hunting animals in their native range in low-fence areas, but in this sable-crazy world, this hunt was perfectly fine, meeting 100% of my requirement for fair-chase on a big 56,000+ acre property. A sable bull is regal in the same way as a big kudu or old bull elk.
The final stop was at the place of Johnny and Marianne Schickerling, owners of Agarob hunting. I've hunted mountain zebra on their property previously many years earlier. I really looked forward to returning. Again, they're tremendously great hosts, and the stay there exceeded expectations. This trip was for a chance at a klipspringer. I've grown up in the middle of the Rocky Mountains out west, but these Khomas Hochland mountains are as big, rocky, and nasty as about anywhere. The boulder-strewn, nearly vertical so-called roads are a testament to the ruggedness of Toyota cruisers. The first evening we made a loop without seeing a single klippie. The next morning was to be the last opportunity, with an evening flight back to Joberg on the schedule.
Early the next morning we made another loop, and this time the ever-impressive trackers spotted a small group 250 yards above us on the rocks. We looked them over and after a while determined that there was a suitable ram. The uphill shot from that distance was a bit challenging, especially when using a 6-power scope on a Sako .375 H&H with solids. Well, I was quite satisfied to find the shot was perfect, cleanly passing through the animal squarely in the vitals. He went about 5 yards. This bull struggled to keep up with everyone else on the hike up the mountain, but the result was well worth it. There are probably bigger klippies out there, but this one shows outstanding secondary growth, and is an old ram, perfect for taking.
My son became deeply infected with the Africa hunting bug, taking a nice Hartman zebra, hartebeest, kudu, impala, steenbok, and blesbok, and making outstanding shots on them all. He's already scheming and dreaming about the next trip. We hunted many other animals, had the pleasure of seeing a truly wild black-maned lion at close range, helped with some culling for meat, and just generally enjoyed being away, under a million stars in clear skies, eating wonderful food, and being with great folks.
