It has been a few months since part one of this! Life got very busy with my mother in law passing and playing catch up with home life, etc. but the long labor day w/e will hopefully let me finish this tale, and hopefully it will be of interest..
We left off with Jono from Kingsview Safari (Eastern Cape) having guided me to a beautiful Kudu, Nyala and Impala, with another full two days pursuing that wily Zebra. We now had a great day off from hunting going on a personal guided tour through Pumba Game Preserve. For a couple from Upstate NY where a trip to the zoo is a common affair for all, this was a luxurious upscale adventure. Our guide Wayne kept up a great banter of local lore and wildlife knowledge as we took in most everything the region can show....Rhino, Zebra, the preserves famed white lions who were actively doing what they do best...snoozing...but the very close up experience with the elephant herd made the day. After watching from across a watering hole, the elephants departed to find some shade. Wayne well knew the path they would take, and interecepted the trail, parking us off to one side. We were delighted by the slow moving group slowly grazing/wandering past us, with the bull passing within touching distance of me! Best was when the cheeky young son of the bull, pulling up the rear slowed down to check us out. He almost seemed to be "flirting" with the guide, who was quietly trash talking him. The young bull then reached his trunk into his mouth, took a couple steps closer and sprayed Wayne, much to all of our delight. The elephant then lightly almost pranced away, his joke done.
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At the end of the over three hour tour, we ended back at the lodge where we were met by formally dressed staff with moist scented towels to freshen up with, and a wonderfully decadent "brunch" of prawns, braised lamb shanks, salads, and cheesecakes, served over a patio obsrving a watering hole.We returned to Southe Houke to relax for the rest of the day. I enjoyed a liesurely stroll through the area, taking the opportunity to sample prickly pear, get some photos and watch the local Kudu, wart hogs and impala come out for the evening. I was even happier to sneak in on a beautifully colored young blue wildebeest bull on a small watering hole.
The next day....our last at Southey...our final planned hunt for zebra! We started going to a good high local spotting location where we found a group several miles away.
After driving behind the hills to shorten the distance, we got out to cross the hill and try to intercept them. We did in short order, but a bratty young colt kept putting himself between the stallion and I, leading us in to another long morning of stalks, set up and start all over again. I was enjoying every minute of it, but after starting about 7:15 a.m., by about 11, it was getting warm, I was getting dehydrated and somewhere had pulled my achilles. wth? To make a long story short, after a clean miss (bent barrel, I swear!) and a low hit (barrel still bent!), an afternoon of intermittent thunderstorms, we finally collected our zebra after chasing him back and forth over (best estimate) about six miles.
Darlene was very thrilled with her promised zebra rug. With our time at Southey now filled, we spent a last wonderful evening watching the long sunset from the patio, memories to last forever....
Our next morning we got a leisurely start after a heart felt farewll to our hosts, heading west. We stopped for a bit of street shopping in Port Elizabeth, and arrived at Simbonga Game farm where we would finish our trip in a more relaxed few days. We were delighted to have to literally, shoo zebras and giraffes out of the road as we approached our lodging, a "tent camp" ...almost more of a plush tree house....( and I say that in a very appreciative way). very open air, with all the plush comforts of a hotel with the wonderful advantage of a beautiful view off the porch where at any given time various plains game could be seen.
That evening Jonos wife Justine joined us, giving us the pleasure of sharing Jonos birthday celebration with her, bringing a wonderful chicken curry with home grown salads and veggies, and an amazing desert which she best described as a hybrid creme boulet (sic?)..very chocolatey, very delicious.
And Darlene was delighted by the beautiful table piece Justin created for us , waiting in our room...featuring the proteas she grows ...(sorry Justine, my pics do not give justice)
The next day we were up early...even for us! We were heading to the coast for a day of shark fishing in the surf! We are from Upstate NY, so anything near the ocean is a treat to us. We had great guides who worked the baits hard, but unfortunetly fishing being fishing, no luck that day. Despite that we had a lot of fun beach combing and sea shell hunting, and we were treated to an amazing sun up over the Indian Ocean with no one in sight for miles. A great day!
We didnt have much planned for the later afternoon and evening, but ....I had not yet gotten my wart hog. Now, I have shot pigs before, so the wart hog was a low priority target for me. Jono knew I was only interested in a particularly good one, figuring I would still most lilkely only make key chains out of it. That said, we drove to his nearby concession, which also bordered the Indian Ocean. Rugged beautiful, woodsy, very different from the land we hunted inland. We spent a very pleasant several hours slowly scouting on foot, checking out multiple hogs, but none we were interested in. I was having a great time just being there, and so far time still well spent. We had returned to the truck and were slowly driving out, when Jono quicly stopped the vehicle (and for the first time...) excitedly told be he just saw the biggest hog ever!
We quietly got out of the truck, and he pointed to a dark hillside where the hogs were (uh, okay, if you say so!) as they ran up and over the top of the hill. We hurriedly crab ran up the hill, creeping up to the top, where the hogs were feeding. With infinite patience Jono steered me in to where the hog was, I confirmed which one he was and shot, dropping him. Jono did his victory war dance, which he probably will deny. I will let the pictures say it...
Thus ends our last day with Jono and Kingsview. Certainly my warthog was NOT going to be key rings. Unexpectedly, my least anticipated trophy turns out to be my most memorable. I somewhat regret that I didnt follow Darlenes recommendations for a full shoulder mount...I felt that she probably wouldnt want to look at that mug everyday. We arranged for a carved european mount on a plaque, which I thought...and think will allow its beauty to come out. Lesson to be learned, do not prejudge your trophies, or what Africa gives you.
Like many, our return home to the states was messed up by United Airlines. Luckily, Travel Express very quickly made back up arrangements for us allowing an extra day in Johannesburg returning, which we happily took advantage of to tour the city. We were very glad for this.
Overall, we cant say enough for Jono and Justine, and Kingsview Safari. They truly put together a once in a lifetime trip for us which we talk about daily. We are eagerly awaiting our trophies and mounts from Taxidermy Africa, who has been sending updates on the work being done. We utilized Trophy Brokers to handle our shipping, and thanks aplenty to Travel Express for thier smooth handling of these two novice travelers and minimizing our plight!
That said, especially if you are a first time traveler, appreciate all the little things...be it the weird bugs, the wonderful foods, the genuiness of the hosts and helps hospitality. Appreciate all we have in the US that we take for granted, when you see what the millions go without in SA. Appreciate the incredibly hard work and work ethic of your hosts, and the conditions under which they work.
And remember ...the sunsets...
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