SOUTH AFRICA: A Thanksgiving Safari

[Ridgewalker]

Another fine looking trophy! You obviously have good karma!

 

[jasyblood]

Another fine looking trophy! You obviously have good karma!

Thank you @Ridgewalker !

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on the bontebok!!

 

[billc]

Nice cat and bontebok. Looks like the hunt went well

 

[tarbe]

Always great when the Outfitter calls you with a deal!

Very ambitious trip...so far you are knocking it out of the park!

 

[MAdcox]

Great bontebok. They are wonderful looking animals. Question from a rookie on your lion. Not being exportable what will be done with him. He is a beautiful lion, will the outfitter mount him or have the hide for a lodge? Just curious about what happens to non exportable animals like yours.

 

[Dr Ray]

Hello guys,

I’ve just returned from a trip to SA that I set up last minute and what an awesome trip it turned out to be…..

A little info on how this hunt came about:

I was originally supposed to go to Namibia on this trip. It then got changed to Zim (my decision) and then that fell apart and I was stuck with a ticket to Johannesburg and nowhere to hunt.

I had also hired a buddy of mine in South Africa to video the hunt in Zim. When I contacted him to let him know that that deal had fallen through and that I had a plane ticket and nowhere to hunt, we decided to “make a plan” to hunt some animals in SA that I had not been able to get yet.

After much discussion, I had come up with a short list of 3 animals (all plainsgame) that I really wanted and then anything else on top of that would be a bonus.

My list would be:

1) Bontebok

2) Limpopo Bushbuck(3rd attempt)

3) Waterbuck(2nd attempt)


He made some suggestions on who to contact for the animals I wanted and I also contacted a few other outfitters I knew and after about a week, I had my hunt booked. Also, he was nice enough to offer to haul my butt all over South Africa to get said animals.

About 3 weeks before departure….all set and ready to go, right? Not so fast…..

I’m on the mailing list of several booking agents and outfitters(as I’m sure a lot of you guys are) and I got an email from a US booking agent on an animal that I really hadn’t given a lot of thought too…mainly because I couldn’t afford or import them…..Lion. Hmmmm this looks like a really good deal! I had always been of the opinion that if I couldn’t bring it home, I really didn’t want to hunt it. Well, after listening to a few of you guys over the last few years, I have changed my opinion on this subject.

I had never used this booking agent before so I called and quizzed him, discussed the hunt and time frame it would take and after about a week, I decided to do it.

I also discussed it with my buddy (videographer/chauffeur) and he was more than happy to haul me to the NW Province too.

So, now I have 3 outfitters (NW Province (lion), Northern Cape (bontebok) and Limpopo (bushbuck/waterbuck)) and 9 hunting/travel days…this should be exhausting but fun!


Less than 2 weeks to go…all set and ready to go, right? You guessed it…nope!

I’m inside two weeks and I get an email from outfitter #3(Limpopo) and has he got a deal for me! He asked if I was interested in a exportable crocodile?? My response was “well yes…yes I am but that’s not really in my budget”. Well, after a little discussion, we settled on a price that we could both live with and it was all set!

Now, I’m at the limit of what my wallet can stand and hopefully no one else offers me anything else at a ridiculous price! Hahaha.

One last thing I’d like to mention before I get on to the “hunting” portion of this hunt report…..I have another good friend in SA that was my PH on my first safari. He and I have kept up with each other since then and have visited each time I get back there. He is no longer in the “business” and is currently working in Tanzania at one of the mines there.

Since this trip was planned so last minute, I had not mentioned to him that I was coming back. Well, he is also good friends with the videographer and they set it up (without me knowing) to where he could fly home and tag along with us for the Limpopo portion of the trip. That was a nice surprise and I thought it was pretty cool that he was willing to come hang out with us and to get to hunt with him again.


Now, on to the trip!


I flew out on the evening of Nov 14th and was flying Qatar Airways from DFW/DOH/JNB. I opted not to bring my own guns this time so I didn’t have to deal with any potential problems in Doha. All the travel went well and the only thing that would keep me from choosing Qatar again was the 9 hour layover in Doha. Other than that, the planes were nice and the crew was very accommodating and attentive.


I arrive in Johannesburg at 10:00am on Nov 16th and since I was sitting in the front portion of the plane (as close as you can get without sitting in business class) I was off the plane and through passport control in about 30 minutes. My luggage was sitting on the carrousel when I walked up and I was completely out of the airport in about 40 minutes from landing.

My buddy was right outside waiting and after a handshake and quick hello; we were out the door and on the road for the NW Province.

The trip to the NW was about 7 hours but actually flew by. With a few phone calls to verify that we were on the right track, we arrived in camp just as the sun was setting.



View attachment 210022


We were greeted by the owner (Brenden) and I was introduced to my PH (Harry) and I was also introduced to another couple that was already in camp. We grabbed a few beers and got to know everyone and had a late dinner. After dinner, we all met back up at the fire pit and discussed the next day’s activities over a few more drinks then off to bed. After being awake for almost 48 hours straight, sleep came quickly.

Friday Nov 17th –

I was up at 6:00am and was dressed and at the breakfast table by 6:30. Harry met me for breakfast at 6:45 and we discussed our plans for the day in more detail. Brenden and his crew had been out driving the roads since 5:00am looking for tracks and said they would radio when the found a fresh set. The plans were to go to the range to sight the rifle and hopefully by then, Brenden had found some tracks.

We left the lodge at about 7:15 and headed for the range. I was given a choice of a Sako .375 H&H or a CZ .416 Rigby. After fondling both for about 5 minutes, I chose the old, well-worn Sako over the pretty CZ…not sure why, I just like the look and feel of the old rifle. It looked like it had been on many, many safaris, with most of the blue missing from the barrel and the action was as slick as butter. It had a fixed 4x power scope on it which was also well-worn. I got set up on the bench and dry fired the rifle to feel the trigger. It had a little creep (expected for an old rifle) but had a light trigger (just how I like ‘em). I then chambered a round, got steady and let one fly and the old rifle hit dead center. I fired once more just to make sure the first was not an anomaly and it was touching the first. I knew I liked this old rifle for some reason!

We packed everything up and were heading back to camp when Brenden called on the radio. He had found a set of tracks. They were older but it was the best that he had seen all morning. He gave us his coordinates and we headed his direction to meet up. After a 30 minute drive, we met Brenden on the road and he showed us the tracks. The plan was for us to follow them and Brenden would continue to drive to see if he could find where the cat moved from one block to the next.

So, here we go. We follow the lone set of tracks for about a half mile or so and then all the sudden, there are tracks everywhere and I’m a bit confused. The tracker tells me that all the tracks are from a heard of gemsbok and that our lion is following them. Up until this point, it really hadn’t hit me that I was really hunting a lion but it just got real…at least to me. We continued to follow but it was really hard to pick the lions track out of the tracks from the herd so tracking was slow and tedious at times.

About an hour into the stalk, Brenden radios to tell us that he’s found the spot where the gemsbok and cat crossed another road. It’s quite a ways from where we are and he comes back to get us and runs us to the spot and we continue the stalk. This same scenario happens twice more over the next few hours and it’s getting close to 11:30 and starting to get very warm. Harry expects that that cat will head for cover soon to get out of the heat and hopefully we can gain some ground on him.

Shortly after 11:30, Brenden radios us again and says he’s spotted the cat in a thicket. He’s about 600 yards from our current location, so he comes to fetch us again and drops us off about 200 yards from where he had seen it. We start easing our way up the two-track road and I can feel my heart starting to pound. All the brush on the right side of the road was extremely thick and twisted and with each step I was straining my eyes to see a cat. All of the sudden, Harry throws on the brakes and points into the brush and says “there he is”. I’m not going to lie…I did not see anything but a bunch of thick brush. I tell him that I can’t see him and ask how far ahead he is and he said about 30 yards! I think to myself that I can’t believe there is a big cat 30 yards from me and I can’t see him…pretty scary! After a few seconds I ask Harry to try to give me a bearing on where the cat is so hopefully I can find him. As he is describing where it is, the cat flicks his tail a little and I spot it. My heart is really pounding now….We back up about 30 yards and make a plan.

The new plan is to move completely around the cat and come in from the backside and hopefully get a clear shot. We ease through the thicket, never getting more than 50-60 yards away from where had seen the cat. I would take a step and then look into the thicket in the direction the cat should be just to make sure he wasn’t coming before I would take the next step. It seemed like time had slowed to a crawl and took us forever to get all the way around.

We finally made it to the other side and had to get down on our knees to see under the brush to find the cat. I finally had a relatively clear view of him. He was now sitting up with his rear end facing us and looking over his left shoulder at us. I could clearly see his yellow eyes and he seemed to be looking directly at me. Again, I won’t lie, I was trembling……Harry asks me if I have a clear shot. I’m on the sticks but there is a mass of twisted tree limbs right over the vitals. I tell him that I don’t feel comfortable with the shot and that we should try to move a little to try to get a better angle. Harry agrees and as we get up from our knees, the cat moves away from us about 10 yards and deeper into the thick stuff.

We make a new plan. We will now retrace our steps and go back to the spot where we had first spotted the lion and hopefully get a clear shot from there. We eased our way back around and like before, we had our eyes locked onto the thicket waiting for a charge.

We finally get back around and the tracker sees it first. He points into the brush and Harry grabs my left shirt sleeve and pulls me to a gap in the trees and points out the cat. I can clearly see him now. He is laying perfectly broad side to us and behind some small bushes. I get on the sticks and I see a clear gap right in the vitals. Harry asks if I have I shot and I tell him yes. I can see him raise his rifle from my left side. He asks me again if I’m sure if the shot is clear and again I tell him yes. He then says, “When you’re ready, take the shot…..”

As I squeeze the trigger, everything goes into slow motion. I barely hear the shot but I clearly see the bullet hit exactly where I was aiming. The cat lets out a load growl and jumps straight up in the air and flips a little. We he hits the ground he runs parallel to our right and hits a tree about 20 yards away and falls. I can’t see him now but can hear him growling.

We circle around with guns ready and finally see him lying under a tree. He is clearly not going to make it much longer but I ease in behind him and put in a finishing shot between his shoulders. After the second shot, he goes limp and he is done. We slowly walk up to him to verify that he is done and it’s over.

Shortly after, Harry and the rest of the crew left me alone with the cat. As the adrenaline wore off and reality set in, it’s hard to describe the emotions I felt and maybe it can only be understood by those who have hunted one of these animals. I was honestly a little confused at how I felt and as I’m typing this, I find myself still trying to process these emotions. Like a lot of us who grow up dreaming of hunting Africa, lion is usually at the top of the list and in my mind at least(before the hunt), it should be the most satisfying hunt I’ve ever done, but that was not how I felt. It was more a feeling if sadness at what I had done and maybe a little regret. With that said, please don’t misunderstand me, I’m still happy I was able to do it and would do it all over again tomorrow if I had the chance.

Anyway, everyone gave me about 10 minutes alone and then asked if I was ready for pics. We got everything set up and took pics for about a half hour and then loaded up and headed back to camp.

View attachment 210023 View attachment 210024 View attachment 210025

It was about 1:00 when we arrived and my buddy and I headed straight for the bar while lunch was being prepared. Then after lunch, it was back to the bar where we hung out for the balance of the day and visited with the other couple in camp along with all the PH’s. Somewhere during the evening, I thought it would be a good idea to switch from beer to scotch (not my best decision) and after a late dinner, I found myself a little over-served and looking for my bed.

I awoke the next morning about 5:30am with the sun shining in my face and my head pounding from the whiskey the night before. I forced myself to get up and get a shower and then packed up as we would be moving to the Northern Cape today for bontebok. After a quick breakfast, we said our goodbyes to the crew there and then hit the road…….

To be continued……

Sure would have been exciting being in thick scrub so close to a lion.
If anyone reckons they wouldn’t have had an adrenaline rush, they’d be kidding themselves.
Glad you got a clean shot though. Congratulations.

 

[Kowas Adventure Safaris]

Congratulations, Sir
Lessons learned:
1. Always be prepared for the unexpected;
2. Handy to have fund available to make use of opportunities that come your way...
3. Adventitious to "recognise" a great deal and not let it slip through your fingers.
Cherish your memories.

 

[jasyblood]

Question from a rookie on your lion. Not being exportable what will be done with him. He is a beautiful lion, will the outfitter mount him or have the hide for a lodge? Just curious about what happens to non exportable animals like yours.

Good question, but I'm sorry to say that I don't know the answer either. I do know that they skinned the animal for a full mount so I'm assuming that they would either have it mounted and sell it or sell the hide to a taxidermist to mount for someone else. I know I should've asked but it slipped my mind.

Maybe someone else that has hunted non-exportable lion knows?

 

[Nyati]

@jasyblood , very nice Bontebok, not easy to find them much bigger

Hunted the Kimberley area twice myself, there are some excellent trophies to be found !

 

[CAustin]

Very nice cat!

 

[jasyblood]

Very nice cat!

Thanks Charlie!

 

[rinehart0050]

Great report so far! Congrats on an amazing cat!

The description of your lion hunt had me reliving my own! It was the same for us- we got a deal that was too good to pass up! What an experience.

Looking forward to hearing how the rest goes.

 

[rinehart0050]

Good question, but I'm sorry to say that I don't know the answer either. I do know that they skinned the animal for a full mount so I'm assuming that they would either have it mounted and sell it or sell the hide to a taxidermist to mount for someone else. I know I should've asked but it slipped my mind.

Maybe someone else that has hunted non-exportable lion knows?

In my case, my outfitter had a full mount done and then shipped it to Europe. He displays it at the various European hunting shows now.

 

[jasyblood]

In my case, my outfitter had a full mount done and then shipped it to Europe. He displays it at the various European hunting shows now.

I had never considered that. Thanks for the info!

 

[jasyblood]

Sunday Nov 19th – This day was basically just a travel day and I won’t bore you guys with too many details.

We hit the road about 9:00am and made a stop in Pretoria at buddy #1’s house to pick up some different gear and continued to head north. I will mention that we were running a day ahead of schedule so we called outfitter #3 to see if we could come in a day early but he was out of town with another client and wouldn’t return until Monday morning. So, we made a plan to spend the night in Lephalale at a guest house and we’d get up early the next morning to make the last 1-1/2 hours to camp.

Monday Nov 20th – We get on the road about 7:00 and arrive at outfitter #3’s camp just before 9:00. Someone meets us at the gate and takes us to the lodge where we meet the owner/PH and his family.



This is a beautiful little camp set right on the edge of the Limpopo River.



The Limpopo wasn’t running but still had some water in spots.


We were showed to our rooms, got our gear unpacked and loaded up on the truck to start hunting. As we were driving around, I was asked if I was interested in any other animals other than what we had already discussed. I thought about it for a minute and since I’ve never hunted any of the smaller stuff, I told him that I would consider a duiker or steenbok.

We continued to drive and I noticed how thick the bush was. I was in the Limpopo in May of this year and it seemed thicker now that it did then which I thought was odd since it was at the end of the dry season.

Anyway, since we got a later than normal start to the day, it was starting to get warm and with the bush being so thick, we decided to check a few water holes for waterbuck. We’d park the truck a few hundred yards from each hole and sneak in to see if anything was there….nada. As we drove from the second water hole to the third, the PH spotted something off the edge of the road about 200 yards ahead of us. We stopped the truck and glassed and it was a steenbok, but at that distance, we couldn’t tell if it was a male or not. So, me, the PH and the camera guy bailed off the truck and started our stalk. The wind was good, so we eased into the bush about 30-40 yards off the road and headed towards the animal. We walked slowly for about 10 minutes and then the PH eased over to the road to see if the animal was still there and to verify if it was a male or not. He came back shortly and said it was a male with decent length horns and he was bedded down under a tree about 40-50 yards up the road. The plan was for us to ease out to the edge of the road and try to get a shot before he spotted us.

We creeped to the edge of the road and as the PH set up the sticks, the animal got up and walked across to our side of the road but didn’t seem to know we were there. So, our plan now was to ease down the road to try to get a shot at him before he got too deep into the bush.

We ease up 20-30 yards and we spot him about 10 yards into the brush but coming towards us. I get on the sticks and wait for him to get clear and shot. He jumped from the shot and ran into the bush. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I hit him or not but the PH confirmed and said it looked good.

We walked in about 40 yards and found him lying there. Another beautiful animal.

I’m also going to attempt to post a short video clip of the hunt. This is the first time I’ve posted a video to AH so I hope it works. If not, maybe someone can give me some tips. Keep in mind, the video I have of this hunt has not been edited yet, so there might be some adult language in places.

Here's the link:

After we dropped the animal off at the skinning shed, we headed back to camp for lunch and then got right back at it. We decided that we would head down to the creeks the feed into the Limpopo to see if we could get lucky on a bushbuck. It was still early in the day and hot(40°C+!), but you never know….

We found a spot in the shade that looked promising and we also sent the tracker with a radio to another spot to double our chances. He wasn’t gone for more than 15 minutes when we get a call that he’s spotted a good ram on a small “island” in the middle of the creek bed. We rush over but the animal has already moved back into the thick stuff. We set up on the edge of the creek and wait….and wait. We sit until almost dark and never see the ram(we do see several females though) but the tracker is convinced that he lives there and we should come back tomorrow to try to get a shot at him.

We got back to camp, had a shower, dinner and then off to bed. Tomorrow we plan on being at the bushbuck spot when the sun comes up to hopefully get a glimpse of him.

 

[jasyblood]

Sorry but the pic of the camp and river didn't post....

Here they are.

 

[cpr0312]

Looks like a nice camp setting! Your having a hell of a hunt so far!

 

[sierraone]

With all of the confusion to start with, you ended up with a great hunt! I am one of those who wants everything set in stone before I start the journey. This would have drove me crazy, at least until my boots were on the ground!!! Congratulations!

 

[jasyblood]

With all of the confusion to start with, you ended up with a great hunt! I am one of those who wants everything set in stone before I start the journey. This would have drove me crazy, at least until my boots were on the ground!!! Congratulations!

I know what you mean and I'm normally the exact same way. I had no one to blame except myself on this one though. If I had left the hunt as originally planned(Namibia), it would've no doubt been set in stone and gone off without a hitch...I just couldn't leave well enough alone.

Looking back on it now, I wouldn't have changed it though and it couldn't have worked out any better.