SOUTH AFRICA: A Week With The Beasts... Bos en Dal SAFARIS 2024

[mdwest]

you dont need the whole costume.. just some oversized shoes and a red ball nose... that should do the trick!

 

[Goopy]

Hahahahahaha!

 

[mdwest]

Day 4... hartebeest and blue wildebeest are in the salt.. its time to add another beest to beest week...

6x hunts in South Africa.. and neither my wife or I had ever actually seen a black wildebeest, much less hunted one... so we thought we'd give them a try..

the 3 primary properties owned/hunted by Bos en Dal offer a very diverse environment.. theres deep/thick veld.. there are some large, open grassy fields.. on the back side of the main property there are very tall hills/mountains.. etc... etc.. but the true, wide open plains/fields that black wildebeest prefer isnt available.. so we made plans to visit a concession thats about a 40 minute drive away, that all kidding aside looks more like the grass lands of kansas than any other place Ive seen in South Africa, to make a run at Black Wildebeest..

It was an interesting property.. the farm owner was primarily into chicken farming.. as you entered the property there was a huge chicken facility right near the main gates (that we later toured.. the young man that was helping us that day was incredibly knowledgeable about commercial chicken farming and specifically about the particular breed of chickens they were raising.. their chickens are egg layers.. not "eaters".. they hatch tens of thousands of chicks every month (I think he said they were selling somewhere around 1.2M chickens a year) and then sell them off to egg companies around the African continent...

The property was huge.. I didnt ask specifically how big.. but I'd guess it was well over 50,000 acres.. with big herds of gemsbok, blesbok, black wildebeest, and a few other species running around..

because of the nature of the place (wide open, huge, grass fields), finding a herd of whatever species you wanted to hunt wasnt a problem.. you could literally see them kicking up dust clouds at well over a kilometer away... the challenge was with no concealment anywhere, how do you get close enough to take a shot?

We spent all morning trying a variety of tactics.. we tried to use the trucks to get close.. but any time we got within 400 meters, the wildebeest would scatter at a full blown run (we tried this with three different herds and made multiple attempts.. all seemed to know about where 400 meters was and if you got any closer, they'd jet..).. we then tried dropping myself and the PH off at a sub surface ground blind and having the truck leave the area... to see if they would eventually come our way.. but just like we could see them over a kilometer away, they could see us.. and they were having nothing to do with that ground blind after I occupied it... the blind was actually a pretty cool idea.. they had dug out an area so that you were standing maybe 3' below the surface (roughly belt buckle at the surface, leaving torso and head a few feet above the surface, with a fabric blind on top).. and apparently it was usually pretty good at adding to the success rate... but not on this day...

we chased different herds all morning but had no success... so we decided to break for lunch, get a little shade for an hour or two and try to come up with a new plan for the afternoon..

Over lunch we debated on tactics.. and decided to place the hunter (me) in a position where we thought the black wildebeest would ultimately decide to go... have the truck leave the area for a long while.. and then move the truck to wherever the wildebeest were... forcing them to relocate (hopefully to where the hunter was)..

While it took some time, this plan did finally work... the wildebeest never got truly close.. on several occasions the herd got between 300-400 yards away.. but they were so wiley, and as those who have hunted them will know, they never really stop moving for more than a few seconds at a time.. it took a while to pull off a shot... this was pretty big herd of wildebeest.. I'd estimate 60-70 animals all milling around and doing the run in circles routine that black wildebeest do... so finding a good bull, getting him to move to a position where a shot wasnt obscured by another animal, and then actually stand still long enough (and have the others stand still long enough as well) so that a shot could be taken was a process that took patience and calm.. there were only 3 truly big bulls that we identified in the herd.. (lots and lots of "ok" bulls.. and even more young ones.. but only 3 "trophy" quality).. which made it even more difficult..

Finally one of the big boys positioned himself on the far right of the herd and was a full 6-8 feet away from all of the other animals... he gave me a slight quartering away shot at about 330 yards... I figured that was going to be the best opportunity of the day.. so I took it...

When the shot was fired, it was absolute chaos.. we both heard and saw the hit.. and when I pulled the trigger it felt good (didnt pull, jerk, etc or do anything else that would make me think the shot didnt land exactly where I intended it to land).. but we didnt see the bull kick out or hunch over, and immediately 60+ other animals started doing the run in circles thing, kicking up huge clouds of dust, and we didnt see any animals on the ground..

Thankfully they settled almost exactly in the same place they had been in before the shot within about 2 minutes.. and Gerrit very quickly identified the bull I had shot, he was still on the far right of the rest of the herd, and we could see blood coming out of his mouth and on his broadside... while the others were still milling around a little and obviously very nervous, the bull looked wobbly on his feet and shakey... I sent a second round at him (this time at 318 yards) and he dropped in his tracks.. the hunt was over..

Living in the South Eastern US and TX for most of my life, its honestly rare that I ever take a shot on a game animal at a distance of more than about 150 yards.. truth be told, most deer and pigs I have taken over the years have been at 100 yards or less, and the only 200+ yard or longer shots I have ever taken have been in Africa.. 330 yards was far and away the longest shot Ive ever taken on a game animal.. I was super confident in the rifle and optic though (the 7x57 camp rifle I was using I am very familiar with and have used several times.. its a tack driver).. and the Z6 swaro optic on top of it is exceptional..

Im headed to Idaho in october for an elk hunt.. a buddy of mine that lives out there that is going to serve as our guide has told me that while its likely we'll get a shot somewhere around the 200 yard range, that it is entirely possible that the only shot available could be 300+ yards and to be prepared for that (assuming we see an elk at all).. so the black wildebeest hunt ended up being a big confidence booster and great practice for what might be encountered in Idaho in a few months... for that I am very thankful..

By the time we got pictures taken and the animal loaded up, it was time to head back to camp for dinner... it took an entire day to get this guy.. but it was well worth the time spent.. I LOVE blue wildebeest hunting and have taken several over the years... I might now have to start feeding a black wildebeest addiction.. what a great time!

 

[mdwest]

Referencing back to "Candles for Conservation" that was mentioned in a previous post.. in addition to supporting the orphanages through the non profit set up by my wife and I, my wife also has a little "side" business where she makes boutique candles (100% all natural, soy, etc.. etc.. in fancy jars..).. when we started talking to Anet Kruger a few years ago about her art, one of the things my wife and Anet worked out was a deal where Anet would provide artwork for a line of candles that my wife would produce.. and all of the proceeds from the sale of that particular line would be donated to a couple of South African wildlife conservation programs.. one of those programs is the Pilanesberg Wildlife Trust..

So this trip over we wanted to take a trip to Pilanesberg, spend some time at the park, and make the donation in person..

While Im sure its nothing compared to Kruger (Ive never visited Kruger, but have talked to numerous people that have, and understand it to be incredible), Pilanesberg National Park is definitely a site to behold and well worth spending some time to visit. The park is 220 square miles in size and just absolutely beautiful.. They have done a wonderful job maintaining everything from the land itself and managing the herds, to keeping the facilities in great shape, etc..

We only spent a half day at the park (we still have a lot of hunting to do..).. but were able to take in some incredible sights.. we had 3 different rhino (white) sightings, 3 different elephant sightings, and saw countless other animals roaming around as well... crocs in particular seemed to be everywhere around any of the larger bodies of water...

The more we visit South Africa, the more we try to immerse ourselves in the culture, the people, etc.. while our principal reason for visiting every year is to hunt, we also try to do other things... visit a local restaurant, spend a week in Cape Town, check out the parks, etc.. these type of side "excursions" make the trips even more valuable and memorable for us.. we really enjoy them..

Anyway... if anyone is interested.. all proceeds support Pilanesberg Wildlife Trust and the Endangered Wildlife Trust..

https://www.candlesforconservation.com/

We had lunch at a really nice restaurant inside the park... then headed back to Bos en Dal for an afternoon hunt (its only about a 35-45 minute drive from Bos en Dal to Pilanesberg).. we were really fortunate and able to bag another nice cull wildebeest fairly quickly after we started hunting...

We intentionally packed things in a little early this day.. Francois, Billy's PH for the week (who has PH'd for my wife, daughter, and I in the past... great guy.. one of my favorite people!) owns a restaurant/bar about 45 minutes from Bos en Dal (opposite direction of Pilanesberg).. We'd been talking to Francois for over a year about checking his place out and having a meal there the next time we came over... so we made plans to visit this night..

Its a cool little place with truly great food, and neat "rugby" theme in the bar area (Francois is a HUGE, RABID, CRAZED rugby fan).. between @Goopy, my party of 3, the 2x PH's, Francois wife and 2 kids, etc.. we ate like kings... and spent a couple of hours there just having a good time, laughing, and reliving the experiences of the week... For any of you that might be visiting Bos en Dal later this season or already have a hunt booked for 2025.. consider heading into town one night rather than doing the traditional thing by the fire and then eating in camp, and check out Francois' place.. you wont be disappointed..

 

[PARA45]

Wow, what a wonderful and noble thing you guys have done/doing with the orphanage. Many in our country who have never been outside the US, don't have a clue what poverty is like in those countries. Little things in life we take for granted; for these kids it means the world. Those genuine smiles and happiness of those kids are the most gratifying reward you could ever experience. I hope and pray to God to continue to bless you and guide you to continue with this cause. I tip my hat to you sir!

On a different note. Do you know if Anet has or have done an old-style map of Africa? While we wait for our mounts to arrive from @gizmo, my wife has been looking at our living room and thinking of where the new mounts will go. Soooo, my wife came up with this great idea. We are going to turn the living room into an African theme with only African mounts on the walls, and she thought of placing a map of Africa on the wall, with the artwork around it that I got from Anet. Truthfully, I think it's a great idea.

 

[mdwest]

Since we've already covered the orphanage visit (the last thing we did before heading to the airport and going home), this should be the last long post in the thread..

We had one hunting day left..

Anyone that knows my wife knows.. she is not one to be bested, out done, or be shorted lol.. It was eating her up that I had bagged a black wildebeest and that it took the entire day, and she hadnt bagged one yet... So... as we all know.. happy wife, happy life... the priority for the final hunting day was to figure out how to get the wife a black wildebeest..

The property we had hunted for my black wildebeest wasnt available.. but another property was... While smaller than the place I hunted, and with smaller herds.. it was still no small property, and the same challenges presented themselves... how do you get close to something that can see you from a kilometer away, is naturally wary, and even when "calm" spends the entire day running around in circles, bounding around the plains like a clown with a crack habit?

Having just gone through several machinations of failed, and then ultimately successful black wildebeest hunts, this time around we were much better prepared though and had a pretty good idea about what we wanted to do and how we wanted to accomplish the mission... early in the hunt, we were dropped from the truck at the far side of the property into an area that had a few trees in it (hardly "the bush".. but there was at least a little bit of concealment offered in the shade, and behind the trunk of a couple of large trees), the truck then went to the other side of the property and waited.. after a while, the truck was used to "push" the wildebeest in our general direction, and then backed off probably 800-900 meters away and just let the wildebeest go wherever it was that they were willing to go..

Once again it took some patience... it was probably an hour before they ultimately came into range.. several times they got to within 350-500 meters, but then would bounce as a group in other direction, or start running in a figure 8 pattern, etc.. but FINALLY they settled down for a few moments at a point where they were only about 225 yards away, and were completely oblivious to our presence...

This herd was much smaller than the herd my bull was taken from.. there were only a dozen or so animals.. and the biggest bull was very obvious and easy to pick out from the group.. the problem was he was smart, and rarely wasnt right in the middle of the group with part of his body obscured by another animal or he wasnt standing right in front of another animal..

At last he made a mistake and moved into an open area within the group and presented a nearly perfect broadside opportunity..

After being hit, he moved less than 30 meters before he dropped.. but we didnt actually see him drop or know that he was down... as black wildebeest do, the herd went bonkers, running around in circles, kicking up huge clouds of dust, and we couldnt see if he fell, or was still on his feet, running around with the rest of the circus..

Within a minute or two the herd was almost completely out of sight and had moved at least a kilometer away (I'd guess closer to 1.5KM) and we had no idea if we had a downed animal or not.. the grass was very tall (probably 2' - 3' in most places).. and we couldnt see a body.. the local farm manager was adamant that he counted the herd prior to the shot, and then counted again after the shot, and that an animal was down (how he counted in the chaos I have no clue)...

It turned out he was right though.. We walked to approximately where we thought the bull had been standing when he was shot.. we found no blood.. but started circling to see if we could find an indication of the animal being hit.. and within a couple of minutes found it those 30 meters away previously described..

It was still early in the day... we made it back to Bos en Dal before 10AM... so we had a lot of hunting time left available.. and at this point we only had 3x blue wildebeest culls in the salt.. that met our minimum that we wanted to get for the orphanage.. but if possible we really wanted to take more.. so we decided no distractions, and no other hunting other than blue wildebeest for the rest of the time available..

and we had huge success.. we were able to bag one more blue before lunch.. and the final 5th blue in the afternoon... which led to putting A LOT of meat on the table at Lighthouse the following day when we visited..

In summary... this was a great trip... at this point we've been to Bos en Dal enough to know the primary properties like the back of our own hands... which has some really nice advantages.. we know the herds reasonably well, where they go, what they do, etc.. which adds to the experience when we can actually participate in the building of a hunt plan as opposed to merely executing the plan put together by the PH.. but its also nice to get out and see new things, see new places, and get new experiences.. we were able to accomplish this by hitting 2 concessions this trip that we had never visited before..

At the end of it all we were able to take 4x blue wildebeest (@Goopy got the 5th), 2x black wildebeest, a hartebeest, a copper springbok, and a jackal.. all in 5.5 hunting days.. and still have time to visit Lighthouse/Orphanage for a few hours, do some curio shopping, spend a half day at Pilanesberg National Park, do a dinner out at Francois place, etc..etc.. and have a wonderful time every minute of every day... I'd call that a successful hunt and a successful week..

We cant wait to go back and do it all over again next year!

 

[mdwest]

Wow, what a wonderful and noble thing you guys have done/doing with the orphanage. Many in our country who have never been outside the US, don't have a clue what poverty is like in those countries. Little things in life we take for granted; for these kids it means the world. Those genuine smiles and happiness of those kids are the most gratifying reward you could ever experience. I hope and pray to God to continue to bless you and guide you to continue with this cause. I tip my hat to you sir!

On a different note. Do you know if Anet has or have done an old-style map of Africa? While we wait for our mounts to arrive from @gizmo, my wife has been looking at our living room and thinking of where the new mounts will go. Soooo, my wife came up with this great idea. We are going to turn the living room into an African theme with only African mounts on the walls, and she thought of placing a map of Africa on the wall, with the artwork around it that I got from Anet. Truthfully, I think it's a great idea.

I dont know if she has done a map type painting/drawing or not.. but Im 100% confident that she could do it, and do it exceptionally well... I'll shoot you a PM with her WhatsApp contact information.. depending on what sort of medium youd want and what size you want, Im betting she could knock it out for you very quickly and very affordably (oil on canvas is going to take longer than say something like a charcoal or pencil piece of art...)..

I know shes still got a couple of commissions in the que that shes been working on.. and she contacted another AH member earlier this week that had been waiting on her to start on some work for him since January (she should be starting work on his project soon).. but I think her backlog is getting a little better right now... In January it would have been 6-8 months before she could commit to working on something for a "new" client... right now I think shes backed up maybe just 3-4 months..

 

[Goopy]

Referencing back to "Candles for Conservation" that was mentioned in a previous post.. in addition to supporting the orphanages through the non profit set up by my wife and I, my wife also has a little "side" business where she makes boutique candles (100% all natural, soy, etc.. etc.. in fancy jars..).. when we started talking to Anet Kruger a few years ago about her art, one of the things my wife and Anet worked out was a deal where Anet would provide artwork for a line of candles that my wife would produce.. and all of the proceeds from the sale of that particular line would be donated to a couple of South African wildlife conservation programs.. one of those programs is the Pilanesberg Wildlife Trust..

So this trip over we wanted to take a trip to Pilanesberg, spend some time at the park, and make the donation in person..

While Im sure its nothing compared to Kruger (Ive never visited Kruger, but have talked to numerous people that have, and understand it to be incredible), Pilanesberg National Park is definitely a site to behold and well worth spending some time to visit. The park is 220 square miles in size and just absolutely beautiful.. They have done a wonderful job maintaining everything from the land itself and managing the herds, to keeping the facilities in great shape, etc..

We only spent a half day at the park (we still have a lot of hunting to do..).. but were able to take in some incredible sights.. we had 3 different rhino (white) sightings, 3 different elephant sightings, and saw countless other animals roaming around as well... crocs in particular seemed to be everywhere around any of the larger bodies of water...

The more we visit South Africa, the more we try to immerse ourselves in the culture, the people, etc.. while our principal reason for visiting every year is to hunt, we also try to do other things... visit a local restaurant, spend a week in Cape Town, check out the parks, etc.. these type of side "excursions" make the trips even more valuable and memorable for us.. we really enjoy them..

Anyway... if anyone is interested.. all proceeds support Pilanesberg Wildlife Trust and the Endangered Wildlife Trust..

https://www.candlesforconservation.com/

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We had lunch at a really nice restaurant inside the park... then headed back to Bos en Dal for an afternoon hunt (its only about a 35-45 minute drive from Bos en Dal to Pilanesberg).. we were really fortunate and able to bag another nice cull wildebeest fairly quickly after we started hunting...

We intentionally packed things in a little early this day.. Francois, Billy's PH for the week (who has PH'd for my wife, daughter, and I in the past... great guy.. one of my favorite people!) owns a restaurant/bar about 45 minutes from Bos en Dal (opposite direction of Pilanesberg).. We'd been talking to Francois for over a year about checking his place out and having a meal there the next time we came over... so we made plans to visit this night..

Its a cool little place with truly great food, and neat "rugby" theme in the bar area (Francois is a HUGE, RABID, CRAZED rugby fan).. between @Goopy, my party of 3, the 2x PH's, Francois wife and 2 kids, etc.. we ate like kings... and spent a couple of hours there just having a good time, laughing, and reliving the experiences of the week... For any of you that might be visiting Bos en Dal later this season or already have a hunt booked for 2025.. consider heading into town one night rather than doing the traditional thing by the fire and then eating in camp, and check out Francois' place.. you wont be disappointed..

I can completely and wholeheartedly second the suggestion to stop by Francois’ place if you are going to be in the Bos en Dal AO. It is well worth the trip and make sure you have a little taste of the shot with a cherry in it, you’ll thank me for this- wink, wink!