SOUTH AFRICA: Day One & Two &...

[Bhfs300]

I left an Impala on my last trip to SA. My goal this time is to not leave any animals that I shot at. That is the hardest thing to learn. I talked to a person at a sports store that couldn't understand that if you took a 350 yard shot at an animal and wounded it you had to stop since that was the end of your tag. That lesson needs to be taught to the altilary shooting logic in the US.

BHFS300

I leave in seven days for my second safari this time with a rifle.

 

[Wheels]

Congratulations on your trophies.

Thanks for sharing your report and photos.

All the best.

 

[bluey]

them zebra are tough , kirkyboy...
the one we wounded the other month ,had no trouble what so ever keeping up with the family group...
we just walked and walked until the opportunity arose to finish the job .........
I had near written her off as money into the wind ,as the flesh wound she suffered would most definitely have mended .
but in all you had a great trip mate .
specially having your father and wife along for the adventure .
I really like the idea of snap freezing your animal for the daylight trophy photos ,
thank you so much , for sharing your adventure with all its memories with us all .........

 

[Royal27]

Zebra are tough.... it happens to all of us though. We will all wound one eventually.

Great hunt and great report. Had to read the stinky baboon part out loud to the wife. She got a good laugh out of that as did I!

 

[enysse]

Congrats on the hunt, yes (zebras) are damn tough. Great pictures.

 

[gillettehunter]

Good job on your safari. Some nice trophies. Too bad about the Zebra, but it gives you a reason to go back. Bruce

 

[Bobpuckett]

Congrats on an awesome hunt fantastic trophies and the fact that your father and wfe were able to share it with you can't be beat.

 

[PARA45]

Congrats on some fine trophies and a great hunt! I shot a zebra, busted the heart, one broken leg and still ran about 150 yds. They are tough critters!

 

[cptkirk]

I came to the realization that I never mentioned Warthog Safaris name in this post. I want to make sure that I give some praise to Tienie and Ananja which is greatly deserved. They run a first class operation in the Limpopo Province that I would highly recommend to anyone considering a hunt with them in South Africa.

 

[Sable123]

Yes please, now this is a great hunting report. Thanks @cptkirk for taking the time to post a few pics and sharing your trip with us. Looks like a great time. That is a tidy looking kudu, you can be very proud of that guy! Al your trophy photos are great and well presented, except for the wet baboon! I like the finish on that rifle of yours, looks very smart. Good shooting

All the best
Jono

 

[Mekaniks]

Congratulations on a great hunt and trip. Sounds like a fantastic trip. Can you tell us more about the "before and after". How did you end up going with Warthog Safaris? Which airline did you fly? Did you take your own rifle? If so any trouble getting it in/out of SA? Did you overnight in Joburg? Did you have any taxidermy done? If so what company? So many questions, sorry....

 

[cptkirk]

Congratulations on a great hunt and trip. Sounds like a fantastic trip. Can you tell us more about the "before and after". How did you end up going with Warthog Safaris? Which airline did you fly? Did you take your own rifle? If so any trouble getting it in/out of SA? Did you overnight in Joburg? Did you have any taxidermy done? If so what company? So many questions, sorry....

I ended up with Warthog Safaris by pure chance. I was at a Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation fund raising banquet and part of this safari was a donation that Tienie and Ananja made to the RMEF while they were in the USA doing marketing at a few of the sports show convensions on the east coast. I bought their donation which was a 7 day hunt for me and an observer with 3 animals(impala, blue wildebeest, warthog) in an auction for $1600. I took a chance not knowing anything about Warthog Safaris, but I lucked out in a big way. I added some more animals, 3 more days of hunting, and brought my Dad along too.
The taxidermy work is being done right now by Highveld Taxidermy in South Africa. (5 shoulder mounts, 2 skulls and 1 flat skin rug). The Kudu and Gemsbuck heads are going to be mounted on hand carved wood Zulu shields with crossed spears behind them. I will post pictures of them when the work is done in 10 months or so.
We flew Delta non-stop from Atlanta. I hate layovers and with me bringing my own rifles I figured it would be best to limit opportunities for lost luggage doing transfers from plane to plane. I payed a few bucks extra for what they call extra comfort seating. More leg room was nice. Business class was nutso priced at $9000 plus per person. All the extras I added to the hunt did not add up to $9000.
Ananja met us at the airport and walked us through the rifle import process. Warthog does this as a courtesy to their hunters saving them the cost of hiring someone to do it. She drove us straight to the camp that night so a room was not needed. We did spend 1 night in a room in Johannesburg at a place called "Journeys End Africa" before we flew to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls. It was a nice hotel with a pool and bar, and they served dinner that night so we did not have to worry about finding a place to eat. I have another post in the forums for the Victoria Falls part of our trip. I wish I was better at this computer stuff, I would post a link to that thread for you.

 

[cptkirk]

Congratulations on a great hunt and trip. Sounds like a fantastic trip. Can you tell us more about the "before and after". How did you end up going with Warthog Safaris? Which airline did you fly? Did you take your own rifle? If so any trouble getting it in/out of SA? Did you overnight in Joburg? Did you have any taxidermy done? If so what company? So many questions, sorry....

Here is the link.
http://www.africahunting.com/threads/the-other-half-of-my-african-journey.18103/