SOUTH AFRICA: Father & Son Trip With Leopard's Valley Safaris In The Eastern Cape

[Wiley64]

My Dad and I got this hunt on the calendar almost two years ago, and we have been counting the days until we could return to the dark continent. We came in 2007 and had a great time in Limpopo, and finally life slowed down enough (and we adjusted our priorities enough) to make the journey again. After much research I decided Leopard's Valley Safaris was EXACLTY what I was looking for. Last time we came, we did not hunt sable, so that was the main animal driving us back. Our "extra list" has been ever changing, and my Dad enjoys "seeing what the bush gives him." Off we go!

Rifles being used
Me: Winchester Model 70 safari express in 375 h&h mag topped with a 3-9 x 40 zeiss conquest. Ammo: 300 grain Barnes tsx

Dad: Sako 85 finlight in 7 mm rem magnum, banish suppressor, topped with a 4.5-14 x 50 leupold vx3, ammo 173 grain SPCE

Binos: Leica trinovids and vortex fury

Used travel with guns, check in was a breeze, flying delta out of Houston, layover in Atlanta and then jumping the pond to Joberg for an overnight at city lodge. Flying comfort plus, definitely worth the extra $.

 

[Wiley64]

Slept what felt like a few hours off and on- half way through the trip. Glad I brought my hoodie as it is very cold in this plane. Starting to feel like we are making progress, and here comes a ham sandwich. Great timing. As we prepare for landing, the cabin starts to buzz with excitement. The lights go from that futuristic dimmed blue to the glowing rays of the sun. Worked with riflepermits.com to clear customs, having a meet and greet is really nice, definitely worth the $. Overnight at city lodge was as expected, rooms clean and spacious. Dinner was good, it seems half the hotel is here for the same reason as us. The one noteworthy event would be waking up at 2:38 am to a magnitude 5 earthquake! I am glad it didn’t cause too much damage or loss of life. My dad slept through it but I didn’t!

 

[Wiley64]

As a graduate of Texas A&M I thought it was so bizarre to run into a large group of vet students doing a study abroad program working on the big 5, to take the knowledge back to Texas wildlife programs, they are here for conservation like the rest of us. Talk about small world!

Met the the couple from riflepermits in the lobby after breakfast, they took us back into the airport and helped us check the rifles, etc. piece of cake. Then moved on to boarding the Airlink headed for Port Elizabeth.

 

[Wiley64]

We landed in Port Elizabeth and we’re met by one of iur professional hunters, Bossie, he helped us load our bags and we were off! 3 hour drive to camp. We all hit it off immediately and made it to camp a couple hours after dark. He said the plan was going to include a few days on the coast. Arriving at camp we got to finally meet the rest of the guys at lvs, including Dave and Nikki and their kids. Our other ph was named Antony, also a good dude, and you could tell he was passionate about his craft. These are real people here and it has a good vibe at this place, they’d served us perfectly cooked steaks and we spent the evening chilling by the fire and looking at stars. The plan the next morning was to get up at daybreak, check the rifles, and head to a conservancy together to see what we could find.

 

[Wiley64]

The rooms were great, and I crashed as soon as I could.

 

[Wiley64]

Waking up in Africa is the best feeling ever. We got dressed, grabbed a light breakfast and headed to the range as the darkness lifted and finally revealed the majestic amphitheater that this lodge sits in. The Karoo’s beauty can not be over stated. It literally brought tears to my Dad’s eyes.



Zeroing went great, I shot first. The 375 was still dead on. Two shots at a hundred and spun the gong at 200 and it was back in the case. My dad’s gun was just as easy, the zero’s held across the pond.

 

[gillettehunter]

Great start. Looking forward to the rest
Bruce

 

[bo4elk]

I was considering using riflepermits and had a question. Did they meet you when you arrived at JNB , assist with entry and meet you the next morning to recheck? Can I ask you what it cost? I haven't been to JNB in 15 years and I know it is a seedy spot - any issues walking from the airport over to City Lodge?

I'm looking forward to your hunting updates, please post lots of pictures!

 

[Wiley64]

I was considering using riflepermits and had a question. Did they meet you when you arrived at JNB , assist with entry and meet you the next morning to recheck? Can I ask you what it cost? I haven't been to JNB in 15 years and I know it is a seedy spot - any issues walking from the airport over to City Lodge?

I'm looking forward to your hunting updates, please post lots of pictures!

they met us as we exited the airplane, walked us all the way to city lodge, and met us again the next morning in the lobby of city lodge. I think it cost a couple hundred dollars. One hundred for each meeting.

 

[Wiley64]

We hopped in the truck and headed to our hunting property. We saw all kinds of game on our way in, including baboons, springbok, steenbuck, lechwe and rino. This property was unreal. As we started glassing, Antony spotted two eland bulls about a mile away. My dad was at first hesitant to take one because of the size of the taxidermy “where will I put this thing?” He asked. Antony suggested a pedestal mount, that frees up some wall space for the trophy room, so that’s when my dad decided he needed to take the Eland! Bossie and Anthony put a plan together for us to drive around the other side of the mountain and stalk our way to a cliff edge to get the shot off on the bigger of the two. It was a short walk to the edge of the cliff, we were so rusty on our walk, kicking every rock, we haven’t stalked game in a long time. Once we got to the cliff edge they found the two eland in the scope, decided we should take the older of the two bulls. They think the longer bull was missing its testicles which explained his super thin, but long, horns. My dad snuck to the cliff edge and we waited about 20 minutes for the big eland to come out of the brush. Bossie said “takem’ in the crease of the neck” and my Dad did just that, and the 173 grain SPCE found its mark. It sounded like hitting a bag of wet sand with a ping pong paddle. The bull walked a few yards and the ph’s both agreed he was dead on his feet, blood pouring from his nose. One more minute and my Dad gave him another and he was down! Perfect way to start the hunt.

 

[bo4elk]

Sold! That's what I was hoping to hear - total worth it - thank you for sharing this info.

 

[Wiley64]

 

[Wiley64]

The best part, the eland died 20 yards from a road. A large crew came and loaded it on a tractor and we met it at the skinning shed. Once it was hung, we went into an old schoolhouse from a long time ago and ate lunch and took a siesta.



After lunch we decided to go find the elephants and cover the upper part of the conservancy. More breathtaking views and more biomes transitioning to forests at the foot of these giant mountains. We saw some impala, and the tracker tapped on the roof a few times for gemsbok for my dad, we made a couple of stalks on them but they were all too small. We jumped a good waterbuck and the guides made a compelling case, but we kept pressing on. Then we jumped another waterbuck even bigger this time, he was barreling up the side of a massive hill with his cows. My dad made a quick decision and jumped out, stalked a little ways toward the hill and he stopped quartering away at 260 yards. Bossie told him to tuck it right in behind the shoulder and he did just that! Perfect shot. He took off over the hill but barely made it over. I knew he we was history but my Dad was nervous about the shot. We had a 10 minute hike to get there but found him in no time at all. What an amazing animal, and to take him in this fantastic scenery on a day like today was so special.

 

[Wiley64]

Something is trying to hide in this picture.

 

[Wiley64]

It took a team of guys, a tracker, and a sled to get this bull off the mountain after countless pictures were taken. I had told the guys at the beginning that we were flexible, like water, and this paid off on this bull. By the time we got him to the skinning shed and cleaned up, it was time to head back so we headed for night 2 at the lodge.

We ran into a minor problem in the road, the good kind of problem that makes an adventure worth telling people about. A large bull elephant from the photographic area decided he wasn’t into cars this night, and we had him aggressively walk within touching distance of our car in the road even though we pulled off to the side. I felt like I was on Jurassic park. What a humbling experience.

 

[Wiley64]

Oxtail stew and homemade bread was on the menu, and my Dad was beyond ready for his tequila shot. Had a bunch of laughs at dinner and the jet lag has just now worn off as I write this. It’s currently 4:30 am and I can’t sleep, cause I’m hunting sable today.



We got to breakfast at 7:00 am, got to sleep a tad later since we are hunting closer to the lodge today. They had been scouting the sable hard for weeks in preperation for our trip, and were very confident we would sort them out in no time. We meandered through the flattest parts of the property, in and out of old creek beds trying to peer down every alleyway and tunnel we could find from the truck. We had a few false alarms, old logs, trees with white sable looking markings, etc. we spotted a couple of kudu, no sable. The wind had picked up today so Bossie thought they might move later once the sun hits their backs. Bossie said he had seen 2 big ones running together this week near the creek, so we doubled back to recheck that area again. This searching process went on for a couple of hours before the excited tap tap tap of the trackers on the roof of the truck stopped us. Now we were looking at the most beautiful sight, a giant sable with big flared horns feeding nonchalantly in a clearing with the sun rising over the Karoo mountains in the background.



Showtime



We drifted the car a ways up the road and parked it to get ready for the stalk. We decided I’d take the first crack at Sable, but Bossie instructed my Dad to bring his rifle in case we can get him a shot at another one. I loaded my 375 with Barnes tsx, and hit the field. It was a short 400 yard stalk, when I spotted the first sight of sable on foot, it took my breath away. Bossie glasses some more and tells us there are two, and if I hit mine good, to stay on him while my Dad will go for sable #2.



We came around a patch of brush, bossie set up the sticks and I laid my rifle on them to give it its first crack at big game. I settled the crosshairs on the shoulder and squeezed.



BANG- thump, splat!



The sable dropped in its tracks. I was over the moon, shaking, fist bumping, and watching in amazement as my Dad and Bossie crept around the bush to take the other sable as he walked off. The 7 mag founds its mark, and after a couple of extra redundant follow ups, dad has his bull down too. Father and Son double on sable, unforgettable experience. They died 80 yards apart. They were both big but his was noticeably bigger bodied, mine was real old and skinny, not in great health, bony hips and not much mass on its neck. A great sable to take! My sable was 41 inches and my Dad’s was 45. Both studs!

 

[Wiley64]

 

[Wiley64]

 

[Wiley64]

Btw, the PH’s Bossie and Antony are serious about their photos. They get all the cred possible for these.

 

[Wiley64]

Springbok- I missed a springbok that afternoon, it was a chip shot but had to use a cut branch instead of shooting sticks, my footing was bad and I rushed it, no big deal.
Tomorrow we head to the coast for bushbuck, blue duiker, common duiker, and nyala.

Breakfast at 6, wheels up at 6:30, we hit the road in two separate trucks to the costal town where we would be chasing blue duiker, bushbuck, and zebra. The transition from Karoo flat to the plains to the costal rain forest was magnificent, lots of game to be seen on the way even in the light rain. We were staying at a hunting camp in a marina, the accommodations were great, since the forecast was rain, we took our time to lounge around and relax until the weather let up the following day.

Having a day off in the middle of a safari is a great idea. We had lunch in port Andrews and lounged around while the guides made arrangements for the following day. On the menu was a blue duiker for Dad, zebra for me, Nyala/bushbuck as well. At this point I decided to add the bushbuck to my list, they’re too special to leave without, and I am glad Antony suggested it.

After a quick breakfast we were on the road to a pineapple farm by 6:30. The landowner is a character and obviously enjoys doing this. We set up for the first drive in the drizzling rain, not really knowing what to expect. The landowner spelled out exactly where the duiker would likely come from, and gave my Dad a heads up when he thought it was about to pop out. Everything went according to plan, except when the duiker tip toed out into the shooting lane, my Dad didn’t shoot. He turned into “iceman” and froze! Antony, bossie, the landowner and I all had a good laugh and gave my dad a hard time. He redeemed himself quick!Dad got his trophy on the 2nd drive of the day as the duiker busted out of a bush along with a Franklin, my dad gave it two shots, and it was done for. Excellent horns on this male. This was a fun change of pace!