SOUTH AFRICA: First Safari Hunt Report African Wild Safaris South Africa

[dhoover]

Day 4 We got serious. Ate breakfast at 5:15 and left shortly thereafter and drove an hour or so in the dark to get to where I missed the Kudu the day before. We picked up his track at daylight and followed. We got a good look at him an hour or later and he was the one we wanted. We saw 6 other Kudu Bulls, mostly young and a variety of other game. We saw him several times but never with even a chance for a shot. Noon came and went, and we stayed after it. Finally, about 2 pm we got our chance. He made a mistake, hanging out under a tree watching his backtrail with the wind in our favor, and we got our shot. He taped out just over 50" with good mass and to me looked huge.

 

[dhoover]

In a funny side note my good friend's son took a great kudu the day before. When we all walked to the skinning shed after dinner, I said to my friend's son "Wow, your Kudu is almost as big as mine". He agreed and complimented me on my big bull. I picked up the bigger one, and it was his! His was 54".

 

[dhoover]

Day 5 we went after Eland. My two Buddies had gotten theirs, so Eland was back on the menu. Vusi again found tracks, this time of 3 bulls and we took up the stalk. We found them in heavy brush 3 times but could never get a shot. It was really hard to sort out the biggest bull and get a clean shot. Vusi's ability to sneak in close always keep the wind right was amazing. We finally got them in the open early in the afternoon and I was able to make a good shot from longer range than I preferred. The Kill zone on an Eland seems bigger than even a moose so a lung shot put him down within 50 yards. I'm super impressed with the 375 Ruger and the Barnes TSX. He was a really old bull with a broken horn.

 

[PARA45]

Wow, what a great safari, and some wonderful animals taken. Keep it coming.

 

[dhoover]

On Day 6 two things of note happened. 1. My friends, all 8 of them left to go to Krueger National Park. I had always planned to stay and hunt but now had to decide what to go after. 2. I had to call my wife to wire more money. She took it very well. I wired the price of my original hunt package before I left Arkansas and now had gone 3 animals over. 3 expensive animals I might add.

We decided to go for Nyala. the guys had been seeing a big Nyala for a few years. I wasn't really aware of Nyala though I had read Jim Shockey's book where the Main character was named Nyala. They also had one full body mount in the lodge, and it was impressive.

The first day we hunted from dawn until dark and never saw a more than a couple Nyala females and a small bull. we did see a big Waterbuck but had no shot.

The second day was more of the same. lots of wildebeest, ostrich, waterbuck, Kudu, dozens of baboon's, sable, buffalo everything expect a trophy, Nyala.

By 1 pm I was done. It was getting hot, and we couldn't even turn up a track. We decided to go eat lunch and regroup. This thing was a ghost. We now had 2 trackers and Abel, the new tracker to our team decided to skip lunch and stay and sit on a waterhole. No one asked him to; it was his idea. We barely made it to the lodge when he called on the radio.

The big Nyala was at the waterhole drinking. Apparently, Abel had history with this bull.

We raced back and took up his track. We caught glimpses of him sneaking through the brush and finally caught him in the open. My first shot put him down and the celebration began. I still can't believe we got him or that he even existed. It took two trackers and a PH who never quit on me even with my poor attitude.

 

[DJStang]

Very cool trophies, and a entertaining accounting of your trip. Congratulations!

 

[.300RUM]

Extremely nice examples. Jokingly, your hunt is similar to a trip to the grocery store, go in for a couple items, come out with a cart full...

Enjoy your trip, and thanks for letting us enjoy it with you.

What ya got in mind for day 7???

 

[dhoover]

This will conclude my hunt report. The trip, Game, Outfitter and Accommodations far exceeded my expectations. I can't image any better hosts than owners Glen and Charmaine Janse v Rensburg. They treated me like family from the day I booked the hunt 2 years ago.
I will definitely go back. Africa is under my skin. I can't thank my friends enough either for encouraging me to go.

Every step of the way included people that were eager to help move things along and make the trip better. Most of the credit goes to my PH Hienrich and tracker Vusi. A special shout out goes to Andrew the bartender and coffee man. He made every day better.

The good news is I got my two target animals and only had to call my wife twice to wire more money.

 

[Fatback]

That is a heck of a safari with tremendous trophies to remember it by. Appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. Congrats.

 

[MontanaPat]

Congrats, you had a very successful hunt with some really nice trophies

 

[Hyde]

Wow! Thanks for sharing.