SOUTH AFRICA: Garry Kelly Safaris October 2022

[Rickmt]

I booked a hunt with Garry Kelly Safaris after I was referred to Cullen Kelly by a member of this forum. I booked the hunt two years in advance. My son and I wanted to hunt Buffalo for the first time and our previous trips to South Africa had us looking for a very large property where the game was as close to naturally occurring as we could find .
In Kwazulu Natal Garry Kelly has two properties one of which is now called Mpilo Game reserve which is about 45,000 acres and holds well over a thousand Buffalo. Adjacent to this holding is a tented camp property called Mkuze River. A similar sized property holding about half the number of Buffalo as Mpilo .
Mpilo is a very luxurious lodge with lots of staff and some very fine cuisine

My son and I both gained weight on this trip and the deserts made by the cook were a big hit with the son and I .
My son and I were supposed to arrive in the beginning of September but a bad case of Covid knocked me flat three days prior to our trip. I rebooked our flights for the second week in October and we flew from Bozeman to Salt lake to Atlanta to Johannesburg arriving in the evening . We were met by Gilbert from Africa Sky who whisked us through the gun check and to the guesthouse. A great dinner followed by some restful sleep and we awoke to our first day in South Africa. Our drive met us at 8:00 am and 5 hours later we arrived at the lodge to meet Cullen Kelly and his tracker Patrick. We had a quick lunch, grabbed our gear , and checked our guns . By 3 pm we were hunting .
Stay tuned for more , my wife and I have final yard cleanup before our Montana winter hits tomorrow!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Looks like a great place.

 

[Mekaniks]

Thanks for sharing. Keep it coming....

 

[Nyati]

What is now called Mpilo used to be Mkuzi Falls PGR, hunted my buff there in 2010.

You are going to enjoy it !

 

[Rickmt]

I am back - Nyati, I hunted at the newly named Mpilo Game reserve which is adjacent and contiguous to the Mkuzi falls private game reserve.

Our first 3 full hunting days were spent traveling the reserve looking at just about every one of the dangerous 7 and looking for old Buffalo bulls . we saw numerous herds in the varied terrain which included rolling mountains , rocky outcrops, the Mkuze river and tributaries. We saw numerous Buffalo herds and none of them had the older bulls we were looking for. the hunting method was to drive and glass for small groups of older males.
During the first few days my son was up first on Buffalo and he was able to put three stalks on older Buffalo all of which were foiled by shifting winds in the mountains alerting the animals . this was particularly the case on the mountain sides where where the wind was extremely variable. On day 4 Cullen spotted a lone bull who looked very interesting in tall grass on a distant hillside. we drove to the base of that hill and hiked up through rocks and thick vegation until the hill peaked with a rocky spine with a sea of six foot grass on the other side and about sixty yards away was the bull laying down . All we could see was his horns and the faint outline of his head . Cullen moved forward down slightly into the grass with my son Ricky following behind . The bull was facing away and the wind was right . the tracker and I remained behind on the rock spine with a great view of the hunt. they advanced about 15 yards further and Ricky went on the rock solid Rudolph sticks . Now they needed to have the bull stand broadside and after fifteen minutes of waiting Cullen made some Buffalo noises which fell on deaf ears ! The buffalo was dozing and the wind obscured Cullens Buffalo talk. this Buffalo actually nodded off to the point that one horn was up and the other was not visible! finally he stood up and presented a broadside shot but Ricky could only make out the head and neck . a few seconds later he wheeled and ran up and over the mountain 100 yards above. If you look carefully at the last picture below you can see Ricky and Cullen to the right on the sticks and 30-40 yards away the dozing Buffalo . look on the left below the overhanging leaves.

 

[Rickmt]

Four days and no Buffalo down . What we did do was warm up our Blazers with a little impala action for Ricky and a warthog for dad . The warthog was down by the river and collapsed quickly when the 375HH with 300 grain Barnes bullets went through both his shoulders . Rickys impala fell to the same combination .

 

[Rickmt]

Day 5 started out with a bang, actually two of them. Each day we travelled different routes through the 45,000 acre reserve. Today we were driving within sight of a burn covering hundreds of acres and off in the distance were two Buffalo bulls feeding along the upper side of a terraced slope . We exited the truck and made our way up the slope at a point that was well in front of the feeding/ walking pair. Cullen had already determined that one of the two was an older animal and an ambush was on. At the top of the hill we came to a line of trees and rocks above which was an a flatter burned area that ran right to left and was about 100 yards wide from us to another rocky area at the top.
Cullen set Ricky up on the sticks amidst the bush and rocks and we waited .
In a few minutes the Buffalo appeared on our left walking in the upper portion of the burnt feeding on the new lush green shoots of grass. Cullen told Ricky to focus on the best of the bulls and be ready for only a clean broadside shot . A few minutes past and the bulls were about 60 yards directly above us when Ricky took his shot. The bull was hit in the shoulder top and lurched forward and spun when Ricky worked the Blazer bolt and hit him again . A few seconds and he was down . We waited as he passed and Ricky and Cullen approached and and final insurance shot was taken. Day 5 was the day for Ricky’s first Buffalo !

 

[Rickmt]

We were both amazed at the size of the animal when you get up close and personal. It was very clear why Cullen had repeatedly said not to shoot unless we were SURE we had a killing shot. It was a good day.
Dad was up now and Ricky shifted his focus to a Nyala and Bushbuck . Both of us have taken Nyala before but we were told there were very good Nyala here and we decided to try for another. Neither of had taken a Bushbuck.
The day ended with lots of sightings but not the Buffalo Cullen wanted me to shoot.

Day 6
We travelled to the highest reaches of the reserve where the grassy mounted tops mingled with dense underbrush in the ravines leading up to the tops . We saw elephant throughout out our trip on the forested mountain sides . There are some 60 elephant on the reserve and wherever they went they tore trees down and searched even the steepest ravines for their preferred foods .
As we topped out on the mountain in the truck the wind picked up and to an old elk hunter I thought that I was back home in Montana. As we drove the ridgeline 5 Buffalo came into view feeding well below the mountain crest a 1000 yards away and 3 ravines from us .
We were on top and exposed so we stopped the truck behind a drooping tree and watched. For a long time. We drank water. We ate apples . The bulls worked along the mountain filling their stomachs.
Cullen said when they dropped into the second ravine out of sight we would close the distance. They disappeared and we moved quickly to intercept them.
We stopped above the third and last ravine . We did not know if they would come our way.
Eventually 3 of the bulls came out of the last ravine. Earlier we had noticed a larger horned bull in the group and he was the third to come up from the forested ravine. The other 2 did not ever come up !
It was 120 yards to the other side of the ravine directly across from our rocky hide. If they came up our side it would be much closer. We waited again . No Buffalo. They must be on our side below us. Cullen rose up and looked down below and quickly came back to me with two words . 30 yards. He inched forward with me on his hip and set the Rudolph sticks.
There were two Buffalo in front of me and he said the closer one was the best. I found him and hit him in his shoulder about an inch back at thirty yards . He took the bullet and spun around perhaps searching for the source of his pain. I hit him again in the chest front and he staggered and fell .

 

[Rickmt]

He was thin and his teeth were very worn down . His horns were wide . I was happy and thankful for this day with my son and my Buffalo.

 

[Rickmt]

 

[Rickmt]

Day 6 wasn’t over . After loading my Buffalo into another truck brought by by the reserve manager we headed off into Bushbuck country . The bushbuck on the reserve are concentrated in the thick bush often mid level on the mountains as apparently the numerous Nyala ruled the lower thick stuff. Cullen said as the sun warmed the mountain side the Bushbuck came out of the thick stuff occasionally to feed . We saw many ,mostly females and one good Bushbuck male that slipped away into the thickets well above us. Our day ended with both Buffalo in the salt.

 

[Rickmt]

day7

Cullen decided that although we were seeing lots of Nyala and a few Bushbuck , we would travel to an adjacent reserve about 20 minutes away. there are a 4 reserves in this area totalling well over 125,000 acres and this reserve was under new ownership and had recently dropped the fence between themselves and the Mkuze river game reserve and had not been hunted in the recent past.
the terrain was similar to mpilo but without the river and tall mountains . lots of thick bush interspersed with open areas and some fresh burns .
We saw lots of Kudu

 

[Rickmt]

I tried to refrain from shooting a Kudu but we saw numerous 50+ inch and some around 55" . My son and I have an upcoming hunt in May of 2024 and I will attempt to find a big one and this hunt maxed my budget ! .My son has a 57 incher and my best is a 48 inch I shot on my first safari . Ricky loves to pile it on about that subject.
We traversed this new property eventually ending up in a very thick and steep canyon with a small water drainage and lots of vines .
We caught sight of a Bushbuck that did not need to be discussed . We piled off the truck and back tracked a short distance to where Cullen threw up the Rudolphs and Ricky made an almost immediate shot . Dad was very Jealous and it showed as Ricky and Cullen both piled on !

 

[Rickmt]

After pictures and admiring the animal it was my turn and Nyala and Bushbuck were my interest . We descended somewhat and decided after some time to go and have lunch and come back around 2:30 pm . Today was around 100 degrees and the heat was taking a toll on us . After lunch and an air conditioned short snooze we were back at it . We found numerous Nyala but nothing the right size . Cullen and I joked about patience and how I did not have any with my very patient son nodding in agreement .
Finally, we spotted a good Nyala . Probably about number 74 if you want to count . The stalk was not long but the brush and vines were very thick . We were 40 yards away and there were pieces of 2 Nyala males in our view . Cullen identified the one on the left and i had an opening to his neck which i sighted in on and fired . he dropped and I finished him quickly to be sure. His body was immense as Nyala go.

 

[Rickmt]

 

[Rickmt]

Day 7 had been a great day with Ricky finding a fantastic Bushbuck and Dad getting a nice Nyala.
Late in the day ,evening almost we travelled the property line where the fence between the two reserves had been removed and up ahead two very nice Nyala crossed into the reserve we were hunting . Ricky’s luck never ends as both of these were very good . One was very tall and one had slightly shorter horns but they were heavier than the first. Cullen and Ricky decided on the taller one and the stalk began. Patrick and I remained with the vehicle as this was very thick and a few minutes later we heard the shot!

 

[Nyati]

You guys are doing great so far !

My pics of the lodge

 

[Rickmt]

Nyati , same place under new ownership and now Kelly has sole hunting rights along with Mkuze Falls and now the new Mkuze wilderness .

Some observations:
On the three reserves above their are over 100 members of the community employed as farm workers, skinners , cooks , cleaners , servers , and anti- poaching .

There are are over 100 white and black rhino on these reserves and 18 have been murdered THIS YEAR by idiots who think rhino horn is good for their sex lives. Chinese syndicates hire locals to do their dirty work and infiltrate the reserves for inside info.

Many thanx to Cullen Kelly for being the absolute professional and putting up with me and my many questions. What a great trip !

 

[TKessel]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[MontanaPat]

Thanks for sharing your report. That bushbuck and the two Nyala are magnificent, not to mention two very nice buffalo. Very successful trip I would say, and doing it with your son makes it that much better. My son who lives in Bozeman is going with me next June for the first time to do our buffalo hunt. Congrats again