Over nine months ago I read a report on another hunters experience with KMG and knew it was the experience I was looking for. Hunting in Africa had been a bucket list item for my wife Penny and I and when we realize that it was just as affordable as seven days in Jamaica we couldn’t pass it up. As we planned our trip Marius was always there with valuable information and assistance in planning exactly what we wanted. Not once were we worried that we had not selected the right hunt with the right PH. My wife and I have grown up hunting public lands in Washington and Montana and have never been on a guided hunt and had no clue what to expect other than what we had read from previous reports. Let me say this loud and clear WE WERE NOT DISAPPOINTED! Our experience with Marius and KMG hunting safaris has been above and beyond a dream come true.
When we arrived in Port Elizabeth Marius was there at the airport to pick us up himself. The drive to the Lodge took about an hour and a half which gave us a good opportunity to learn about what to expect and get to know Marius. We had a ton of questions and Marius was happy to educate us. His Pride in what he does is evident in everything he does. There were several times we were excited with the animal in our sights, but if it didn’t meet Marius’s standards we would move on to find a better quality animal. We had chosen to hunt Kudu, Impala, Blesbuck and Waterbuck.
After arriving to the lodge and dropping off our gear we went out to the range to verify our rifles were on target. A few clicks here and there and we were ready to go for the next morning. That night Kim, Marius’s wife had a wonderful meal ready for us! The atmosphere in the lodge is warm and inviting and just what we were looking for. Kim is amazing and makes the hunters feel like family. After being spoiled like this I’m not sure I can ever go back to Hunting Public lands again. Lol
On the first day we hunted Kudu. It wasn’t long before Marius and our tracker Loyd spotted several cows and some nice bulls...granted nice to me wasn’t big enough. Marius never lacked confidence in finding a better more mature bull. After a long day of spotting and stalking we returned to another wonderful meal prepared by Kim.
On day two we were back on the kudu and by 9 o’clock Marius had me literally in my socks stalking a beautiful mature bull. I was shooting a tikka T3 300 WSM And felt comfortable up to 300 yards with the 3 x 9 scope. Marius and I found a great position within 270 yards. We could see cows from where we sat and Knew the bull wasn’t far behind. Within a few minutes we could see his head and we waited patiently for him to step out from behind a larg bush. Marius set up the sticks so I could shoot from the prone position. Finally the moment came and my crosshairs landed right on target and I squeezed the trigger. This beautiful bull took a double lung shot and ran maybe 30 yards.
The feeling of taking a beautiful animal like this so far away from home can never be fully explained. Afte a home cooked lunch back at the Mpunzi lodge it was Penny’s turn to hunt for Blesbuck. We had seen quite a few so we could be really picky about finding a beautiful specimen. Penny was shooting a Tika t3 in .308. It wasn’t long before Marius spotted beautiful mature bull. We put the stalk on it and 30 minutes later he had us in position. He threw up the sticks a whispered His instructions to my wife. She squeezed the trigger and made a perfect one shot kill on this beautiful boy.
On day 3 we went about a half hour away to another area in search of the ghostly Waterbuck. The morning was cold but sunny and it wasn’t long before we found a couple of cows and a massive bull Trying to soak in some sun. We tried to Close the distance But this smart boy headed right into the thick stuff. We continued to hunt hoping to come across to him again. We seen several other nice bulls but none as big and mature as the first. In the next few hours we spotted over 10 different species of animals. In the areas we hunted the sheer number of quality animals we saw was simply amazing. The terrain is challenging, And the animals are sly. You can spot over 100 animals from across a valley, but once you put the stalk on they will disappear. Marius and Lloyd worked like a world class team and not once did they fail to get us on the trail of what we were after. We seen several other waterbucks including two smaller bulls. That evening we knew the waterbuck would be out to feed, as we walked the ridge stopping every 10 feet to glass, we finally seen him. This time we were closer and I could see how massive he was. Unfortunately he also saw us and headed up over the ridge. We put the chase on sprinting up over the ridge jumping over bushes, cactus, rocks and anything else in our path. He zipped by us within 30 yards and ran down into a draw just as the light was leaving us. Whew, what an amazing day! Tired and worn out and thankful for another wonderful home-cooked meal by Kim we slept like babies. By the way the accommodations far exceeded our expectations with a massive king size bed huge soaking tub and massive shower! Do we really have to leave?
Day 4.
To be continued.....
When we arrived in Port Elizabeth Marius was there at the airport to pick us up himself. The drive to the Lodge took about an hour and a half which gave us a good opportunity to learn about what to expect and get to know Marius. We had a ton of questions and Marius was happy to educate us. His Pride in what he does is evident in everything he does. There were several times we were excited with the animal in our sights, but if it didn’t meet Marius’s standards we would move on to find a better quality animal. We had chosen to hunt Kudu, Impala, Blesbuck and Waterbuck.
After arriving to the lodge and dropping off our gear we went out to the range to verify our rifles were on target. A few clicks here and there and we were ready to go for the next morning. That night Kim, Marius’s wife had a wonderful meal ready for us! The atmosphere in the lodge is warm and inviting and just what we were looking for. Kim is amazing and makes the hunters feel like family. After being spoiled like this I’m not sure I can ever go back to Hunting Public lands again. Lol
On the first day we hunted Kudu. It wasn’t long before Marius and our tracker Loyd spotted several cows and some nice bulls...granted nice to me wasn’t big enough. Marius never lacked confidence in finding a better more mature bull. After a long day of spotting and stalking we returned to another wonderful meal prepared by Kim.
On day two we were back on the kudu and by 9 o’clock Marius had me literally in my socks stalking a beautiful mature bull. I was shooting a tikka T3 300 WSM And felt comfortable up to 300 yards with the 3 x 9 scope. Marius and I found a great position within 270 yards. We could see cows from where we sat and Knew the bull wasn’t far behind. Within a few minutes we could see his head and we waited patiently for him to step out from behind a larg bush. Marius set up the sticks so I could shoot from the prone position. Finally the moment came and my crosshairs landed right on target and I squeezed the trigger. This beautiful bull took a double lung shot and ran maybe 30 yards.
The feeling of taking a beautiful animal like this so far away from home can never be fully explained. Afte a home cooked lunch back at the Mpunzi lodge it was Penny’s turn to hunt for Blesbuck. We had seen quite a few so we could be really picky about finding a beautiful specimen. Penny was shooting a Tika t3 in .308. It wasn’t long before Marius spotted beautiful mature bull. We put the stalk on it and 30 minutes later he had us in position. He threw up the sticks a whispered His instructions to my wife. She squeezed the trigger and made a perfect one shot kill on this beautiful boy.
On day 3 we went about a half hour away to another area in search of the ghostly Waterbuck. The morning was cold but sunny and it wasn’t long before we found a couple of cows and a massive bull Trying to soak in some sun. We tried to Close the distance But this smart boy headed right into the thick stuff. We continued to hunt hoping to come across to him again. We seen several other nice bulls but none as big and mature as the first. In the next few hours we spotted over 10 different species of animals. In the areas we hunted the sheer number of quality animals we saw was simply amazing. The terrain is challenging, And the animals are sly. You can spot over 100 animals from across a valley, but once you put the stalk on they will disappear. Marius and Lloyd worked like a world class team and not once did they fail to get us on the trail of what we were after. We seen several other waterbucks including two smaller bulls. That evening we knew the waterbuck would be out to feed, as we walked the ridge stopping every 10 feet to glass, we finally seen him. This time we were closer and I could see how massive he was. Unfortunately he also saw us and headed up over the ridge. We put the chase on sprinting up over the ridge jumping over bushes, cactus, rocks and anything else in our path. He zipped by us within 30 yards and ran down into a draw just as the light was leaving us. Whew, what an amazing day! Tired and worn out and thankful for another wonderful home-cooked meal by Kim we slept like babies. By the way the accommodations far exceeded our expectations with a massive king size bed huge soaking tub and massive shower! Do we really have to leave?
Day 4.
To be continued.....
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