SOUTH AFRICA: KMG Safaris Rocks!

[Edge]

21 June, Day 3: Morning Hunt - Time to walk

We wake up to the shortest day of the year and its also the coldest morning of trip so far, just above the freezing point but the wind is not bad so its bearable. A hearty breakfast and a couple of cups of coffee to warm up the body as we are greeted by a beautiful sunrise.

My shoulders are not as sore as I thought they would be after hauling out the Kudu half with the poles but definitely a bit tender. My ball cap is covered in Kudu ass and goes in the wash. I mention to Marius it would be nice to have one of the KMG hats but he doesn’t acknowledge. Ok, maybe he’ll grab one and toss it to me before we leave for the morning but to no avail. The @KMG Hunting Safaris hats must be collector’s items or I’m just a bad guest? I came prepared and had a back-up hat in my kit.

We had a good laugh at dinner the night before when Michelle asked us about the Tiger. We all looked at her like she was crazy then we figured it out, with Louw’s accent she thought she heard Tiger not Diuker. It turns out this wasn’t the first time but the third time someone misheard Duiker as Tiger! The talk always turns back to the spa day on Saturday, she doesn’t want to miss a bit of the hunting action.

Back to the hunt, what were we going to go after today? I have now taken my top three animals on my list with just over a day gone past. We still have Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Impala as my next tier of animals. Louw tells us we didn’t walk enough yesterday and we are going to walk today. We pile into the Louw’s bakkie and head down the road and cross though the neighbor’s property to access the back portion of the Mpunzi lodge hunting area. We are greeted by some Ostrich, @wipartimer Hey RBF, this is what they look like up close!

Guys, don’t get me wrong, I love my wife especially when she spots something. “What’s that big brown animal over there in the bush she asks”, Louw slows and we start laughing, it’s a cow! She is a great cow spotter.


We enter through the gate onto the hunting property, and drive just a hundred yards down the hill and begin to glass. On the opposite mountain we can see a group of Eland and some glimpses of Impala. Louw then begins to walk and spot as we parallel our hillside. I’ve seen a few days of this and know exactly what to do!

We find some fresh Blue Wildebeest sign but they have disappeared. We head down over the hill to the bottom and start up the opposite side where we had spotted the Eland and Impala. About half way to the top we begin seeing a group of Impala as they feed in the thick bush, we decide to sit down and wait to see if a big Ram will show.

We patiently sat until I could no longer feel my legs. I thought to myself, if a big Ram shows I won’t be able to stand. But there is no way I’m moving before my PH moves. I notice Louw begin to unfold his legs and I do the same and feel the tingling sensation of blood returning to my legs. Louw finally stands and tells me his legs are asleep, he is human!

We circle the face of the hill and run into the herd of Eland and they push off in front of us almost all the way back to the bakkie.

We return to the lodge for lunch, Nicole keeps a close eye on me as I begin to browse on the lunch buffet! Marius, Mike and RBF are still out chasing Wildebeest and Zebra and won’t be joining us for lunch. Notice the two nice common Tigers on the wall!

We enjoy our lunch, I write down my notes on the back deck enjoying the sunshine and peacefulness of the day. I check my iphone and we have logged over 4 miles this morning and it feels great!

 

[harden]

You just get it back here and we WILL work ANY MAGIC Necessary to make him Perfect !! This is an Incredible HUNT ! Congrats !!!

 

[Edge]

Day 3 Afternoon Hunt


We leave the lodge around 2pm and head out, I can tell Louw has a plan as we drive across the property and up the opposite ridge from the lodge.

We get out and begin to stalk up the meandering road along the top of the ridge. This area is more open and you can see a good ways as there is only intermittent bush. We walk slowly and quietly as we can, the quietest place is the dirt track as the ground cover is so very dry and crunches and crackles under your boots. We don’t see much for the first 20 minutes then hear the bark of an Eland but don’t see the animal as must have been screened behind some of the bush where the hill rolls steeply off.

Another 20 minutes of walking and I notice an area probably 6-8 feet wide and 10-12 feet long that is churned up and dark colored with animal pellets, I whisper to Louw questioning what animal makes this. He replied Impala, and the area looked fresh. Another minute or two of walking and Louw steps behind a large solitary bush and I follow his lead. He leans out and pulls the binoculars up to his eyes and studies for a minute then slowly steps out and sets the sticks! I move up and place the rifle in the holder and ready myself.

Louw says there are three impala feeding on a bush, do you see them. I do, they are about 125 yards out and there are two on the left side of the bush feeding and one on the right. Louw tells me “shoot the big one” in a hushed tone. I’m looking but all I can see are horns as the two to the left of the bush are bobbing their heads, one is facing me the other facing away. The one on right looks good but I’m not sure. “Which one is the big one” I ask, Louw hisses back the one on the right! I get the crosshairs on him as he is almost broadside to me and then he jumps away to the right and is gone. Louw goes to grab the sticks to reposition us but the Impala jumps back to the bush as quickly as he left. I tell Louw he’s back, but now the shot is more difficult as he is facing me at a pretty severe quartering angle. His head to the left as he grabs another mouthful of green leaves from the bush. I put the crosshairs just behind the shoulder as I don’t want to ruin the cape.

Mpunzi lodge has an Impala mounted and Michelle and I both really fell in love with it. The impala was not on my list to shoulder mount but it was now. I exhale and trip the trigger and see an explosion of what I thought was hair behind the Impala. All three male Impala race towards us but angling slightly away. I drop to one knee and get ready for another shot but they quickly disappear over the curvature of the hill. A few seconds later one of the younger Rams runs back almost along the same route. We wait a minute or so to see if the other ones follow.

We head to the point of the shot, I tell Louw the shot felt good and I saw an explosion of hair. I’m amazed the Ram didn’t fold at the shot. The mind starts playing its tricks as we walk forward, did I only graze him or did the bullet just hit a rock behind him and make the puff of haze? We get to the bush and look around, we don’t see any blood or hair. Louw takes a few steps on the path they ran and finds a few splashes of blood on the rocks. He turns to me and says it’s a big one, we must get him. He sets the sticks up to mark the location and says he is going to get the bakkie and to not follow up on the blood trail until he can retrieve the dogs and takes off back down the dirt track. Michelle and I stand there basking in the warm afternoon sun. After a few minutes she begins wandering around taking pictures with her camera then I hear her, warthogs are headed our way. I turn and take a few steps to clear some bush and raise the rifle, find the warthog in it but quickly see it’s a female with a lone youngster and lower the rifle while Michelle shoots with her camera. She catches momma relieving herself and they move on past us.

Michelle finds other things to shoot while we await Louw's return.

I walk back over to the shooting sticks and continue glassing the area where the Impala disappeared, hoping to see a horn or patch of tawny hide but nothing. I hear Michelle again, more Warthogs are coming our way. I slowly turn and watch two younger warthogs spin and depart the area in a cloud of dust. Where is Louw, its been 35 minutes since he left? I knew we had walked a good ways but I was just impatient, wanting to find the Impala. At the 40 minute mark I hear the diesel Toyota, but its not coming down the track we just walked, he’s coming up a rough track to our left!


Lindile gets out and sets the dog on the track and they quickly find the Impala, not 75 yards away. He must have fallen just over the crest of the hill from where we could see after the shot. After yesterdays chase with the badly hit Kudu, I didn’t want a repeat performance. My shot was true, entering just behind the shoulder and exiting just before the opposite hip. Just as I had planned.

They are a beautiful antelope. The hide is soft and supple, black markings on the tail and the dark black glands just above the back hooves.

We take plenty of pictures and we start the drive back to the lodge but run into a group of those wacky Black Wildebeest. I ask Michelle if she wants to try for one but she declines. She does get out of the bakkie and puts a stalk on and gets within 125 yards before the Black’s race around showing us their crazy antics. We head back to the lodge and drop Michelle off, I head to the skinning shed.

We just get the Impala hung for skinning and there is still some light left when Louw gets a call from Marius, RBF has taken a Zebra and they need some help loading it in the bakkie. We take off and head to Marius’s position as my brain begins to develop a plan.


I’ve mentioned a few times that Michelle wants to be in on every hunt and is really looking forward to taking a Zebra. This was my opportunity! We loaded up RBF’s Zebra and I have some blood on my hands and jacket. I ride with Marius back to the Lodge, jump down and head into the lodge. Michelle is sitting in a chair having a glass of wine and I tell her I shot a Zebra in an excited voice and show her my hands and jacket with some blood on them. She’s not happy and is disbelieving. I knew I shouldn’t have left you, you have got to be xxxxxing me. I say come look, the Zebra is in the Bakkie. She walks out to the Bakkie and begins to stroke the Zebra and then I say. You better congratulate RBF, she made a great shot and then I got out of striking distance!

We all had a good laugh and we enjoyed another wonderful evening with the KMG crew, Mike and RBF. Dinner was great and the wine flowed freely.

The sunset was spectacular.

 

[cagkt3]

and I get a face full of Kudu ass!

I can't stop laughing at this line!

Well done on the trophies sir!

 

[PARA45]

What a great hunt report, can't wait to read the next chapters. Great trophies too.

 

[Edge]

What a great hunt report, can't wait to read the next chapters. Great trophies too.

Day 4 will have to wait until tomorrow, I can only churn out one a day. Day 5 is a doozie, may take 2 days to get it all done!

 

[BRICKBURN]

I'm sure everyone will be here waiting.

 

[gillettehunter]

Yes we will wait. Looks like KMG is delivering the animals. congrats on some great trophies. Bruce

 

[twilly24]

Good report.

 

[enysse]

Congrats! Great animals! Good hunting report! I like your writing!

 

[IA Monsterbuck]

Really enjoying the report. Can't wait for the next day.

One question that I have to ask, why do you refer to Nakita as RBF?

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

One question that I have to ask, why do you refer to Nakita as RBF?

 

[Edge]

Really enjoying the report. Can't wait for the next day.

One question that I have to ask, why do you refer to Nakita as RBF?

First, I must apologize as I spelled her name wrong, it's Nikita. Sorry about that RBF!

It's early so there is a bit of sarcasm that is going to surface...

RBF either stands for Renal Blood Flow or I found this NYTimes article and did a screenshot. This should explain it better than I can describe (you can also Google RBF for the details)

Luv ya Nikita! Don't TP my house lol
Edge

 

[IA Monsterbuck]

Ok, now we need a pic.

 

[Edge]

Ok, now we need a pic.

I'll see if it's ok with Nikita, I do have some

Edge

 

[Edge]

RBF just smokes a beautiful Zebra with a single shot and this is her expression!

Another one to prove my point, at Pumba animal reserve

Of course, I was selective in the photos I chose! Nikita is a great young lady and Michelle and I truly enjoyed her company!

Edge

 

[adgunner]

Congrats on the bushbuck, Kudu and impala! Really enjoying the read ... keep it coming!

 

[Edge]

22 June 2017 Day 4 – We take what Africa gives


The wind is howling this morning, 25 mph plus higher gusts but the temperature is in the lower 50’s so it’s bearable. We stay on the Mpunzi lodge property again today and our focus is on Blue Wildebeest and Zebra. Marius and Louw have explained to us that the animal behavior has really changed due to the extended drought. The herd animals are no longer in large herds but have split up into small groups to forage. Some of the animals are in areas you don’t expect to see them in, wandering around looking for food. We witnessed perfect examples of this via trail cam pics, Wildebeest in the very bottoms of dense dark creek bottoms. This change in behavior has made the job of a PH even more difficult.

We head out from the lodge after breakfast and pass the bushpig bait site, even if you are blind you will know where you are, folks that have been to Mpunzi know what I mean! The glossy starlings are out and about in the early morning sun, always teasing Michelle who has been trying to get close enough for a decent photo, but like the Blue’s and Zebra, continue to elude. She is becoming obsessed with the beautiful turquoise birds. Louw and I make sure to point them out to her before they fly away and frustrate her!

We see a single Black run off in the crazy way they do and a minute or so later see a small herd of Blue’s moves away in front of us. Louw turns off the diesel and we drift to a stop. Time to see if we can catch up with them and find us a good one to take. The wind on top of the hill we are on is screaming in our faces and tears are running down my face as we hurry along and try to close the distance. We come to where the front of the hillside falls away in a step and flattens out and I can see a single Blue about 125 yards away. We take up glassing but the wind has them on edge and they move away. We move again to try to close the distance but they have moved into the thick bush and disappear. Glassing for the Blue's.

We decide to circle to our left thinking they may have gone into a saddle to get out of the wind. We pick our way around the rocky hillside but they are gone. We continue on around and a Tiger (common duiker) dashes out below us and disappears over the crest of the hill and into some thick bush. I am becoming more intrigued with these small crafty antelope. In addition, I really enjoy this hunting style. Moving along ridges and peering over the sides trying to get the drop on game. It reminds me of hunting the Allegheny mountains in Pennsylvania except for African bush instead of deciduous trees!

We circle back to the bakkie as we complete a walk that shows we have covered over a mile and a half, a great way to start the morning, we are in Africa! We drive down the face of the mountain and as we come around the bottom Louw and Lindile spot a Zebra across the valley and at the top of the farthest ridge away. It was just a speck of white but with the aid of some binos was able to see a single Zebra. The Zebra has positioned itself perfectly, able to watch whatever is coming and having multiple escape routes. Louw plots a course and we ascend the opposite steep hillside out of sight and to the right of where the Zebra could spot us which also took advantage of the heavy winds in our favor.

We park the bakkie, Lindile and the dogs staying put as we start a fast march towards the last location we had seen the Zebra, hoping it hadn’t moved much in the 20 minutes that had elapsed. As we get closer, Louw goes into silent stalk mode as he positions himself behind whatever cover he can find to mask the approach. Michelle and I mimic his movements and we concentrate on not twisting an ankle on the rough rocky ground or running into a prickly pear cactus. Louw pulls out his binos and I guess we are closing in on the area. Louw goes into full blown stalk mode now as he weaves his way into and through dense patches of bush as we continue to follow at a much slower pace. He slows and sets up the sticks and begins intently studying our quarry. I am on my knees at this point as I can see some black and white stripes through a small hole in the bush, there is more than one Zebra as I can see them milling about feeding and wary in this horrible wind. After a few minutes of studying, Louw waves me up and I slowly stand and come up behind him. Is this the time Africa gives us a chance at a Zebra?

Louw whispers to me, the stallion is torn up and has patches of skin hanging from his neck. The other two Zebra with him are a bit younger and he says we can do better. We are enjoying watching them as we are heavily screened by thick bush, only our heads and shoulders are visible as Louw has positioned us perfectly. One of the females decides it wants to come in our direction, probably to munch on the buffet we are standing in. Forty yards, 30 yards, 20 yards and I’m smiling from ear to ear, this is great. I whisper to Louw, we are about to get busted! Finally at no more than 10 yards, the Zebra realizes something is amiss, the eyes grow as big a saucer cups and she swaps ends in a hurry and puts a bush between us and her.


I motion Michelle up as she has been on her knees the entire time, not being able to see what is happening. She gets a great photo of the Zebra peering at us from behind the bush. We slowly back away and start picking our way down the steep hillside as we move on, leaving the Zebra’s to carry on.

We continue down the hill for perhaps a hundred yards until we come to a flat and approach the steep edge as we begin do what I like to do best, peer over the edge, assess, retreat, move on and repeat. The hillside is very steep and rocky below us.

At about the third approach to the edge with Louw leading the way, he stops and assesses for a few moments then slowly sets up the sticks. I know the drill, and I approach from behind and place the rifle in the holder, release the safety and place my trigger finger alongside the stock above the trigger. Louw whispers in my ear, Blesbok. He is about 45 yards below us and is feeding on a green bush, partially obscured and we don’t have a clear view of him. Louw tells me to get ready but wants to get a better look at the hardware on his head and to assess his age.

He gives me the go-ahead as I look for an opening to shoot through. The blesbok moves very slowly, picking at the bush and feeding. One more step and he will be clear, but he steps almost straight away. Not the shot I want to take, he doesn’t know we are above him and I’m very calm and smiling as I patiently wait for him to present a better shot angle. He takes another step and comes along more broadside, I put the crosshairs low just behind his left shoulder as he is facing to my left. I am aiming for his downhill off shoulder and will let the 180gr softpoint take out his plumbing. The shot breaks and he goes straight down, I don’t even see a twitch through the scope. I thank Louw for the wonderful hunt and tell him this is the kind of hunting I like to do! We find a path off the rocks we are standing on and carefully pick our way down the steep rocky slope to the blesbok. What a beautiful antelope! Michelle and I spend some time with him as Louw heads back uphill to fetch the bakkie. There is an access road not too far away and we don’t need to carry him any further than we need to!

Michelle and I decide not only do we want to do a European mount, but we want the flat skin also. There are so many unique features to the blesbok, from his white blaze face, the whiskers on his nose, the large glands on the forehead and the long swishy tail. We are just elated with the common blesbok and thank him with our hearts.

Lindile comes up from below us, and we decide to haul the blesbok up the hill for the photo shoot. Where is Louw when you need him? Lindile and I struggle up the steep slope, traverse the rocks and break onto the flat.

You guessed it, Louw arrives and gives us a hand the last few yards, good planning on his part!

The photo shoot in the bright sunshine.

Here is a great shot of the strength of the wind, the bakkie isn’t moving but look at the dogs ears, it looks like he’s about to lift off!

Easy day for the dogs so far, Zeiss just soaking up the warm sunshine!

We load up the blesbok and head to the skinning shed once again and then head to the lodge for another Nicole lunch special. I do what I do at lunch, jot my notes down from the day’s events so I don’t forget, I did just turn 50 a month before! Speaking of birthdays, today was Louw’s and I promised his wife Michelle that I would have him home by 5. My wife took her customary nap in our room after lunch and Louw assumed his position on the love seat, I swear I heard some snores from both!


With it being so dry for so long, Louw had some wells drilled recently and I helped him and Lindile piece together some joints and valves in a new water line from the well. Some water ran down when we spliced into the main line and the birds came in to get a welcomed drink. Michelle was able to capture this guy as he just took off and another shot of an African bird. The glossy starlings continued to evade her.

Another bird shot:

Terrific colors!

After the waterline work we headed out to look for either a Zebra or Blue once again as they were evading me! We drove to the backside of the farm and parked at the head of a rugged rock strewn trail and followed our PH down the trail for a couple hundred yards until he made a sharp right in the bush and down a very steep hillside until we popped out on an overlook. The valley bottom was below us, a great vantage point to not only scan the bottom but to assess the opposite hillside. The wind was as strong as ever and the clouds had darkened and the temperature was dropping. The wind was blowing so hard in our faces I had to turn my ball cap around as it was about to be blown off my head.


Louw quickly spots a waterbuck and tries to explain where it was multiple times but I couldn’t find it, even with binoculars. I stopped looking when he exclaimed “ you can see it with your naked eye”. Another few minutes pass and he spots a dark bushbuck on the opposite hillside, I can find this one! Michelle doesn’t like heights and is glued to the hillside as we are perched on the precipice, continually scanning. “There they are” Louw exclaims, he has found the Blue Wildebeest herd somewhere on the opposite hillsides, he points me in the general direction but I don’t find them. I look at my watch and it’s a few minutes before four. I ask him do we have enough time to get to them before dark, he whirls and takes off up the hill as Michelle and I scramble after him.

We hang on for dear life as he thrashes the Toyota down steep rocky tracks, across the bottom and up another steep grade to get us to the top of the opposite hill. I wondered if we had lost Lindile or any of the dogs as he gave the jolting truck and its occupants no mercy. We bail out and rush across the top of the hill until we come to a steep track that leads down one side where there is a small valley running down the side of the hill. I recognize this place, it’s where we stopped the first day and glassed the waterbuck before making the stalk.

We slowly descend the steep hillside as Louw stops and scans the opposing hill to our left, there they are! We are screened quite well by the heavy bush alongside the road. We push further down the hill trying to get a good look at the Wildebeest as they slowly fed down the hill, sheltered from the howling wind. Louw sets the sticks once more, using them to steady the binos as we are buffeted by the high winds. The Blues feed their way into a rocky opening and we get a good look at them as cold rain drops begin to pelt us. I range the opening and its 125 yards, what a perfect set-up. At this distance the wind won’t impact the bullet flight enough to make a difference. We watch them for 15 minutes as they materialize from the thick bush and become visible in the rocky glade. Louw tells me, young males and females.

It’s getting closer to five, I told his wife I would have him home and we hightail it back up the steep grade and back to the bakkie. We arrive at the lodge at exactly five, his lovely wife and three boys are waiting for him!

Another awesome evening meal by Nicole.

The Zebra fillet is out of this world with the Kudu not far behind. I highly recommend trying Zebra, you won't be disappointed.

The talk at the table turns to Spa day and Michelle invites RBF to join her. RBF gives her dad the puppy dog eyes and he breaks. Marius sends a note to his wife Kim to see if she can add another person. To make things even more difficult, Michelle decides to change the package I had reserved for her. It was hilarious watching the ladies rattle off the new instructions to Marius as he typed out a message to Kim! One wants both a manicure and pedicure the other only a manicure (or maybe it was pedicure) and a facial and a massage…blah blah blah. Marius @KMG Hunting Safaris is now an expert on all the spa options, aren’t ya buddy!

 

[Sand Rat]

Damm right the gut pile stinks, I spent four nights in that blind to get my bush pig. But in the end it was well worth it. Congrats on the great hunt, really like your writing style.

 

[Edge]

@Sand Rat

When I go back I plan on trying for bush pig, maybe with a dab of Vicks under the nose!

Edge