SOUTH AFRICA: Lalapa Safaris

[Powdermaker]

Hunting Report:

February 2013.

PH Ray Kemp of Lalapa Safaris,

Eastern Cape, South Africa, ( Near Cradock) .

Rifle –borrowed from the outfitter, Sako 30-06 shooting 165 gr. Barnes X bullets


Hello,
I have just joined Africa Hunting after lurking on the site for some time……as Brickburn said “Time to pay my taxes” :The following is a series of e-mails that I sent home to family and friends during the hunt, most who no nothing about hunting in Africa. I also wrote this as a bit of a diary to keep some memories of my time in South Africa. I hope you enjoy it. (and don’t find it too long !

Days 1 to 3 :

I finally had a moment to send a message. The weather has been cool here (thank goodness!) today is our first hot day at 32 degrees.

So far, Africa has been amazing. The country is dry, semi-mountainous terrain. There is a lot of bird life in addition to all the animals. Ray took us for a short drive the first evening and we saw six different species of plains game. Sleeping is getting better now that we are over the jet lag but we get up at 4:30 A.M. There are five of us in the group. My brother Guy, PH Ray Kemp, our tracker/skinner/helper- Boysanna and a pleasant young 18 year old farmer named Dillon. ( He likes hunting and wanted to tag along- we welcomed the extra company.)


There are a lot of animals and it is incredible to see. We do a lot of glassing and then attempt to stalk. On our first day, I spotted some Eland way off in the distance. (Beginners luck! I didn’t realize, at the time, how difficult it was to spot animals before Ray or Boysanna! ) Ray decided that we should have a closer look and discovered that there were several bulls feeding on a steep side hill. We couldn't get up to them easily though and after about a two hour stalk we could approach to within 200 meters and I got a very old bull out of the group of five. They are huge! My bull was so old that most of the hair was gone so that he looked grey instead of tan. Nothing goes to waste, They even skin out the tail and clean all the intestines.


That afternoon , Guy made a short stalk on a group on Springbok and got a very pretty ram out of a bachelor herd of about fifty.


On our second day found us skunked, after several failed stalks on Kudu bulls. (They are very tricky and seldom let their guard down). We enjoyed hunting them very much!


Today Ray took us after Eland, to see if Guy could get his. It only took us an hour this morning to find a large mixed herd with two good bulls. Guy managed to get to within 260 meters and he now has his Eland as well. We are two happy hunters!

This afternoon we will see if I can get a Springbok or Impala.

The Kemp's have proved to be congenial and knowledgeable hosts. We are eating well and enjoying ourselves to say the least!


-Kevin

We didn't bring our own rifles......here I am trying out Ray's .416 Remington. You notice that Ray is moving my bino's so the rookie doesn't knock them on the ground with the recoil.




We started the day at 4:30 AM. Here is my brother looking a bit jet lagged.

 

[Powdermaker]

Day 3:

The day has been very hot but looks like an afternoon thunderstorm will cool things down. (No, I'm not rubbing it in....it is really too hot for comfort.) Ray took us out for a late afternoon hunt near his house. He also wanted to show us some Bushmen paintings that are on his property. The Bushmen were the first inhabitants of this land, but were displaced about 200 years ago by both the whites coming from the south and other black tribes that moved in from the North. Ray thinks these paintings are at least 500 years old. Later in the week he will show us some more extensive paintings at another site.

These paintings are of Mountain Reedbuck. A small antelope that sort of resemble our Whitetail deer in running stance.


I got this really nice Black Wildebeest bull last evening. We drove up the side of a mountain and spotted the herd off in the distance.

The wind was right so Ray thought we should attempt a stalk. When we were in some thick bush about 500 meters from the herd, we suddenly heard them approaching us at a run! Another bull was challenging the herd bull and he was taking his cows to safety - right towards us. The whole herd of about 20 animals stopped 25 meters away. The herd bull was running around like mad trying to keep his cows from escaping. I had no chance for a shot but then the second bull stopped briefly at 80 meters and I was able to make a good broadside shot. He only went a short distance and Penny the Jack Russel found him right away. Wildebeest have a reputation for being very tough so I was really elated to make a good shot and get him down quickly. I'm sure we made the herd bull’s day by removing his antagonist!

 

[Wheels]

Glad to have you on AH. Way to jump in with a report. Looking forward to the rest of it.

Really love your blue bull. The rock painting is really cool too.

All the best.

 

[Powdermaker]

Day 4:

This morning we are hunting the elusive Kudu again. It is a very hot morning so we got up early. We had spotted a nice group of bulls across a small valley. Unfortunately, the resident herd of Cape Buffalo were between us and them! Ray decided it wasn't worth taking the chance of scaring the buffalo into the Kudu, so we backed off and approached the Kudu from the opposite direction by driving the Land Cruiser several km around the valley. So, about 30 minutes later we were glassing 6 Kudu bulls. They were about 300 meters away - too far for me to attempt a shot. There was a small cliff (or kranz in Africaner), so we couldn't easily get closer. Boysana suggested going back a ways and approaching at an angle. It worked! We could approach to within 230 meters. They have an amazing ability to blend in to their surroundings. I pride myself on having a good 'game eye' but I couldn't pick them out easily without Ray's help. We watched the bulls for about five minutes and finally one moved into the open long enough for me to shoot. I made a perfect shot- after I got over a very bad case of the shakes!

My Kudu has a nice narrow horns, perfect for a spot between two window in my living room.


This is Glen Gary Game Lodge. It is close to Ray’s property and we hunted it quite a bit. The grounds were immaculate.


A butterfly at Glen-Gary.



Back at the Kemp Ranch we watched Guy's Eland getting cut up. The Kemp's make a lot of Biltong (above photo) and dried sausage. Besides selling wild meat, they raise about 350 head of cattle. Just like in Canada, it is always better to further process your farm produce if you want to be profitable.




Our hosts Samantha and Ray Kemp.

 

[Powdermaker]

Day 5:

Today, Ray decided to try a different area for Kudu. He explained to us the night before that it would be tough hunting but the property held some very large bulls. It is owned by a friend of Ray's, also a PH , by the name of Patrick Fletcher.

We were up at 4AM and after breakfast and a short drive we arrived. We could see that Ray wasn't joking, the country was thick and steep. Driving into the property we saw a very nice Nyla bull - not an animal we wanted to hunt but impressive to see the large black animal ghosting through the trees! Ray introduced us to Patrick, who seemed bubbling with enthusiasm despite suffering from jet lag - he had just returned from Canada with his wife and newborn daughter.

So, the hunt began and we started by driving the trails hoping to spot a bull while they were still feeding. Boysanna soon spotted three bulls just a short distance from Patrick's house. The problem was they had also spotted us. One Bull was a real whopper and Ray didn't want to let them walk despite the low odds of getting close to them. So, we watched them go over the next valley and drove around with the hope of intercepting them. No luck, we never saw them again.

We walked the valley for a couple of Kilometers and saw quite a few female Kudu and a small bull. We were encouraged by the number of animals we saw.

Next, we drove to a different spot where we could glass a fairly large area. We carefully glassed and spotted a bull about 400 meters away. I should note that Guy and I remained fairly useless at spotting Kudu - a bit of a humbling experience after a lifetime of hunting. We remained watching and were able to determine that there were five bulls feeding fairly close together. We could only see one or two clearly, at the same time, as they fed. The wind was in our favour so we waited to see if they would bed down. One separated himself from the bunch and bedded, so Ray decided it was time to make a move. Guy and Ray headed down the small kraanz (cliff) and angled slowly towards the bedded bulls. Boysanna and I stayed behind to view the stalk from above.

Unfortunately, they didn't get far before they bumped two cow kudu. The panicked cows ran right towards the bedded bulls and every thing cleared out in a very short time. Disappointed we headed back to the Land Cruiser.

Ray decided to try a different valley but the sun was now high overhead and the odds of finding a bull were getting less. We hadn't gone too far though, when Boysanna tapped on the roof. He had spotted a nice Waterbuck bull on the steep mountainside beside the trail. We continued driving and then walked back to where he had seen it. I wanted a waterbuck so it was my turn to grab the rifle. It was about 200 yards away but a thick screen of bush was in front of it. It walked through a small clearing. Ray frantically whispering "stop , stop, stop." It never did, so I decided to pass on the shot.

We drove a few kilometers further and Boysanna spotted a bedded Kudu on the edge of the river valley. We slowly walked up to get a closer look but the wind swirled and the Kudu was gone. Luck was not with us!

Boysanna went back for the vehicle while we continued to still hunt the valley. It was very hot and I was just thinking that it would be nice to head back to the lodge for an afternoon break when we spotted Impala. A nice ram was right in front of us, sleeping in the shade under a tree. When he moved, we discovered one horn was broken. Next, more Impala started to filter towards us - Boysanna was pushing them as he walked towards the truck. They filed through a narrow opening about 150 yards below us. Guy was ready on the shooting sticks. Ray would say "no , no, no, Yes that one!" Too slow- the buck made it through. We moved over a bit and watched some more. Soon Ray said , 'yes that one'. Guy shot and the ram was down! The day was looking up. We headed back to Patrick's for lunch and to skin the Impala.

We had an enjoyable lunch visiting with Patrick and his Canadian wife Jennifer. Then the skies opened up and we had a tremendous thunder storm. This had an amazing effect of dropping the temperature about 15 degrees. Great. We felt like hunting again. This time we picked up Chris, a Xhosa tracker who worked for Patrick. He was far more familiar with the area than Ray or Boysanna and this proved to be a smart move on Ray's part.

We hadn't done much glassing when we spotted two bulls feeding just below a small Kraanz. The wind was right, all we needed to do was to travel several kilometers around them and come at them from above. This is no easy task, but as it turned out, Chris put us exactly above the bedded bulls. Once again was amazed by the African's hunting ability.

It took some time to locate the bulls in the thick bush below us and Guy had some difficulty with his untrained eyes. Ray pointed out the bull's shoulder about 140 yards below. It was all they could see clearly and we were lucky to see that. Guy rested the 30-06 on the sticks and made what turned out to be a perfect shot. The next thing we saw was the bulls four feet in the air as he tumbled downhill. Guy made a quick follow up shot. It did not connect, but it wasn't needed.

We found the bull with one horn wedged against a tree stopping him from slipping further downhill. He had a huge body and was one of the best trophies taken by Ray's hunters in recent years and the second best off Patrick's property.

We got off the mountain just at dark. Patrick and his men would be up early the next morning to retrieve the bull. He was very pleased for us but did kid Ray about having some sort of plan to get the big bull off the mountain. I think Ray had a plan- let Patrick deal with it. What are friends for after all!

Guy's Impala -our luck had changed!


Guy taking the shot on his Kudu.

Where the kudu ended up.....


The happy hunter! Guy is standing up, the picture doesn't really show how steep it was.


From Left, Guy, Jennifer, Patrick, and Myself.

 

[Powdermaker]

Day 6:

Today we are looking for an Impala. Guy got his yesterday and now (hopefully) it was my turn. We had seen three nice rams, twice, as we drove on to the Glen-Gary property. This morning they were gone. Instead we saw several nice Kudu bulls.(Where were they when we were looking for them?) We glassed a few spots and walking down one trail were we spotted a mature Sable bull. One can only describe them as 'regal' and it was great to be able to study this only for a while. There we also fresh tracks of a single buffalo bull. Ray explained that any buffalo were unpredictable, a lone bull was particularly dangerous and should be treated with respect. Lucky, we didn't see him and we headed down the valley to a different area.

Impala are abundant but finding a good ram can be difficult. I found it particularly difficult to judge the rams horns. They mostly all looked good to me! So, I relied on Ray to point out which animal he wanted me to take.

We were walking in single file through the semi-open bush when Ray stopped and whispered "Warthog". A moment later, after studying it a bit, he said "It's quite a good one. Do you want it?" I defered it to my brother Guy, since I knew it was high up on his trophy list. So, I stayed put while the rest circled around to get a closer view of it. Soon a single shot was heard and the pig ran out in front of me with Penny, the jack russel, close on it's heels. It made it a short distance before piling up. Guy had made another good shot and had his Warthog!

Warthogs look like they just walked out of the Pleistocene era. This one had nice curved tusks of about 8.5 inches. Not huge, but a very nice one according to Ray. That ended the morning hunt. It was back to the skinning shed and a break for lunch.

We went back to the same general area after lunch and it wasn't long before we were once again glassing for Impala. There were a group of males across the valley that warranted a closer look. However, once again the buffalo got in the way. We waited as Ray sent Boysanna back to get the .416 Remington. The herd spooked and we were able to proceed with the stalk without incidence. It was fairly easy to approach within 200 yards of the group of rams but it was difficult to judge them as they moved through the trees. Ray saw the one we wanted and we moved up a little closer. The ram was standing straight away from us at about 140 yards. I had a very narrow shooting lane and as it moved to it's left, Ray said "aim for the shoulder". I tried to visualize where the opposite shoulder was, and made the shot. It was quite angled shot but I was happy to see the Ram drop in his tracks!

Another great day hunting with a Warthog and Impala in the skinning shed.



Day7:


The I first time I read about hunting Waterbuck was years ago in Bowhunting magazine. I have been wanting to hunt them ever since. They are an attractive antelope with a stocky body, an oily hair coat with a distinctive odour - not unlike wild boar or beaver musk. The bulls have large forward sweeping horns and both sexes have a "toilet bowel painted on their butt". That is, a splash of white fur forms a "bulls eye" around their hind quarters. Like their name, they have an affinity for water.

Besides the bull that eluded us yesterday, we had seen several bulls, in our previous days hunting, mostly down by the Kei river valley. So, Ray decided that we should start the morning by glassing the river valley. We glassed for about 15 minutes and didn't see any bulls but then one appeared out on the Prairie and a second larger one came out to challenge him. The hunt was on!

In order to stalk into the wind, we went back to the Toyota and drove around to the far side of the valley . We hoped the two bulls would stay in the open. The problem that most often occurs when making a stalk is that some non-target animal spooks your intended quarry. In this case we had a herd of Red Hartibeest and three Ostrich in front of us. Ray really hates the Ostrich. You can predict which direction most animals will flee, but not with Ostrich's. Perhaps it's because they are a bird of limited intelligence. One followed the Hartibeest (good) while two went over the hill towards the Waterbuck (bad). As we came over the hill the Waterbuck were not in sight. We moved forward and I assumed the Ostrich had busted us but this time luck was with us. Boysanna saw one bull bedded under a tree a few hundred meters ahead. We slowly approached to get a better look. I was in position to shoot but it turned out to be the smaller one of the two. We continued to scan the area for the second one but couldn't see it. We moved forward a bit and there he was, running full speed down towards the river! Oh well.

Rather than head back to the truck we walked parallel the river and continued to glass. We didn't see any more Waterbuck but a nice Sable bull and cow walked out in front of us.

We hiked to the truck and drove back up the mountain towards the observation deck for lunch. We had just topped out, when we heard that sound that makes every PH happy - a tap-tap on the roof. Boysanna had spotted something! There about 200 M ahead of us were several waterbuck bulls; a bachelor herd. Ray quickly put the Toyota in reverse to give them some space.

We crept forward and were able to make out several bulls but one was noticeably bigger. I had him in the cross hairs but he didn't present a decent shot. They all appeared to be wandering off and we lost sight of him. Ray cursed under his breath as we stalked closer and slightly parallel to where the group had been. Then the big bull appeared ahead of us with just his head and shoulders exposed. I got on him and quickly made the 150 M shot. It looked good but he ran like he wasn't hit.

We followed a huge blood trail and knew he wouldn't be far. We found him about 150 meters downhill.

He was an extremely nice bull- even better than I hoped for, so I couldn't ask for a better ending to the morning.

I was wondering how we would get him loaded. Ray, as usual, had a plan. He got on the cell phone a soon picked up some of the staff at Glen-Gary. They carried the bull up the slope on a special game tarp. It has eight handles sewn unto the sides and worked quite slick, especially since I didn't have to do any of the lifting!



Glassing the Kei river valley


Red Hartibeest and the unpredictable Ostrich.


A nice Sable bull and cow.



Even with my experience with archery hunting, I have seldom seen a blood trail like this!

Boysanna and I with the bull.




The men lugging the waterbuck 200 meters up to the truck.

 

[Powdermaker]

Day 8:

Today, Guy wants to try for Gemsbok. They thrive in true dessert conditions and so are not native to this area. However, they were introduced here many years ago obviously do O.K. in this part of Africa. Ray has a small herd on his property but the cold winter two years ago killed a lot of them, so he is letting the herd build up. Instead, we would hunt a neighbours property that held better numbers and quality. This fellows place was a huge contrast to the Glen - Gary property. Lots of junk machinery and old buildings but they had some nice Gemsbok on the land. Just like Saskatchewan, some of the worst managed farms, have some of the best wildlife numbers.

First thing in the morning we spotted a herd in the valley below us. Guy and Ray got within shooting distance but there were not any decent bulls in the herd. Later, we climbed part way up the mountain to look at another group but a herd of Eland spooked and ended that stalk. We cruised around for a while and saw a lot of game. Then Boysanna spotted a herd down on the flats. We drove to within a Kilometer of them and then proceeded on foot. The wind was swirling a bit and a herd of Zebra just about wrecked it for us but we finally were able to get within 200 M of the Gemsbok without being detected. The bull we wanted wasn't presenting broadside but after about ten minutes he finally moved across and Guy took him as he walked slowly to the left. The shot was perfect and he didn't go far.




They are a handsome animal and those horns are lethal weapons. Guy had read an article about a veterinarian trying to dart one with a tranquilizer gun. The animal was able to swish its horns so adeptly that it knocked the dart out of the air, not once, but twice. They finally got it by throwing a rock as they fired the dart. Likewise, Ray talked about a wounded one that he tossed a pebble at, it knocked it out of the air as well. Ray wouldn't bring the dog on this hunt since she could have ended up shish-ka-bobed.



We had a brief respite from the mid -day heat and then Ray took us back to their ranch. I was hoping to get a Springbok. They are small beautiful little antelope that somewhat remind me of our Pronghorns. They are endemic to the area and 200 years ago roamed in vast herds. Anyway, I want one quite badly and didn't expect it to be very difficult because they are so numerous on the property.

We drove up to the top of one of the large rocky ridges (Kopje in Afrikaner) to glass for Springbok. We hadn't walked far, when Penny encountered a small (90 cm) Monitor lizard. It didn't stand much of a chance. A short battle ensued and it wisely decided to play dead. It didn't seem to worse for the abuse it took. Ray commented that Penny wouldn't fare so well against a cobra. Fortunately cobra’s appeared to be very rare.


We soon spotted a bachelor herd and the stalk was on. I totally relied on Ray to tell me which animal to shoot out of the herd. The difficulty is they all look quite similar to the untrained eye. They are constantly moving and you have to be careful not to accidentally shoot two when they are bunched up. So, we would carefully approach a herd and then glassed to determine if there was a trophy animal in the bunch. Then try to keep you eye on him and shoot when/if he gets in the clear. As always, there are other animals in the area that can spook and take the Springbok with them. Not so easy. We had a few failed stalks and then we had this good chance.

My shooting had been very good up to this point with five animals in five shots. I was pleased but life has a way of keeping us humble. Ray got us up to within 150 M of a herd and we picked out a nice ram and I shot right over his back!



You can see us hiding in the fore ground. Ray's arms show up while I am just to the left of him. The Springbok ran away and we ended the day with me a bit disappointed . Note: the telephoto lens makes seem closer to us than they really were!

Penny the Jack Russel.

 

[Powdermaker]

Day 9:

Today we are taking a break from hunting and instead are going to do a bit of fishing. Dillion invited us to give it a try as he was able to take Saturday off work from his parents farm. They raise mostly cabbages on small irrigated plots. It seems everything likes to eat cabbage and Dillion had shot a huge Kudu bull last winter and a nice bush pig just the day before.
Upon arriving at the farm, our first task was to secure some bait. The African variety of earthworms were very large. One was about 30cm!

The reservoir that provides water for Dillion's farm
We fished a small creek that flowed into the reservoir. It proved to be full of yellow fish - a kind of small carp. Though we didn't keep any for food , they were scrappy fighters and fun to catch. Ray admitted that he isn't much of a fisherman but he did manage to get the biggest one!
We ended the afternoon with a pleasant BBQ of eland steak and cold beer.

Day 10



We had one day fishing and change in scenery but now it's back to hunting. The days are getting warmer, so we take most of the afternoons off to relax in the shade.

The Hadeda ibis wake us up every morning with their raucous calls. Not a bad way to wake up but sometime they call in the middle of the night - not so good. There are very few insects here compared to Saskatchewan summers. We have been leaving the windows wide open and with the thatched roof on our cabin the room has been staying reasonably cool.

We are back after Springbok today. We drove around until we located a herd and the drove the Land Cruiser above them and attempted a stalk. It took about 30 minutes but we were able to get up on a herd despite three Eland bulls bedded down below us. Ray picked out the ram we wanted and it finally presented a good shot. I aimed for the shoulder and the cross hairs looked very good when the rifle went off. There was a huge puff of dust exploding behind the ram! I had shot high. Again. Penny the Jack Russel still had great faith in my shooting ability and tore down the slope to see what I got. The Eland took off, but the Springbok seemed to focus on Penny and didn't runaway immediately. I had a second chance. Once again I lined up and shot and once again I shot high! Frustrating to say the least.

The rifle is a Sako 30-06 that I borrowed from Ray. It is very accurate and so the bad shooting most likely wasn't the guns fault.

None the less, Ray later let me take a practice shot to see if the sights had been knocked out of alignment. It wasn't the guns fault.


So, we started to analyze what I was doing different. The main difference was how I was using the sling. On previous shot I had ignored the sling and just rested the fore-end in the cradle of the sticks. Since Springbok are such a small target I wanted to be extra sure of my aim and had wrapped the sling around my arm and pulled down on the fore-end. I then leaned heavily into the sticks to anchor everything. It worked but caused the rifle to bounce a bit from the recoil and the shot would go high. One might blame this on the fact that I had borrowed a rifle I wasn't familiar with, but I think I would have had this problem if I had brought my own rifle. On a positive note all the shots were clean misses.


Late in the afternoon, we went back hunting. This time it was for Mountain Reedbuck. They are another small indigenous antelope that really resemble our Whitetail deer in looks and habits. The trick to hunting these small antelope was really no different than our other hunts; see them before they see you and then attempt a stalk. The difficulty increased because they are a not a herd animal and they blend in to their surroundings. We saw a lot of them but they would slip away before we had a chance. Finally, just before dark we found one bedded under an open tree. We stalked within shooting distance but then Ray decided to get a little closer. I don't blame him, as I think he was starting to doubt my shooting ability. In my mind, however, I had the problem solved. Proof is in the shooting though......

So, we moved a bit closer and the buck jumped out of his bed and took off. I heard Ray mutter......"How fricking difficult can this get?"

We continued forward and Guy pointed out an animal next to a group of Impala. I put up my binoculars and noticed a nice springbok to the right of the Impala. Ray said "lets go". So, I thought we were after the Springbok. It turned out that there was a Reedbuck standing just to the left of the Impala. When we got closer, Ray whispered for me to move up and shoot from a small acacia tree. Yes, but shoot what? I couldn't see the Springbok. Finally, Ray explained in frantic whispers, for me to shoot the Reedbuck that was patiently sitting there beside the Impala. I think PH's need a lot of patience to put up with us neophytes!

Now, I was flustered and my past shooting didn't help my confidence. Using my hand as a cushion, I rested the rifle against the tree and squeezed off a shot. The buck was facing slightly towards us, something I didn't take into account with the rushed shot. We could hear a solid hit but the buck ran a short distance and then slowly walked into the Aloe cactus. Not a good sign.

Penny, proved good at tracking for just a one year old pup. Soon, we jumped the animal again and I was able to make a good follow up shot.

Hunting is an uncertain thing and it made me think again, how nice it would be if it were legal to use tracking dogs to follow up wounded game in Saskatchewan.

These three young eland bulls didn't stick around after I missed the springbok.


Mountain Reedbok- a handsome little antelope.

 

[huntermn15]

Great report and photos, thank you for posting.

 

[Powdermaker]

Day 11

Today we are driving to a different area for Warthog. Guy had already gotten a nice boar over on the Glen-Gary property. Ray stated it is possible to get a nice boar anywhere, we were very lucky to get the one on Glen-Gary. So, he was taking us to a farm that had better numbers. It was about a one hour drive so we wouldn't have to get up too early. This area has less rock and the trees are more prevalent, apparently better pig habitat.

We drove into the hunting area and immediately spotted some pigs in the bottom land as well as a bushbuck doe, a Kudu bull and some Vervet monkeys. We slowly worked our way along the top of the ridge and continued to glass the valley below. We saw quite a few Warthog. There was one boar that looked good to me and I said to Ray - "why don't we shoot that one?" He just smiled and said we could find a bigger one. We continued down a few hundred meters and found him. Once again, there was a few Eland bulls between him and us. So, we waited a bit until they moved on.

Creeping down the embankment we were able to approach within about 140 meters of the boar. He was partially obscured by brush and I couldn't see his head. Ray told me to shoot but I wanted to be sure which end of the pig I was shooting at! The boar stepped forward but now his shoulder was behind some brush. I decided it was now or never and shot through the small branches. It was a solid hit that broke his front shoulder. Pigs are tough though and he still had some life in him as we followed up on him. Once Penny was clear, I gave him a follow up shot and he was done. He was almost identical in size to Guy's and was the only decent boar we saw all morning.

We spent the rest of the morning waiting at a waterhole to see if another boar or a waterbuck would show. The wind was not in our favour though and it was very hot. So, after about one and a half hours we had lunch and headed for the lodge.


A face only it's mother could love. Interesting note: Males have four caruncles while females only have two. (That is the bumps that stickout on the face. )




We made it back to the lodge and had a short break and then went back after springbok. " Lets get that monkey off your back" as Ray put it. I couldn't have agreed more. We were after the same bunch of bachelor rams that I had previously shot at. We drove up on one of the mountains and were able to locate them. Luck was with us, as the setting sun was to our back and the wind in our face. Perfect.

Ray and I made the stalk butt they sensed something wrong and moved off. Perhaps getting shot at twice had something to do with it?

It was time for a new plan. Boysanna would walk in a big circle and attempt to push them past us. This worked, sort of, most of the herd was behind a small rise 300 meters away. We cautiously moved forward and were able to watch as the herd moved between the trees. We could see the one we wanted but had to wait for it to get broadside and clear the rest. Finally , I had my shot. It looked good but with my previous record I think everyone was second guessing. I don't blame them- I was worried a bit myself. However, the ram only made it about 100 meters from where I had hit him. It was a good shot and I finally had my last animal of the safaris.

 

[Powdermaker]

Day 12 and 13:


Hello Again,

I am all done hunting but Guy still wants to try for a Mountain Reedbuck and a Zebra. Raymond has a good population of Zebra and wanted them thinned out. We started out the morning looking for a Reedbuck, as I mentioned earlier, they are not that hard to find. A bit of luck is needed to find one in the open. We had several unsuccessful stalks and had walked up and down several large mountain ridges but no luck. The highlight of the morning, for me, was watching two Black Eagles soar around on the updrafts. They are about as big as our Golden eagles but are black and white in colour. I would have liked to have spent more time identifying the different species of birds. Ray was quite knowledgeable but I found the species diversity a bit overwhelming.

Anyway, back to hunting. Late in the morning, we climbed up above a main trail where animals would go to water. There was a herd of Zebra below us as well as Wildebeest, Impala, Blesbuck, Warthogs and a troop of Vervet monkeys. We waited for about an hour but the Zebra never did go to water. The full moon was working against us and they had watered at night. We had decided to call it quits for the morning and were driving back to the lodge when Boysanna spotted a buck bedded right beside the trail. It was so open, it was a fairly straight forward shot for Guy. They timed it perfectly, the Reedbuck was just jumping up out of it's bed when he shot. If he had waited any longer he would have lost the opportunity. Guy always has been a quick shot, this time it paid off.


It was about 150 m shot. I took the picture right after he shot and if you look closely you can see the Reedbuck flipping over.



We headed back to the lodge and a rest during the hot part of the day. We hunted Zebra in the evening but couldn't get close to anything.

The next morning Guy and Ray were able to get close to a small herd but the stallion stayed behind a bush so there was no shot. The problem with hunting Zebra is that you are never stalking just one animal. Right after this stalk, they chased a herd of Blesbok right by me.

(see below)




Late in the morning, I decided to stay in the truck as the rest made another unsuccessful stalk on a small herd. They then walked in a big circular route around the hill I was waiting on. Eventually they walked up on another herd and Guy was able to make a good shot. Our safaris was over.

 

[Powdermaker]

Epilogue:
We are back home after spending two days in transit through airports. I really enjoyed my time at Lalapa Safaris, but it is good to be home! We enjoyed good company, good food and most of all good hunting.

What impressed me most about hunting at Lalapa Safaris? Besides the obvious (listed above) I was very impressed with Ray's management of the land. My brother Guy put it best:

"Ray's operation feeds fourty people in a sustainable, renewable and ecologically responsible business that maintains biodiversity and provides local employment. It was interesting to note that all the neighbouring properties that were not devoted to game and hunting were devoid of all but the smallest of wildlife and birds. Many neighbouring cattle ranches were severely over grazed and had grown up into inedible brush that nothing can live on. "

So, not only is Ray providing employment for himself, his family and his staff, the habitat on his ranch is well managed and so provides homes for more than just the animals that are hunted. Aardvark, monitor lizards, tortoises, and a huge variety of birds, many of the rare and unique to that area, all benefit.

Ray took us to see some Bushman paintings at a nearby creek. These were the first hunters in this region. Eland, Springbok, Kudu, and Mountain Reedbuck have been in the Eastern Cape Province for thousands of years. Now, wildlife all over Africa is in trouble. Huge areas have no wildlife because of mismanagement and poaching. In Africa, giving wildlife economic value is the only way that will save it. They will continue to thrive if we continue to hunt there, so, go and book a hunt! You won't regret it!

P.S. If you are reading this here on Africa Hunting then I guess I am already preaching to the converted!

The rock paintings were actually quite faded. It is amazing what photoshop will do to enhance a picture!


The meals were awesome.

Ray is a big fan of Barnes X-bullets.

Ray's parents in front of the lodge.

 

[billc]

Great report and some great animals you both took. Glad to see you came out of the shadows and made the report.
So when do you go back.LOL

 

[CAustin]

What a grand adventure Powdermaker! Thank you for sharing the pictures and for making such a fine descriptive report.

 

[adgunner]

Powdermaker, great report and thanks for taking the time to write it up. Small world ... i met Patrick Fletcher this past spring at the Toronto Sportsmen Show as we had our KMG booth there as well. Congrats on a great hunt!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Nice report, thanks for sharing!

 

[Nyati]

Great hunt and some very nice trophies, I specially like your Eland.

Thanks for sharing !

 

[gillettehunter]

Great report. Nice pics. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us. Some nice looking trophies. Congrats on a great trip. Bruce

 

[jeff]

Thanks for the detailed report, excellent!!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Got to like a guy who pays his taxes in timely manner.

Thanks for posting.

I love the rock art.