After the first proper night's sleep, I found waking up for Day 2to be much easier! As our rifles had arrived the afternoon before, after breakfast we headed out to the range for the second morning in a row to sight in our own guns. My go-to gun that I use for everything back at home is a Browning BLR in .308 Win. I wanted to bring that rifle, but everyone I spoke to said that I needed to bring my 7mm Rem. Mag., so that's what I did. A few different experts recommended I use 160-grain Barnes Triple Shock bullets, so that's what I got. I'd never used them before as they're damn pricey, but like you always read, it's a small price compared to the overall cost of the hunt!
After we ensured the rifles were on, it was time to head out. For some reason, we were on PH short, so I had the pleasure or Rion's company for the day. He had been to Africa before and was only looking for exceptional trophies. He gave me the green light on anything I hadn't gotten yet, and I said if we saw any steenbok, gemsbok or warthog (since they still weren't on my list), then he was up to bat. I was just as excited at the possibility of seeing him shoot something to be honest!
We got to the property we were to hunt and had a little chat with the farmer's wife and daughter. Actually Nicola chatted with them, as I had no idea what they were saying. I gotta try to learn Afrikaans! After they were done, we headed into the property, but had to drive through their cattle first. Now I grew up on a cattle farm and my father and I still raise a few as after hunting and fishing, they are our secondary passion. However these cattle sure didn't look like the ones we raise in the Canadian prairies! They must have had some Brahman influence in them as their ears were two feet long and hung straight down...cool looking animals!
Pretty soon we started running into gemsbok. One herd had a couple good-looking bulls in it, so Nicola and Rion set out after them. It was exciting watching them stalk from the bakkie as I couldn't see the gemsbok, but I could see by the boys' body language that they were getting close. When Nicola set up the sticks and Rion got the gun on it, I tensed up anticipating the shot. I waited and waited, but it never came! Finally they decided not to shoot and headed back to the bakkie. Rion has shot a few gemsbok before, so it was to be exceptional or nothing.
When lunch time rolled around, we found a big tree by the farm's water tank and ate our sandwiches. When we were done eating, we were just shooting the breeze about other hunts when our tracker, Elfred, spotted another group of gemsbok a couple hundred yards away, so Nicola and Rion were off again. While we were watching them, Elfred tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to a real nice warthog that had come in behind us to drink. Up to this point I had only had close-up looks at sows and piglets, but this guy started me thinking that maybe I should consider taking one. However I didn't want to shoot at this one and ruin Rion's stalk on the gemsbok. Turns out he passed on them anyway!
After lunch we decided to climb up a small mountain and glass for kudu or hartebeest. Now being a chunky monkey, climbing in an upwards direction ain't my favourite thing. Now combine climbing in an upwards direction through acacia bushes and getting ripped up by thorns was a whole other ball of wax. And the spiders!!!
But I gotta admit, once we got high enough, the view was spectacular! Just no kudu to be seen.
Before long it was time to climb down and head back to the lodge. We had just turned onto the road off the property and we saw a big-bodied warthog trot across the road and into the property we just left! When we got to where we figured he crossed, Elfred spotted him just inside the fence line. Nicola said he was a good one. I told Rion that it was all him and he asked if I was sure. I said yep and Rion shot. I saw the dust fly off the pig's shoulder and he was down and thrashing around. By the time we walked the 150 yards to the fence, he was dead. Now I got my first hands-on experience with a warthog and I'm starting to figure I may have to rethink my no warthog policy! They are just so "Africa"!
Once we took photos and loaded the warthog, it was back to Nick and Isabel's for a shower, another fantastic supper and to sit around the fire and find out how everybody else's Day 2 went!
