Day 3
Early in the morning we see a nice kudu. He runs after three seconds. We follow up for 30 minutes before we lose the track.
We see some black wildebeest in a large open area. We work our way around to the edge of a 300 acre field with no cover on it. We can only get to within 300 yards of them. After a while they move further away. We decide to call the truck to come pick us up. We will go hunt something else.
As we drive across the field it feels like we hit a wall. We are all jarred as we slam over an ant bear hole and the left rear tire settles into it up to the axle and spring. Ockert gets all over Johannes for hitting a hole in the middle of an open field. Johannes thinks it is our fault for not telling him the hole is there. I don’t understand Afrikaans or Tswana but enjoy a colorful argument. A work truck with five guys shows up to help. They are entertained by the situation as much as Brandon and me. It takes about thirty minutes to jack up the Land cruiser and fill the hole with rocks to be able to get out. Landcruisers are pretty amazing vehicles. Nothing else of interest shows itself before lunch.
Marius and Ria are the farm managers. They work in the office during our lunch break. I get a map from Marius. This helps me visualize the layout of the farm much better. From this point forward I ask Ockert where we are on the map. This helps me enjoy the hunt much more.
After lunch Ockert takes a different tack. AB is the tracker and Johannes is the driver. AB is dropped off to scout for kudu in one area. Ockert, Brandon and I are dropped off in another area to glass then to walk and stalk. Johannes drives to another area where he can look for kudu. Everyone is in radio contact if a good kudu shows itself. Ockert isn’t saying anything but you can sense he is feeling some pressure.
We come across four hartebeest bulls. They are all good. We stalk them and bump them five times. Brandon nearly had a shot right before the third bump. After the fifth bump, Ockert thinks it best to leave them and to concentrate on the kudu. There is only 1.5 hours of light left and we are in prime kudu time. Alas, the kudu don’t know realize this is prime time for them and darkness comes without a sighting.
We are all getting concerned about kudu. We haven’t had the opportunity to even pass on a shootable bull. When we are driving and see a bull they will only hold for 5 seconds max. When we are walking, we are just bumping them out of a bedding area without seeing them before they run. Hopefully Diana will smile on us tomorrow.
Red dirt in South Africa isn't much different than red dirt in Oklahoma.
Day 4.
Today we are up at 4:30, have breakfast and are out of the lodge by 5. Within ten minutes we see the ugliest most asymmetrical 50 inch kudu ever born. Okay, this might be a stretch but he certainly wasn’t what Brandon or I had in mind for a first kudu trophy. He stood there and watched us as we slowly drove around the hill he stood on. We stopped and he continued to stare at us. I was about to ask Ockert if we should drive on aways, get out and come back to take him when he said. We can do better. Brandon and I were both relieved with the decision.
We repeated yesterday’s exercise by dropping AB off to let him scout some ridgelines. Ockert, Brandon and I were dropped off to glass and walk. Johannes drove around looking for kudu.
While walking Ockert got a radio call from AB that he was on a kudu. Johannes drove to pick us up and took us to where AB was waiting. We went to the last place AB had seen them and started following their tracks. As we followed the tracks we kept spooking hartebeest. At one point Ockert hears something and sees some nice hartebeest bulls. We lose the kudu and continue looking for where they went. AB sees some kudu horns above the bushes and we continue to follow. We spook a heard of zebra and think they took the kudu with them. We were on real rocky ground and lose the tracks.
Ockert takes us back to where the group of hartebeest bulls were. They are moving along the base of a hill and we are above them. Ockert gets Brandon on the sticks and searches for the best bull. There are multiple big bulls in this herd.
Hartebeest probably weren’t on Brandon’s radar prior to the trip. On the first day we drove through a group and the ones on the left side of the vehicle took off in a full sprint across the bow. Their speed was impressive. After that demonstration I think they went way up in his opinion.
Ockert finally sorts out the biggest bull. Brandon fires and 30 yards later he’s down. The bull is fieldressed, photos taken and another truck is called in to pick it up. We have to get a kudu! So far Brandon has been pretty impressive. After a 15 year layoff he is punching out one shot kills. Nothing else shows itself this morning
After lunch we split up again to cover more ground. Ockert, Brandon and I are walking an area that eland hang out in. It is also an area that kudu come down into when it is windy up high. We spend time glassing, then walking through the area, stopping to glass from time to time. We aren’t seeing much of anything.
Ockert is on the radio. AB has seen a good kudu. Johannes is also on the radio and he is on the way to pick us up. We are now racing the sun. It takes 20 minutes to get to the place AB is located. He is on a hill 800 yards away from where Johannes parks. I am 30 yards behind Ockert and Brandon when we get to AB. With the sun setting soon I tell them to go on without me so I won’t slow them down. Ockert and AB talk and Ockert says we will be going slow now, my fat butt will be able to keep up. Okay, he doesn’t use the words fat butt. AB has left the kudu and come to meet us. We go a mile to where he last saw the bull.
The bull has moved and we follow. After 20 minutes we see the tops of bushes moving and some horns. The horns look nice. We work to get into position and a cow sees us but thankfully trots off the other way. There are two bulls. A nice one and one that will be nice in two years. We have to be careful and are moving slow. The young bull stares at us for two minutes as we freeze. He goes back to feeding. At about 70 yards we walk by a bush and Ockert says watch out for the snake. There is a boomslang eight feet away. We give him a wide berth.
At this point Ockert and Brandon leave AB and myself and move forward. There have been only head and neck views so far. When Brandon is 10 yards away I remember he has the scope jacked up all the way. It is getting dark quick. I focus on Brandon’s back and through telepathy tell him to turn the scope down. My telepathic powers are evidently poor as nothing happens. The big kudu now stares down Ockert and Brandon. They freeze. Slowly Brandon gets on the sticks. I hope there is good visibility through the scope. The shot is good. The kudu is drt. High fives and fist bumps abound. A lot of work and sweat has gone into this trophy. I have taken a few nice animals in my life but I have never been more excited about a trophy than I am right now. Fifteen more minutes and there would have been no visibility.
It takes 30 minutes to get the bakie close. The kudu is gutted then dragged and loaded. The kudu will go in the freezer. Photos will be in the morning. The question, “If I go can I get a kudu?” has been answered. The primary goal is accomplished. All else is gravy.
Ockert, AB, Brandon, Johannes.
As we drive in, the headlights pick up a jackal. Brandon passes so I shoot it off the top of the bakie. I guess I have now hunted Hartzview too.
After getting the kudu out of a remote area it is after 9pm when we get to camp. Herbert the cook is up late but has fixed another great meal. We will have to wait for light in the morning to take photos so we can sleep in. All is right in the world!