SOUTH AFRICA: First Time Safari with KMG Hunting Safaris

etsonaut said:

Awesome Warthog!

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Thank you
I’m not sure who was happier him or me. It was very exciting.

Wednesday morning dawned much nicer with great potential. We had a later breakfast and talked with Nick about the goals for the rest of the week. I was still looking for an Impala for sure, and a Red Hartebeest. We drove over to the farm and started glassing. We found a small herd with one nice bull. We stalked and got up on the sticks multiple times, but every time we got close to a shot it walked into some thick brush or behind a tree. Finally, something spooked them and we could not find them again.
One of the other great experiences for our son was getting to meet and spend time with Nicks apprentice tracker. They were both just normal teenagers and enjoyed sharing snacks, and photos from their adventures in very different areas of the world.
The kids just fell in love with Boots, Nick’s tracking dog.
We start walking back to the bakkie and spotted some movement below the ridge we were on. Our PH and tracker quickly realized that the people walking with about 15 or 20 dogs were poachers. They called the farm manager and tried to intercept them, but they ran off the property.
We then had lunch and headed out again. The weather quickly turned and got colder and windy. We could not find the Red Hartebeest herd again but spotted a couple of really nice Kudu bulls that had good potential for the next hunting group.
Everyone was cold and growing uncomfortable, so we headed to the lodge to relax. On the lodge property Nick took the time to show us some grave sites from 1835 and 1836. We had not realized the significant history of the local area until we got home and were able to do some research. The kids brought card games, and it was a nice chance to enjoy a hot drink and spend time together away from the hustle and bustle of home and its everyday distractions.

Great story up & kudu bull

A great hunt so far, and enjoying the write-up. Congratulations!

Thursday was wet, cold, rainy, windy-just all in all BAD weather. We had a great breakfast and talked about the day. Nick asked if it would be ok to do a quick scouting trip for another Bushbuck that was needed for the other clients at the lodge with us. We said yes, because for our family part of the fun was seeing different areas where were staying, asking Nick a million questions and just seeing all the animals.

We scouted for a while in the horrible weather; it was so bad the dogs did not even want to ride out in it. We were still looking for an Impala for us at the same time. Saw a common Reedbuck just lying in the bushes trying to get out of the weather. It was the first one we had seen, so the kids got to mark another animal off the list. We got a call after a while that they found the Bushbuck, and we moved down to follow the river still looking for Impala. We had not told our son yet, but we had decided that our son could take the Impala. But he did not know.

Nick stopped the truck and said that he had seen a single lone ram by himself that we should try to stalk. We told our son that the animal was his and to follow Nick. He was excited needless to say. I stayed back far enough not to interfere. We heard the rifle crack but did not hear the impact, so I was nervous that he missed the shot. My nerves calmed down when I saw where he hit the Impala and there was lots of blood. We walked about 100 yards and there it was. He made a perfect shot.

Dropped the Impala off at the skinning shed and headed back to lunch. We were already super late. But after lunch we continued our hunt for a Red Hartebeest, but the weather continued to get worse, and there were no animals to be found.

We continued into Friday looking for the Red Hartebeest. The weather was still not great, but we did find a few but just could not get a good shot at them. It was a bummer not to get one, but that gives us a reason to return.



It was truly a blessing to be able to take my family on a trip like this. We can’t say enough good things about working with Nick and KMG Hunting Safaris. The lodge was in a beautiful location, the food was fantastic, the company even better, and they treated our family like we were family to them.

Thank you for sharing the adventure.
Africa will see you soon I assume.

Great family hunt, Congrats !

Congratulations! A family safari is the best.

Nyati said:

Great family hunt, Congrats !

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Thank you

Frederik said:

Thank you for sharing the adventure.
Africa will see you soon I assume.

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We will be back. I promised my wife a trip to Iceland before I can return.

We finished our trip by spending a few days in East London. Nick dropped us off at the airport in East London, and we picked up our rental van. We rented an Air B&B situated between Yellow Sands beach & Glengariff on a family-owned farm called Swansea. It was about a 45-minute drive from the airport.

It was a beautiful setting right on the Indian Ocean. There were incredible rock pools to explore, and we walked down to Yellow Sands and went swimming. Alaska kids like any water that is not frozen.There was a great deck for just sitting and watching the ocean and sunset.
We found some incredible seashells, saw dolphins and just had a wonderful time.

We were close to a shopping center called Crossways. It was where the local grocery store is, and there are several nice little shops and places to eat. Had a delicious dinner at Surf & Turf. Got to try some local seafood and steak.

Since it was Mother’s Day my wife got to pick the activity and she wanted to do the Quad Bike Safari at Areena, it was the local tourist activity spot with all sorts of activities and animals to be seen. It ended up being a lot of fun and we got to pet a giraffe (my daughter was amazed).

Monday, we visited the East London Museum and learned so much about the local area. I would recommend a visit if you ever have some spare time in East London. Lunch was had at the Windmill Roadhouse and dessert at Friesland, both per recommendation by Marius. It was fun to eat and hang out with the locals.

Then we walked the beach from Glengariff back to our Air B&B. We found so much sea glass.

Tuesday found us headed home. It was quite a trip with broken planes and missed connections, but it was all worth it.
We will treasure the memories made on this trip with our kids for a long time and can’t wait to start planning our next adventure.

What a great family trip! Looks like all had a great time. KMG is the way to go. Marius and Nick are great hunters and very good people.

I’ll echo everyone else by saying what an awesome family trip! Congrats on some amazing animals and making memories. Your kids will remember that all their lives.

Thanks for sharing your trip. Congratulations.

Congratulations on what was a fun report to read!

Congrats, I hunted those same hills with Marius back in 2014. Glad you and your family had a great time.

Fantastic family trip. Such an education for everyone. Great write up. Thank you

What a great adventure with the family!