1LuckySOB
AH member
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- Jun 22, 2026
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New guy here with a (better late than never) trip report with Vos & Co Safaris back in September 2025.
This hunt was purchased during a SCI Auction/Banquet. The hunt listing was described as “6 full days at a luxury lodge in the Northern Cape of South Africa. 2 Hunters will bring home 1 Cape Kudu each”
This would be a trip for me and one of my good friends to take without the wives (side note, we had both already been to Africa once before with our wives). Another note, in this report I will focus on my half of the hunt, because in my opinion, his hunt is his story to tell and his photos to share.
After some email contact with Chris from Vos & Co, we had our dates set, bags packed, and travels planned.
My friend & I would meet at ATL for the same flight to JNB. Upon arrival at JNB we stayed overnight at the City Lodge Hotel. It has a good restaurant and it was nice to shower and get some sleep before the next flight in the morning to KIM.
By 8am we had arrived in Kimberly (it’s a small airport) and Chris was there to greet us. We loaded our bags into his truck, and we set off for the hunting camp. I wasn’t sure where camp was going to be located, I just knew from the emails it would be about 4 hours from the airport.
Camp was the Thuru Game Lodge, Located just outside of Groblershoop. The place was really nice (it checked the box for Luxury Lodge). Each of our rooms was very spacious, with a sitting area, comfortable bed, and good-sized bathroom. The lodge itself has a lot of nice features and balanced the hours of hunting with a very comfortable location to relax and recharge.
After unpacking & a quick snack, we took the customary practice shots with the rifles we would be using, I chose the 7mm Rem Mag. It shot great, or I shot it great with 2 holes 1” high, 12 o’clock, let’s go.
Now a quick note, Chris asked and my friend & I agreed to separate due to the different animals on our (collective) lists. Chris & the other PH offered for us to go together, but as friends we tend to agree on a “divide & conquer” plan a lot of the time.
No shots fired the first day, but we glassed a lot of potential for the days ahead.
The next morning after breakfast we set out, separate trucks again. I had said my top 2 wants were of course the kudu, but also a zebra. Chris replied that we should try for the zebra and see if we come across a kudu in the process. That morning we spotted Kudu first, so we headed up 1 side of a very large hill/mountain. The kudu gave us the slip, but it was good practice for the days to come.
That afternoon we decided to try another large hill. To our surprise there were Springbok and Blesbok on top, we backed down and went up the next peak. There were Wildebeest, and Impala on top of this rise. The tracker (Shawn) noticed something off the in the valley, it was several zebra, feeding towards us. We moved into a position to set up and wait, after about 20 minutes, they were within 100 yards, offering a good view of them and eventually a clean shot. My day ended with a beautiful zebra with an amazing stripe pattern.
The next 2 days were a lot of “let’s get a better look”, “not big enough”, & “needs 2 more years”. I appreciate Chris’ decerning eye / taste & judgement. I was not looking for a particular size kudu nor was I the one being picky. I was happy to be on the hunt. Chris was very good at explaining what he was looking for, why it mattered, and if we saw one, what our actions would be to get a shot. All of this was fantastic insight into the service and quality of hunt Chris wanted to offer. I didn’t have a laundry list of animals I wanted, so it allowed for a focus on kudu, but in hindsight… I had a great opportunity at a beautiful blue wildebeest and I should have taken it. (keeping that on the list for the “next time”)
By this point (mid hunt), my friend had several trophy animals “in the salt”. He was very happy with the progress of hunt.
We teamed up (in the same truck) for the rest of the days. As a side bet, I offered my friend $100 as a challenge to add an old warthog with large tusks to his collection. This led to many “stop the truck!” moments for the rest of the hunt. LOL
Mid-week. We headed to another property 1 hour away that Chris had access to hunt. This was a great change-up. This property also had a lot to offer in terms of good variety, high quantity, and high quality of animals.
After a short stalk for my friend to hunt another animal on his list, we noticed several kudu on a hill. On the 1st attempt, the kudu vanished into the bush. Even with all the eyes on him (on the ground and back at the truck) we all agreed, that kudu was part magician. On the second attempt we saw a male and 3 females headed towards a valley, we snuck in, we watched them drop into the valley, we set up, 3 females came up the trail on the opposite side, and the male disappeared (again). We continued forward to the valley, checked the tracks and saw that he had turned and went down another draw that was hidden from view. While glassing this point we saw 2 more males on the next hill. We decided to head back to the truck and circle around this hill to get the wind in our favor. As we circled the hill, all I heard was “Stop! Kudu!” we jumped out and began a vertical stalk up this hill. Initially I wasn’t able to see the kudu in question.
It felt like we climbed/stalked/crept for what felt like several hundred yards straight up. Half the team was back at the truck helping give hand signals to guide our approach and keep us hidden. We came around a rock and a tree and he was under 100 yards away eating leaves off a branch. A quick drop of the sticks, a moment to catch my breath and steady my shot, and the kudu hunched and kicked as the bullet hit him. He circled the tree and I put another bullet in him. He dropped. We closed the distance and made sure he was dead. I had my kudu. After a “YES!” and a high five, we turned around and could see the scramble of the others running up the hill. My friend said that it was one of the most intense things he had ever seen. As several times, we would get close and the kudu would move to another tree and we happened to stop and ask for guidance at just the right time to not spook him and keep ourselves hidden.
The last days were filled with my friend continuing his list. Yes, he did get a nice old warthog and earned/won the $100. I connected with a nice springbok (yes, they smell like cotton candy) and we continued to take many great photos.
The process of returning home felt like a blur. On the last day we had breakfast, took time for one last hunt. Had a mid-morning brunch, paid our bills, then headed out for the flight from KIM to JNB. Another easy flight with time to collect some souvenirs at JNB. Then onto the flight to ATL and the connecting flights to get me home.
Splitting Image Taxidermy was in contact with me within 2 weeks of the conclusion of the hunt. After a couple emails on the taxidermy options for my animals. All was set. Now I wait… I will give an update to this report once everything has arrived.
Here are my 3 big takeaways:
This hunt was purchased during a SCI Auction/Banquet. The hunt listing was described as “6 full days at a luxury lodge in the Northern Cape of South Africa. 2 Hunters will bring home 1 Cape Kudu each”
This would be a trip for me and one of my good friends to take without the wives (side note, we had both already been to Africa once before with our wives). Another note, in this report I will focus on my half of the hunt, because in my opinion, his hunt is his story to tell and his photos to share.
After some email contact with Chris from Vos & Co, we had our dates set, bags packed, and travels planned.
My friend & I would meet at ATL for the same flight to JNB. Upon arrival at JNB we stayed overnight at the City Lodge Hotel. It has a good restaurant and it was nice to shower and get some sleep before the next flight in the morning to KIM.
By 8am we had arrived in Kimberly (it’s a small airport) and Chris was there to greet us. We loaded our bags into his truck, and we set off for the hunting camp. I wasn’t sure where camp was going to be located, I just knew from the emails it would be about 4 hours from the airport.
Camp was the Thuru Game Lodge, Located just outside of Groblershoop. The place was really nice (it checked the box for Luxury Lodge). Each of our rooms was very spacious, with a sitting area, comfortable bed, and good-sized bathroom. The lodge itself has a lot of nice features and balanced the hours of hunting with a very comfortable location to relax and recharge.
After unpacking & a quick snack, we took the customary practice shots with the rifles we would be using, I chose the 7mm Rem Mag. It shot great, or I shot it great with 2 holes 1” high, 12 o’clock, let’s go.
Now a quick note, Chris asked and my friend & I agreed to separate due to the different animals on our (collective) lists. Chris & the other PH offered for us to go together, but as friends we tend to agree on a “divide & conquer” plan a lot of the time.
No shots fired the first day, but we glassed a lot of potential for the days ahead.
The next morning after breakfast we set out, separate trucks again. I had said my top 2 wants were of course the kudu, but also a zebra. Chris replied that we should try for the zebra and see if we come across a kudu in the process. That morning we spotted Kudu first, so we headed up 1 side of a very large hill/mountain. The kudu gave us the slip, but it was good practice for the days to come.
That afternoon we decided to try another large hill. To our surprise there were Springbok and Blesbok on top, we backed down and went up the next peak. There were Wildebeest, and Impala on top of this rise. The tracker (Shawn) noticed something off the in the valley, it was several zebra, feeding towards us. We moved into a position to set up and wait, after about 20 minutes, they were within 100 yards, offering a good view of them and eventually a clean shot. My day ended with a beautiful zebra with an amazing stripe pattern.
The next 2 days were a lot of “let’s get a better look”, “not big enough”, & “needs 2 more years”. I appreciate Chris’ decerning eye / taste & judgement. I was not looking for a particular size kudu nor was I the one being picky. I was happy to be on the hunt. Chris was very good at explaining what he was looking for, why it mattered, and if we saw one, what our actions would be to get a shot. All of this was fantastic insight into the service and quality of hunt Chris wanted to offer. I didn’t have a laundry list of animals I wanted, so it allowed for a focus on kudu, but in hindsight… I had a great opportunity at a beautiful blue wildebeest and I should have taken it. (keeping that on the list for the “next time”)
By this point (mid hunt), my friend had several trophy animals “in the salt”. He was very happy with the progress of hunt.
We teamed up (in the same truck) for the rest of the days. As a side bet, I offered my friend $100 as a challenge to add an old warthog with large tusks to his collection. This led to many “stop the truck!” moments for the rest of the hunt. LOL
Mid-week. We headed to another property 1 hour away that Chris had access to hunt. This was a great change-up. This property also had a lot to offer in terms of good variety, high quantity, and high quality of animals.
After a short stalk for my friend to hunt another animal on his list, we noticed several kudu on a hill. On the 1st attempt, the kudu vanished into the bush. Even with all the eyes on him (on the ground and back at the truck) we all agreed, that kudu was part magician. On the second attempt we saw a male and 3 females headed towards a valley, we snuck in, we watched them drop into the valley, we set up, 3 females came up the trail on the opposite side, and the male disappeared (again). We continued forward to the valley, checked the tracks and saw that he had turned and went down another draw that was hidden from view. While glassing this point we saw 2 more males on the next hill. We decided to head back to the truck and circle around this hill to get the wind in our favor. As we circled the hill, all I heard was “Stop! Kudu!” we jumped out and began a vertical stalk up this hill. Initially I wasn’t able to see the kudu in question.
It felt like we climbed/stalked/crept for what felt like several hundred yards straight up. Half the team was back at the truck helping give hand signals to guide our approach and keep us hidden. We came around a rock and a tree and he was under 100 yards away eating leaves off a branch. A quick drop of the sticks, a moment to catch my breath and steady my shot, and the kudu hunched and kicked as the bullet hit him. He circled the tree and I put another bullet in him. He dropped. We closed the distance and made sure he was dead. I had my kudu. After a “YES!” and a high five, we turned around and could see the scramble of the others running up the hill. My friend said that it was one of the most intense things he had ever seen. As several times, we would get close and the kudu would move to another tree and we happened to stop and ask for guidance at just the right time to not spook him and keep ourselves hidden.
The last days were filled with my friend continuing his list. Yes, he did get a nice old warthog and earned/won the $100. I connected with a nice springbok (yes, they smell like cotton candy) and we continued to take many great photos.
The process of returning home felt like a blur. On the last day we had breakfast, took time for one last hunt. Had a mid-morning brunch, paid our bills, then headed out for the flight from KIM to JNB. Another easy flight with time to collect some souvenirs at JNB. Then onto the flight to ATL and the connecting flights to get me home.
Splitting Image Taxidermy was in contact with me within 2 weeks of the conclusion of the hunt. After a couple emails on the taxidermy options for my animals. All was set. Now I wait… I will give an update to this report once everything has arrived.
Here are my 3 big takeaways:
- Buying a hunt at an SCI auction/banquet gives lot of hunters (like me) opportunities that I would have never considered or thought I could afford. By creating the potential for a discount on the upfront pricing, I am left with extra room in my budget for a few more animals. It also allows me (before bidding) a chance to review the companies & hunts that I might consider bidding on. The auction listing was described as “6 full days at a luxury lodge in the Northern Cape of South Africa. 2 Hunters will bring home 1 Cape Kudu each” and it 100% was correct.
- Here is why I would hunt with Chris (Vos & Co) again. The location for this hunt (both the lodge & hunt area) was beautiful. There was great opportunity for a lot of different animals. Chris and everyone associated with him were super nice, no pressure, and always asked “do you want to do A or B? or something else?” He also was very clear on what he expects in the quality of each animal. This was very different from my first hunt in SA with a different company/outfitter which felt like a high-pressure sales operation the entire time. If anyone is interested Vos & Co Safaris offers a lot of different hunt options (PG & DG) and locations. He also has a great selection of leather goods (hunting accessories) on his website.
- For this hunt Chris offered (in advance) the services of Splitting Image Taxidermy. I have a taxidermist that I trust here in the states, but it allowed me time to look up Splitting Image and see if I would be comfortable with using them instead. I have found them to be great with communication over email. Each time I get an update, it makes the excitement increase for the eventual delivery of my taxidermy.
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