ZAMBIA: SOUTH AFRICA: My Hunt With Takeri Reserve, Diekie Mueller Safaris & Coenraad Vermaak Safaris

Great adventure Bruce. We had a hunter in camp at Cruiser that lost a waterbuck the ph said was one of the best he had seen in years. The guy rented a helicopter for an hour to no avail. Them animals can hide when they want to.
How are you handling your taxidermy from 3 separate hunts?

Great report!! This last place sounds way better than many safaris outfits concerning game numbers and quality! Would love to spend a week there.

The bulk of my taxidermy will be done stateside . I have a friend who does it at about the same rate as what it costs in Africa. I have seen better work, but it is decent. The shipment from Zambia has to go by itself. The other 2 can be combined. It is being handled by trophy solutions. They were recommended hy CV and are not that far from Diekie Muller Safaris. So they can go in 1 crate.
Yes animal numbers here are fantastic. I bet I saw at least 400 Gemsbok the other day. Also, most of the animals are rather calm. Very few other places where you can drive by a Gemsbuck or BW standing in the shade less than 40 yds off the road and they just look at you go by..... The RHB are a little more shy usually. Sometimes the Zebra also just watch you go by. Most of the animals they offer to hunt they have in abundance. The only knock is that they have a more limited selection of species than some places.I believe the trophy quality to be well above average too.
About that helicopter. Beginning tomorrow they are doing some rhino darting and vacinations in the same area as the Eland... They will keep their eyes open and there is a slight chance I could get lucky......
Its bed time. Tomorrows tale is titled, The lion that came to dinner. Bruce

That's the only place I've ever heard of that doesn't want you to shoot jackals!! Most places want to control numbers.

jeff said:

That's the only place I've ever heard of that doesn't want you to shoot jackals!! Most places want to control numbers.

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B interesting to know their reason. My hunt was shoot em if you see em. Saw em but not quick enough.

Bruce i will wait for you to tell your lion coming to dinner story before i post something about it. Good luck for today! Guys we can shoot jackal in this area.....just not sure if all the quota is spoken for, double check with Darren if you are interested in a jackal Bruce.

I'm not sure why on the Jackals either. LOTS of them here. So we went out in the aftn to see what was around. Lots of BW, RHB and Gemsbok. Some brand new babbies being born. Lots of fun to see them.



We saw eland, but not mine alive and not a suitable replacement.....
Last night was the "super moon". Full moon when the moon is closest to the earth. So dinner was held out on the sand at a waterhole about 4 miles from the lodge. This is the same place I photographed 3 lions the first evening I was here. They had set up a wonderful meal.



For safety sake a rifle and spotlight were on hand. We took photos of the moon as it rose and had a great meal. After dark Russel periodically swept the area with the spotlight.
Just as we were finishing the main course Russel used the spotlight and there was the big male lion at the water. He was way under 75 yards from where I sat. He had come to water without making a peep. He was close enough to hear him lapping water! That is close to a wild lion. He basically ignored us. After drinking he moved off to perhaps 85 yds from us and laid down. He then proceeded to roar every 7-10 min while we finished dessert.
About 18 hrs earlier he has been seen with another male and 2 females. Darrin commented that he was calling for his buddies. We never heard any answers......
What a special time to sit with friends and listen to a lion that close. The full moon just made it that much better. I'll admit to being slightly nervous, but loved every minute. One of my favorite African experiences. I truely wished for my wife and father to of been there to of experienced that moment. We listened to him for perhaps 1 1/2 hrs. The fire, the food , the moon and especially the lion singing to us. Unfortunately my african adventure is coming to a close. 1 more day of hunting.

We're still seeing unusual animals. Yesterday aftn we saw a Cape Fox. Darrin says that is only the 2nd one that he has seen. It was close enough for a decent pic.



This morning we saw a African wildcat. Again really fun animals to see that most don't have the chance to see. This property is incredible. So many animals. We have seen a couple of RHB babbies that were just born in the last 24 hrs or so. So amall and cute.
Saw probably 30 eland this AM. Again nosign of mine. We tried a stalk on a possible replacement. Too many eyes. A herd of about 25 Gemsbok busted us and ratted us out to the Eland. Ungrateful critters!
So just a short time tonight to hunt here. I am already feeling the sorrow of leaving. Africa gets in your blood. With what I spent this trip it may be 3 yrs before I can afford to come back..... Still I would do it again in a heartbeat.It has been a great trip with some better than average trophies. I'll post about tonights hunt later. Temps have been 96 to 106 here in the Kalahari....... Kinda hot for an old fat kid with bad knees..... Bruce

Wow, what an amazing experience you had with that lion!

Oh is my Africa wanderlust itching!

I've never heard of a place that has a quota for jackal!

Exciting Lion come to dinner story Bruce. With him that close I'd be watching my backside. Nervous time to be sure. Certainly an adventure for the memory banks. You should be acclimated to that weather being from Gillette. Dry heat always better than humidity I grew up with N. eastern NE. Sad to see your hunt ending. I really enjoyed your stories. Safe trip home.

Mike

Video audio of huge wild male lion roaring 85 yards from AH member (Bruce) as he enjoyed a glowing campfire with Coenraad Vermaak Safaris. A safari is more than a hunting trip! Life is good!

Wow what an awesome hunt and experience. You have taken some incredible animals. Tough luck on the eland, I fully know how that feels. Maybe you'll get a call like I did after getting back and he was found and on the way home to you? The lion experience is incredible, after hunting my lion and spending time around them there are no animals I hold more dear to my heart. Wonderful trip and congrats! I have really enjoyed you write up though it has made my very home sick for Africa! Wonderful hunt and wonderful write up.

@gillettehunter... bruce great to see you have had an excellent trip all the way through, and with it ending with that lion experience just wondering if you can notice anything different in the photo from when you were here?...... and its freezing! temp this morning was only 21c and hasnt got above 24c all day....



oh and the corn flakes are very soggy now

Wonderful report Bruce! So glad you had a fantastic trip. Great trophies hunting with good friends, life doesn't get any better than that!

Fox, cat and a Lion pretty great day in the bush. Thanks for sharing your tale.

Congratulations.

gillettehunter said:

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Yes animal numbers here are fantastic. ............ Also, most of the animals are rather calm. Very few other places where you can drive by a Gemsbuck or BW standing in the shade less than 40 yds off the road and they just look at you go by..... The RHB are a little more shy usually. Sometimes the Zebra also just watch you go by. ...............

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A very good sign that NOBODY is shooting from a vehicle. Awesome.

Hi Spike. Thanks for that pic. I had heard about the flooding in Jo-berg. Also they got some rain out to Diekie's place so I was wondering about Takeri. Makes me a bit homesick for Takeri tho........
Well we went out that last evening early. We saw probably another 20 eland. None were mine or a suitable replacement..... So I go home without the eland. I can say we tried and tried hard. My only hope is that something turns up with the helicopter flights. Another great dinner in the Bomma and off to bed.
I might mention that the PM meal at CV all started with an appetizer, Main course with 3-5 selections and then a dessert. Their facilities are exceptional. Almost all of the roads are sand. Just kind of interesting. Not a lot of rocks there and rather level. Brush ranged from none to moderately thick. One of the things that made me laugh just a little is the giraffe's standing under a tree during the heat of the day, at least as much as they can..... Sometimes even laying down.
Got up 2 AM and left at 2:30. Got to airport at 8:45AM. They called in the contractor to the airport that checks the guns. We then ck'd rifle and ammo. About 45 min later they called me back. Apparently he did not do all that he was suppose to do to clear my rifle. They charge 200 rand coming and going from the Kimberly airport to ck your rifle. Luckily I did get a receipt. That and how my ammo was packaged got me through that little glitch....
Then I had to pick up mu rifle in Jo-berg and check it out of the country. Kinda a pain. You would think with computers ect that they could check it out from any major airport in the country. Flight to the USA was long as normal. Right now I'm sitting at Dulles waiting for a flight to Denver. Home tonight. Like 42 hrs of travel....Anxious to see my family. Be good to be home. Internet is good so I'll try and post some additional pics from the Kalahari.
Talked to Diekie. Preliminary measurements indicate my Roan will likely be the new #2 SCI crossbow hunted Roan. Guess I'll go ahead and register that one... Bruce

A few more from CV...

Love the up close of the lion drinking! Thanks for sharing all the pics