SOUTH AFRICA: My First Hunt With KMG Hunting Safaris Won’t Be My Last!!!

Great posts/pics/story.
Made me feel like I was there..... now really wishing I was there!!!! Nothing but great reports about Marius & KMG.
 
OK I think I have this figured out. Thin should be the video for my second attempt at the Blue Duiker. I dont have the first one on video, my camera man was a bit slower than us and didnt start to record until after the shot. If this works out I will post the successful video as well..

 
Nice one!!!! I love it when they roll.... sure sign of quick, humane take.
 
very cool videos
 
Thanks for the replies all...

Nice video I will be wheeels up in 48hrs to see Marius for some tiny ten action. Can't wait

I wish I could say the same, my mouth is watering as I relive the experience writing my post. Cant wait until we pick a date for our return. At least then I will know how long the countdown will be.
Have fun, shoot straight and laugh a lot....
 
Nice vid, thanks for sharing!
 
DAY 8


We wake and get around early for our days adventures. One of the 2 Terry’s in our group is staying back and having a day of rest and play because he does not do well on a boat. That leaves 4 of us plus my PH Greg as the girls are off shopping with Kim for the day. We all meet for breakfast and coffee prior to loading up with Greg and heading out to Port Alfred to meet up with our captain and first mate for some ocean fishing. We all load into the boat, put on life vests and make our way through the marina and into the Indian Ocean. Once we arrive at our first anchor point we get briefed on the technique and rods and reels we would be using. The rods were very heavy duty and the reels were something none of us have ever seen. They were very simple and had no bail or drag; they were just large plastic spools full of line. We were anchored on a reef only a few miles off shore but fishing in very deep water. Within just a few seconds of being on bottom we were getting bites and having a hard time keeping the bait on. Only a few minutes into it and I had what felt like a very large fish on. After a lengthy battle and learning how to use the awkward reel I brought to the surface one of the bigger fish of the day and my biggest that we kept. I had never seen or heard of this fish but love catching something I’ve never caught before. We get it in the boat and Greg tells me it’s a Miss Lucy and they are great to eat and we will have that one for dinner tonight.

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The big fish the captain was targeting for the day were Kob, but they were just not found in any numbers. The first area we set up at was full of fish and we had no problem catching the ones we didn’t want in the boat. The two kinds of fish caught more than any other for the day was the Dory Shark and the Sea Barbel. Both fish were venomous and the captain didn’t want them in the boat. Kurt was the king of the Dory Shark for the day, many times bringing in 2 at a time and didn’t catch any other kind of fish all day. Terry caught several Gurnard even pulling a double one time but was also struggling with the type of reel we were using.

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Just as the fishing was picking up at the first spot, we had a visitor show up that wanted our good fish more than we did. It was a seal that was all alone and very hungry. Several times as we were reeling in a decent fish, the seal would swim in and take it right off the hook.

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This continued for about 30 minutes and the fishing slowed down a bit so we made a move. The captain was in contact with several guys out fishing and it didn’t sound like anyone was really getting the target fish of the day. We did however catch fish at every stop, with a couple spots being better than others. Greg the hunter in our group caught a few nice Dageraad and Greg the PH caught a fish I think he called a salmon that went in the cooler for us to eat at dinner.

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There were a few other fish caught throughout the day such as Carpenter, Hake a few different sharks and some other fish I just don’t remember the names of. Hell the only way I remembered most of them now is by sending Greg the PH (PF) for the day a message through Whatsapp. Greg, Terry, Greg and I all managed to catch some nice eating fish and filled a cooler that would go with us to the lodge for a great dinner. It was amazing to see all the different fish we caught and the color of them. The Gurnard was probably the most beautiful fish I have caught with the butterfly looking fins, Miss Lucy not far behind.

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We made a couple more moves near the end of the day but never located the target fish of the day. With what looked to be a storm brewing off to the west and the winds picking up we decided to call it a day and head back to the channel and into the port. The view of the beach, canal, and houses along the shoreline were spectacular as they are in any other coastal area I have been. We make it to the dock, unload, take a photo of the captain holding my Miss Lucy and head back to Mpunzi to prepare dinner.

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We arrive back to the lodge the earliest so far for me the entire trip. I didn’t know what the place looks like in the daylight. We take the fish in the kitchen and Greg (PF) and I fillet them with the dullest knives I've ever used, then Greg prepares to cook them for dinner. Somebody please get Nichole some sharp knives!!! With the fish all cleaned and not enough room in the kitchen for me I head in for a quick shower.

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After my shower I head to the bar for some much needed drinks and relaxation. By the looks of the bar and the couch upon my return it appears everyone was in agreement even the dogs. After Terry gets up from his nap, he tells us about his day of fun shooting at the gong the other side of the pond. They also put a pile of oranges there and Terry was successful shooting a monkey at 536 yards, I guess it tired him out! He just had to one up me on my 356 yard shot on my baboon last trip.

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The girls return from their day shopping, beach visit and photo taking of the area and Lori tells me how awesome her day was with Carole and Kim. She was really excited she got to stand in the Indian Ocean.

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Dinner is prepared tonight by Greg the now deemed master fish chef, and Nichole who cooked chicken for the girls that don’t eat fish. During and after dinner, over a few more drinks we all converse about the week’s events as we prepare for our final day hunting with KMG 2017. The fish was a hit for dinner and we all ate so much we were miserable but the experience was worth it.

Before we turn in for the night Marius comes to me and says, John I have organized one of my best properties for you to hunt tomorrow. You can hear the excitement in his voice as he tells me he worked hard to get access to this property for me to hunt another eland. I tell Him the only way I want to hunt another eland is if Greg is still my PH and I also get a chance at a warthog. He tells me Greg will be my PH and says this is the best property for both and his only wish is that it wasn’t full of hunters all week as we could have already hunted it. He again tells me this property has really big eland and I would most likely have a great chance to take a very large bull. I once again thank him for his offer and tell him I’m in. We head off to bed for another quick night’s sleep before our last day to awake at 5am to hunt the Dark Continent.
 
Wow... That's great stuff.
 
Excellent read, looking forward to the last day. Just finishing up my last day with KMG and Marius. This is my fifth year here and its easy to keep coming back to such a class act, I am already looking forward to next year and I haven't even left yet
 
Excellent read, looking forward to the last day. Just finishing up my last day with KMG and Marius. This is my fifth year here and its easy to keep coming back to such a class act, I am already looking forward to next year and I haven't even left yet
How did the lioness hunt go ?
 
I'd love to add blue duiker to my hit list.
 
Excellent read, looking forward to the last day. Just finishing up my last day with KMG and Marius. This is my fifth year here and its easy to keep coming back to such a class act, I am already looking forward to next year and I haven't even left yet

I'm sure you had a fantastic time. I'm looking forward to your report. I'm working on my final day now should be posting it this evening when I get time to finish it. Talks are definitely in the works for a return trip for me as well. Can hardly wait to have a count down date.
 
I'd love to add blue duiker to my hit list.

It was a very fun hunt to say the least. You need to do some planning ahead though. If anyone can make it happen on short notice I would think Marius would be your best chance. Might have to plan a return trip for one.(y)(y)(y)
 
OK I am finally posting the final day of our hunting trip for 2017. It will be in at least 2 parts as its a long eventful day with a bit of a climatic ending. Well at least for some of us it was... I am not totally finished with the writing yet so it wont all get posted today or maybe not even until the first of next week but I wanted to at least get the first half up. I took a little time away working on a new hobby doing a hunt video. I may be posting some in the future as I learn more. I was able to get all my animal stalks and shots on camera so it should be fur putting them together.
 
Day 9

Alarm wakes me at 5 am to hunt the last time in South Africa. I jump up quickly as I’m excited to be back out to the bush after a relaxing day fishing yesterday. I can’t really say the same for Lori as I think she would be just fine sleeping in. She struggles a bit but gets up and around as I go get coffee and make her some toast for breakfast. Knowing it’s the last day we will spend in the bush; she hangs tough, getting up and moving and gathering her things together. Greg and I meet for coffee as we have for the last 8 days and after a quick bite to eat we gather Lori, Lindile and Tasco and head out in search of warthog and maybe an eland. We depart Mpunzi in a heavy morning fog, creating a very picturesque drive as the sun works its way over the mountain tops. As we leave the lodge and head down the long bumpy dirt trail they call a road, the rising sun illuminates the fog in the valley below. We stop briefly to take a photo then drive on cautiously to our first stop.

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The plan for the morning is to stop in town just a short drive away from the farm we would be hunting to pick up our additional tracker for the day. We arrive just before 7am to a filling station here he jumps in the back of the truck with Lindile and guides us in the direction we need to go. I don’t believe Greg had hunted this farm in the past so a familiar person is again very helpful. We arrive through the gate by 730 and drive to the first spot we plan to have a look at. The tracker tells us we will walk a bit through a flat brushy area then make our way to a hillside to glass a valley in search of some known large eland bulls. As we slowly work our way up a trail, scanning the brush as we go, the tracker leading the way to the spot, suddenly stops and points to a thick bush. Greg quickly set up the sticks and says big, eland bull. I take my 300 off my shoulder, rest it on the sticks and slide a bullet into the chamber.

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Greg is whispering to me, can you get a shot there? Just as he says that the bull moves deeper into the bush. Greg whispers, move quickly to your left. We move a couple feet as the bull in now quartering slightly away from me with his head tucked deep into the thick bush. The massive bull is less than a hundred yards in front of me but I never get a look at his head or face. Taking Greg’s word for it, I prepare for a shot. He whispers can you take the shot? I reply, it’s too thick, I don’t feel comfortable. He whispers to me it will go man it will go, shoot it on the shoulder. I take a deep breath, slide the safety off and trust in Greg that this is the eland we were looking for. With a squeeze of the trigger the big bull backs out of the bush, runs slowly around the thicket and falls about 30 yards from where he stood. The tracker runs over a bit to watch as Greg and I celebrate a bit with a hand shake and a high five. Lori standing behind us taking pictures not knowing what just happened, says what was that? Greg quickly replies a very large eland bull.

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We walk over to get a closer look as the eland struggles a bit but gets back on his feet. As we watch him I lift my 300 and place another 180 grain bullet directly into his vitals. The bullet hits him hard and in slow motion the eland falls over from the impact. Lori standing behind us again captures the moment on photo as Greg runs video.

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We watched from a bit of a distance and the big bull fought a bit longer never returning to his feet. For a moment it appeared he could possibly get back up as I drew my rifle, I asked Greg, again? Greg replied no, he’s a big animal and will need some time to go down. Within a few minutes, we were setting him up for photos and reliving the moment. This would turn out to be the earliest animal taken the entire trip for me and was also the most up close and personal experience of the hunt.

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As we waited for the sun to raise a bit higher Greg went to retrieve the truck as Lori and I stood in amazement and the size of the animal laying on the ground in front of us. As I walked around I couldn’t hold back my emotion and said to Lori, if Marius wasn’t such an awesome person we would not be standing here with this magnificent trophy right now. It was then that I really realized the sheer size of the big bull and really took in the qualities he displayed. This bull had it all, the massive body, the huge set of horns, thick brush running down his face, the black markings above his nose and the large swaying blue dewlap that hung way down. As I wiped the tears of joy from my face, I turned to my trouper of a wife and said, this bull will make Marius a very happy man… It wasn’t long and Greg returned with the truck, the sun came up a bit and we did a bit of cleanup on the bull and captured some great memories.

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As we were prepping and taking photos, the tracker went to retrieve some great help and the work began. They quickly lightened the load a bit and with 6 guys on the ground and Greg and a crank winch in the truck, they loaded the massive beast into the back of Greg’s truck. I wanted to help but would have only been in the way as these guys have done this before and are a great team with a system that worked well. Once we get everything loaded up, we head to the skinning shack, get the eland hung up and take a short break and watch Lindile and the crew start the skinning and cleaning process.

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While Lindile is at work skinning with the rest of the crew, the other tracker, Greg, Lori and I continue on in search of the warthog that has eluded me for 2 trips to Africa now. We drive out past the area I took the eland and stop at the top of a hill and make our way to the edge and glass for a bit. With it still being fairly early in the morning we are hoping to see some warthog action before they head for thick cover and a rest after their morning feeding. It’s the last day hunting so just being in the bush is where I want to be.

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We set up overlooking a valley and see movement right away. We see a group of smaller warthogs off in the distance and keep an eye on them as they feed toward the thicker cover. After watching the area for a while longer, we see nothing that looks promising and decide to work our way across a ridgeline to another area. After a half hour or so slowly working deeper into the bush, Greg spots a large hog feeding on the hillside in front of us. He stops for a bit glassing the hog as he feeds away from us and says let’s move closer quickly to have a better look. As we get closer we spot several warthogs feeding throughout the thick bushy hillside. Suddenly the sticks go up and Greg says he’s behind the bush to the right. Hearing the clicking of his tusks while he feeds gets my heart pumping as we watch him feed through the thick cover waiting for him to move to my left for a better look.

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Greg thinks he looks good but neither of us has really had a chance a good look of his tusks as he’s mostly been facing away. As we stand still watching him feed, a kudu cow moves slowly to our right less than 60 yards away. She stops for a moment looking at us trying to figure us out. She acts concerned for a bit as we stand motionless hoping she moves on without blowing our cover. As she settles down and begins to feed we watch 2 smaller boars chasing each other around as another feeds towards. With the kudu now calm and feeding away, our focus turns back to finding the big boar as he has moved up ahead of us. We decide to stay put and glass from there in hopes the big boy works his way to the bottom and up the hillside directly across from us. As we stand there in total silence, out of nowhere we hear loud music directly behind us. Greg and I turn around at the same time to watch the tracker dig his phone out of his pocket. He not only makes a ruckus digging it out, he answers it like he’s in a loud stadium filled with screaming people. I turn around just in time to watch the kudu cow running down the valley chasing all the animals in the area off with her. I look ahead further just in time to watch the big warthog run over the hillside and out of sight. As Greg and I stand there a bit dismayed, we chuckle a bit and Greg says something to the effect, well I guess that one gets to live another day. As we stand there silent for a moment, Lori said to us with a look of disbelief, what just happened. Greg takes a deep breath and said he just blew our hunt, let’s head to the truck and go have lunch. We head back to the skinning area and drop the tracker off watching the crew finish up cleaning the eland as Lindile capes out the skull. After watching for a bit Greg says lets hop in the truck and drive away from hear and have our lunch. We eat our lunch in the field for the last time and discuss the day’s events so far. We have a few laughs at what took place, finish our lunch do some paperwork for the eland then grab Lindile and head back out.
 
OK I am finally posting the final day of our hunting trip for 2017. It will be in at least 2 parts as its a long eventful day with a bit of a climatic ending. Well at least for some of us it was... I am not totally finished with the writing yet so it wont all get posted today or maybe not even until the first of next week but I wanted to at least get the first half up. I took a little time away working on a new hobby doing a hunt video. I may be posting some in the future as I learn more. I was able to get all my animal stalks and shots on camera so it should be fur putting them together.
That should be cool. I just hired a professional videographer to film my PG part of my hunt.
 
That is an awesome eland. Marius did you proud. I'm afraid I would not of been so forgiving of the tracker. That is something that happens all too often and should never happen at all..... Bruce
 
Wow, great eland!!! Congrats
 

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