- Joined
- May 7, 2016
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- Kenton on Sea
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Arrival day:
We picked Arnie and Marysabel up at the Port Elizabeth Airport and we headed off to the Karoo Concession. We arrived there and got settled in, checked the rifles to make sure everything was fine and afterwards we took it easy, had a nice meal and headed off to bed.
Day 1:
We met up at 6am, left the lodge to head to the top of the Karoo Concession. The property is 75 000 acres and it does take some time to move around, we were looking for Blue Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest or Black Wildebeest this morning. We got to the top of the mountain as the sun started coming up. We went for a walk down a Valley where we normally see lots of Blue Wildebeest, we moved down the valley and saw our first bull, unfortunately this bull was still young. We carried on and saw more in a distance, as we approached them we heard another bull calling to display territory, but we could not see him. We were about 400 meters away from the group when the tracker stopped us. The bull was about 200 meters in front of us on a slope, we got Arnie set up and the bull started to move slowly, as soon as he stopped Arnie made a great shot and his first animal was in the salt. We took some photos, got the recovery vehicle in and moved on to look for Red Hartebeest.
We continued over some of the hills and saw some Black Wildebeest in the distance, after quickly planning we were on foot trying to get closer. The Black Wildebeest spotted us and moved over a ridge, as we approached, we saw two Red Hartebeest bulls chasing each other and having a bit of a fight. We had a careful look and the one bull was nice, after a good stalk Arnie made another good shot but the Red Hartebeest just did not want to go down, I instructed him to shoot a second shot and then it was all over, two animals in one morning. We headed back to the lodge for brunch.
Later that afternoon we were out looking for Black Wildebeest, it was windy up in the mountains, so we decided to move down to the lower ridges looking for Mountain Reedbuck. While driving we looked over some Springbuck, with over 2000 springbuck on the property we looked over a lot of Springbuck and saw some nice rams. Coming into a small valley we saw a really good Common Springbuck and again the stalk was on, Arnie made an impressive shot and we had three for the day.
It was close to 4pm and getting into prime time for Mountain Reedbuck, we decided even though we had an amazing day we will look around and see what we can find. We saw a couple and took a walk up a ridge, while sitting glassing from the top of the hill we spotted a Mountain Reedbuck in a distance, looking at it through the binoculars I could see it was a good male. We started the stalk and got into a really good position, we set up on a little ridge and the Mountain Reedbuck was around 70 meters in front of us facing away. After waiting patiently he gave Arnie the opportunity to make a shot and it was four animals for the day. We headed back to the lodge and relaxed around the bar reflecting on a very successful first day.
Day 2:
Met up at 6am again and out we went looking for Eland for the day. We headed to the back of the property which is about a 40-minute drive and we got into prime Eland country around 7am. We started looking around and saw a herd of Eland on a hillside, we looked them over, there must have been 100+ Eland with a few good bulls but they were in an area that was not accessible, so we had to pass them up. After an hour or so we bump 8 mature bulls, the wind wasn’t in our favour and we tried to work around them, but they moved away too quickly. It started getting warm and we decided to have our packed brunches in a valley under some big shady trees. On our way there, we bumped another group of Eland bulls with one very good bull. Again, they moved away too quickly and we opted not to chase them but rather to have brunch and then track them afterwards. After brunch we started tracking the Eland, they had moved over a mountain and through a valley, over another ridge and over a big open area. With the temperature being very warm we gave up on the Eland, after about five kilometers of tracking them with no luck of seeing them again. It was around 2pm and we decided to move to a different area for Eland. Half way there we saw a lone Black Wildebeest bull standing on a slope with a some Blesbuck, we started our stalk and after about 45 minutes we were in at around 180 meters. One of the Blesbuck spotted us and the Black Wildebeest swung around and faced us, he was showing a bit of his shoulder and Arnie said he can make the shot, seconds later he had his fifth animal in the salt. We took photos, loaded the Wildebeests and headed back to the lodge. Beaten by the Eland but at least got something for the day, all determined that tomorrow we will find one of the big Eland we saw today.
More to follow...
We picked Arnie and Marysabel up at the Port Elizabeth Airport and we headed off to the Karoo Concession. We arrived there and got settled in, checked the rifles to make sure everything was fine and afterwards we took it easy, had a nice meal and headed off to bed.
Day 1:
We met up at 6am, left the lodge to head to the top of the Karoo Concession. The property is 75 000 acres and it does take some time to move around, we were looking for Blue Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest or Black Wildebeest this morning. We got to the top of the mountain as the sun started coming up. We went for a walk down a Valley where we normally see lots of Blue Wildebeest, we moved down the valley and saw our first bull, unfortunately this bull was still young. We carried on and saw more in a distance, as we approached them we heard another bull calling to display territory, but we could not see him. We were about 400 meters away from the group when the tracker stopped us. The bull was about 200 meters in front of us on a slope, we got Arnie set up and the bull started to move slowly, as soon as he stopped Arnie made a great shot and his first animal was in the salt. We took some photos, got the recovery vehicle in and moved on to look for Red Hartebeest.
We continued over some of the hills and saw some Black Wildebeest in the distance, after quickly planning we were on foot trying to get closer. The Black Wildebeest spotted us and moved over a ridge, as we approached, we saw two Red Hartebeest bulls chasing each other and having a bit of a fight. We had a careful look and the one bull was nice, after a good stalk Arnie made another good shot but the Red Hartebeest just did not want to go down, I instructed him to shoot a second shot and then it was all over, two animals in one morning. We headed back to the lodge for brunch.
Later that afternoon we were out looking for Black Wildebeest, it was windy up in the mountains, so we decided to move down to the lower ridges looking for Mountain Reedbuck. While driving we looked over some Springbuck, with over 2000 springbuck on the property we looked over a lot of Springbuck and saw some nice rams. Coming into a small valley we saw a really good Common Springbuck and again the stalk was on, Arnie made an impressive shot and we had three for the day.
It was close to 4pm and getting into prime time for Mountain Reedbuck, we decided even though we had an amazing day we will look around and see what we can find. We saw a couple and took a walk up a ridge, while sitting glassing from the top of the hill we spotted a Mountain Reedbuck in a distance, looking at it through the binoculars I could see it was a good male. We started the stalk and got into a really good position, we set up on a little ridge and the Mountain Reedbuck was around 70 meters in front of us facing away. After waiting patiently he gave Arnie the opportunity to make a shot and it was four animals for the day. We headed back to the lodge and relaxed around the bar reflecting on a very successful first day.
Day 2:
Met up at 6am again and out we went looking for Eland for the day. We headed to the back of the property which is about a 40-minute drive and we got into prime Eland country around 7am. We started looking around and saw a herd of Eland on a hillside, we looked them over, there must have been 100+ Eland with a few good bulls but they were in an area that was not accessible, so we had to pass them up. After an hour or so we bump 8 mature bulls, the wind wasn’t in our favour and we tried to work around them, but they moved away too quickly. It started getting warm and we decided to have our packed brunches in a valley under some big shady trees. On our way there, we bumped another group of Eland bulls with one very good bull. Again, they moved away too quickly and we opted not to chase them but rather to have brunch and then track them afterwards. After brunch we started tracking the Eland, they had moved over a mountain and through a valley, over another ridge and over a big open area. With the temperature being very warm we gave up on the Eland, after about five kilometers of tracking them with no luck of seeing them again. It was around 2pm and we decided to move to a different area for Eland. Half way there we saw a lone Black Wildebeest bull standing on a slope with a some Blesbuck, we started our stalk and after about 45 minutes we were in at around 180 meters. One of the Blesbuck spotted us and the Black Wildebeest swung around and faced us, he was showing a bit of his shoulder and Arnie said he can make the shot, seconds later he had his fifth animal in the salt. We took photos, loaded the Wildebeests and headed back to the lodge. Beaten by the Eland but at least got something for the day, all determined that tomorrow we will find one of the big Eland we saw today.
More to follow...