Ruan Bouwer
AH senior member
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2013
- Messages
- 68
- Reaction score
- 119
- Location
- South Africa
- Media
- 21
- Articles
- 3
- Member of
- SAHGCA
- Hunted
- South Africa, Botswana
I look out over the city lights of Pretoria as I tug on my pipe. Tonight, I am grateful. Regardless of what is going on in the world, in my own country and my city, I have a million things to be thankful for. I write about something that is very relevant to me at this moment in time - fountains along my journey. This is a reference to the late Dr. Lucas Potgieter's book - Fonteintjies Langs my Geweerpad - which loosely translates to "fountains next to my rifle path". I have both of his books, Fonteintjies Langs my Geweerpad and Staanplekkies Langs my Geweerpad. I bought these two books second hand when I was in high school - after looking for them for ages - for R50 and R80 respectively (around $3 and $5).
As with most Afrikaans phrases, you have to chop and change a bit when translating to English so that it will make sense. I digress - back to the topic. Looking at what a great man Dr. Potgieter was, I don't think he would mind that I use this in my own story. In fact, I think he would be proud. Dr. Lucas Potgieter was one of the legends in Southern Africa's world of hunting. You can go and ask any older, somewhat experienced hunter in South Africa who Dr. Potgieter was, and they will be happy to tell you. I first heard about this great man from my father, who always told me how Dr. Potgieter used to hunt elephants back in the day with his trusty old small bore rifle. If my memory doesn't let me down, it was a 7x57 - a caliber that I grew up with.
Our Ruger Model 77 Mark II chambered in 7x57 is still the most successful rifle in our safe. For 15 years, we never adjusted the scope. My old man believes that you don't fiddle with something that works. It is for this reason that I have taken most of the game I've hunted with our own 'old faithful'. This includes species like black wildebeest, blue wildebeest, gemsbuck, red hartebeest, impala, blesbuck, warthog, zebra, ostrich, jackal, and so forth. Not even mentioning my father's successes with it. My sister had the great privilege of taking her first animal - a beautiful impala ram - with that very rifle. It took down a great bushpig boar as well - unfortunately not with me behind the rifle - when I was guiding my friend on a hunt.
Speaking about guiding - this is a great passion of mine that I really enjoy. I have previously guided friends on my uncle's game farm outside of Vaalwater - a small town in the Limpopo province of South Africa - in the heart of the Waterberg district's bushveld. I have always loved the bushveld; it has been a part of me since I was two weeks old. My father and uncle farmed cattle together on the farm I basically grew up on - a small game farm outside of Nylstroom, the town before Vaalwater. This is where I spent most of my weekends and holidays as a young chap...this is where my heart lies. Here in the African bush.
To get back on topic, this year is turning out way different than I ever could have imagined. This is where the "fountains along my journey" come in. Growing up in Africa - having access to many game farms including family farms, friends' farms and so on - gave me opportunities that I will forever be grateful for. This year, to date, has been one of the greatest years of my hunting career - the highlights certainly being the 36⅛" Rowland Ward eland bull that I got the opportunity to hunt; meeting Dieter Ochsenbein and his son, Thomas, some of the best taxidermists in the world; shooting a warthog from around 250 yards out in the run; and getting the opportunity to hunt the mountains of the southern Free State where I took wildebeest, impala, blesbuck and springbuck - but most importantly, my biggest highlight by far, being with my father when he took a wildebeest and sharing the veld with him.
There were also some great opportunities that I unfortunately could not realise - for instance, while hunting the mountains of Edenburg in the southern Free State, I had the opportunity to hunt a very old golden wildebeest cow. The herd was about 330 yards out and I had my crosshair on her. It was literally all systems go. My nephew was scouting and making sure of the animal and suddenly, the wind turned and they smelled us. They took off and we didn't see them again. I was devastated. Afterwards, I thanked the Lord for the amazing opportunity to have been able to hunt and experience those beautiful mountains; His stunning Creation. All of a suddden, I realised something that few hunters would admit they are guilty of: I was being selfish. I only thought about my own pride and I was completely in the wrong for that. Hunting is not only about shooting. I realised that the shooting part of a hunt is only 2% of the experience. I have failed on previous hunts many times, and I understand better now why it is not always necessary to shoot or kill on a hunt; it is more important to enjoy the journey, as it accounts for 98% of the trip.
Sometimes, you just have to sit down on a rock, next to a stream of water, and put your rifle against a tree. You don't need to shoot that elk, kudu or tahr bull that walks out of the cover 50 yards from you. You can appreciate the beauty of the animal and think about the role that hunting plays in the conservation of our beautiful wildlife and reserves. This is what makes hunting great. The 'fountains along your journey' - unexpected experiences that make you go, "wow...this is what I live for".
To come back to the guiding part, I am extremely excited about what lies ahead. While I am writing this article, I'm registering for something that I've wanted to do for a very long time - I am finally going to David Sutherland Hunting Academy, a Professional Hunter school in Vaalwater, Limpopo, to become a qualified Professional Hunter. This will enable me to take hunters out on hunts, and I will use my own passion for the bushveld and my knowledge of Africa to make every hunter that hunts with me's trip as memorable and special as possible. I will be selling off my camera and saving up to pay for the course as I want to pay for it myself and not expect my parents to do even more for me - I am forever in great debt with them for all they have done and still do.
Growing up in Africa was a huge privilege. Still living here and getting to hunt the most beautiful places in South Africa and Botswana - and hopefully other neighbouring countries soon - is an even bigger one. I have a few more hunts in the pipeline for this year, including hopefully an old warrior of a Limpopo River bushbuck ram. But for now, I will keep dreaming about the bushveld, a place close to my heart...a true fountain along my journey.
Until next time
Ruan Bouwer
As with most Afrikaans phrases, you have to chop and change a bit when translating to English so that it will make sense. I digress - back to the topic. Looking at what a great man Dr. Potgieter was, I don't think he would mind that I use this in my own story. In fact, I think he would be proud. Dr. Lucas Potgieter was one of the legends in Southern Africa's world of hunting. You can go and ask any older, somewhat experienced hunter in South Africa who Dr. Potgieter was, and they will be happy to tell you. I first heard about this great man from my father, who always told me how Dr. Potgieter used to hunt elephants back in the day with his trusty old small bore rifle. If my memory doesn't let me down, it was a 7x57 - a caliber that I grew up with.
Our Ruger Model 77 Mark II chambered in 7x57 is still the most successful rifle in our safe. For 15 years, we never adjusted the scope. My old man believes that you don't fiddle with something that works. It is for this reason that I have taken most of the game I've hunted with our own 'old faithful'. This includes species like black wildebeest, blue wildebeest, gemsbuck, red hartebeest, impala, blesbuck, warthog, zebra, ostrich, jackal, and so forth. Not even mentioning my father's successes with it. My sister had the great privilege of taking her first animal - a beautiful impala ram - with that very rifle. It took down a great bushpig boar as well - unfortunately not with me behind the rifle - when I was guiding my friend on a hunt.
Speaking about guiding - this is a great passion of mine that I really enjoy. I have previously guided friends on my uncle's game farm outside of Vaalwater - a small town in the Limpopo province of South Africa - in the heart of the Waterberg district's bushveld. I have always loved the bushveld; it has been a part of me since I was two weeks old. My father and uncle farmed cattle together on the farm I basically grew up on - a small game farm outside of Nylstroom, the town before Vaalwater. This is where I spent most of my weekends and holidays as a young chap...this is where my heart lies. Here in the African bush.
To get back on topic, this year is turning out way different than I ever could have imagined. This is where the "fountains along my journey" come in. Growing up in Africa - having access to many game farms including family farms, friends' farms and so on - gave me opportunities that I will forever be grateful for. This year, to date, has been one of the greatest years of my hunting career - the highlights certainly being the 36⅛" Rowland Ward eland bull that I got the opportunity to hunt; meeting Dieter Ochsenbein and his son, Thomas, some of the best taxidermists in the world; shooting a warthog from around 250 yards out in the run; and getting the opportunity to hunt the mountains of the southern Free State where I took wildebeest, impala, blesbuck and springbuck - but most importantly, my biggest highlight by far, being with my father when he took a wildebeest and sharing the veld with him.
There were also some great opportunities that I unfortunately could not realise - for instance, while hunting the mountains of Edenburg in the southern Free State, I had the opportunity to hunt a very old golden wildebeest cow. The herd was about 330 yards out and I had my crosshair on her. It was literally all systems go. My nephew was scouting and making sure of the animal and suddenly, the wind turned and they smelled us. They took off and we didn't see them again. I was devastated. Afterwards, I thanked the Lord for the amazing opportunity to have been able to hunt and experience those beautiful mountains; His stunning Creation. All of a suddden, I realised something that few hunters would admit they are guilty of: I was being selfish. I only thought about my own pride and I was completely in the wrong for that. Hunting is not only about shooting. I realised that the shooting part of a hunt is only 2% of the experience. I have failed on previous hunts many times, and I understand better now why it is not always necessary to shoot or kill on a hunt; it is more important to enjoy the journey, as it accounts for 98% of the trip.
Sometimes, you just have to sit down on a rock, next to a stream of water, and put your rifle against a tree. You don't need to shoot that elk, kudu or tahr bull that walks out of the cover 50 yards from you. You can appreciate the beauty of the animal and think about the role that hunting plays in the conservation of our beautiful wildlife and reserves. This is what makes hunting great. The 'fountains along your journey' - unexpected experiences that make you go, "wow...this is what I live for".
To come back to the guiding part, I am extremely excited about what lies ahead. While I am writing this article, I'm registering for something that I've wanted to do for a very long time - I am finally going to David Sutherland Hunting Academy, a Professional Hunter school in Vaalwater, Limpopo, to become a qualified Professional Hunter. This will enable me to take hunters out on hunts, and I will use my own passion for the bushveld and my knowledge of Africa to make every hunter that hunts with me's trip as memorable and special as possible. I will be selling off my camera and saving up to pay for the course as I want to pay for it myself and not expect my parents to do even more for me - I am forever in great debt with them for all they have done and still do.
Growing up in Africa was a huge privilege. Still living here and getting to hunt the most beautiful places in South Africa and Botswana - and hopefully other neighbouring countries soon - is an even bigger one. I have a few more hunts in the pipeline for this year, including hopefully an old warrior of a Limpopo River bushbuck ram. But for now, I will keep dreaming about the bushveld, a place close to my heart...a true fountain along my journey.
Until next time
Ruan Bouwer
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