My First Safari

[McKenzie Sims]

Glad to see your dad is a man of his word. I did the same for my son. When he was five years-old he said he wanted to hunt Dall’s sheep. I told him then that I would take him sheep hunting if he did good in school and got a college degree. He did and I took him sheep hunting last year in the Yukon.

That is awesome! Congrats to both of you on that deal, I think in this day in age with people saying we shouldnt be driven by things has took this goal setting away from the younger generation for parents and kids. I like hearing stories like this.

 

[McKenzie Sims]

You started off pretty early in life! Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more. Wish I could of started my African hunting sooner. Good job.
Bruce

Thanks Bruce I grealty appreciate the comment.

 

[McKenzie Sims]

The Southern Impala was my second African antelope I was lucky to take on the first safari. I don’t remember how this hunt all unfolded or how many I might have missed beforehand but what I do know is that it’s made a Safari hard to not take the opportunity to take one of these amazing antelope species. The Impala must be one of the most numbered plains game species across the continent as its range is from South Africa all the way up into East Africa countries such as Uganda and Tanzania. The Impala has 3 different subspecies the Southern Impala, the East African Impala (hunted in Tanzania and Uganda), and the black faced/Angolan Impala. With different color variations found in South Africa.


You will take an Impala for many reasons on a Safari being that it might be your first, a true monster, for camp meat, or for the tree when in pursuits of a leopard. The Impala is like the multi tool of the bush and provides the safari goer with a great experience with each encounter.

This is a screen shot off a video clip as I dont have any field photos unfortunately. A good reminder to always take more photos and when you think you've took enough, take more.

 

[McKenzie Sims]

On that first Safari I took both a Mountain Reedbuck and a Common Reedbuck. We used the same tactics for both of these reedbuck and that was to setup and glass. We glassed some valleys for the Common and were glassing some ridges for the Mountian both hunts reminded me of hunting Mule deer in Wyoming. These hunts prove that there are hunts for the western big game hunter in Africa. Oh and Mountain reedbuck taste so good, it’s a must try!

A safari to Africa is far more than just about the what animals you take, it’s about the experience of Africa. The sights, the sounds, the smells, and the taste that all come with it. It’s seeing your first Aloe tree, it’s driving the back roads soaking up all the scenery, it’s see the terrain that certain species prefer, it’s playing with the jack Russell’s and if your lucky the blue duiker that calls camp home. Having animals in the salt shouldn’t be the number 1 priority. It should be the memories made and the friendships built along the way. Especially if one is going on their very first Safari to South Africa one should enjoy it, slow down and focus on the memories and not just the trophy photos for social media.

 

[McKenzie Sims]

Low quality photos but high quality memories