SOUTH AFRICA: 10 Amazing Days With Motshwere Safaris In South Africa

On to day 6 of our 10 day adventure. We started the day early and were headed out with no particular target in mind. it didnt take long before our morning took a slightly different turn. We had been out and about for about 20 minutes and then this happened.
Stuck 1.jpg
Well looks like we will be here for a minute. We sent a tracker to get a tractor to get the truck unstuck and well, this happened.
Stuck 2.jpg
We were looking at a stuck truck and tractor. It took an hour or so before another truck arrived and we got the tractor unstuck. From there we used a longer tow cable and were able to get the truck unstuck as well. We laughed a little, this just added to the adventure. We decided to call the morning a wash and headed back for lunch and some rest. The afternoon started about 2pm and we headed out in search of Nyala. For me this was the least enjoyable hunt of the trip. We ventured off to a different property that had quite a few Nyala. It was a low fenced property but felt a bit small for me. I had eagerly anticipated hunting Nyala, they are such a beautiful animal but was having a hard time getting excited. Nyala, by nature, aren't super skiddish and there just didn't seem to be much of a challenge. It took some time but we located a nice bull. The shot was just over 100 yards and he was down. Not the most exciting hunt of the trip but we had a beautiful Nyala and some great photos.
Nyala 1.jpg
We got the Nyala to the skinning shed and headed back out, we still had some time left in the day. It wasn't long before we located a herd of Gemsbok theses things ran us around for what seemed like forever before presenting a shot. We had set up in an area to hopefully ambush them as they were on the move and wouldn't you know it, it worked. We could see the herd approaching and on to the sticks the rile went. A solid hit at about 50 yards and we had our second animal in the salt for the evening.
Gemsbok.jpg
The day had some highs and lows, a lot of fun and a bit of frustration but all in all another amazing day. Back to the lodge for a couple of ice cold castles and another great dinner. Did i mention the food is amazing, starting to worry I'm going to be a few pounds heavier when we get back to the states.
 
Day 7 got off to another early start. Today we were looking for Kudu and Waterbuck, 2 that had managed to elude us for the entire trip so far. Seemed like everyone else in camp had either taken or seen a large Kudu bull and everyone but me had a seen multiple Waterbuck. Man did we cover some country today and had the opportunity to view just about everything Africa had to offer with the exception of Kudu or Waterbuck. It was late in the afternoon and we were driving through some incredibly thick and green cover that my wife says "Kudu" The PH nad i sun to the direction she was pointing and sure enough there was a great bull. Unfortunately he stayed there just long enough to get a good look and just like that he disappeared. I wont lie, I was super frustrated. We finally got a look at a great bull and poof he was gone. We spent the remainder of the day trying to relocate him with no success. As we headed back for dinner I couldn't help but picture the bull over and over again in my head as I watched him trot away.

day 8 we were on a mission. We were going to relocate the Kudu no matter what it took. We started the day just covering country in the truck hoping to get a glimpse of him with no success. It was now on to plan B. We had another tracker brought to us and sent 2 of them out in the area we had seen the bull yesterday. It wasn't long before they had located the track and started following .We shadowed their location some few hundred yards away keeping an eye out for any movement ahead of them. About an hour into the track they jumped the bull, finally we had relocated him. Unfortunately when he busted out he was on a dead run and covering country. We gave chase for quite some time before I was presented with a 150 yard frontal shot. Not the ideal shot but I made the decision to take it. Boom and a clean miss to left. For a brief moment I thought that was the last time I would see that bull. I regained my composure and the chase was on again. We were covering country as fast as we could and then to my surprise, there he was a mere 60 yards away. Up and into position I went and boom the shot rang out. The bull doped right there in his tracks and it was instantly clear that my shot was high. I quickly chambered a second round, waited for just the right moment and sent the second one putting the bull down for good. A bit of back story here. I had been on a previous safari and taken an old Kudu bull that was in the mid 40" range. Werner is kind of a joker and had harassed me the entire trip about the lesser Kudu I had shot on my first safari. At one point he had told me I should let my soon shoot a Kudu so he could show me what a greater looked like and we could have one of each on the wall. It was all in good fun and I was excited to get back to camp and let him know we had been successful. What an incredible morning Day 8 had been.

Kudu 1.jpg
Kudu 2.jpg
Kudu 3.jpg
 
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Great animals. Maybe I missed it and I even went to the outfitters website and didn't see it, where was this hunt conducted in SA? It doesn't look like Limpopo that would be 4 hrs from Joberg based on your previous comments about travel to lodge. Maybe NW territory?
 
Great animals. Maybe I missed it and I even went to the outfitters website and didn't see it, where was this hunt conducted in SA? It doesn't look like Limpopo that would be 4 hrs from Joberg based on your previous comments about travel to lodge. Maybe NW territory?
The property is located about 30 minutes out of Lephalale in the Limpopo province. It is near the Rhinoland property.
 
Ok thanks. You nyala hunt was similar to what I experienced although after learning your location doesn't seem probable the nyala were on free range area as they aren't indigenous to that area I don't think. No matter- great hunt! That area does hold some fabulous kudu
 
We finally got a look at a great bull and poof he was gone.
Yep, “the ghost of Africa!”
Your patience definitely paid off! I enjoy a hunt you really have to work for, and you did! Congratulations on your tenacity!
 
Well after a couple day break I figure if better wrap up the report. Day 8 and 9 left me with 2 animals remaining. I had been searching for a proper waterbuck the entire trip so far and had yet to lay eyes on anything but females and a couple of immature males. That was about to change. We were out in the afternoon in an area that had a nice waterbuck that some of the others had seen a few times .We were early enough in the drive that I had not even got into hunting mode. I instead was enjoying the drive and a nice cold coke. My enjoyment was soon interrupted as I heard my wife say Waterbuck very excitedly. Well the chase was now on. Wasn't long before the first shot opportunity presented itself and well I left the scope covers on, rookie mistake, and the chase was back on. Fortunately we didn't have to go much further before the bull presented me with a frontal shot at less than 100 yards. I took a deep breath and as the shot rang out I could instantly tell it was a great shot. He reared up on his back legs and tipped over right where he stood. In my excitement I hurried over to check out this elusive critter. I was blown away by the size of the body, it was much bigger than I expected. Although not the biggest waterbuck ever harvested, I could not have been happier. We had the pleasure of hunting with my PH's father and young son and I was incredibly happy that they were able to share in the excitement of the evening. we had another great trophy in the salt and still had a day left to chase springbuck.
Waterbuck 2.jpg
We spent the rest of the evening and the morning of day 9 in search of springbuck, man those little buggers are quick and don't leave you with much time for a shot. Not going to lie here I missed a couple of times before I was able to connect. I think i was hurrying the shot anticipating the animal to bolt and rushed things. It was later in the morning of day 9 that things would finally work out. We had spotted a nice copper ram and he had given us the slip a few times. We relocated him once again and set up for the shot at about 100 yards. Just as the gun went off, wouldn't you know it, he spun to bolt. You could hear the hit but I expressed to the PH that I was concerned that the shot may have been poor because the animal had turned on the shot. We mad out way up to where he was standing and immediately found blood and quite a bit of it. I was a bit more confident that the shot was a good one as we pressed on. We came around a small corner and there he was, obviously not doing well. I'm not one for animals suffering so I quickly took another shot and he was down. Turned out that the first shot was not great, height was good but the animal had turned on impact causing the bullet to enter in from the rear quarter and make its way into the chest cavity from there. I believe the shot was fatal but again I don't like to see anything suffer so I didn't hesitate when it came to a follow up shot. This was my first springbuck and I was amazed at the beauty of these little guys. hurried to get set up for pics, they had told me about the hair standing up and we wanted to make sure we caught it. I was also able to give it a smell and they were right, it had a cotton candy smell to it. Yet again another amazing experience.
Springbuck 1.jpg
We got done with the photos and headed back to camp. Lunch and a nap were certainly in order today. Because I didn't have anything else I was specifically looking to hunt, we decided to just spend the evening enjoying all the beauty that Africa is. We took a nice long drive and stopped at every chance we had to get some photos. We had crossed some elephant tracks and spent quite some time trying to locate the herd but to no avail. Honestly i couldn't have thought of a better way to spend out last evening in Africa, what a heck of a day.
 
In summary, we had an amazing experience at Motshwere. Game was plentiful and for the most part we had to work quite hard to take the animals we were fortunate enough to harvest. The accommodations and food were outstanding and all members of the staff were professional and friendly. In being honest, you will have others in camp with you. If this is something that would bother you, they may not be the outfitter for you. For myself it left me feeling like I made some new friends and was happy to have some fellow hunters to share camp with and trade the days stories around the fire. All in all it was the trip of a lifetime and has left me looking to rebook in 2023 for my first go at Cape Buffalo.
 

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