mdwest
AH ambassador
Obviously I'm a little biased.. Gerrit, the owner of @Bos en Dal Safaris is a great friend, and the banner below my posts shows that I have a relationship with Bos en Dal beyond a normal client/ph relationship.. That said.. when I hunt with Bos en Dal, I get treated no differently than anyone else that hunts with them.. In fact, Gerrit goes out of his way to make sure I get an identical experience to what other hunters would get (same accommodation, same food, same hunting locations, same animals, same vehicles, same PH interaction, etc.. ) as it makes it a whole lot easier for me to share with others what their experience will be like if/when they book with Bos en Dal..
I just returned from a buff hunt (as well as a few other things) and thought I would share a bit of the story and some pics for those that might be interested..
Day 1 - Early arrival at OR Tambo.. Flights SUCKED.. but when you purchase your ticket with advantage miles on American Airlines, you cant be too picky.. I flew from DFW to London (5 1/2 hour layover), London to Madrid (4 hour layover), and then the final leg from Madrid to Joberg on Iberia (American code share), arriving a little after 10AM.
Thankfully I was able to get some sleep on the plane(s) and wasnt in too bad of shape when I landed. I had the pleasure of meeting @Gert Odendaal at the airport. He had asked if I would bring some stuff over for him for a couple of his rifle building projects and a few other items. I happily obliged. In return @Gert Odendaal presented me with several slabs of indigenous african hardwoods and some other things I can use for making knife scales (I've been toying with making my own knives lately) and gun stock inlays (I've also built a handful of rifles over the past couple of years and have been trying to improve my wood working skills on the stocks).. Spending a few minutes with @Gert Odendaal and trading stuff was a real joy and a nice way to start the trip..
While reasonably rested, I was thankful that the location we were going to hunt buffalo wasnt a long drive from the airport. Gerrit has a large concession that has some OUTSTANDING buffalo on it (the same location that @Mark Biggerstaff took his buff a few weeks back) thats about a 2 hour drive from the airport (roughly a 40 minute drive from the @Bos en Dal Safaris main property and lodge). Since buffalo was the #1 priority for this trip, we decided to stay at the lodge on the concession rather than make the commute each day until a buffalo was down..
All I can say is WHAT A BEAUTIFUL AND SPECTACULAR PROPERTY AND LODGE!
Upon arrival I was introduced to 2 additional PH's that would accompany Gerrit and I on the buff hunt. Francois, and Arrie. Both were a perfect match for me personality wise (jovial and easy going, but serious when it was time to be), and both proved to have exceptional skills as a PH. We immediately proceeded to the range to check rifles. Zero was confirmed on the .375 H&H that I would use on the hunt, and an additional 6 shots were fired from the bench, sticks, and from the standing (unsupported) just to make sure I was comfortable and able to make adequate shots from normal buff distances (all shots taken at 50M) from both sticks and without them. Gerrit was also kind enough to let me squeeze off a round from his double in 500 NE just so I could say I've shot something like that.. That gun will wake you up and get your blood moving after 24 hours of flying and driving for sure!
After the rifle range we had a quick bite to eat, and then headed out to see if we could find some buffalo.
The property was very hilly and had a wide variety of terrain ranging from steep, rocky slopes, to barely rolling hills, and from open grassland to extremely thick/dense bush.. Tons of game was seen during our initial drive.. Zebra were observed in 3 different locations..we also saw red hartebeest, impala, giraffe, blesbok, blue wildebeest, eland (one so large, dark, and with such thick bases that we all thought it was an old bull for several minutes and contemplated taking it until we realized that he was a she... so, no walk on the wild side (in my best Lou Reed voice)..
No buffalo were seen, nor did we find any dung or tracks.. A super bright, nearly full moon was also on the rise.. and we realized that most animals would graze all night and be difficult to find after the first few hours in the morning.. so we made a plan to get to bed earlier than normal, hopefully recover a bit from the journey over, and start early in the AM the next day.. and try to catch buffalo before they would bed down after a long night of grazing..
Dinner was short ribs and a wonderful vegetable bake.. Cigars were handed out along with a couple of adult beverages by the campfire immediately after.. then we headed off to bed.. Day 1 was eventful and huge fun.. even without having a chance to pull the trigger..
More to follow....
I just returned from a buff hunt (as well as a few other things) and thought I would share a bit of the story and some pics for those that might be interested..
Day 1 - Early arrival at OR Tambo.. Flights SUCKED.. but when you purchase your ticket with advantage miles on American Airlines, you cant be too picky.. I flew from DFW to London (5 1/2 hour layover), London to Madrid (4 hour layover), and then the final leg from Madrid to Joberg on Iberia (American code share), arriving a little after 10AM.
Thankfully I was able to get some sleep on the plane(s) and wasnt in too bad of shape when I landed. I had the pleasure of meeting @Gert Odendaal at the airport. He had asked if I would bring some stuff over for him for a couple of his rifle building projects and a few other items. I happily obliged. In return @Gert Odendaal presented me with several slabs of indigenous african hardwoods and some other things I can use for making knife scales (I've been toying with making my own knives lately) and gun stock inlays (I've also built a handful of rifles over the past couple of years and have been trying to improve my wood working skills on the stocks).. Spending a few minutes with @Gert Odendaal and trading stuff was a real joy and a nice way to start the trip..
While reasonably rested, I was thankful that the location we were going to hunt buffalo wasnt a long drive from the airport. Gerrit has a large concession that has some OUTSTANDING buffalo on it (the same location that @Mark Biggerstaff took his buff a few weeks back) thats about a 2 hour drive from the airport (roughly a 40 minute drive from the @Bos en Dal Safaris main property and lodge). Since buffalo was the #1 priority for this trip, we decided to stay at the lodge on the concession rather than make the commute each day until a buffalo was down..
All I can say is WHAT A BEAUTIFUL AND SPECTACULAR PROPERTY AND LODGE!
Upon arrival I was introduced to 2 additional PH's that would accompany Gerrit and I on the buff hunt. Francois, and Arrie. Both were a perfect match for me personality wise (jovial and easy going, but serious when it was time to be), and both proved to have exceptional skills as a PH. We immediately proceeded to the range to check rifles. Zero was confirmed on the .375 H&H that I would use on the hunt, and an additional 6 shots were fired from the bench, sticks, and from the standing (unsupported) just to make sure I was comfortable and able to make adequate shots from normal buff distances (all shots taken at 50M) from both sticks and without them. Gerrit was also kind enough to let me squeeze off a round from his double in 500 NE just so I could say I've shot something like that.. That gun will wake you up and get your blood moving after 24 hours of flying and driving for sure!
After the rifle range we had a quick bite to eat, and then headed out to see if we could find some buffalo.
The property was very hilly and had a wide variety of terrain ranging from steep, rocky slopes, to barely rolling hills, and from open grassland to extremely thick/dense bush.. Tons of game was seen during our initial drive.. Zebra were observed in 3 different locations..we also saw red hartebeest, impala, giraffe, blesbok, blue wildebeest, eland (one so large, dark, and with such thick bases that we all thought it was an old bull for several minutes and contemplated taking it until we realized that he was a she... so, no walk on the wild side (in my best Lou Reed voice)..
No buffalo were seen, nor did we find any dung or tracks.. A super bright, nearly full moon was also on the rise.. and we realized that most animals would graze all night and be difficult to find after the first few hours in the morning.. so we made a plan to get to bed earlier than normal, hopefully recover a bit from the journey over, and start early in the AM the next day.. and try to catch buffalo before they would bed down after a long night of grazing..
Dinner was short ribs and a wonderful vegetable bake.. Cigars were handed out along with a couple of adult beverages by the campfire immediately after.. then we headed off to bed.. Day 1 was eventful and huge fun.. even without having a chance to pull the trigger..
More to follow....
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