Frog Morton
AH senior member
This hunt report is a little late in coming, but better late than never, as they say!
At the end of October, my brother @Mac Baren and I took a little holiday from the rigors of everyday life and made our way to the Green Isle of Ireland, or as the Romans called it, Hibernia. Seeing as Dublin landed us halfway to South Africa from Alaska, we couldn't resist the temptation to add a week and journey another 8,800 miles to Port Elizabeth to enjoy some sunshine, good food (read braais and biltong!), and 'craic' with our PHs (now friends) at @KAROO WILD Safaris.
We flew first to Dublin where we had a few days to sightsee in the City and acclimate to the new time zone, before heading on to Johannesburg via Amsterdam and catching a domestic flight on to Port Elizabeth. The jacaranda trees and bouganvillia were in bloom all around the towns in the Karoo, framing the streets and buildings with vibrant purples and pinks. Recent rains made the landscape very much more green than on past visits.
Our friends at @KAROO WILD Safaris had arranged for a few days of cull hunting during our visit, and we had a wonderful time wearing ourselves out stalking after game. We hunted in the Winterberg Mountains and were blown away by the beauty of this area. There was lots of game, including large numbers of some of the often elusive mountain species such as vaal rhebock and mountain reedbuck. It was a vocal time for the frogs who inhabited the mountain ponds, which made an enjoyable addition to the African soundscape.
We rounded out our visit to South Africa with a few days of relaxing, biltong eating, sight seeing, and a little shopping. If you're ever in the area of Jeffries Bay, there is a great little antique store at 65 Da Gama Road that is well worth the visit, as well as a restaurant called The Greek which has the BEST prawns I've ever had (Greek style, so the menu said, cooked in a mild tomato sauce which only served to compliment the prawns), South African beef, and Karoo lamb chops for excellent prices (as in 1 kilogram of shrimp for ~ $20 USD and 500 gram steak for ~ $10). (When we were delayed in South Africa for a few days November of 2021 due to flight cancellations arising from the Omicron variant, my parents and I frequented this restaurant several times!).
While in Ireland we met up with fellow AHer @Sika98k for dinner (and of course, Guinness!). We had a lovely time swapping tall tales and stories of the veldt. Somehow we managed to weasel out an invitation to tag along as novice beaters during a day of rough shooting at a nearby estate. The day was a beautiful one, and unseasonably pleasant for November, we were told. @Sika98k possesses a dog of much character, who has mastered the art of 'prairie dogging' to better see his quarry (or his master's lunch, as it may be).
We must not have commited too many faux pas during the day of rough shooting, as we were invited out again a few days later for a proper driven hunt! The group could not have been more welcoming to us strangers from Alaska. Seeing the dogs at work and the coordination between the beaters and the shooters was a treat, as were the luncheon foods and drink (which included a small tipple of sloe gin to steady the nerves). I am afraid, however, that we may have looked somewhat out of place in our Kuiu rain gear. . . . It is always a pleasure to visit with fellow hunters; it is also fun to see how much us hunters the world over have in common. @Sika98k was altogether too kind to us as members of the AH family - we tried to warn him that we're a bit like feral animals in that if you feed us once, we're likely to come back!
A quick word on worthwhile sites we enjoyed in Ireland; the town of Avoca in the Wicklow mountains is certainly worth a stop. Although there is little else but the historic woollen mills, post office, and pub, the setting is quite scenic and the pub was home to the best pint of Guinness we had on our trip. The area has a rich history of copper mining, reaching back at least as far as the 1700s. On a nearby mountainside there resides a large white cross erected in the 1950s as a tribute to the miners, past and present, and is a lovely spot to visit and view the surrounding countryside. In Dublin is the Peterson Pipe Shop, which is conveniently located near several popular attractions in downtown Dublin, and is definitely worth a visit. On the other side of the country, Clifden in County Galway is a lovely town to visit and listen to traditional music at the many pubs in this small town. While in Ireland, we also did a little horseback riding, and found it a great addition to our trip. We had the opportunity to ride out while the huntmaster was exercising the foxhounds and we are looking forward to returning again.
From the research I have done, Dublin is one of the cheaper airports to fly to in that part of the world (I think this is due to lower airport taxes for international flights), so if you aren't traveling with guns, it's a great place to stop off at on your way to and/or from Africa to split up the journey and get acclimated to the time zone before hitting the dark continent.
P.S. A parting word of caution - if touring the historic Glasnevin Cemetary in Dublin, do pay heed to the clock. . . Mac Baren and I nearly managed to be locked inside the gates overnight, on Halloween of all days!
At the end of October, my brother @Mac Baren and I took a little holiday from the rigors of everyday life and made our way to the Green Isle of Ireland, or as the Romans called it, Hibernia. Seeing as Dublin landed us halfway to South Africa from Alaska, we couldn't resist the temptation to add a week and journey another 8,800 miles to Port Elizabeth to enjoy some sunshine, good food (read braais and biltong!), and 'craic' with our PHs (now friends) at @KAROO WILD Safaris.
We flew first to Dublin where we had a few days to sightsee in the City and acclimate to the new time zone, before heading on to Johannesburg via Amsterdam and catching a domestic flight on to Port Elizabeth. The jacaranda trees and bouganvillia were in bloom all around the towns in the Karoo, framing the streets and buildings with vibrant purples and pinks. Recent rains made the landscape very much more green than on past visits.
Our friends at @KAROO WILD Safaris had arranged for a few days of cull hunting during our visit, and we had a wonderful time wearing ourselves out stalking after game. We hunted in the Winterberg Mountains and were blown away by the beauty of this area. There was lots of game, including large numbers of some of the often elusive mountain species such as vaal rhebock and mountain reedbuck. It was a vocal time for the frogs who inhabited the mountain ponds, which made an enjoyable addition to the African soundscape.
We rounded out our visit to South Africa with a few days of relaxing, biltong eating, sight seeing, and a little shopping. If you're ever in the area of Jeffries Bay, there is a great little antique store at 65 Da Gama Road that is well worth the visit, as well as a restaurant called The Greek which has the BEST prawns I've ever had (Greek style, so the menu said, cooked in a mild tomato sauce which only served to compliment the prawns), South African beef, and Karoo lamb chops for excellent prices (as in 1 kilogram of shrimp for ~ $20 USD and 500 gram steak for ~ $10). (When we were delayed in South Africa for a few days November of 2021 due to flight cancellations arising from the Omicron variant, my parents and I frequented this restaurant several times!).
While in Ireland we met up with fellow AHer @Sika98k for dinner (and of course, Guinness!). We had a lovely time swapping tall tales and stories of the veldt. Somehow we managed to weasel out an invitation to tag along as novice beaters during a day of rough shooting at a nearby estate. The day was a beautiful one, and unseasonably pleasant for November, we were told. @Sika98k possesses a dog of much character, who has mastered the art of 'prairie dogging' to better see his quarry (or his master's lunch, as it may be).
We must not have commited too many faux pas during the day of rough shooting, as we were invited out again a few days later for a proper driven hunt! The group could not have been more welcoming to us strangers from Alaska. Seeing the dogs at work and the coordination between the beaters and the shooters was a treat, as were the luncheon foods and drink (which included a small tipple of sloe gin to steady the nerves). I am afraid, however, that we may have looked somewhat out of place in our Kuiu rain gear. . . . It is always a pleasure to visit with fellow hunters; it is also fun to see how much us hunters the world over have in common. @Sika98k was altogether too kind to us as members of the AH family - we tried to warn him that we're a bit like feral animals in that if you feed us once, we're likely to come back!
A quick word on worthwhile sites we enjoyed in Ireland; the town of Avoca in the Wicklow mountains is certainly worth a stop. Although there is little else but the historic woollen mills, post office, and pub, the setting is quite scenic and the pub was home to the best pint of Guinness we had on our trip. The area has a rich history of copper mining, reaching back at least as far as the 1700s. On a nearby mountainside there resides a large white cross erected in the 1950s as a tribute to the miners, past and present, and is a lovely spot to visit and view the surrounding countryside. In Dublin is the Peterson Pipe Shop, which is conveniently located near several popular attractions in downtown Dublin, and is definitely worth a visit. On the other side of the country, Clifden in County Galway is a lovely town to visit and listen to traditional music at the many pubs in this small town. While in Ireland, we also did a little horseback riding, and found it a great addition to our trip. We had the opportunity to ride out while the huntmaster was exercising the foxhounds and we are looking forward to returning again.
From the research I have done, Dublin is one of the cheaper airports to fly to in that part of the world (I think this is due to lower airport taxes for international flights), so if you aren't traveling with guns, it's a great place to stop off at on your way to and/or from Africa to split up the journey and get acclimated to the time zone before hitting the dark continent.
P.S. A parting word of caution - if touring the historic Glasnevin Cemetary in Dublin, do pay heed to the clock. . . Mac Baren and I nearly managed to be locked inside the gates overnight, on Halloween of all days!
