SOUTH AFRICA: Eastern Cape The Return

[Vanguard2279]

DAY FOUR & FIVE:

I'd like to apologize for all of the typos that I seem to be making. I'm a much better speller than this would lead one to believe.
We hunted hard for Bushbuck on days four and five. We saw a couple really good ones, but couldn't get close. We had resolved to stake out areas all day and we did.
I'm including three photos that I feel are important. The first is me with two important hunting accessories, the next is a hay field that we'd heard that Bushbuck showed up in and the last is the best I could do with my cell phone. Meyrick pointed out the Bontebok in the picture and told me that this was an SCI Top 20 trophy. I immediately began rationalizing why I would need a full body mount and where I would put him. I emailed my taxidermist (Chris Ivenson) and asked him about it. Apparently, it is difficult to import sport-hunted Bontebok into the US. I did find the necessary form after I had returned. For those who don't know, Kevin and Meyrick's grandfather was instrumental in saving the Bontebok. At one time, they numbered 17 known animals. There are now about multiple thousands. They are no longer threatened. The Bontebok is still running around out there. I won't deprive somebody else of a trophy.

 

[Vanguard2279]

DAY SIX:

We got up early in the morning and headed to Grahamstown for our Covid tests. Thank you to @KMG Hunting Safaris for providing some first-hand information on the process and directions. We arrived with one person ahead of us in line. It was a nasal swab and I hate that. A kind lady attempted to tell me it wasn't a big deal. In truth, this was my eighth test (four nose, four throat). She was quick and efficient. It still sucked. I laughed while she did it. It tickled and was unpleasant at the same time.
We stopped by the butcher shop and we picked up some pork chops as I had asked to cook dinner on the final night in camp.

Upon return to camp, Meyrick, Zwile and I headed out to look for Bushbuck. We glassed a canyon for a significant period of time and had decided to head in for lunch. Meyrick wanted to stop by another area that we hadn't looked at much first.
Zwile saw the first Bushbuck taking a nap on the banks of the mostly dry river. I then located one to the right of the napping Bushbuck. This one was just below the rim of the ravine. Meyrick assessed him and advised that he was a good Bushbuck. I got on the sticks and started looking for him again.
Then I lost him. Meyrick could still see him and he was able to direct me to his location. He had gone down the slope and had his head in a bush with his body mostly broadside and facing to the left. Keep in mind, we're on the edge of a cliff and I'm leaning well forward on the sticks. I'm
maintaining balance, but barely. I asked Meyrick to grab the back of my binocular harness and pull back a little. He choked me a little. The range was at or slightly over 200 yards (notice a trend here?) at a steep downward angle. I fired one round and the Bushbuck dropped in place. There was no way that we were going to be able to get to him from where we were without rappelling equipment so Meyrick wanted me to get another round into him. A dark body on shaded background is difficult to find. I eventually saw his tail and realized that he was laying flat with his legs pointed up slope away from me. I sent the insurance shot which whacked his belly.
We broke visual contact and went around to the other side of the river. We fought our way through trees and brush until we made it to the riverbed. Not far away, we came to a raised bank and my Bushbuck. This was absolutely the hardest animal to hunt and I am thankful beyond words to Meyrick and Zwile.
This story isn't over yet,....

 

[Vanguard2279]

One thing that I should mention is that Meyrick got sick during the hunt. Some days were definitely hard for him. His dedication and professionalism kept him going. One good thing about travelling with a doctor is that they are prepared for stuff. Doc was able to help Meyrick get better so he was feeling closer to well by the time we took the Bushbuck.
We took the Bushbuck in and had lunch. Meyrick had mentioned an ancient Copper Springbok to me that he wanted gone. The randy fellow was mingling with White Springbok and had become fairly comfortable. Meyrick offered me a great price if I wanted to hunt him.
After lunch, we headed to Thornkloof. We had actually started looking for the ram the day before, but he was highly alert and intolerant of humans within 300 yards of him. He was constantly on the move. On this day, though, we had a plan. Zwile dropped us off at a spot with some bushes that we were able to hide behind. The group of Springbok had an odd Black Wildebeest bull that seemed to be the ringleader.
Finally, the Springbok moved to an area 225 yards from us. I mounted my trusty 4Stable Sticks and fired one round. The elderly Copper Springbok dropped, crawled forward for a few feet and expired. The downside of all this is that I now feel like I need to hunt White Springbok to even out the collection. I also need to research what I need to do to submit this ram for consideration for SCI's Methuselah Award. I am deeply honored to have had a chance to take this old warrior. I'm sure someone will scoff at his lack of record book potential, but I can't quit staring at the pictures of him. My friend @norfolk shooter would have loved this "wonky horned beast" as much as I do.

 

[Vanguard2279]

At the end of the day, I got a call from a co-worker advising me that another co-worker had locked his duty weapon in his safe, couldn't get it out and wanted to know if I had a loaner duty weapon. So, I found myself as the Rangemaster calling the Chief in his morning to tell him where the replacement Glocks were staged. I'm not sure, but I think I had a gin & tonic in hand while doing this. Thankfully, that was really the only work intrusion that I had and it was fine. I'm always ready to help those who need it.

The pictures are of Natalie Bowker and Kevin's dog, Salt. Great boy, but a little nuts. Nobody would be surprised to see him show up with a female Brown Hyena one day.

Stay tuned, my friends. We still have the last day of the hunt, the trip home and my summary.

 

[Cervus elaphus]

I do enjoy reading trips like this. Thanks

 

[norfolk shooter]

@Vanguard2279 that golden springbuck is right up my boulevard. Good to see you and Doc had a smashing time. And yes I missed out in a big way. But TBH we saved the Bowkers from seeing me naked and drunk trying to stalk night critters.

Also the Nyala is an absolute hoss of an animal. Cant wait to read the rest

 

[norfolk shooter]

I just hope @KMG Hunting Safaris knows what he has got himself in for with both of us together

 

[buck wild]

I just hope that "he of the lime green slacks" can make it to DSC in 2022.

He also has bright orange slacks and a fancy mustache guard so he doesn't get any head from his beer on his tasche.

 

[norfolk shooter]

Gents' they are not slacks!!! They are custom fitted trousers for my lilliputian frame

 

[Vanguard2279]

DAY SEVEN: THE LAST HUNTING DAY

We started out early with the idea of possibly finding a nice Impala. Sometime during the morning, I just decided that it wasn't that important to me and suggested that we chase cull animals. Meyrick knew of an old Impala ram that they wanted to take out of the herd and we headed to an area that he frequented. After searching, we found him. We began the stalk and finally got close to him standing among some trees. The range was somewhere between 75-100 yards. The Impala was among his ewes in some trees. Eventually, he began staring in our direction. I quietly mounted the sticks. I forgot to compensate for the close range and my shot went a little higher than I planned. However, it went through the base of his neck and out the back. The ram dropped in place and expired.
He was a grand old Impala ram with worn down horns. As we were setting him up for the obligatory trophy photos, I marveled at his facial coloration. I also realized how low stress cull hunting was. There was no pressure to find a "trophy" animal and all of the meat would be used.

 

[Vanguard2279]

We loaded the Impala and dropped him back at Waterfall. We then headed back out to see what else we could find. I had gone up into the mountains on the farm four years ago and wanted to see it again. On our way there, Meyrick spied a Blesbok in an area that he shouldn't be in. He advised that we now had a mission.
We knew that we weren't going to easily approach the skittish ram so we continued up into the mountains above him. We dismounted and started glassing, hoping that we would locate him again. Fortunately, we did and the ram was around 600 yards away. We began moving down the mountain on foot, trying to be as quiet as possible. This mountain side was covered in trees and thick but passable brush. And what happens when you're trying to be quiet?
Kudu. We were hoping to avoid them, but we bumped two groups on our way down the mountain. We would periodically stop and glass the Blesbok to see if he had taken off. It was obvious a couple times that he was aware of our attention, but he stayed mostly in the same area. We finally made it to the valley floor and began our stalk. We were lucky that there were enough trees and uneven ground that we were able to get within 200 yards or a bit closer. I fired one round and the ram dropped. My shot was a bit higher than I wanted, but it anchored the Blesbok. After closing with him, I discharged one round to the back of his head to avoid damaging any meat.

 

[Randy F]

Thank you for your report. Good read and pics! That Nyala…wow!

 

[Vanguard2279]

That was it. The hunt was over. The stalk down the mountain had taken considerable time so we loaded the Blesbok and headed to lodge. We dropped him at the skinning station and had a late lunch. When we had stopped in after the Impala, I began marinating half of the pork chops in soy sauce and Natalie added some fresh ginger and garlic.
I should mention that Natalie was able to call the Covid testing center, provide our passport numbers and names and get the test results emailed to her. Fortunately, we both passed. I attempted to do the Exit Health Questionnaire on my phone and was unable to. Natalie located the hard copy and printed it out for us.
As we neared dinner time, I built a fire in the braai pit. Once the coals were perfect, I began cooking. Natalie made rice and several side dishes to go with the pork chops and some sausages that I bought. With the help of Proppie, Meyrick and Doc, we made sure that none of the pork chops were overcooked.
I'm proud to say that there were no leftovers.

How did Doc do on his first safari, you may be asking? Doc did great. His longest shot was at 225 yards for his Kudu. He expended seven total rounds on the entire hunt including checking zero. I'm very proud of him. The practice we did off the sticks was worth every minute. After successfully taking Black Wildebeest, Kudu, Warthog and Impala, he and Proppie took a day off and went to Addo Elephant Park. They spent the entire day on adventures. The next day, they went out and found a really nice Springbok ram to close out his hunt.
I do need to say this. I've known Doc for a bit over 12 years. He's a bit tightly wound and dour at times. This was absolutely the most relaxed that I had ever seen him. He'd have a couple whiskeys in the evening as his sundowner before going to bed. He laughed and was HAPPY. I wasn't joking when I said that he hadn't taken a vacation in 19 years. He thinks that this was the greatest trip of his entire life. I'm so incredibly happy for him.
I did all of the paperwork on this trip. He's going to take his next trip by himself. He'll do the paperwork and make arrangements for his hunt. I'll be there to guide him in what he needs to do, but after that the knowledge will be his. I'm glad that after six African safaris, I am confident in knowing what to do and how to get there.

THE TRIP HOME:

The next morning, we got up and had breakfast. Meyrick brought Zwile over in the morning and I was able to give him his tip along with my Vortex 10x32 binoculars. We said our goodbyes and Proppie drove us to Port Elizabeth. On the way to the airport, we stopped at a park where private vendors sell souvenirs. Doc was able to purchase rather large Elephant and Rhino carvings and a painted Ostrich egg.
We arrived at the airport and Proppie helped us check in for our flight. Checking in the firearms was a bit of a goat rope and we can only hope that they streamline the process. The PLZ-JNB leg was uneventful. I was thankful to see Xolile waiting for us when we arrived. Unfortunately, we had to wait over an hour for the Qatar counter to reopen. Xolile took our Covid tests and showed them to the people that needed to see them. We eventually got all of our luggage and firearms checked in and went to our gate.
For two years, I have been looking forward to hitting the duty-free shop for the 375ml bottle of South African red wine and going across the hall for really good pizza. Doc was excited to experience this as well. As we approached the pizza shop, I saw that the doors were closed and it was dark.
CLOSED!
I'm not going to dwell on the immense disappointment that we felt. I hope that it has reopened by early May next year when norfolk shooter and I fly out.
Doc and I made our way to one of the few restaurants that was open. I think it was called Jackson's. Very nice layout in that it has a glass curved glass wall looking out over the tarmac. The waiter who seated us told us that we could get chicken tenders or a cheese burger. There didn't seem to be a reduced alcohol menu though. We opted for the chicken strips. I had wine. Doc has Sprite. They were actually pretty good. They weren't the pizza I had craved for two years, but good quality nonetheless.

On 03/19/2021, my second granddaughter arrived. The first granddaughter has promised that she would share her stuffed animals with her little sister. I asked my daughter to arrange a "group photo" of all the African animals I have bought P the last few years. She did and being a "group photo" my older granddaughter and her dog had to be in it. I got the picture a bit late so P and M now have three Meerkats. I was surprised to find a Hyrax plush toy as well.

 

[Vanguard2279]

Our flight from JNB was delayed by about 45 minutes. This caused a bit of concern as we had a short layover in Doha. Upon setting down, Doc and I hustled to the security checkpoint and to our next gate. We had about 1:35 from landing to boarding. It fortunately was plenty of time.
Touchdown in Houston was fine. We collected our luggage and rifle cases and attempted to check in at the closest United counter. The young man there told us that we would need to purchase TSA locks from the airline if we wanted to check in there. Apparently, they were going to be sent to TSA in a different location and we would not be in close enough proximity for them to get our keys. The other option was to take them to Terminal B to the main United counter.
We had our rifle cases and luggage on a cart. The elevator that we had to take necessitated that we unload the cases from the cart. Downstairs, we ran into the really nice lady from the Qatar counter who had helped us on the original journey. She had been looking for us to help with checking in with United. We took the subway to Terminal B and were successful in checking in our luggage. We made it to our gate and waited for our flight home.
We arrived in Vegas uneventfully. Erica picked me up and we headed to my house. I stayed up a bit talking to her and went to bed shortly after midnight. My Terminix guy had emailed me when I was till in South Africa to let me know that he was coming Saturday morning between 0700-0900. I've known him a while. I knew he would get there early. I slept until 0700 and was dressed when he arrived at 0730. I wasn't going to cancel. At 1030, I took my faithful dog & house sitter to the airport and made sure she would be available in late April 2022.
The next night, I slept well. Sunday night, I woke at 0230 and couldn't get back to sleep. This odd sleep pattern went on for a few days.

 

[Vanguard2279]

SUMMARY:

I am endlessly thankful to Kevin and Natalie Bowker for having me as a guest on their farm. I am also thankful beyond words to Meyrick Bowker and Zwile for their skill, determination, friendship and patience.

Splitting Image Taxidermy is coordinating with Kevin to pick up my hides & horns for dip & pack and shipping to Chris Iveson in Houston. Doc did not save any animal for taxidermy. Instead, he took photos which he will use to create a memory book. While the thought is apparently alien to me, I'm glad that he is comfortable with this and Ican't say that he is wrong in how he chooses to remember his hunt. I think there is freedom in that.

One thing that we discussed was accommodations on safari. I had a wonderful room, the food was great and the atmosphere was great without trying to be "fancy". Meals were always an informal event where people could talk and enjoy each other's company. Not that my recommendation means anything, but I would wholeheartedly recommend them if it did. As I mentioned early in this story, there are a few places that stand out as my favorite hunts, places that I'm just happy, that I feel comfortable. This is one of them. So much so that I'm going back in 2023. A co-worker with a successful side business has always dreamed of hunting in Africa and has asked me to help him put it together. He's planning on going with me on the next trip.

On the next trip to Waterfall, I'm going to do something a little different. I'm going to hunt White Springbok and White Blesbok and maybe Red Lechwe. After that, I'm just going to concentrate on cull animals. All of the thrill of the hunt with no stress worrying about trophy quality. I'll definitely bring the .338-06 again and maybe my Forbes M24B 6.5 Creedmoor.

On Sunday 06/06, I leave roses and a South African coin at my wife's grave at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. She is always with me.

Be safe out there. Getting to southern Africa is a little more difficult than it was, but you can do it. "Fortune favors the brave".

I pray that the Covid issues effecting free travel reduce soon. I doubt that they will ever go away, but I'd like to make it to the UK and @norfolk shooter would like to join @Goose Cracker and I at DSC next year. Maybe @dabloobana will join us,....
AfricaHunting Get Together, COLONEL FAWCETT pub in Camden, London 2018.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Fawcett
Fascinating character.

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on the hunt and thanks for sharing with us!

 

[cls]

Excellent, congrats all around. Thanks for the report.

 

[spike.t]

Good to see you had another great hunt

 

[norfolk shooter]

@Vanguard2279 Gald you had a super hunt. Who wouldve known that day in the summer of 2018 we would become such close pals and Meghan would destroy Harry

 

[BRICKBURN]

Thanks for sharing your hunt with us.
Congratulations on having a good time with your friend.
I hope DOC gets into hunting and is able to enjoy himself more.