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- rsa, Namibia
South Africa: Game 4 Africa Eastern Cape May 2021
I can’t imagine how we could have had a better week.
My brother and I hunted 7 days 2x1 with Colin.
Pre hunt- We use Gracy and flew Qatar. Qatar service and such was great and very few people on flights. I much prefer the Atlanta to joburg direct flight, but I wouldn’t hesitate to take Qatar again if I needed to.
Arrival day- We had several hours from arrival to departure from joburg so we got a room at the City Lodge to take a shower and have breakfast. Neither of us slept on the Doha/Joburg leg and thought the shower might help wake us up. It didn’t.
Finally getting to camp did help. Got to meet a father and daughter from Montana who were wrapping up a ten day hunt. They seemed like great people, and we got to hear all their stories and see their pics before they left the next morning.
Day 1- We hunted the big property across the road from the lodge property. We weren’t targeting anything specific; just see what we might find. I had 2 kudu and 2 impala on my wish list, and my brother had eland, black wildebeest, blesbok, bushpig, and common reedbuck on his. We were both open to change those list and add species if opportunities arose. And the opportunity presented itself early. We got to the property and we’re going to walk along a ridge having already seen a ton of animals. We came over a rise and spotted a big warthog. I’m not one to pass the chance at a big pig, so our first hunt was on. Our first, and one of very few, unsuccessful hunts. The pigs would ultimately allude us on this trip.
After finally giving up on the pig, we turned our attention back to the other game. There were blesbok and black wildebeest all along the ridge above us. Colin planned a great stalk up a draw that brought us eye to eye with a group of wildebeest and our first trophy of the hunt.

We had a late lunch there on the ridge and then headed back to an area we had seen eland earlier. We drove to the backside of the ridge we had seen them on. We got out of the truck and started up the side of the ridge. We hadn’t gone 50 yards and the bush exploded with eland. We were right in the middle of 2 herds. My brother actually got on the sticks and almost got a shot at a big bull there.
It was an incredible day, and we joked about how there would be no way Colin could top it the next day. He would prove us wrong every day. The only complaint we had at the end of the first day was that it went by too quickly.
Day 2- On the second day we went back to the same property with an eland hunt in mind. We wanted to drive through and look over the property first thing. We had hunted there 3 years ago as well, but we had hardly scratched the surface of it. Colin obliged, and it was amazing. All their properties are large and beautiful. This one is no exception. We saw tons of game including a beautiful kudu early with the sun shining off his horns.
We finally came out on the far side of the property on a fairly open ridge top with animals everywhere. Lots of blesbok. Colin picked out some we could stalk to a reasonable range, and we had our second trophy.

We now turned our attention to eland. A big herd was spotted feeding along a thick ridge and plans were made to get to them. Somewhere in the process of getting close to them, a group of 4 bulls was spotted. Colin planned and executed a great stalk to get us in range, and Bryan, my brother, took a great eland. We used their rifles, and my brother used their .375 on the eland. They recovered the bullet behind the opposite shoulder.

We went back to the same property that evening and saw lots of kudu but didn’t take anything, which didn’t happen very often on this trip.
That evening we had the pleasure of meeting tundra tiger from AH. It was truly a pleasure to share a camp with him for a few days and get to hear his stories in the evening. He’s a great storyteller and has got some great stories. Hopefully he will at least share some of his Africa stories with everybody else here.
Day 3- My brother slept in the third day, giving me a chance to finally get on the board. We would hunt the lodge property, targeting an impala first thing. Colin and I set out walking through an area with impala everywhere. The impala were rutting, and you could hear them everywhere. As we were nearing what we thought might be a good impala, a waterbuck bull appeared in our path. Colin saw him and immediately put his binos up. “How would you like a waterbuck?”, he whispered. “...I’m in.” He explained he was a very old bull. He didn’t have the incredible length that so many of their bulls have, but he made up for it in mass.
My first trophy of the trip. He was massive, and his teeth were worn down to nothing.

We brought the waterbuck back to camp, picked up my brother, and went back looking for impala. They have a lot of impala on their property, and they were rutting. You could hear them everywhere. We glassed from a high point where we could see and hear a lot of impala. We made our way down into a thick flat and found ourselves surrounded by them. We couldn’t see them but could hear six or more rams right around us in every direction. We finally got to where we could see a couple, and I had my second animal.

Took a nap after lunch and then went to check bushpig bait. They keep a baited spot all year. They use the skin and feet and any part of the animals that is not used. They have a meat processing business so they always have bait. We took a fresh load when we went to check it. Literally a ton of scraps, 2000lbs in 8 barrels. We checked camera card and went through how the hunt would work. They had pics of 2 boars coming in around 9. I had hunted in a blind over bait my first trip to Africa. Instead of using a blind, we would come in about 9 and walk/stalk in by moonlight when the wind and moon were right.
We would spend the rest of the day looking for kudu. The kudu were rutting too, and they were everywhere. I’m not sure how to get across to someone who has never been to their property just how many kudu they have there. Anyway, we got to within maybe 60 yards of one. I got on the sticks. Where he stopped was thick and all we could see were his horns. We waited for him to take just 1 more step to get a shot. And we waited. And we waited. He finally made a slight move. I think he actually laid down. We sat there for a very long time. Finally Colin decided to make a move. We took exactly 2 steps toward him, and he exploded up and away in the blink of an eye.
Day 4- We had originally planned to go to an area near the coast for my brother to hunt a common reedbuck. The night before, a friend of Colin’s had called. My understanding is that he had 2 golden wildebeest bulls on a property fighting, and he wanted one gone before he lost both. My brother jumped at the chance, and the reedbuck hunt became a golden wildebeest hunt.
The property was a huge open valley surrounded by thick steep ridges. We went up onto the ridges with the idea of spotting the wildebeest in the bottom and using the cover of the ridges to get down close to him. It worked perfectly, almost. We got to where the wildebeest was right below. Bryan and Colin set out down the thick ridge. I would have a birdseye view of the hunt from the the side of the ridge. They got right down to them, and my brother was getting set up to shoot when the wildebeest took off across the valley. Some giraffes had spooked and took the wildebeest with them. I then got to watch as they tried to make several stalks to within a reasonable range of the wildebeest in the big open valley. By the time they shot, they were well over a mile from me. I never even heard the first shot with the wind and distance. I saw white smoke (or vapor?) come off the end of the barrel and the wildebeest collapse. The wildebeest got up when they moved towards him. Bryan put a second bullet in him. I heard that shot, but it was faint and well after I saw the wildebeest collapse a second time.

This was the view I had. I had my phone zoomed in as far as it would go. I believe that’s Colin n my brother I circled.

That afternoon we went back to their place for kudu. We again saw tons. From where I finally shot mine, we could see dozens. Colin counted 15 good bulls. I actually had 3 shooter bulls in my scope at the same time. We were on the side of a ridge with most of the kudu on the side of the ridge across from us. I sat watching one for the longest time through the scope waiting for him to present a shot. Several times Colin would tell me to look up to look at some more kudu that had appeared. Just as the kudu I had been on for so long was about to give us a shot, Colin said to hold on. 2 more bulls had come over the ridge just above and made their way down to the bull I had been on for so long. Colin asked if I would rather shoot one of them. These were the 3 bulls I was watching in the scope at the same time. He estimated them to be the same age. The one I finally chose had a black face and neck.



That night we made our first stalk on the bushpig bait. We would get there at 9 when the bushpigs should already be there. Again, it worked perfectly, almost. We got there, and 2 pigs were there. But we weren’t able to get one.
Day 5- Another day of kudu hunting. I believe Colin said we were their 8th and 9th hunters since COVID. I’d say we hit it just right. Lots of game and of the highest quality, with opportunities to take species we might not otherwise have taken, and lots of older animals that might normally have been taken off in a normal year. With all the kudu on their property, they had plenty of bulls to be taken so I was thrilled to hunt a second one. We again saw tons of kudu. I finally took one we got up on near the top of a ridge.

The bullet was just under the skin on the opposite side of the kudu. Colin cut it out and gave it to me. I put it in my checked bag to bring home but didn’t think about when I actually checked my bag. Somebody in Doha security ended up with it.
We got mine loaded and heard from Wik on the radio. Terry, aka TundraTiger, had gotten his first one, and we headed to help them load it. He got a dandy deep curl kudu for his first.
Back at camp for lunch I saw 2 pairs of warthogs breeding at the same time in the field below lodge. The one time I counted there were 37 warthogs in the field, but I’m fairly certain at times there were a good many more than that.
That afternoon we went out looking for impala again. Ended up with an old ram I just loved. I can’t really explain why. Old, heavy horned with a shape I just really like. If you put a tape on him, he may be the lowest scoring of the 8 impala I’ve ever taken, but he may be my favorite.

Day 6- Because of the lack of hunters over the last year, they had a lot of excess animals. This gave my brother the opportunity to hunt a non-exportable cape mountain zebra. We would be hunting on a property that adjoins some new property they bought that we wanted to go see. It’s about a 40 minute drive from lodge so we would take lunch and make a day of it.
We drove a route to the property that took us through a big game reserve. Got to see bushpigs, rhino, and 2 elephant just driving to the hunt.
The area the zebra are on is wide open grassland but does have some elevation changes that can be used for stalking close. They have all kinds of game on the property that like the open areas. Tons of springbok of every color, bontebok, black wildebeest, roan, sable, and lechwe are the ones I can remember seeing. We even saw an aardwolf in the middle of the day.
The wind was roaring, and I was a little concerned about how challenging this hunt might be. They almost got the zebra on the first stalk. I was watching from the truck. The zebra ran, and I watched them follow over a rise. 5, maybe 10, minutes later they called us to get the zebra. They actually weren’t far from the truck, but with the wind, I never heard the shot.

My brother had also decided to take a springbok for a rug. This would certainly be a challenge with a long shot in the high wind. Colin brought a 25-06 for this.
Well, while cleaning the zebra, my brother sees a lone springbok ram walking broadside about 300 yards. Colin gets the gun. They set up, I believe it was on a termite mound, and my brother makes the first of 3 great shots on the springbok. Why the first 2 shots didn’t kill him, I don’t know. But I again got a birdseye view from the truck as they stalked 2 more times to within 300 yards of him for the shots. I could see the springbok react and then hear the shot.

We then road around their new property. It is beautiful. Rugged beauty. Thick, steep ridges with a good stretch of the Fish River along one side. We saw a good warthog I tried to get on, but this wasn’t our trip for pigs.

That evening we made our second stalk on the bushpig bait. I actually stayed at the truck on this one. The moon was brighter and the impala were running/rutting everywhere. Including at the bait site. No bushpig on this trip.
Day 7- Started the day on another impala hunt. They had a particular ram they wanted to take out to make room for some younger rams to breed.

Since Bryan didn’t get his bushpig, John, Colin and Wik’s dad, asked if he would consider taking a waterbuck. A bull had killed 2 baby waterbucks in the last week, and he wanted him gone. Bryan obliged, so we went looking for him. He had been staying in the same area, and they knew the bull. John could see where the bull had last laid down from his house. We looked all over the area. Saw lots of waterbuck but not the one. Went back to camp with the plan of coming back at 4. At about 3:30, they saw the bull from camp. The stalk was on. Finished our last evening with my brother making a great stalk and shot on a monster waterbuck.

I can’t imagine how we could have had any better of a week.
Thank You, Lord, and thank you, Colin (and Wik and Brittany and Clair and John and all the staff @ GAME 4 AFRICA SAFARIS)
I can’t imagine how we could have had a better week.
My brother and I hunted 7 days 2x1 with Colin.
Pre hunt- We use Gracy and flew Qatar. Qatar service and such was great and very few people on flights. I much prefer the Atlanta to joburg direct flight, but I wouldn’t hesitate to take Qatar again if I needed to.
Arrival day- We had several hours from arrival to departure from joburg so we got a room at the City Lodge to take a shower and have breakfast. Neither of us slept on the Doha/Joburg leg and thought the shower might help wake us up. It didn’t.
Finally getting to camp did help. Got to meet a father and daughter from Montana who were wrapping up a ten day hunt. They seemed like great people, and we got to hear all their stories and see their pics before they left the next morning.
Day 1- We hunted the big property across the road from the lodge property. We weren’t targeting anything specific; just see what we might find. I had 2 kudu and 2 impala on my wish list, and my brother had eland, black wildebeest, blesbok, bushpig, and common reedbuck on his. We were both open to change those list and add species if opportunities arose. And the opportunity presented itself early. We got to the property and we’re going to walk along a ridge having already seen a ton of animals. We came over a rise and spotted a big warthog. I’m not one to pass the chance at a big pig, so our first hunt was on. Our first, and one of very few, unsuccessful hunts. The pigs would ultimately allude us on this trip.
After finally giving up on the pig, we turned our attention back to the other game. There were blesbok and black wildebeest all along the ridge above us. Colin planned a great stalk up a draw that brought us eye to eye with a group of wildebeest and our first trophy of the hunt.

We had a late lunch there on the ridge and then headed back to an area we had seen eland earlier. We drove to the backside of the ridge we had seen them on. We got out of the truck and started up the side of the ridge. We hadn’t gone 50 yards and the bush exploded with eland. We were right in the middle of 2 herds. My brother actually got on the sticks and almost got a shot at a big bull there.
It was an incredible day, and we joked about how there would be no way Colin could top it the next day. He would prove us wrong every day. The only complaint we had at the end of the first day was that it went by too quickly.
Day 2- On the second day we went back to the same property with an eland hunt in mind. We wanted to drive through and look over the property first thing. We had hunted there 3 years ago as well, but we had hardly scratched the surface of it. Colin obliged, and it was amazing. All their properties are large and beautiful. This one is no exception. We saw tons of game including a beautiful kudu early with the sun shining off his horns.
We finally came out on the far side of the property on a fairly open ridge top with animals everywhere. Lots of blesbok. Colin picked out some we could stalk to a reasonable range, and we had our second trophy.

We now turned our attention to eland. A big herd was spotted feeding along a thick ridge and plans were made to get to them. Somewhere in the process of getting close to them, a group of 4 bulls was spotted. Colin planned and executed a great stalk to get us in range, and Bryan, my brother, took a great eland. We used their rifles, and my brother used their .375 on the eland. They recovered the bullet behind the opposite shoulder.

We went back to the same property that evening and saw lots of kudu but didn’t take anything, which didn’t happen very often on this trip.
That evening we had the pleasure of meeting tundra tiger from AH. It was truly a pleasure to share a camp with him for a few days and get to hear his stories in the evening. He’s a great storyteller and has got some great stories. Hopefully he will at least share some of his Africa stories with everybody else here.
Day 3- My brother slept in the third day, giving me a chance to finally get on the board. We would hunt the lodge property, targeting an impala first thing. Colin and I set out walking through an area with impala everywhere. The impala were rutting, and you could hear them everywhere. As we were nearing what we thought might be a good impala, a waterbuck bull appeared in our path. Colin saw him and immediately put his binos up. “How would you like a waterbuck?”, he whispered. “...I’m in.” He explained he was a very old bull. He didn’t have the incredible length that so many of their bulls have, but he made up for it in mass.
My first trophy of the trip. He was massive, and his teeth were worn down to nothing.

We brought the waterbuck back to camp, picked up my brother, and went back looking for impala. They have a lot of impala on their property, and they were rutting. You could hear them everywhere. We glassed from a high point where we could see and hear a lot of impala. We made our way down into a thick flat and found ourselves surrounded by them. We couldn’t see them but could hear six or more rams right around us in every direction. We finally got to where we could see a couple, and I had my second animal.

Took a nap after lunch and then went to check bushpig bait. They keep a baited spot all year. They use the skin and feet and any part of the animals that is not used. They have a meat processing business so they always have bait. We took a fresh load when we went to check it. Literally a ton of scraps, 2000lbs in 8 barrels. We checked camera card and went through how the hunt would work. They had pics of 2 boars coming in around 9. I had hunted in a blind over bait my first trip to Africa. Instead of using a blind, we would come in about 9 and walk/stalk in by moonlight when the wind and moon were right.
We would spend the rest of the day looking for kudu. The kudu were rutting too, and they were everywhere. I’m not sure how to get across to someone who has never been to their property just how many kudu they have there. Anyway, we got to within maybe 60 yards of one. I got on the sticks. Where he stopped was thick and all we could see were his horns. We waited for him to take just 1 more step to get a shot. And we waited. And we waited. He finally made a slight move. I think he actually laid down. We sat there for a very long time. Finally Colin decided to make a move. We took exactly 2 steps toward him, and he exploded up and away in the blink of an eye.
Day 4- We had originally planned to go to an area near the coast for my brother to hunt a common reedbuck. The night before, a friend of Colin’s had called. My understanding is that he had 2 golden wildebeest bulls on a property fighting, and he wanted one gone before he lost both. My brother jumped at the chance, and the reedbuck hunt became a golden wildebeest hunt.
The property was a huge open valley surrounded by thick steep ridges. We went up onto the ridges with the idea of spotting the wildebeest in the bottom and using the cover of the ridges to get down close to him. It worked perfectly, almost. We got to where the wildebeest was right below. Bryan and Colin set out down the thick ridge. I would have a birdseye view of the hunt from the the side of the ridge. They got right down to them, and my brother was getting set up to shoot when the wildebeest took off across the valley. Some giraffes had spooked and took the wildebeest with them. I then got to watch as they tried to make several stalks to within a reasonable range of the wildebeest in the big open valley. By the time they shot, they were well over a mile from me. I never even heard the first shot with the wind and distance. I saw white smoke (or vapor?) come off the end of the barrel and the wildebeest collapse. The wildebeest got up when they moved towards him. Bryan put a second bullet in him. I heard that shot, but it was faint and well after I saw the wildebeest collapse a second time.

This was the view I had. I had my phone zoomed in as far as it would go. I believe that’s Colin n my brother I circled.

That afternoon we went back to their place for kudu. We again saw tons. From where I finally shot mine, we could see dozens. Colin counted 15 good bulls. I actually had 3 shooter bulls in my scope at the same time. We were on the side of a ridge with most of the kudu on the side of the ridge across from us. I sat watching one for the longest time through the scope waiting for him to present a shot. Several times Colin would tell me to look up to look at some more kudu that had appeared. Just as the kudu I had been on for so long was about to give us a shot, Colin said to hold on. 2 more bulls had come over the ridge just above and made their way down to the bull I had been on for so long. Colin asked if I would rather shoot one of them. These were the 3 bulls I was watching in the scope at the same time. He estimated them to be the same age. The one I finally chose had a black face and neck.



That night we made our first stalk on the bushpig bait. We would get there at 9 when the bushpigs should already be there. Again, it worked perfectly, almost. We got there, and 2 pigs were there. But we weren’t able to get one.
Day 5- Another day of kudu hunting. I believe Colin said we were their 8th and 9th hunters since COVID. I’d say we hit it just right. Lots of game and of the highest quality, with opportunities to take species we might not otherwise have taken, and lots of older animals that might normally have been taken off in a normal year. With all the kudu on their property, they had plenty of bulls to be taken so I was thrilled to hunt a second one. We again saw tons of kudu. I finally took one we got up on near the top of a ridge.

The bullet was just under the skin on the opposite side of the kudu. Colin cut it out and gave it to me. I put it in my checked bag to bring home but didn’t think about when I actually checked my bag. Somebody in Doha security ended up with it.
We got mine loaded and heard from Wik on the radio. Terry, aka TundraTiger, had gotten his first one, and we headed to help them load it. He got a dandy deep curl kudu for his first.
Back at camp for lunch I saw 2 pairs of warthogs breeding at the same time in the field below lodge. The one time I counted there were 37 warthogs in the field, but I’m fairly certain at times there were a good many more than that.
That afternoon we went out looking for impala again. Ended up with an old ram I just loved. I can’t really explain why. Old, heavy horned with a shape I just really like. If you put a tape on him, he may be the lowest scoring of the 8 impala I’ve ever taken, but he may be my favorite.

Day 6- Because of the lack of hunters over the last year, they had a lot of excess animals. This gave my brother the opportunity to hunt a non-exportable cape mountain zebra. We would be hunting on a property that adjoins some new property they bought that we wanted to go see. It’s about a 40 minute drive from lodge so we would take lunch and make a day of it.
We drove a route to the property that took us through a big game reserve. Got to see bushpigs, rhino, and 2 elephant just driving to the hunt.
The area the zebra are on is wide open grassland but does have some elevation changes that can be used for stalking close. They have all kinds of game on the property that like the open areas. Tons of springbok of every color, bontebok, black wildebeest, roan, sable, and lechwe are the ones I can remember seeing. We even saw an aardwolf in the middle of the day.
The wind was roaring, and I was a little concerned about how challenging this hunt might be. They almost got the zebra on the first stalk. I was watching from the truck. The zebra ran, and I watched them follow over a rise. 5, maybe 10, minutes later they called us to get the zebra. They actually weren’t far from the truck, but with the wind, I never heard the shot.

My brother had also decided to take a springbok for a rug. This would certainly be a challenge with a long shot in the high wind. Colin brought a 25-06 for this.
Well, while cleaning the zebra, my brother sees a lone springbok ram walking broadside about 300 yards. Colin gets the gun. They set up, I believe it was on a termite mound, and my brother makes the first of 3 great shots on the springbok. Why the first 2 shots didn’t kill him, I don’t know. But I again got a birdseye view from the truck as they stalked 2 more times to within 300 yards of him for the shots. I could see the springbok react and then hear the shot.

We then road around their new property. It is beautiful. Rugged beauty. Thick, steep ridges with a good stretch of the Fish River along one side. We saw a good warthog I tried to get on, but this wasn’t our trip for pigs.

That evening we made our second stalk on the bushpig bait. I actually stayed at the truck on this one. The moon was brighter and the impala were running/rutting everywhere. Including at the bait site. No bushpig on this trip.
Day 7- Started the day on another impala hunt. They had a particular ram they wanted to take out to make room for some younger rams to breed.

Since Bryan didn’t get his bushpig, John, Colin and Wik’s dad, asked if he would consider taking a waterbuck. A bull had killed 2 baby waterbucks in the last week, and he wanted him gone. Bryan obliged, so we went looking for him. He had been staying in the same area, and they knew the bull. John could see where the bull had last laid down from his house. We looked all over the area. Saw lots of waterbuck but not the one. Went back to camp with the plan of coming back at 4. At about 3:30, they saw the bull from camp. The stalk was on. Finished our last evening with my brother making a great stalk and shot on a monster waterbuck.

I can’t imagine how we could have had any better of a week.
Thank You, Lord, and thank you, Colin (and Wik and Brittany and Clair and John and all the staff @ GAME 4 AFRICA SAFARIS)
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I'm starting to get butterflies. LOL!!!!!!
