buck wild
AH legend
Day 6 Travel continued
If you read Part 1, https://www.africahunting.com/threads/south-africa-aaa-serapa-goes-buck-wild-2018-pt-1.44702/ you know I have just spent 6 days hunting the Kalahari celebrating my 50th birthday celebration trip and 10 year wedding anniversary. We are now in route to the Waterberg Mountains in the Limpopo region to hunt with Great Land Safaris owner/PH John Henry Keyser. I hunted here in 2015 and had a very successful trip.
2015 report https://www.africahunting.com/threads/south-africa-mountains-valleys.24615/
Our driver to our next destination is a retired area traffic police officer. As we head back toward Vryburg, he feels compelled to point out all the local farms and their owners. So much so that he calls a friend to ask where his family member lives in the States to see if we might know them. Apparently Wisconsin, probably 2,000 miles from us.
We are back tracking our route from Joberg. Delareyville past the Barberspan Nature Reserve with the large lake, and through Sannieshof. At the Biesiesvlei junction we go straight toward Lichtenburg instead of south to Joberg. It’s still mostly agricultural fields this way with lots of smoke from the burning fields. Every small town we go through has a lengthy line down the sidewalk in front of the ATM machine. I haven’t seen lines like that in the States since the last Apple phone release. 
There is a minimum of 50 up to 100 people in line at every one. No matter the reason, the streets are full of people. It’s a Saturday and energy is in the air at every place we pass through. People are laughing, walking together and yes no joke, interacting with each other! We could use more of this State side.
After 3 hrs we arrive at the halfway meeting spot. John Henry, owner and operator of Great Land Safari, is in the parking lot waiting. We exchange goodbyes with our driver, make a quick restroom break and start toward Thabazimbi by way of Sun City around Rustenburg. Along the highway we spot a true African entrepreneur. He has a makeshift, roadside work shop with a cutting torch, welder and several mufflers hanging from the branches of a tree. I ask John Henry how anyone would know if these three mufflers would fit their vehicle. John Henry confidently replies, “Oh they’ll make them fit ANYTHING!”
In addition to the small towns, we also drive by several shanty towns that have sprung up in the area fields. Other rural culture we encounter include multiple stalled vehicles parked in the middle of the highway with no apparent effort to move them off the road, packed minivans heading into town and young, unaccompanied children playing on the roadside.
Talk turns to hunting and upon learning I’m stil in search of sable, John Henry shows me a pic of a sable that he knows the general whereabouts on. I start to get a little excited I must admit.
We stop in a gas station and spot these. I thought they were funny.
We skirt the Pilanesberg National Park and see the large mines in the area. Shortly before we arrive in the Sun City area, the terrain makes a drastic change from flat, farm fields to hills, quickly followed by mountains. Another 3 hr leg and we arrive in Thabazimbi, make a quick stop at the convenience store for ice that John Henry owns and head to the farm. I witness a local leaving the food store next door with a 3 foot loaf of sliced bread. Now that’s some sandwiches! As we leave Thabazimbi north into the Marakele National Park, we stop at a check point manned by Marakele Park staff. The guard tells us a rhino has been poached from the road this morning. Everyone is being checked going in and out. We read all the time about elephant and rhino poaching but this is the first I have personally witnessed the aftermath. There are park rangers and people dressed in forensic suits as they comb the scene for evidence. Things seem suspicious at best given the security in the area.
With no further fanfare, we arrive at the lodge. It’s 3 pm and we have a late spaghetti lunch with salad. I eat as if I haven’t been fed in days. It’s been a long day already and I’m completely drained at this point.
Our view from the front of the property
If you read Part 1, https://www.africahunting.com/threads/south-africa-aaa-serapa-goes-buck-wild-2018-pt-1.44702/ you know I have just spent 6 days hunting the Kalahari celebrating my 50th birthday celebration trip and 10 year wedding anniversary. We are now in route to the Waterberg Mountains in the Limpopo region to hunt with Great Land Safaris owner/PH John Henry Keyser. I hunted here in 2015 and had a very successful trip.
2015 report https://www.africahunting.com/threads/south-africa-mountains-valleys.24615/
Our driver to our next destination is a retired area traffic police officer. As we head back toward Vryburg, he feels compelled to point out all the local farms and their owners. So much so that he calls a friend to ask where his family member lives in the States to see if we might know them. Apparently Wisconsin, probably 2,000 miles from us.
We are back tracking our route from Joberg. Delareyville past the Barberspan Nature Reserve with the large lake, and through Sannieshof. At the Biesiesvlei junction we go straight toward Lichtenburg instead of south to Joberg. It’s still mostly agricultural fields this way with lots of smoke from the burning fields. Every small town we go through has a lengthy line down the sidewalk in front of the ATM machine. I haven’t seen lines like that in the States since the last Apple phone release. There is a minimum of 50 up to 100 people in line at every one. No matter the reason, the streets are full of people. It’s a Saturday and energy is in the air at every place we pass through. People are laughing, walking together and yes no joke, interacting with each other! We could use more of this State side.After 3 hrs we arrive at the halfway meeting spot. John Henry, owner and operator of Great Land Safari, is in the parking lot waiting. We exchange goodbyes with our driver, make a quick restroom break and start toward Thabazimbi by way of Sun City around Rustenburg. Along the highway we spot a true African entrepreneur. He has a makeshift, roadside work shop with a cutting torch, welder and several mufflers hanging from the branches of a tree. I ask John Henry how anyone would know if these three mufflers would fit their vehicle. John Henry confidently replies, “Oh they’ll make them fit ANYTHING!”
In addition to the small towns, we also drive by several shanty towns that have sprung up in the area fields. Other rural culture we encounter include multiple stalled vehicles parked in the middle of the highway with no apparent effort to move them off the road, packed minivans heading into town and young, unaccompanied children playing on the roadside.
Talk turns to hunting and upon learning I’m stil in search of sable, John Henry shows me a pic of a sable that he knows the general whereabouts on. I start to get a little excited I must admit.
We stop in a gas station and spot these. I thought they were funny.
We skirt the Pilanesberg National Park and see the large mines in the area. Shortly before we arrive in the Sun City area, the terrain makes a drastic change from flat, farm fields to hills, quickly followed by mountains. Another 3 hr leg and we arrive in Thabazimbi, make a quick stop at the convenience store for ice that John Henry owns and head to the farm. I witness a local leaving the food store next door with a 3 foot loaf of sliced bread. Now that’s some sandwiches! As we leave Thabazimbi north into the Marakele National Park, we stop at a check point manned by Marakele Park staff. The guard tells us a rhino has been poached from the road this morning. Everyone is being checked going in and out. We read all the time about elephant and rhino poaching but this is the first I have personally witnessed the aftermath. There are park rangers and people dressed in forensic suits as they comb the scene for evidence. Things seem suspicious at best given the security in the area.
With no further fanfare, we arrive at the lodge. It’s 3 pm and we have a late spaghetti lunch with salad. I eat as if I haven’t been fed in days. It’s been a long day already and I’m completely drained at this point.
Our view from the front of the property
We head back to the lodge for some needed rest. I’m practically delirious from the travel lag. We learn a few lessons and will adjust our procedures on subsequent night sits here.
We slowly make our way toward him as he slips into the bush as if he was never there. We bump a small group of impala rams. We slow our progress even more as we are in the area the roan last occupied. Bingo, there he is quartering away at 60 yds slipping through the bush. John Henry confirms he is a mature bull. Funny how things can change on the fly as I decide maybe I should take the opportunity at hand. I decide to pull the trigger, but not so fast, we’ll need to secure the right permit first. The bull must have known he was safe for the moment as this was the closest we’d get to him over the course of the trip. The morning continued with a few random sightings but we never get a good look at anything else as the animals step from the road into the abyss, they disappear.
This time the flies aren’t as numerous but they are persistent. I have brought an insect repellent but its sting against my skin might be worse than that of the fly. The fine print on the bottle says to not apply to bare skin 
Luckily the discomfort of the repellent subsides long before the flies disappear. It’s worth the short term price versus the long term annoyance.
She has more character and integrity in her little finger than most have. This camp cook is a handful - hand to mouth full. She’s also a crazy good cook. A real salt of the earth, can do anything, small package of dynamite! Seeing me squeeze closer to the small fire caused her to remanence about her childhood, when her family would huddle near a pot belly stove for warmth and cooking. I have similar memories of my childhood when visiting my grandparents. I do my best to have the fire going each morning thereafter, both for her and me. She goes on to advise that Cape Town is getting heavy snow today.
I’m not sure of all the activities that occurred in town as apparently what happens in Thabazimbi, stays in Thabazimbi. She has kept her secrets hidden away deep in the clutches of the surrounding mountains. Whatever they did, it’s doubtful their day was better than ours. 
